IS IT WORTH IT?

I am so excited to be here today…

I want to share with you a new word I invented… Plagerism

Ecclesiastes 1:9 KJV 1900

The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

As preachers, we are a conglomeration of other preachers and the messages we preach are made up of other messages. There is no new thing under the sun,

King James Version Chapter 1

and there is no new thing under the sun.

Psalm 119:89 KJV 1900

LAMED. For ever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven.

And so it is with this. we take the Word of God at face value and try to make a valuable application. We ask the question, “How does this apply to me, and how do I use it to make my life better?”

(KJV)

15  So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.

Turning Points with God: 365 Daily Devotions January 12: The Kohinoor Diamond

Queen Victoria received the stunning Kohinoor diamond as a gift from a maharajah when he was a boy. Later, as a grown man, this maharajah visited Queen Victoria again and asked for the stone. Taking the diamond and kneeling, the maharajah gave it to the queen again, saying, “Your Majesty, I gave you this jewel when I was a child, too young to know what I was doing. I want to give it to you again in the fullness of my strength, with all my heart and affection and gratitude, now and forever, fully realizing all that I do.”

Many Christians gave their hearts to Jesus as children, but how wonderful to come with greater knowledge and maturity and to say, “I know I’m Yours, but I want to be Yours with all my heart and affection, fully realizing all that I do.”

Sometimes we need to renew our vows to Him, just as Peter did following the Resurrection. Sacrificing for God is worth it, and a renewed commitment is like a fresh start with a tried-and-true Friend.

Are you His in the totality of your life?

15  So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.

The Koh-i-Noor is a 106 carats diamond which was once the largest diamond in the world.

Previously, it has belonged to various rulers in India; today it lies in the hands of the British royal family and is part of the Crown Jewels.

Legend says that the diamond is 5000 years old and was referred to in Sanskrit writings as the Syamantaka jewel.

But the first document that attests the history of the Koh-I-Noor dates back to 1526 when the Indian conqueror Babur had it in his possession. He mentioned that the diamond was owned by the Raja of Gwalior in the 13th century.

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Kohinoor Diamond in History

The diamond belonged to various Indian and Persian rulers who fought bitter battles throughout history.

The Koh-I-Noor was mounted on the Peaccock Throne, the Mughal throne of India. It is said that Shah Jahan, the ruler who commanded the building of the throne and that of the Taj Mahal was imprisoned by his son and he could only ever see the Taj Mahal again through the reflection of the diamond.

Later, Shah’s son, Aurangazeb brought the Koh-I-Noor to the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore. It was robbed from there by Nadir Shah who took the diamond to Persia in 1739, but the diamond found its way back to Punjab in 1813 after the deposed ruler of Afghanistan, Shuja Shah Durrani took it to India and made a deal to surrender the diamond in exchange for help in winning back the Afghan throne.

The Brits came across the gem when they conquered Punjab in 1849, and Queen Victoria got it in 1851. The stone was then at 186 carats as before this point, the diamond was not cut.

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Kohinoor, a diamond-with a history

Along with over 2000 other diamonds, the Koh-I-Noor was mounted on the Crown. For a more elaborate history of the diamond, head to our history section.

Since getting into British hands, the Koh-I-Noor was used by Queen Victoria, Queen Alexandra (wife of King Edward VII), Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. The diamond is wore only be female members of the British Royal Family.

As of today, the Koh-I-Noor is on display in the Tower of London with the Crown Jewels. There is unknown the exact value of Kohinoor.

Kohinoor Facts

The name means “Mountain of Light” in Persian. It is believed that the name was first used by Nader Shah who took possession of the diamond in 1739. Prior to this date, the name Kohinoor wasn’t used.

There is an alleged curse on the Kohinoor that affects males who wear it (but females are immune). Since being in the possession of Queen Victoria, only women wore the diamond.

It is believed that the famous Darya-ye Noor diamond is the Kohinoor’s double. The Darya-ye Noor is hosted in Iran and has 182 carats.

Both India and Pakistan claim the diamond should be handed by the British back to them.

Kohinor Diamond Cutting

When the Koh-i-noor diamond arrived in the hands of the British royal family it weighed 186 carats (37 grams).

Prince Albert carefully searched for a diamond cutter with a very good reputation and headed to Netherlands where he gave the mission to cut the diamond to a certain Mr Cantor who began the difficult task of cutting it. Mr.

Cantor worked 38 days on the diamond.

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Kohinoor diamond cutting

The diamond was cut into an oval shape and the weight was reduced to its current form and weigh of 108.93 carats.

According to witnesses Prince Albert wasn’t satisfied of the cutting work as the diamond did not shine as much as before.

