"Ye are the children of the Lord your God.... Thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth." Deut. 14:1, 2; So spoke Moses to the children of Israel. Their reward for obedience to the moral law which he had given them was to be their elevation above the earthbound, fettering beliefs of world opinion based upon matter as cause. In these words he was also telling them who they were and how they were to regard themselves. Under the Ten Commandments they were to acknowledge God as their Father, their one and only cause. Should not we also do this?
In reading Moses' heartwarming statement, one might ask why this nation of people was to be so specially designated. The use of the word "peculiar" by the Biblical writer connotes those who are chosen by the Lord as a special possession. Study of Biblical history reveals that the children of Israel were set apart from the surrounding peoples by their worship of one God. This nation's acceptance of the invisible, living God as the only God necessarily resulted in rewards which appeared to the Israelites to be favored treatment.
How their obedience to the moral law as set forth in the Ten Commandments was to be recompensed was set forth in the words, "The Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments; and to make thee high above all nations... that thou mayest be an holy people unto the Lord thy God, as he hath spoken." 26: 18, 19;
