This small people, however, were intended to lead the world, and lead it in every sense of the word. That they might lead instead of being led, He made them a peculiar people unto Himself, giving them in the first place the rite of circumcision, which put a barrier forever between the believer in the God of Israel and all the nations of the world. This separation was for a purpose. The fact that they were to be peculiar in the eyes of the other nations was merely a precautionary step, not a thing of importance in itself. God had a mission for the nation; and in order that it might be accomplished, every effort must be bent in that direction. Oneness of purpose is a divine law; and that Israel might lead, Israel must occupy a position in advance of all other peoples.
Planes of existence
Men live on various planes. There are those so constituted physically as to be content with the gratification of physical wants and desires. These can readily be led by men who live on a mental plane; for mind has ever been recognized as superior to matter, so that without knowing it, the physically strong yields to his mental superior. Almost unconscious of his power, the man on the mental plane guides and controls those on the physical plane; he can not help it. It is a natural law; the one leads, the other follows. Two individuals, one living in one of these spheres and the other in the sphere above, will never contend on account of principle; for the man physically organized finds it natural to follow the dictates of the other. This is, and always has been, the condition of society. Nature herself singles out the leaders. They are born, not made, for leadership. They are the few, it is true; the masses always prefer to be led.
But it was not as mere mental leaders that God called Israel. There is above the mental a still higher plane, the ladder to reach which is scaled by very few. As the numbers decrease while passing from the physical to the mental plane, so they decrease yet more in passing from the mental to the spiritual plane.
How men reach the spiritual plane
Man reaches this highest plane of existence only by faith. It requires constant self-denial and continual development. In reality it is living as seeing Him who is invisible. The physical man depends almost entirely on knowledge gained through the senses. The mentally developed depends upon reason. Many combine these two natures, and such individuals are guided by the sense of reason just in proportion as the two natures are developed. Knowledge as a result of sense perceptions and finite reason capture the majority of mankind. The life of faith, the walking with God, takes in the few.
Israel should live on the spiritual plane
Do you see why God chose a small people? He chose them, as a nation, to be priests or teachers unto Himself. As individuals, and as a nation, Israel was to stand upon the spiritual plane, attaining and maintaining the position by a life of faith. Standing there, it would be in accordance with the natural law for all on the lower planes to yield obedience. As the mental controls the physical without any friction, so the spiritual controls all others. Therefore (for this reason) said the Lord, “I have taught you statutes and judgments.... Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”[18]
Israel as teachers of the world