The Kohinoor is one of the oldest and most famous diamonds in the world.

The history of Kohinoor diamond goes back in history to more than 5000 years ago.

The current name of the diamond, Koh-i-noor is in Persian and means “Mountain of Light”. Below you will find a timeline of this priceless diamond.

Up to 1500

It is believed that the diamond was first mentioned more than 5000 years ago in a Sanskrit script, where it was called the Syamantaka.

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Syamantaka

It is worth mentioning that there is only speculation that the Syamantaka and the Kohinoor are the same diamond. After this first written mention, for over 4,000 years the diamond is not mentioned.

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Maharajah Ranjit Singh

Up until 1304 the diamond was in the possession of the Rajas of Malwa, but back then, the diamond was still not named Kohinoor. In 1304, it belonged to the Emperor of Delhi, Allaudin Khilji.

In 1339, the diamond was taken back to the city of Samarkand, where it stayed for almost 300 years. In 1306 in a Hindi writing, a curse is placed on the men who will wear the diamond: “He who owns this diamond will own the world, but will also know all its misfortunes. Only God, or a woman, can wear it with impunity.”

Babur

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Babur

In 1526 the Mogul ruler Babur mentions the diamond in his writings, Baburmama.

The diamond was gifted to him by the Sultan Ibrahim Lodi.

He was the one who described the diamond’s value equal to half-day production costs of the world.

One of the descendants of Babur, Aurangzeb , protected the diamond diligently and passed it on to his heirs.

Mahamad, the grandson of Aurangzeb, however, was not a fear-inspiring and great ruler like his grandfather.

Nadir and Mahamad

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Nadir Shah

The Persian general Nadir Shah went to India in 1739. He wanted to conquer the throne, which had been weakened during the reign of Sultan Mahamad. The Sultan lost the decisive battle and had to surrender to Nadir.

It was him the one that gave the diamond its current name, Koh-i-noor meaning “Mountain of light”.

But Nadir Shah did not live for long, because in 1747 he was assassinated and the diamond got to one of his generals, Ahmad Shah Durrani.

A descendant of Ahmad Shah, Shah Shuja Durrani brought the Koh-i-noor back to India in 1813 and gave it to Ranjit Singh (the founder of the Sikh Empire). In exchange Ranjit Singh helped Shah Shuja get back the throne of Afghanistan.

British East India Company

In 1849, after the conquest of the Punjab by the British forces, the properties of the Sikh Empire were confiscated.

The Koh-i-noor was transferred to the treasury of the British East India Company in Lahore.

The properties of the Sikh Empire were taken as war compensations. Even one line of the Treaty of Lahore was dedicated to the fate of the Koh-i-Noor.

The diamond was shipped to Britain on a ship where cholera broke out and supposedly the keeper of the diamond lost it for some days and it was returned to him by his servant.

The diamond was handed to Queen Victoria in July 1850.

Queen Victoria

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Kohinoor diamond in Queen-s Victoria brooch

When Nadir Shah heard of the diamond, he decided he wants it in his possession.

After the diamond was handed to Queen Victoria, it was exhibited at the Crystal Palace a year later. But the “Mountain of Light” was not shiny as the other cut gemstones of that era and there was a general disappointment regarding it.

In 1852 the Queen decided to reshape the diamond and it was taken to a Dutch jeweler, Mr Cantor who cut it to 108.93 carats.

Queen Victoria wore the diamond occasionally afterwards. She left in her will that the Koh-i-noor should only be worn by a female queen.

If the head of state was a man, his wife would have to carry the diamond. After Queen Victoria’s death, the Kohinoor became part of the Crown Jewels.

Exact value of the Kohinoor Diamond is not known, but in the 1500s it was considered that the diamond’s value corresponds to about half of the world’s total production costs in one day.

Of course, with a diamond so unique, it is hard to put a monetary value attached to it.

The fact that it never changed hands through a documented sale doesn’t help our evaluation. The Kohinoor was always stolen, bartered or gifted and never sold.

Although the Kohinoor is not the biggest diamond in the world right now, its romantic history and the fact that it was used by some of the world’s most imposing historical figures makes it priceless.

As comparison the most expensive documented sale of a diamond occurred around 60 years ago, when the Graff pink was sold in Hong Kong for $46 million.

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Kohinoor Diamond, Queen Elizabeth Crown

The Graff pink weighs “only” 24.78 carats compared to the 106 carats that the Koh-i-noor weighs though.

Even if the value of the Kohinoor diamond is not known, it is part of the Crown Jewels, and the whole value of the Crown Jewels is between $10 and $12 billion. The Kohinoor is definitely one of the more expensive diamonds in the collection.