Many people, especially Christians, wonder why the Bible says over and over again that the Jews are God’s chosen, favored people. It seems inconsistent to many that a God who loves all people would grant a group of people special favor to a specific group of people, especially knowing full well that those people would reject and betray Him. What does it really mean that God favored Israel?
God Chooses Favorites?
The question then begins with why He would choose the Israelites to be His favorites. Did He choose them because they were good? No. In fact, many if not most of the men who God chose to work through in the biblical record were deeply flawed. Abraham gave his wife over for men to sleep with her to get what he wanted (Genesis 12:11-20). Jacob was a liar (Genesis 27). Moses was a murderer (Exodus 2). David was an adulterer and a murderer (2 Samuel 11). Solomon was a sex addict (1 Kings 11:1-3).
So then, if the favored ones of God weren’t all that good, why did God choose them?
The answer lies in the word hesed, which is translated “lovingkindness” in the Bible. This word for the love of God bears with it many connotations: extravagant, faithful, consistent, unrelenting, undeserved. God chose these people, not because of who they were, but because of who He is, as an outlet of His mercy to at least some of the people He had created, and who had become at odds with Him when Adam ate the fruit in the Garden of Eden.
The Million Dollar Man on the Street
Imagine for a moment that you have one million dollars that you have decided give to some man on the street. You go out, see all of these destitute people, but you have only one million dollar check to give to one person out of a great many. Are you cruel for choosing one man to receive the check? No, you are a saint.
To take the metaphor one step further, imagine too that every person you encounter on the street has spit on you, burgled from your house, tried to mug you. I can imagine very few who would still choose one of those men to receive such undeserved favor, and yet with the Jews, and now even with the Christians, this is what He has done.
What is This Choosing?
When God chose them, He was choosing to make a treaty with a portion of humanity. The Pentateuch, which is the first five books of the Christian Old Testament and the Jewish Torah, represents a treaty between the Israelites and God in the style of what’s called a suzerain-vassal treaty. David Malick shows in his Introduction to the Pentateuch that he suzerain-vassal is a treaty between a king and his people that starts with the king, the suzerain, showing what he has done to protect his people, and includes stipulations that the people must follow, as well as blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. This was a treaty for peace with man, not because of who the Jews were, but because of who God is, and He would, and will, follow it through to the very letter.
Sources:
The New English Translation of the Bible for all biblical references.
David Malick’s “Introduction to the Pentateuch.”
