Precious

Precious

By Augusto A. Kho

For Bureau of Jail, Penology and Management (BJMP)
Balungao, Pangasinan

February 25, 2019 (Monday); 10:45 A.M.

Rewritten on the same day at 3:25 P.M.

 

 

There will be no heroes without enemies

Precious

What do you mean by precious? And what are the things that are precious to us? Family, loved ones, liberty, pride or self-respect, worldly possession and others. Perhaps many of you will find your freedom as most precious to you now.

 

 

Precious defined

(Adj) it is (of an object, substance, or resource) of great value; not to be wasted or treated carelessly like "precious works of art."

 

Synonyms are valuable, costly, expensive, high-priced, dear; valued, cherished, treasured, prized, favorite, dear, dearest, beloved, darling, adored, loved, special, esteemed, worth its weight in gold, revered, venerated, hallowed. It is used as a term of address for a beloved person.

(Google Dictionary).


Webster defined precious as
commanding a large price ( diamonds and other precious stones>

 

Synonyms of precious are big-ticket, costly, dear, expensive, extravagant, high, high-end, high-ticket, premium, priceless, pricey (also pricy), spendy [chiefly Northwest], ultra-expensive, valuable

 

Words Related to precious are as follows: exorbitant, overpriced, prohibitive, sky-high, steep, stiff, unaffordable, uneconomic (or uneconomical), unreasonable, inestimable, invaluable, deluxe, luxurious, sumptuous.

 

 

 

Readings

Daniel 10:11/ New Living Translation (NLT), “And the man said to me, “Daniel, you are very precious to God, so listen carefully to what I have to say to you. Stand up, for I have been sent to you.” When he said this to me, I stood up, still trembling.”

 

 

Background

This is the background from the reading of the scriptures:

 

Daniel was one among the captives from Jerusalem when the king of Babylon placed the city of God under siege. God raised up king Nebuchadnezzar for a purpose as an enemy of the Jews as a form of discipline if not judgment due to the constant backsliding of His people.

 

Daniel then was one among the sons of the royal family who was brought to the Babylonian Palace to serve the kings. He and among others were trained on the language and culture of the Babylonians until he started serving at the palace.

 

No one can outdo Daniel in terms of understanding, wisdom, faithfulness in God and integrity. He is a no non-sense man, a man of prayer and a good interpreter of dreams all over the region.

 

He often sees vision and in one instance he took a fast seeking God for understanding of what he saw in the spiritual realm. Until a man, in fact, an angel by the name of Gabriel was God-sent and said to him, “You are precious in God.” Wow!

 

In other words, God could not stop noticing this man because he is worth looking not just once but many times.


Whenever you see an attractive girl or handsome, you might not just give him or her a second look but many times you will be glancing and take noticing of that person. And Daniel is man that God wont

 

 

Precious defined biblically

In KJV, “precious” is worded as “greatly beloved.” It derived from the Hebrew word, “chemdah” (khem-dah) which means “precious, pleasant, desirable.” It derived from the Hebrew root word “chemed” (cheh-med) meaning “delight” or “to delight in.” In Tagalog, “to delight in” mean “kaibig-ibig.”

 

So when God took noticed of Daniel, He gave this man not just a desirable look but an extravagant look.

 

So as we worshipped the Lord in this unusual place, I was reminded by the Lord of the thought that appeared to me this very earning morning at 1:15 about the words, “There will be no heroes without enemies.”

 

God said we should love him with all our heart, soul, strength and mind. What we think of operates through our thought or mind as well.

 

It is from these words, “Daniel, you are very precious to God,” and I associated the words “delight in “ in the life of one heroine name Esther. And who is Esther?

 

Esther means “star” like the man who testified before us whose surname is Estrella i.e. star as well.

 

 

There is something desirable or pleasing in the story of Esther. She courageous decided to appear to king Ahasuerus which is not according to the law of Persia. According to the Persian custom any person who appeared himself to the king without being called officially (like summoned) is not according to the law that poses a great risk to his life. Otherwise appealing or appearing to a king which is contrary to the law is equivalent to death.

 

But since an enemy of the Jews in the person of Haman was able to duped the king in making an official decree to annihilate the Jews, Mordecai appealed to Queen Esther to do something otherwise she too will be terminated (Esther 3:8-10).

 

And this is when the thought comes in :

 

There will be no heroes without enemies or villains.”

 

That is why Esther decided to appear herself to the king even contrary to the law.

 

In Esther 4:15-16/ NLT, her bravado as queen of Persia has been tested when she said “15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die.”

 

It is not merely a brave move, but among the agnostics, it will be suicidal.

 

 

Esther found favour

Esther 5:1-3/ King James Version (KJV), “1  Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's house, over against the king's house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house. And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre. 3 Then said the king unto her, What wilt thou, queen Esther? and what is thy request? it shall be even given thee to the half of the kingdom.” 

 

Esther appeared before the king thus violating the Persian Law yet “she obtained favour in his sight.” What is favour?


Favour defined

 

In other words, as Daniel obtained favour from God calling him by an angel, “Daniel, you are very precious to God,” in the same way that Esther “obtained favour “ from the sight of king Ahasuerus thus Haman’s wicked decree to annihilate the law was immediately revoked and reversed against the enemy and his entire family (Esther 7:10; 8:1-5)

 

Favour” from the Hebrew word “chen” (khane) means favour, grace, , kindness, pleasant or precious (Strong Bible Dictionary).

 

 

In the same way, you too whether you are guilty or innocent to the crime that is being charged to you can also “appear” before the Court of Heaven and ask for the revocation or reversal of your case should you God finds favour on you if not God finds you very precious in His sight.

 

The Bible tells us that God sent His son not to judge the world but through Him we might be saved (John 3:17); For God who sits on His throne is so merciful even the Son is merciful and “full of grace,” (John 1:14).

 

Ephesians 2:8-9/ KJV, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. “

 

Grace from Greek “charis” meaning “joy, delight or charm.

 

Charm or Grace means “ goodwill, loving kindness or favour (of the merciful kindness by Which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ and it is governed by the power of divine grace,” according to Thayer.

 

 

1 John 1:9, “  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 

 

 

Pardon

In Luke 23:43 "To day shalt thou be with me in paradise."

 

Finland's form of government gives the President, according to his discretion, the right to pardon a criminal. Every now and then we hear that the President has exercised this right. God also pardons. To better understand God's pardon we will compare it to the President's pardon.

 

When the President pardons, the condemned person does not have to suffer the punishment that the law prescribes for him. This does not mean that the verdict of the court is revoked or changed. As far as the law is concerned the convicted one still deserves the punishment. A presidential pardon means that the punishment which the wrongdoer has deserved according to the law is not carried out. The President can pardon only after the Supreme Court has rendered its opinion concerning the case, even though he is not bound by this opinion.

 

 

Things in common

What Daniel and Esther have things in common that they obtained grace from God?

 

Both are believers of God and believes in the Law of God, the Torah or the Scriptures; they are God-fearing, people of integrity, both fasted and prayed before they obtained favour and they were found precious in God’s sight.

 

Daniel was in prayer and in fasting, he completely fear God. “2 In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. 3 I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled., “ (Daniel 10:2-3). And in Esther 4:16 it says:

 

Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same.”

 

Mourning in Hebrew “abal” (awbal) means “lamenting” (crying as if in funeral).”


Will you mourn like
Daniel until God delights in you and call you precious and finally to give you presidential pardon just like the way Esther broke the protocol or rule of law because of the word “grace?”

 

 

 

He the Lord might do that because HE may find you very precious ….