A treasure

I found something I've never seen in my Bible the other day. Little Critter and I were doing Torah Study (Bible study) as we do every day. We were reading the Torah portion for this week in Exodus. When we got to Exodus 19:5, I had to stop and read it a second time! I don't know about your translation, but I use the Complete Jewish Bible translation by David H Stern. Now, I have several other versions, but I prefer this one since it's translated from the original Aramaic/Greek/Hebrew. And in Exodus 19:5, it says "Now if you will pay careful attention to what I say and keep my covenant, then you will be my own treasure from among all the peoples, for all the earth is mine:"
Did you catch it? Do you see it? We can be Jehovah's own treasure!!!! Can you imagine??? The King of the Universe, the creator of all living things, the One who IS love, the great I AM wants to call me His own treasure!!! WOW!!! It suddenly struck me, that in His eyes, I'm not just a piddly little homeschool mom who works part time, serves at two different churches and attempts to keep the house clean enough to keep it from being condemned. In His eyes, I can be His own treasure!!!! Now, if you think about that a minute that's pretty astounding. Papa can have anything He wants, He created it all! But what He wants is for you (and I) to be His own treasure. Not just a special people, not just a chosen race, not just a group of priests, but His own treasure.

I'm sure there's plenty of folks saying, "and your point is?!?!" But think about it. The dictionary says a treasure is " something that is considered to be precious, to be of great value, cherished" So see, it really is incredible. The creator of the universe says if I listen to His voice, and obey His covenant, I can be His precious, cherished and greatly valued own treasure. Not just one of the crowd, not just another freckled faced, red head with a temper and a warped sense of humor....His own special treasure. I am just blown away. I know I've read that verse about eleventy million times in the past....usually from a different version. None of them say I'm a treasure. (although I did find it say the same thing in The Word version at church today). What a wonderful love letter from my Papa to me. I'm a treasure. And you can be a treasure too. All you have to do is listen to His voice, pay attention to what He says, and follow (or obey) His covenant. (you can find the covenant in the 10 Commandments where He boiled it all down into 10 laws to follow for a long life.) It kinda gives a new way of seeing things doesn't it? Instead of seeing yourself as just another seeker of truth (or whatever you call yourself) you are a treasure.....and not just any treasure, but the treasure of the Great I AM, the creator of the universe. WOW! I pray you'll get this deep inside yourself and believe it. Talk about a self esteem booster!!! So my dear friends, as you prepare for your next week, remember you can be His own treasure, act like a treasure and don't forget to thank Him for His deep abiding love for you. Be Blessed this week and Shalom, Joie