Precious in the eyes of God are ten things called precious: wealth, as it is said, "A man's wealth is his strong city" (Proverbs 10:15); the Torah, as it is said, "For she is more precious than rubies" (Proverbs 3:15); Israel, as it is said, "Ephraim is a precious son to Me" (Jeremiah 31:20); knowledge, as it is said, "Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man's dwelling" (Proverbs 21:20); prophecy, as it is said, "And the word of the Lord was precious in those days" (1 Samuel 3:1); understanding, as it is said, "The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts" (Proverbs 20:27); foolishness, as it is said, "Folly is set in great dignity, while the rich sit in a lowly place" (Ecclesiastes 10:6); the righteous, as it is said, "How precious are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!" (Psalm 139:17); kindness, as it is said, "How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!" (Psalm 36:8); and the death of the righteous, as it is said, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints" (Psalm 116:15). It is like a parable of a king who sent one of his officials to collect his taxes. The official stayed with a homeowner for eleven days, and each day he entrusted the homeowner with a hundred coins, totaling ten thousand coins.
When the official came to collect the taxes, the homeowner claimed that he only owed fifty coins. The official wondered how he could collect the remaining amount from the homeowner. Similarly, God found it difficult to ask Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, whom He had blessed with Heaven and Earth, and who sanctified God's name in the world. God also found it difficult to ask Isaac to be sacrificed, who willingly offered himself on the altar and sanctified God's name in the world.
God found it difficult to ask Jacob to die, who toiled in Torah his whole life. God found it difficult to ask Moses to die, who risked his life to face Pharaoh and fulfill God's commandments. Similarly, God found it difficult to ask David to die, who completed his soul and descended to his eternal rest. The same goes for Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, who cast themselves into the fiery furnace, and for all righteous people.
If not for the fact that the righteous ask for death with their mouths, they would not die. As for Abraham it is written (Genesis 15:2) "And I am going alone, childless." In Isaac it is written (Genesis 27:7) "And I will bless you before I die." In Jacob it is written (Genesis 37:35) "I will go down to the grave in mourning."
In Moses it is written (Deuteronomy 4:22) "But I must die." In David it is written (1 Kings 2:2) "I am about to go the way of all the earth." In Jonah it is written (Jonah 4:3) "Please, take my life." And since the righteous ask with their mouths, God said: "Let these go because of those."
If Abraham had lived, how would he have led Isaac's reign? And similarly, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, and Solomon. Rather, God said: "Let these go because of those."