Ezek. 16:8; Deut. 28:1, 15; Jer. 11:8; Gen. 6:5; John 10:27-28; Gal. 3:26-29; Rom. 4:16-17.

 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

 “In a small town, the clock in the jeweler’s window stopped one day at a quarter to nine. Many of the citizens had been depending on this clock to know the time. On this particular morning, business men and women glanced in the window and noticed it was only fifteen minutes to nine; children on their way to school were surprised to find they still had plenty of time to loiter. Many persons were late that morning because one small clock in the jeweler’s window had stopped.” — C. L. Paddock, God’s Minutes (Nashville, TN: Southern Publishing Association, 1965), p. 244, adapted.

 How accurate a representation of ancient Israel’s failure! The Lord placed Israel “in the midst of the nations” (Ezek. 5:5) — in the strategic bridgeland between three continents (Africa, Europe, and Asia). They were to be the spiritual “clock” of the world.

 Israel, however, like the clock in the jeweler’s window, in a sense, stopped. Yet, it was not a total failure; for then, as today, God has His faithful remnant. Our study this week focuses on the identity and role of God’s true Israel in every age, including our own.

 The Week at a Glance: What covenant promises did the Lord make to Israel? What conditions came with them? How well did the nation abide by those promises? What happened when they disobeyed?

 Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, May 8.