Deuteronomy 14:2 A people for God’s own possession

When you read the Old Testament, there are a lot of passages that we don’t know what to do with today.  Strange practices, like in Deuteronomy 14:1, where the people were told not to cut themselves or shave their foreheads for the sake of the dead.

I don’t think that will be much of a problem today.  Two verses later, it talks about not eating any abomination.  And then God outlines for them what animals they may eat or not eat. 

Much of what God told them people follow today, though we do eat pork and shrimp and lobster and crabs, which God had forbidden those people then.

So is there any value in reading stuff like this? 

Deuteronomy 14:2 should get our attention: ² “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

Our first response, of course, is that this is something that God said to Israel.  THEY are a holy people to the Lord, a people for His own possession. 

And that is true.

But so are you.

Because the Old Testament was written in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek, it is often hard to see which expressions in each Testament are equivalent to each other.  But fortunately, the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek before the time of the New Testament, and the New Testament writers generally used that when they referred to the Old Testament. 

So when God called the Israelites a holy people, the New Testament calls believers that all the time: we are saints. (Romans 1:7, I Corinthians 1:2, II Corinthians 1:1, Ephesians 1:1 et al.)

When the Old Testament calls the Israelites a people for God’s own possession, the Greek Bible calls that λαὸς περιούσιος [la - os´ periou´sios], which translates as a chosen people, a people of a very special status.  Titus 2:14 has that exact expression: ¹⁴ who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession [λαὸν περιούσιον], zealous for good deeds.

And that is speaking about every believer today.  I Peter 2:9 has a very similar expression:

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

The expression is a little different here in the Greek, but it is the same for another way that the Greek Old Testament translates that first Hebrew expression.

The point is that you, a believer in Jesus Christ, are yourself a holy people, a people of God’s own possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.

In Deuteronomy, it says that because of that, the people should live differently than all those other people, and we should too.

How?

Rather than tell you what I think you should do or do differently, just be conscious of the fact that you are a chosen people of God, a special people out of all the people in the world, God’s special people.

The Hebrew word for possession here is סְגֻלָּה [s^e – gul´ - lah] which means  1. valued property, special treasure, one that belongs only to this one person  2. treasure.  Like a person might have a coin collection or antiques which are his own special prized possession. 

That is how God regards His people.  That is how God regards you.

So when you are out and about, remember who you belong to and who you are.