The King's Daughter—Part 2—Your Preciousness and Worth

Ramona Havranek

Psalm 45

This series of articles draws on my journey of discovering God's eternal love, which set me free. It discusses how God considers His daughters precious and valuable. I wrote and arranged these lessons for a women's conference hosted by our church. This study centers on the following Scripture passage.

Kings' daughters are among Your honorable women;
At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir.
Listen, O daughter,
Consider and incline your ear;
Forget your own people also, and your father's house;
So the King will greatly desire your beauty;
Because He is your Lord, worship Him.
And the daughter of Tyre will come with a gift;
The rich among the people will seek your favor.
The royal daughter is all glorious within the palace
Her clothing is woven with gold.
She shall be brought to the King in robes of many colors;
The virgins, her companions who follow her, shall be brought to You.
With gladness and rejoicing they shall be brought;
They shall enter the King’s palace.

— Psalm 45:9-15

Sometimes, one of the most significant challenges for women is believing they are loved. Many of us have spent much of our lives trying to convince ourselves we are truly loved through the drama of our relationships.

On this leg of my journey, I have concluded that true, eternal, everlasting love can only be realized through a relationship with our Father in Heaven through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Some of us have entered into that relationship but have not truly understood our position as the King's daughters or fully grasped the emotional depth of His love. This understanding is God's will in Christ Jesus.

... that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

— Ephesians 3:17

The King's Daughter Is Precious

This lesson will focus on the following portion of Psalm 45.

"Kings’ daughters are among Your honorable women"

— Psalm 45:9

The word translated as "honorable" in Psalm 45:9 is a Hebrew word distinct from the more commonly used Hebrew word for "honor," "kavod." Instead, it is the Hebrew word "yakar," which more accurately means "precious," as in a precious stone. It refers to something valuable, beautiful, rare, highly esteemed, and costly. When the Queen of Sheba visited King Solomon, she brought with her "yakar" or "precious stones."

... she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bore spices, and very much gold, and precious (yakar) stones (even)
— 1 Kings 10:2

The Hebrew word picture for "yakar יקר" is revealing and confirms this concept.

The Pictograph Interpretation Beginning With Yod י

Hebrew, the language in which the Old Testament was written, is a pictographic language. Each letter is represented by a symbol that illustrates and animates the deeper concepts of a particular word. On that note, let's look at the Hebrew word pictograph for the word translated "precious."

"Yod י," the first letter of "yakar יקר," is a picture of a hand and symbolizes work or handiwork. A precious gem's beauty isn't always recognized until it enters the hand of a skilled jeweler who knows how to clean and cut it to best reflect the light that shines on it or shines through it.

You shall also be a crown of glory
In the hand of the LORD,
And a royal diadem
In the hand of your God.

— Isaiah 62:3

It can also symbolize control or possession. I know that in our sin-ridden culture, possession and control carry negative associations. But in the context of a relationship with the living, loving God of eternity, it can mean being held in the hands of the one who loves you most. It means you belong to Him. You are His, and He is yours. It is entirely voluntary.

I am my beloved's,
And my beloved is mine

... O my love, you are as beautiful as Tirzah.

— Song of Solomon 6:3-4

Another verse that clarifies this idea of being in His hand comes from Isaiah 41:10 and speaks to the places of insecurity within us:

Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

In the palm of His hands

In the Palm of His Hands

Being in the palm of His hand, supported and upheld by Him, is the safest place we can be. I made a paraphrase of Isaiah 41:10 based on word studies of both Hebrew and English definitions:

You shall not fear, nor shall you gaze about and look around to inspect or consider, nor be consumed. I am strongly leading you as a strong and loving shepherd. I am your God. I make you alert, firm, strong, and drawn toward faithfulness. Yes, I will help you, and be your powerful refuge and protection, your ally and rescuer. Yes, I will uphold and support you. I promise I’ve got you in my massive, mighty, powerful, righteous hand. You are under the shadow of my wings, safe within the walls of my covenant.

The second letter of the Hebrew word "yakar יקר" is "Qoof ק ." "Qoof ק" can be pictured as the sun rising on the horizon and symbolizes rising and awakening from an unconscious state. Before our relationship with Him, we were unaware of the depths of His love for us. Morning light awakens us to a new day.

Arise, shine; For your light has come!
And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.

— Psalm 60:1

Most gems are found in the dark, buried in the dirt and dust of the earth, hidden from view. Light reveals the gem's beauty.

Shake yourself from the dust, arise;
Sit down, O Jerusalem!
Loose yourself from the bonds of your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion!

