Hands

I came across something today that has me thinking (which can be a dangerous thing). I saw this in
Isaiah 49:16 "See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me." The idea that God has engraved His people on His hands sounds... well,... weird. Why would God say something like that?

Good question. I think I may have stumbled on the answer by accident. An author that I sometimes read had a statement along the lines that men in the cultures around Israel sometimes engraved the names of their kids into their hands to show how close they held their kids to them. This could mean that when it says that God craved the names of His people into His hands He is simply saying, "I'm showing you how close I hold you". If that's how God treated Israel as His covenant people then how much closer does God hold me who He calls a "son" and a "joint-heir w/ Jesus"? WOW!

Messy