"For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; 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" (Deuteronomy 7:6 NKJV).

This verse, and also verses 7 & 8, are my favorites in Deuteronomy. Israel had "most favored nation" status with Almighty God. So do His people today. God chose them to be a holy people and considered them His special treasure. That is true today of you and me. We are "a chosen people...a holy nation...a people belonging to God" (1 Peter 2:9).

God did not set His love on Israel because they were the largest nation on earth. In fact, they were "the least of all people." God loved them (love is mentioned 22 times in this book) because of the covenant He had made with their fathers. We serve a covenant-keeping God who loves us and calls us His special treasure. Do not think that you are not worth loving or that your life has no value. That is a tool of the devil. God has always wanted His people to know that He has chosen them, loves them, and will keep covenant with them. That is why we should be "a holy people." How could we neglect or disappoint a God who considers us a treasure beyond measure?

Praise: God of our fathers, whose almighty hand leads forth in beauty all the starry band of shining worlds in splendor thru the skies, our grateful songs before Thy throne arise. Thy love divine hath led us in the past, in this free land by Thee our lot is cast; be Thou our Ruler, Guardian, Guide, and Stay, Thy Word our law, Thy paths our chosen way (Daniel C. Roberts).