“Praise the Lord! How good to sing praises to our God! How delightful and how fitting! The Lord is rebuilding Jerusalem and bringing the exiles back to Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds. He counts the stars and calls them all by name. How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension! The Lord supports the humble, but he brings the wicked down into the dust. Sing out your thanks to the Lord; sing praises to our God with a harp. He covers the heavens with clouds, provides rain for the earth, and makes the grass grow in mountain pastures. He gives food to the wild animals and feeds the young ravens when they cry. He takes no pleasure in the strength of a horse or in human might. No, the Lord’s delight is in those who fear him, those who put their hope in his unfailing love. Glorify the Lord, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! For he has strengthened the bars of your gates and blessed your children within your walls. He sends peace across your nation and satisfies your hunger with the finest wheat. He sends his orders to the world— how swiftly his word flies! He sends the snow like white wool; he scatters frost upon the ground like ashes. He hurls the hail like stones. Who can stand against his freezing cold? Then, at his command, it all melts. He sends his winds, and the ice thaws. He has revealed his words to Jacob, his decrees and regulations to Israel. He has not done this for any other nation; they do not know his regulations. Praise the Lord!”
Psalms 147:1-20 NLT
God’s relationship with Israel is a unique one. To them alone did he reveal himself through the giving of his word and the placing of the messiah. They are indeed a special people for no other reason than that God has shown them this favor. They are special despite every way in which they are not. Because of this favor, they are special despite every way they choose to conform to the nations around them. They are indeed unique among the other nations. They were crafted directly by God’s involvement in the seed of a woman who was barren. And a man who could not produce a legacy. They are God’s legacy among the nations and their gods. However, the blessings that they possess in the law and the prophets and the messiah are not for them alone. God made them his own among the nations that all nations might see a way to him. That they might return to their lineage in Seth and Noah and be a people of righteousness. Indeed the Jews are blessed because they carry the word of God, but they carry it to the nations that surround. God is not the god of the Jews alone. He is truly God all people. He is the God of every nation. He is the God before every god. There is not a thing that will not one day fall before this truth in worship. First the Jews and then the gentiles.
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