Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life.
Isaiah 43:4 NIV
Precious
The forty-sixth element of the periodic table, palladium, was discovered in 1803 and named after an asteroid. Rarer than gold or silver, the silvery element is found in only one location in the United States, the Stillwater Mine in Montana, and a handful of others throughout the world. In Canada, there is only one palladium mine– at Lac Des Illes north of Thunder Bay. This precious metal is what gives white gold its signature color and is found in almost all catalytic converters.
***
God loves you deeply. So deeply that He sent His Son the Lord Jesus to take upon Himself the punishment we deserve for our sin. As a picture of what He would accomplish on the Cross, God gathered together a people — the Israelites — and called them His own. He gave them a wonderful promise in Isaiah 43:4: “Since you are precious and honoured in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life.” One of the great blessings of life is to be assured that we are loved. To hear our spouse, a parent or close friend express their love to us can carry us through some pretty difficult times. But to know that our Creator calls us precious is overwhelming. God genuinely loves you, and you are precious to Him. To use His words that He said here to Israel, He has given Jesus in exchange for you – offering Jesus to bear your sin so that you, precious to God, can live in relationship to Him forever. Never doubt that God loves you, and always has you on His mind. You are precious.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley