The Peculiar Treasure of Believers

At a glance

Relevant Scripture

“Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:”

Exodus 19:5 KJV

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Chapter 10 of the LibriVox recording of According to Promise, streamed directly from the Internet Archive (public domain, CC0).

UECF.NET summary

Spurgeon takes up Exodus 19:5, in which God calls a redeemed people His “peculiar treasure” though the whole earth already belongs to Him, and applies it to the promises entrusted uniquely to believers. Just as ordinary metal becomes treasure not by changing its nature but by whose hand sets it apart, so believers are made valuable not by any excellence of their own but because God, in grace, has chosen to prize and keep them as His own.

The chapter dwells on the particularity of this treasure: it is not scattered indiscriminately but reserved, much as a person keeps certain possessions apart from common use. God's promises, in this picture, are not general goodwill toward the world at large but a specific, covenanted inheritance given to those who are His by grace through faith. This does not diminish God's kindness to all humanity, but it does mean the deepest promises are not universal property.

Spurgeon's pastoral aim is to lift discouraged believers who feel ordinary, overlooked, or unremarkable by the world's standards. Being unnoticed by the world is entirely compatible with being treasured by God; in fact, Scripture repeatedly chooses the weak, the poor, and the overlooked to be a peculiar treasure, so that the value plainly lies in God's own choice and love rather than in anything the treasure could claim for itself.

Main theological themes

• Exodus 19:5's image of a treasure set apart, not by its own worth but by whose hand claims it
• The particularity of God's covenant promises as belonging distinctly to His own people, not to the world in general
• God's habit of treasuring the overlooked, so that the honor is plainly His gift rather than their achievement

Key ideas

• A treasure's value comes from whose possession it is, not merely from its own qualities.
• God's specific covenant promises are not the common property of all humanity, however kind He is to all.
• Being overlooked by the world is no evidence of being overlooked by God.
• Scripture consistently shows God choosing the weak and unremarkable to be His peculiar treasure.

Important concepts

• Peculiar treasure — Exodus 19:5's term for a possession specially set apart and prized by its owner, applied here to believers as God's own chosen people.
• Particular promises — Covenant promises given specifically to those in relationship with God through faith, distinct from His general kindness to all creation.

Related Bible references

• Deuteronomy 7:6
• 1 Peter 2:9–10
• Malachi 3:17
• Titus 2:14

Practical Christian application

• When you feel overlooked or ordinary, remind yourself deliberately of your standing as God's peculiar treasure.
• Thank God specifically that His promises are not vague goodwill but a particular inheritance kept for His own.
• Treat a fellow believer this week as the treasure God considers them to be, regardless of outward appearance.

Questions for study