had chosen for relationship with him. What is most telling at this point is that God’s decision to save the Israelites from Egypt was not based on their adherence to the law, since the law had not yet been given. Instead, he chose to save them because of who they were, namely, the people of Israel, descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. When the law was given later at Sinai, it was given not as the means of establishing a relationship with God (since the Israelites were already in relationship