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ISRAEL CHOSEN AS A SPECIAL PEOPLE

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1

Deuteronomy 14:1-21
Hebrews 11:6-16
 
“…God is not ashamed

to be called their God…”

 

ISRAEL CHOSEN AS A SPECIAL PEOPLE
 
Deuteronomy 14:1 states that the Israelites were the children of the LORD their God. They were chosen as a special people from the time of the call of Abraham who obeyed without knowing where he was going. He took God at His word by faith. The Lord promised to give him and his descendants the land of Canaan and to multiply his seed as the stars of heaven.
 
It says in the book of Hebrews that Abraham and other patriarchs died in faith having not received the promises. They had seen them a far off and were persuaded of them and embraced them (Heb 11:13). God worked out all things and Jacob ended up in Egypt with all his family. After more than four hundred years, the Lord brought them out to settle in the land that He had told Abraham about. God brought them out of Egypt through Moses. The Exodus experience was such a great revelation to them of the power of the Almighty God. The Lord also humbled the children of God in the events that followed. This happened so that they would not be puffed up and misunderstand the favour of God.
 
The Lord also gave them commands for certain external observations. The command in Deuteronomy 14:1 seems to have its background in Egypt. Its mention suggests that Israel was familiar with that practice. Egyptian history reveals that the Egyptians had a special regard for the dead. They had an art of preserving the bodies to last for centuries. They also had many rituals associated with death. Moses knew this was a practice of the heathen nations, and thus Israel would be acknowledging the power of other gods when they followed those practices. They were not to do so because they were a holy people unto the Lord.
 
THOUGHT: The LORD chose Israel to be a peculiar people unto Himself.

PRAYER: Father, grant me faith like that of Abraham.

 

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