Monday, June 6, 2011

Hold Out the Hand



Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
~ Psalms 136:1 (NKJV)


In the above passage, the Hebrew word translated "give thanks" is yâdâh. Its literal meaning is "hold out the hand."

We might think of the way a person holds out the hand to beg, or make a request, but something entirely different is indicated here.

This is the response when one has been the recipient of a blessing or gift of too great a value to be able to reciprocate with similar blessing. Under such circumstances, we offer a blessing which money cannot buy—we humbly hold out the hand in gratitude, praise, worship.

Lord, we have no adequate response for the blessing you have poured out upon us. Please accept from us the gratitude, praise and worship offered from hearts overwhelmed by Your love.

Your comments, questions, and respectful disagreement are most appreciated. Reply to BuildingHisBody.com comments, or e-mail buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com

12 comments:

  1. Amen sweet sis, amen. I love you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. A big AMEN from me as well my friend

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'll be holding out my hand today.
    Thanks Anne, for this insight.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Denise ~

    It's so good to see you here. I am praying for your health. Stay strong in our precious Lord's Word.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Odie ~

    Thank you for your affirmation, my friend. : )

    ReplyDelete
  6. i had to laugh when i saw/read the word and it's meaning. my older sister uses the expression, "Yadah, Yadah, Yadah!" often and is totally unaware of it's meaning:)

    think i will give her a call and tell her of it's meaning. but when i read this, it reminded me of something i had read yesterday in relationship to "our cup." it struck as i read this that it's pretty close. it's like an exchange.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Brad ~

    Isn't it funny how when we hold out our hand not to ask for anything, but only to give our Lord thanks, or praise, or worship, He then puts something in it anyway? What a God! ♥

    ReplyDelete
  8. Bud ~

    Hold off on that phone call. There is another Hebrew word with a similar pronunciation and different meaning. I'll get back to you on that ...

    ReplyDelete
  9. Bud ~

    The Hebrew word yâda‛ means "to know" and is used in a wide variety of ways. It is pronounced yaw-DAH.

    I looked up "yada yada" in the Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. The definition there is this:
    boring or empty talk —often used interjectionally especially in recounting words regarded as too dull or predictable to be worth repeating

    Perhaps "yada yada" comes from the Hebrew as a not-too-polite way to say, "what a know it all."

    For what it's worth, the words also have different pronunciations (according to Strongs Bible Dictionary). The word I did this post on, yâdâh, is pronounced yaw-DAW. That doesn't seem much different to me either, but there are enough differences between the words to tell them apart.

    You'll have to find another quibble with your dear sister ... ;D

    ReplyDelete
  10. Recipient of that enduring mercy right here.

    And my hand is out.

    Blessings to you Anne.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Dear Lyla ~

    Blessings to you! I'll be doing three more words this week. (Thursday is the best one I think.) I hope you don't miss chêsêd.

    ReplyDelete
  12. well, you certainly took the wind out of my sail with that one, Anne. guess she knows more then i do. thank you for the lessons. thursday`s word sounds familiar. a little bell is ringing here from the back forty.

    ReplyDelete

Your comments are appreciated and you can expect a reply. If Blogger doesn't accept your comment, or if you prefer
another method, I hope you'll respond via Twitter or email
(see sidebar icons or the "Contact Me" tab, above).

(Comments to older posts and will appear after approval.)