Precious Value

Isaiah 43:3-4 – “For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life.”
“I would do anything for a ______________.” This phrase is one of the most common phrases spoken in the English language. It is probably used at least one hundred times a year by a person, although I have no statistics to prove that. Nonetheless, this phrase is used very often. A few weeks ago, people filled the blank in with the Iphone 5. Many people who were not quick enough to get onto the pre-order ended up waiting in line for several hours in order to get their hands on this precious new gadget. They were willing to forgo a day of work so that they could own this toy. My cousin even told me about a person who bought 3-5 Iphone 5’s for $1000 a piece. That person definitely would do anything for that toy. But certainly, nobody would be crazy enough to die for an Iphone? Right? The Iphone 5 only carries up to a certain a value.
Every item has a price, and that price is a strong indication as to how much that person treasures that item. For instance, a person will usually price a car he owns for more than a book sitting on his shelf, because clearly he believes the car has a higher value than the book. One can easily infer that the man treasures his car more than his book. But what if that book was the first book he had ever received from his father or mother or was signed by Charles Dickens? Most likely the man would treasure that book more than he would his car. He values the book in this case more than the car.
In our passage today, we find that the Lord God treasured His people Israel a lot, in that, He specifically mentions how He has exchanged Egypt, Cush, and Seba for His people. He loved His people so much that He willingly would trade other peoples to protect, gather, and bless His people. Although he was trading people that were wealthy (Egypt), marketable (Cush), and of high stature (Seba), God still treasured His people more (Is 45:14). Now, this verse does not mean that God was powerless at a ransom and had to trade other people for His, but instead it was used as an illustration to remind the Israelites of how much God loved them. When I reflected on this verse, I could not really understand trading one group of people for another. I did not understand how God could value His people that much – people who continually disobeyed Him. But when I reflected on it for just a few more minutes, I came to realize that God did even more for me personally. Instead of just trading nations for me, God had traded His only beloved Son Jesus Christ in exchange for me. He had paid a ransom so that I could be set free from the captivity of sin. He did it for the same reason He did it for His people because He saw me as precious in His eyes and loved me. John 3:16 states it best, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosover believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” He did all of this even when I was still His enemy.
By looking at the price God was willing to pay for me, I could clearly tell God valued me a lot. He valued me so much that He died for me. And the truth is that He did this for each and every person in this world as well. That is amazing love that should move any unbeliever from sin to Christ and any Christian from lukewarmness to a burning fire that stirs him into becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ. I challenge you to take a few moments and consider how much God loved you. He valued you so much that He gave up His Son. He valued you above His life. He valued you so much. Why? Because He loves you. You are of precious value to Him – let that truth continually encourage you to follow Him even when the world mocks. You are His treasure.