Precious In His Sight-A Deeper Look At What God Values
When the Bible says something is precious to God, it’s not a light compliment tossed around like confetti at a parade. The Hebrew word behind precious is yaqar (יָקָר). It literally means heavy, valuable, costly, something with weight, not just sentimental fluff. Imagine gold bars in God’s vault, but now imagine you are that treasure, weighted with eternal worth.
Look at Psalm 139:17, where David marvels:
“How precious (yaqar) also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!”
Here, the yaqar of God’s thoughts tells us His wisdom and plans are not cheap ideas but infinitely valuable. They carry divine weight, the same weight that holds the stars in their courses (Psalm 147:4). That means God’s plans for us are worth more than a trillion diamonds.
Yaqar isn’t just about thoughts; it’s about people, too. In Psalm 1:6, David tells us: “For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous; but the way of the wicked shall perish.”
The righteous, those walking in God’s derek (דֶּרֶךְ), the path or way, are precious, yaqar, to God. They are not just footnotes in a divine ledger but carry weight in heaven’s scales.
Then there’s Isaiah 43:4, where God says: “Because you are precious (yaqar) in My sight, and honored (kavod), and I love you…”
Here kavod (כָּבוֹד), meaning weight, glory, honor, shows up alongside yaqar. God combines the ideas of preciousness with glory. To Him, we carry weight, importance and dignity, because we are created in His image, tselem (צֶלֶם). Tselem means a reflection or likeness of God Himself, which is why human life is so valuable.
In the New Testament, the Greek word for precious is often timios (τιμιος), which means esteemed, honored, valuable. For example, 1 Peter 3:4 tells us: “The unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious (timios) in God’s sight.”
This spirit, this inner character, is what God treasures, not outward flash, but heart-deep worth.
And here is the heart of the matter: 1 Peter 1:19 says, “But with the precious (timios) blood of Messiah, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”
Messiah’s blood is the ultimate timios, the infinitely valuable, priceless offering. This is how much God values us: He sacrificed what was most timios to redeem the yaqar creation made in His image.
Science also echoes this truth. Human DNA, that complex code of about 3 billion base pairs, is so intricate that the chances it formed by random accident are astronomically small, like trying to randomly assemble the exact combination of atoms in the universe and still miss. That complexity and order, the kabod or glory of creation, shout design and purpose. Human life, uniquely conscious and moral, is not a cosmic accident. The Bible’s truth, that we are yaqar in God’s sight, aligns perfectly with science’s discovery of human uniqueness.
The Dead Sea Scrolls and other ancient manuscripts deepen this understanding. They use yaqar to describe precious metals, spices, and even God’s kabod, His weighty, glorious presence. God’s glory is His treasure chest, and because we carry His image, we bear a reflection of that glory, making us yaqar as well.
Messiah, Yeshua, is the greatest expression of God’s treasure. The Word made flesh (John 1:14) was timios not only because He was God but because He lived among us, embodying the weight of God’s love and glory. He took on human flesh to restore our tselem, our precious reflection, so we could again be counted among what is yaqar to God.
So when you feel small, remember this: You are not incidental dust. You are yaqar, heavy with value, honored with glory, and covered by the precious timios blood of Messiah. You are the treasure God longs to hold close.
The Hebrew word yaqar (יָקָר) is a gem that keeps shining the deeper you dig. It’s used 56 times in the Hebrew Scriptures, often in ways that reveal what God esteems as genuinely valuable. For instance, yaqar is not only about riches or fancy objects but about things that carry weight and meaning in God’s economy.
In Proverbs 3:14, wisdom itself is called yaqar: “For the gaining of it (chokhmah, wisdom) is better than the gaining of silver, and the profit thereof than fine gold.”
Here chokhmah (חָכְמָה), wisdom, is more precious than all wealth, not just shiny metal but a treasure with eternal weight. God treasures wisdom because it aligns with His nature. The Messiah is called the Wisdom of God in 1 Corinthians 1:24 (sophia in Greek), showing how yaqar wisdom is not just knowledge but a person, the person of Yeshua.
Psalm 19:10 says: “More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.”
The “they” here are the commandments of the LORD, His mitzvot (מִצְווֹת). God values obedience and His law so much that they surpass the most precious material things. This is key: what God calls yaqar is not just people or abstract qualities but His own ways, the paths of righteousness and holiness.
Now, the word kavod (כָּבוֹד) pairs tightly with yaqar in describing what God treasures. Kavod means weight, glory, honor, and it carries the idea of something heavy because it is important, not burdensome. God’s glory is His kavod, a visible, weighty presence that reflects His holiness and power.
In Exodus 33:18-22, Moses asks to see God’s glory (kavod). God tells him, “I will cause all My goodness to pass before you…”
Then God’s kavod passes by, showing that glory is the manifest weight and presence of God. Because we are made in His image (tselem), we carry a measure of that kavod. That’s why humans are yaqar, we are living reflections of God’s glory.
The word tselem (צֶלֶם) is often translated as image, but it literally means a shadow, a likeness, or a reflection. The ancients understood this as more than a physical copy. It’s a representation of the divine presence and authority. When God says in Genesis 1:26, “Let us make man in our image (tselem), after our likeness…”
He’s giving humans a sacred status, making us carriers of His kavod and stewards of creation. That tselem is what Messiah restores, broken by sin but redeemed by His blood.
In the Greek New Testament, the word timios (τιμιος) appears to capture this honor and preciousness from a slightly different angle. It comes from time (τιμή), which means value, price, or honor. Something timios is highly esteemed and respected.
1 Peter 1:18-19 contrasts how we were redeemed, not with corruptible things like silver or gold, but with the precious (timios) blood of Messiah, a sacrifice without blemish. This reveals the costliness of our redemption, God did not spare expense. Messiah’s blood is the ultimate treasure, proving just how much we are worth to Him.
The Greek word agapē (ἀγάπη), God’s selfless love, wraps this up. God’s agapē is the motivation for making us yaqar, precious and honored. Without agapē, all value is meaningless. But because of God’s agapē, we are priceless.
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Now, let’s look at some additional Hebrew nuances that deepen the meaning of yaqar and related words:
Chashav (חָשַׁב), to think, to esteem, to value. When God chashav us, He holds us in high regard, calculating or considering us precious.
Nakar (נָכַר), to recognize or acknowledge. God nakar us as precious because He sees our true worth.
Shamar (שָׁמַר), to guard or watch over. God shamar the righteous because they are yaqar to Him.
Psalm 116:15 says, “Precious (yaqar) in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints.”
This is a surprising verse. Even in death, God values His people deeply. Their passing is not a loss but a precious moment to Him, proof that life and death alike carry weight and meaning before God.
The Dead Sea Scrolls preserve many of these words and ideas. They speak of God’s glory as a weighty presence and His people as a holy treasure. The ancient Qumran community, who treasured these scrolls, saw themselves as yaqar because they were the “chosen of God,” set apart for His covenant. In the wisdom literature found there, yaqar is connected with fear of the LORD (yirah), understanding, and walking in His ways, again reinforcing that God’s value system is upside down from the world’s. The world treasures power and wealth, but God treasures holiness, wisdom, and love.
Messiah is the yaqar Lamb of God, the one who brings us back to the Father. His life, death, and resurrection shine a blazing spotlight on how much God values humanity. Because of Messiah, we are not just dust but tselem, reflecting God’s glory, carrying His kavod, and honored as timios children of the Most High.
Let that sink in. The Creator of galaxies says you are precious. The King of kings laid down His timios life to prove it. You are His treasure, His delight, the weighty jewel in His crown.
Live in Him.
Amen!