— Isaiah 52:2

The verses above indicate that we have something to do. Get up out of the dust, arise, and shine. The light we reflect is evident in our works, deeds, and acts of love toward Him.

"Qoof ק" can also symbolize proximity and the idea of drawing near. It is the first letter in the Hebrew word "Holy." Moses was invited to draw near, with clear instructions given before he did.

God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses. Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.
— Exodus 3:4-5

Holiness means being set apart from sin and brought near to God, the central theme represented by the central letter of this word. Our value depends entirely on our relationship with Him.

Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
— James 4:8

"Resh ר" is the final letter of revelation for the Hebrew word for "honorable/precious" in Psalm 45, and it pictures a person's head. It represents first things, or things of priority, and the highest, chief, and most noble things.

Since you were precious in My sight,
You have been honored (yakar יקר),
And I have loved you ...

— Isaiah 43:4

The next verse has a personal application.

At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir;
kings' daughters are among Your honorable women ...

The following could be a reinterpretation.

"We are Princesses of our Lord and Father, the King of Kings, and we are among those He has counted as precious, valuable, beautiful, highly esteemed, and of great worth to Him. Our potential as Queens (women of great power and influence), appareled in gold (godly character refined in the fire), is firmly established by His right hand (power) alone."

"O Daughter"

"O Daughter" is the next phrase in Psalm 45 that we will examine. "Oh" conveys emotion. We often view God as distant, stoic, uninvolved, uninterested, or unemotional. The "Oh" in this passage indicates His depth of emotion, involvement, and interest toward us. It also suggests that He draws very near to us. His proposal is profoundly passionate and responsive. He seeks to capture our attention through an emotional appeal.

The Eye of God" Infrared image of the Helix Nebula, taken by the Spitzer Space Telescope, 2007. Credit: NASA, ESA, and C.R. O'Dell (Vanderbilt University)

God's Daughters Are the Apple of His Eye

Let's look more closely at the meaning of the word "daughter," used a second time in the Scripture we are studying. Compton's Encyclopedia (1996) defines "daughter" as the apple of the eye.

The apple of the eye is the most precious and most securely guarded part of the eye.
The apple of one's eye is a term of endearment for one's most cherished and precious person, an idiom of care and love.

To be His daughter is to be the apple of His eye, considered extremely cherished, precious, well-guarded, and protected.

In Hebrew, the literal translation of "apple of the eye" is "the daughter of the eye." It can also mean the little person in the eye, referring to the reflection you would see of yourself in someone's pupil, signifying a close relationship and indicating God's proximity to us.

As noted in this article's comments section, Adele Hebert observes that Young's Literal Translation renders Zechariah 2:8 as such.

For thus said Jehovah of Hosts:
After honor He hath sent me unto the nations who are spoiling you,
For he who is coming against you,
Is coming against the daughter of His eye.

— Zechariah 2:8 (YLT)

"I love that. He protects us, daughters, as He would the pupil of His eye"

— Adele Hebert

In her book "Stones of Remembrance," Fuschia Pickett recounted a vision or visitation of Jesus. One description she gave of Him was as follows.

"His eyes were so penetrating that it seemed as if He looked through me."

This thought expresses how close He wants to be with us. He wants to be so close that we become the central focus of His vision and at the center of His attention. It is so close that we can see ourselves in His eyes.

"It is no coincidence that our eyes were created to reflect a mirror image of that which we are seeing. When a loving couple gazes into each other's eyes, they see themselves. The eyes of the Bride of Christ are like the eyes of the Shulamite (Heb. "completed one") in Song. 7:4 - the Beloved says they are like "pools of Heshbon." Heshbon is Hebrew for "reason" or "reckoning" (it became the modern Hebrew word for "account". When our Groom looks deeply into our eyes, He takes a reckoning, an account—a long "reflection" — and sees Himself. God is always exhorting us, His bride, to look into the pools (depths of His eyes—His mirror)."
— Glenn Carpenter "Connections"

Protective structures and reflexes also surround the eye. It can't help but react if something or someone threatens it.

... he who touches you touches the apple of His eye.
— Zechariah 2:8

Another interesting fact about the eyes is that they are the body's most complex organs, apart from the brain. We have a God and King who loves and adores us and can see all the complexities of our nature. We, women, are very complex, or could we say intricately designed creatures. We belong to a God who understands it all. He "gets" us!

The Father's Love

The things that dreams are made of
I dance in little girl's delight
Through the eyes of His redeeming love,
He took notice of my plight

I twirl in my little girl's dress of tulle
And giggle in joyful glee
The Father's love I have always yearned for
Has finally found me