On Being Greatly Loved

Knowing about God’s great love for us matters so very much:

I have again just been through the book of Daniel in my annual reading of the whole Bible. I noted one phrase that especially grabbed my attention. And when I read it three times in two chapters, I thought I better sit up and take notice.

It seems to only be found here in the book of Daniel. Sure, it resembles other biblical claims about how God thinks of his people, but this one is somewhat unique. The phrase in question is this: “greatly loved”. And here are the three places that it is found:

At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word and understand the vision. (Daniel 9:23)

And he said to me, “O Daniel, man greatly loved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for now I have been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. (Daniel 10:11)

And he said, “O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage.” And as he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.” (Daniel 10:19)

I have used the ESV here. Other versions have slightly different renderings of the term in question such as “highly esteemed” or “greatly beloved” or “precious” or “treasured”. All are suitable translations of the Hebrew. And these words should have strong appeal to all Christians today.

Image of Daniel (Evangelical Exegetical Commentary) — Daniel (Evangelical Exegetical Commentary) by J. Paul Tanner (Author), House, H. Wayne (Editor)

In his somewhat recent 800-page exegetical commentary on Daniel (Lexham Press, 2020), J. Paul Tanner said this about the Dan. 9:23 passage:

In the realm of mankind, those who are typically admired – society’s heroes – are those who have made some great achievement or who possessed some great skill. For example, they might be some phenomenal sports legend like Michael Jordan or Babe Ruth. Or they might be some notable politician, famous actor, wealthy philanthropist, brilliant scientist, or courageous explorer. What draws the admiration of people is what they have done or achieved. While it is not wrong to applaud such achievements (especially record-setting ones), God has a different value system. Daniel was a man whom God considered “highly esteemed,” yet he was not what the world might consider a hero. Rather, he was a man of faith, integrity, and prayer, values the world would hardly consider as praiseworthy. From an eternal perspective, however, those who receive the praise of God will be far better off than those who receive the greater applause on earth. Why? Because God gives eternal rewards, and they don’t necessarily go to great athletes, actors, and scientists. Rather, they go to men and women who lived lives of faith, persevered in prayer, remained faithful through trials, and glorified Jesus Christ while on earth. God’s praise – “you are highly esteemed” – should be what every Christian longs to hear from the Master who will one day come again!

Back in late 2007 John Piper presented a short devotional on this called “You Are Greatly Loved”. It goes like this:

“We all once lived among [the sons of disobedience] in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved.” Ephesians 2:3–5, 8

Would you not love to hear the angel Gabriel say to you, “You are greatly loved”?

He also lists the three texts from Daniel and then goes on to say this:

I admit that each year when I read through the Bible and come to these verses, I want to take them and apply them to myself. I want to hear God saying to me, “You are greatly loved.” In fact, I do hear this. And you can hear it too. If you have faith in Jesus, God himself says to you in his word — which is more sure than an angel of God speaking — “You are greatly loved.”

There it stands in Ephesians 2:3–5, 8: We “were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. . . . For by grace you have been saved through faith.”

This is the only place where Paul uses this wonderful phrase “great love.” And it is better than an angel’s voice. If you have seen Jesus as true and received him as your supreme treasure, that is, if you are “alive,” you are greatly loved. Greatly loved by the Creator of the universe. Just think of it! Greatly loved!

Yes, we all need to think about this deeply, prayerfully, and often. There is nothing much greater than to meditate on these words and soak them in – words from the father heart of God. There are countless Christians – me included – who regularly wonder if God can really love them.

We can feel so undeserving of his love. We can doubt how he would see us as being precious in his sight, or treasured, or highly esteemed. But that IS how he views his children. That is his take on us. Such is his deep, deep love.

Consider the wonderful 1920 hymn, “The Love of God is Greater Far”:

The love of God is greater far
  Than tongue or pen can ever tell.
It goes beyond the highest star
  And reaches to the lowest hell.
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
  God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled
  And pardoned from his sin.

O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

When hoary time shall pass away,
  And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall;
When men who here refuse to pray,
  On rocks and hills and mountains call;
God’s love, so sure, shall still endure,
  All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
  The saints’ and angels’ song.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
  And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
  And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
  Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
  Though stretched from sky to sky.

One discussion of this hymn shows that it has a long history. It seems it first came from “Akdamut Millan – an 11^th century Hebrew poem that was written by Rabbi Meir Ben Isaac Nehorai – a cantor, or ‘synagogue singer,’ from Worms, Germany.” The article continues:

As F. M. Lehman and his daughter, Mrs. W. W. Mays, worked together on composing a new hymn entitled The Love of God, they suffered from writer’s block after having penned only two stanzas. The year was 1917, and at that time you simply had to have three complete verses (reflecting the perfect Trinity), or you didn’t have a song!

During their travels, the father/daughter team came across a German insane asylum. One of the prisoners had recently been put to death, and when the soldiers examined his cell afterwards they found the following words penciled onto the walls of his prison:

          “Could we with ink the ocean fill,

            And were the skies of parchment made,

            Were every stalk on earth a quill,

            And every man a scribe by trade;

            To write the love of God above,

            Would drain the ocean dry.

            Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

            Though stretched from sky to sky.”

Perhaps the man had heard the old Hebrew prayer, and now, in a moment of lucidity, had translated it into his own language. F. M. Lehman and his daughter were amazed – the words etched onto the walls of this asylum matched the rhythm of their new hymn perfectly. They inserted these words as the third and final verse of their hymn, and published The Love of God by 1920. https://theartisticchristian.wordpress.com/2014/01/23/the-love-of-god-medieval-prayer-to-modern-hymn/