Why did God choose Israel to be His people?” This question has long troubled students of the Bible. After all, there were plenty of other nations around at the time God could have adopted instead. But He came only to Abram. In Deuteronomy 7, God answers the question by first explaining “It was not because you were more in number than any other people” (v7). Rather, God graciously chose Israel “because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers” (v8). Moreover, He chose them to be “a people holy to the Lord your God… a people for his treasured possession” (v6), that He might “bless [them] above all peoples” (v14). As the “true Israel of God” (Rom 9:6; Gal 6:16), the Church today is similarly called to be a people holy and blessed, “a chosen race… a holy nation, a people for his own possession” (1 Pet 2:9). What might we learn about God’s calling to holiness and His promise of blessing from Israel’s example? Join us for this sermon to find out!