Special Treasure
When God brought the children of Israel out of bondage, He instructed Moses to tell them this: “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine” (Exodus 19:5). 
God intended for Israel to have a special relationship with Him beyond that of all the other nations. The people, however, rebelled, and did not fulfill God’s desires for them to be this special people (Jeremiah 31:31-34). So, God made a New Covenant through His Son, Jesus. In this covenant, God has reaffirmed His desire to have a special relationship. Titus 2:14 states, “[Jesus] gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” Peter affirms that message in 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” What God could not accomplish through the physical nation of Israel, He accomplishes through the spiritual nation of Israel, the church.
The word for “special” has the connotation of keeping something around as a treasure. I have a small “treasure box” in my bedroom in which I keep mementos from special occasions in my life. They are not valuable to anyone else, but to me they are priceless because of what they mean to me. They are my special treasures. That is a limited illustration because people are so much more valuable than things. God is saying, “I value you above everything else because of what you mean to me.” Do we see ourselves as that special people?