Deuteronomy 7:6

Deuteronomy records the final speeches of Moses to the Israelite people before their entry into Canaan — the land they had been promised after 40 years of wandering in the desert following their escape from slavery in Egypt. Moses was the leader God used to free the Israelites from Egypt and guide them through the wilderness. In this verse, he reminds the people of their identity: God has chosen them. Not because of their size or strength — Moses elsewhere explicitly notes they were among the smaller nations — but as a deliberate act of sovereign love. The Hebrew word translated 'treasured possession' (segullah) described a king's personal treasury: items kept close not for their utility but for their personal value to him. The implication is intimate. Israel is not merely God's instrument or project. They are his prized, personally chosen treasure.

Father, I do not fully understand why you chose me, and I often do not feel like a treasure. But today I want to receive what you say is true: I am yours. Help me live from that identity instead of endlessly trying to prove I deserve it. Amen.

There is something deeply unsettling — and deeply beautiful — about being chosen for no obvious reason. The Israelites were not selected because they were impressive. Moses essentially tells them elsewhere: you were the smallest nation, you were stubborn, you kept failing. God just wanted you. The word for 'treasured possession' described a king's private collection — the things he kept close not because they were useful, but because they mattered to him personally. Not a tool. Not a project. A treasure. The question this verse raises is not academic. It sits closer to the bone than most of us are comfortable with: do you actually believe you are wanted? Not just tolerated, not just useful when you are performing well — but specifically, deliberately chosen? Most people carry a quiet background fear that if God really saw the full version of them — the unedited file, the 3 AM version — the choosing would eventually be reconsidered. But this verse was spoken to people who had just spent 40 years failing in the desert. God was not reassessing. He was reminding. You are holy. You are chosen. You are his. The invitation is to start living from that truth instead of perpetually striving toward it.