When God brought Israel out of the bondage of Egypt, they were not just one nation among many. They were, to God,
“a special treasure…above all people” (Ex. 19:5).
Forty years later, He said it again:
“…the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth” (Deut. 7:6; 14:2; 26:18).
Interestingly, that was conditional, if they would “obey” Him and “keep” His commandments” (Ex. 19:5).
When God brought you out of the bondage of sin, you were not just some randomly saved person. You were, to God, a part of His blood-bought church (Acts 20:28), for whom Christ “gave Himself,” that He might “purify for Himself His own special people” (Tit. 2:14). The church of the Bible (i.e., “the Israel of God” today, Gal. 6:16) is “a people for God’s own possession” (1 Pet. 2:9, NASB). Being special to God today is conditional, “teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age” (Tit. 2:12).
Are you one of God’s special people? What a thought—to be special to God!
