God took a nation for
himself from all the peoples of the earth. If you’re Israel, that’s what you might
call a mixed blessing.
On the one hand, there
was lots of good stuff that came with being uniquely God’s. As Paul puts it to
the Romans, “to [Israelites] belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises”, and he goes on to mention the patriarchs and Messiah. Being a Jew was a
tremendous privilege.
On the other hand, as another Jew once put it, “With great power there must also come — great responsibility.”