Read: Deuteronomy 7:6-9, 9:5-7; 1 Peter 2:9; Titus 3:3-8; Ephesians 2:8-9Do you ever wonder why God chose the Jews? He could have chosen any nation in the world to establish His covenant with, but He decided to pick the nation of Israel. Throughout history, the Jews have been scapegoats. Even today, teenagers will call someone "a Jew" as a cut-down or slur against them. We all know by now of Mel Gibson's repeated obscene slander of the Jews, which has been broadcast all over the world. So why would God pick this nation, which the world deems so lowly? Wouldn't it make more sense if God chose a nation which was known as a world-power, a nation everyone stood in awe of because of their greatness and strength? If it was up to us, we would pick a nation that was considered great in a worldly sense, but God's ways are not our ways...and praise God for that! Let's look at God's reasoning for selecting such an obstinate people for His own.
In Deuteronomy 7:6, we read, "For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the people who are on the face of the earth." God picked Abraham to be the father of the nation of Israel, and He established His covenant with this nation, naming them His chosen people above all others. You would think that God must have chosen the Jews because they were just an exceptionally great group of people. However, you don't have to read much of Jewish history to quickly realize that that was definitely not the case.
In verses 7-8, Moses writes, "The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the Lord loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the Lord brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh of Egypt." We see here that there was nothing significant about Israel that set them apart from their surrounding nations. Israel was definitely an "underdog" nation, and they were few in number. We read that God chose Israel because He loved them, and that love was not based on anything they had done. He chose them because He had made a covenant with them, that they would be His own people, and He would always honor that covenant.
Moses explicitly tells the Jews that they did nothing to merit this election from God in Deut. 5-7. He says, "Know then, it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stubborn people," and reminds them "to not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath" (Deut 9:6-7a). The Jews were a rebellious group of people, not a saintly nation that deserved God's favor! Again and again, they provoked God to anger by sinning and wandering away from Him. Though they often turned their backs on God, God never left them. They didn't deserve God's faithfulness, but they received it by grace, because God loved them and would not break His promise to them.
If you are a believer in Christ, you know full well that your election was not a result of your own goodness. I know better than anyone else how little I deserve a spot in His kingdom, and I'm sure you feel the same way. In Titus 3:5, we're reminded, "He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy." Much like Israel, believers in Christ were chosen "before the foundation of the earth," and are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession" (Eph 1:4, 1 Pet 2:9). Though we have this high position in Christ as a fellow heir, we must be fully aware how little we deserve it. Paul reminds us in Ephesians 2:8-9, "for it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and it is not of yourselves, it is a gift from God, not by works so that no man can boast."
It doesn't make sense that God would select the Jews as the children of promise, because as an all-knowing God, He would be able to foresee all of the wickedness they would commit. He knew that they would forsake Him, follow after other gods, and turn their back on Him countless times, but He chose them anyway. This was a complete act of grace and was not dependant on anything they could do to earn it. Likewise, if you are a believer in Christ, you were chosen before the earth was formed. God knew every lie you would tell, every immoral act you would commit, every bitter thought you would harbor, but He chose you anyway. What a beautiful reminder of God's tremendous mercy on us lowly wretches. To God be the glory for our election and salvation!
