Diakonos Designs
art inspired by faith
Believe Create Inspire
187 East Main Street * Stoughton, WI * 53589
Most Diakonos Designs jewelry pieces incorporate clay beads, brass and/or copper beads, leather cording, and jasper and carnelian accents. These core elements have significant Biblical meaning described below. “Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”
Clay Beads:
Isaiah 64:8
“Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?”
Romans 9:21
The clay itself is hugely Biblically symbolic, as the many references to God, the potter, describe. References to the way clay is formed and fired and made strong are analogous to the life processes that form people and make us strong and beautiful and useful.
Brass & Copper:
“Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.
Man puts an end to the darkness; he searches the farthest recesses for ore in the blackest darkness.” “But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell?” Job 28:12
“And he said to man, 'The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.’” Job 28:28
For me, brass and copper represent man’s search for wisdom as revealed in Job 28. It’s an amazing chapter that talks about how men knowledgeably choose to search deep under a mountain to find treasures like iron-ore, from which copper and brass are smelted. In the same way that we have to search the mountain and process the iron-ore to find the valuable copper, we have to search the Bible and process its message to find true wisdom. The chapter ends with “The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real understanding”. Once I started looking, I found many references to copper in the Bible. The usefulness of copper in Old Testament times is revealed in a description of the promised land in Deuteronomy 8:9, which says it is “a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.” I find it intriguing that way back then, the substance of copper was so valuable that it was worth specific mention. They used copper for making everything from eating utensils to weapons to personal adornments. The first few chapters of Proverbs also discuss the importance of pursuing wisdom and have significantly influenced my bead and jewelry making. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: Leather: "I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles" Isaiah 42:5-7 Jasper & Carnelian: represents the “face of God” as expressed in Revelation 4:3, “The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—jasper and carnelian." The whole idea to incorporate Biblical symbols into unique jewelry came, in part from the Bible.
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6: 4-9
Many symbols take on special meaning for the wearer or giver and are a wonderfully unique way to capture a message, share a belief, or express a thought or idea. The meanings expressed herein are mostly commonly understood symbols that we sometimes recognize and sometimes take for granted… Enjoy!
Job 28:2-3
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. Revelation 19:14-16
“On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, ‘To your decendants I give this land, from the river
“He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” 2 Cor 3:6 Leather represents the covenant that God made originally with Abram about his descendants in Genesis chapter 15. An animal sacrifice was made and God was represented by the smoking pot and flaming torch. The leather ultimately represents the covenantal promise God made with the sacrifice of His Son to redeem us. An animal died to make the leather, Christ died to make us His.
Biblical Symbols
If you have questions or comments on these or any other symbols you would like me to try to find or create, please let me know.
