A treasured possession, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation

God made a pretty awesome covenant with the people of Israel. 

After pulling them out of Egypt and bringing them to himself, he now promised to make them his own treasured possession, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.

Of all the people on the earth, of all the nations, God chose them. 

They were to be his own special treasure. 

They were to be priests for him to the nations around them. 

All nations would come to know him through Israel. 

And they were to be a nation set apart for himself.

There was only one catch:

They had to fully obey him and keep his covenant. 

And unfortunately, they were unable keep their end of the deal.  Time and again, they would break their covenant with God by serving other gods.

God is by no means done with the people of Israel. 

Paul said of them that they are still loved on account of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and that, “God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:29) 

Based on this, I have to believe that God still has a special plan in store for them.

But God now says of us Christians the very same things he once said of Israel. 

In 1 Peter 2:9, Peter says,

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

What is the difference between us and Israel? 

Really there’s only one thing.  Theirs was a covenant based on works.  As long as they kept the law of God, they would be fine.  But when they messed up, they lost everything.

We, on the other hand, live on the principle of God’s grace. 

It’s not because of what we’ve done that we’ve become his priests, his special possession, and his holy nation.  Instead, it’s because of what Christ did for us 2000 years ago on a cross. 

He took the punishment for our sins, and now, the only thing we have to do, is to put our trust in him and the work he’s already done on the cross.

Just as God pulled the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, he pulled us out of slavery to sin in Satan’s kingdom and brought us to himself. 

As Peter says, God has called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. 

Peter goes on to say in verse 10,

Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:10)

So what do we take from this? 

Let’s start living like the people we are. 

There’s nothing sadder than Christians who think they’re nobodies. 

Who think that they’re nothing special. 

Who can’t figure out why God would love them, and could never imagine that God could use them for His kingdom.

But God says that he chose you. 

Think about it. 

Of all the people in the world, he chose you. 

He thought enough about you to choose you. 

He knew your personality.  He knew your strengths and weaknesses.  He knew your past, present, and future. 

And he still chose you.

You are his special possession. 

You’re like a jewel that God likes to show off to his angels. 

Jesus puts it this way:  You’re a pearl of great price that he was willing to give away everything for, even his life, in order to purchase you.  (Matthew 13:45-46)

As one person put it, if you were the only one who had sinned and needed Jesus to die for you, he still would have done it.  That’s how special you are to him.

You are his priest. 

We don’t need another person to stand between us and God.  We have direct access to him through Jesus Christ.  He is our high priest. 

But now he asks you, as his priest, to proclaim his praises so that others may come to know him as well.

You are part of his holy nation. 

You are not alone.  You are part of a larger body of people called the church. 

And together, you are set apart by God to make a difference together in this world. 

So as the writer of Hebrews said,

Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25)