Deuteronomy 7:6 “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.”
The Lord has been teaching us the principle of Divine Choice of a particular people from the very beginning of time. It first appeared when “the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect” (Genesis 4:4-5). Notice that “the LORD” had “chosen” to have “respect unto Abel and to his offering”, but He neither respected Cain’s offering nor did He “respect” Cain’s person. Many years later, Moses tells us that “… God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them” (Exodus 2:25). He had “respect unto them” because He had “chosen” them “to be a special people unto himself”. Later, He also told them that “the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth” (Deuteronomy 14:2). So, “the LORD” illustrated to us His Sovereign Power and Authority to choose “as special people unto himself”, to choose to have “respect unto them”, and to choose them “to be a peculiar people unto himself”. Thus, the principle of Divine Choice of a particular people is well established, and it prepares us to learn of His GRAND CHOICE of a “peculiar people” to “love” and to bless with Eternal Life with Him! Paul puts it this way, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:” (Ephesians 1:4). And Peter refers to these “chosen” as the “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father” (I Peter 1:2). We are even told that God had “chosen” to “love” this “peculiar people” with a “great love” (Ephesians 2:4). So, much like God had “chosen” Israel out of all the nations of the earth to worship and serve Him in time; even before the foundation of the world, He made choice of a particular people to be His very own, to love them, and to Eternally Save them to be with Him in His Eternal Heaven. Peter refers to them as “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people”; and he tells us that the reason for the choice is that “ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (I Peter 2:9). He even calls them His “jewels” (Malachi 3:17)! John saw these “chosen” “jewels” as “a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands” (Revelation 7:9). They wear “white robes” because they are made perfectly pure and righteous by our Lord’s sacrifice. They have “palms in their hands” to worshipfully proclaim our Lord’s Great Victory over the devil, over sin, over death, and over the grave!