Being God’s chosen people was a tremendous privilege, but it also carried with it a great deal of responsibility. Since God chose them and revealed himself to them in a unique way, more than he did for any other people, he also had very high standards for Israel. Much of Israel’s national history recorded in the Hebrew Bible is the story of Israel’s failure to keep the high standards of holiness God set for them and to give God their undivided and undiluted worship, and therefore it is also the story of God’s judgment on them for their sins. The Jews thus looked at the world and their place in
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