majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Deuteronomy 14:1-2,
"You are the children of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves or
shave the front of your heads for the dead, for you are a people holy
to the Lord your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth,
the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured possession."
As I read these words it causes me to think of Paul's words in Romans
9:20-21, "Who are you, O man, to talk back to God? 'Shall what is
formed say to him who formed it, "Why did you make me like this?"'
Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of
clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?" Paul's
point here is that God has every right to choose who and what he
wants: he is God. A few verses later Paul says who it is God has
chosen and why he has chosen them. In Romans 9:30-32 we read, "What
then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue
righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but
Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. Why
not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works.
They stumbled over the 'stumbling stone.'"
So God has chosen or elected Gentiles. Why? Because they embraced
Jesus Christ by faith. The Jews largely passed over the righteousness
that is from God through the gospel in favor of establishing their own
by attempting to keep the law. Why did God choose Israel as his
children originally? Because of what we read in Genesis 15:6, "Abram
believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness."
Because of God's promise to Abraham, the man of faith, and his
offspring, of Israel Moses said, "You are the children of the Lord
your God." They were a people holy to the Lord. Out of all the peoples
on the face of the earth, the Lord chose Israel, as faithful Abraham's
offspring, to be his "treasured possession", because Abraham embraced
the Lord in faith. Later, as a nation, Israel did not embrace Jesus
Christ in faith. Some Jews did, as the entire early church was
comprised of only Jews. But as the gospel went to the Gentiles and was
embraced by them, the church grew in Gentile numbers.
God is the Creator of everything. He created the universe, the earth,
all that is in it - and he created us as well. As such he can and does
make his own decisions without checking in with me first. What he has
chosen is that all who will embrace him in faith will be his children,
holy, and set apart for himself.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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