I Chose Israel

Ezekiel 20:5-6 (ESV)

5 and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day when I chose Israel, I swore to the offspring of the house of Jacob, making myself known to them in the land of Egypt; I swore to them, saying, I am the LORD your God. 6 On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands.

Out of all the peoples of the world, the Lord chose Israel as His own. Through them He would bring His light into the world, first through the law that prepare the way for the light that would come in the flesh of man. 

From that time on, man would choose the Lord to receive His light. There is a distinction between being chosen by the Lord and answering His call. It is the distinction that is in view when the people of God are described as those who have the word of God and those who have the testimony of Jesus Christ.