Grafted-In, Pt 2: God has chosen Israel

Deuteronomy 7:6-9               6For you are a people holy to the LORD your God.  The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.  7The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.  8But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.  9Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.

Amos 3:2a                              2“You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; …

Exodus 19:3- 6                       3Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel:  4‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.  5Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.  Although the whole earth is mine, 6you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’

Without a detailed look at Scripture, it would be easy to think that Abraham is synonymous with the nation of Israel.  That view is a misunderstanding because the nation of Israel did not exist at the time of Abraham.  God brought Abraham out of the land of Ur, headed eventually to Canaan.  Abraham was credited as a righteous man because of his faith, and in Genesis 12:2-3 God makes what is called the Abrahamic Covenant with Abraham:

2“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.  3I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

The nation of Israel arose through Abraham’s line as his grandson Jacob, who would later be known as Israel, fathered the 12 sons who would be the patriarchs of the 12 tribes of the nation of Israel.

Keeping his covenant

God made that promise when Abraham was certainly not a great nation.  He and Sarah were old (90 and 100) and had not yet had kids, so the promise seemed ridiculous.  But kids and grandkids miraculously did come and here we find the first reason why God chose Israel to be his treasured possession.  God had promised Abraham he would become a great nation and that all the earth would be blessed through him.  Families were large back then.  Abraham had eight sons, one of whom was Isaac, who himself had two sons.  One of them was Jacob, also known as Israel, who had twelve sons who would become the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel.  We don’t know the number of kids or women, but by the time of the rise of the nation there were 603,550 men 20 years of age or older (Numbers 1:1-34).

Holy to the LORD

The other reason for choosing Israel is that God wanted to make Israel to be a model for all nations.  Remember, Abraham’s wasn’t the only line producing the world’s population.  For instance, Esau, Jacob’s twin, would go on to become the patriarch of the Edomites, and some even think the Roman Empire came from his line.  In any case, God wanted Israel to model his Godly precepts. 

8“But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend, 9I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you.  I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you.  10So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:8-10).

It was to Israel that God gave the 10 Commandments, the prophets, and the Law.  But Israel modeled only moderately well; good kings kept the precepts, and bad kings fell into idol worship and other practices detestable before the LORD.  The idea was that other nations would learn about the One and true God through Israel, who were to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exodus 19:6).  The other nations would see the blessings that come through obedience and the consequences that come through disobedience.

At the end of his life, after Sinai and just before the people crossed the Jordan into the promised Land, Moses reminded the people of God’s intentions…

5See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the LORD my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it.  6Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”  7What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him?  8And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today (Deuteronomy 4:5-7)?

What about me?

It is through Israel that God has given us his precepts, Commandments, and teachings.  We are not to elevate Israel, certainly not to worship her, but it is true that through her did come these wonderful things.  It is a privilege to be grafted-in, to gain access, not through her, but because of her, to God’s grand plan for all the peoples of the earth.  In accepting Jesus as our Savior, we have access to eternal life with the Triune God of the universe.  In choosing to be grafted-in, we are choosing to embrace God’s precepts and teaching.  These have been provided to us through what is called, somewhat derisively, the Old Testament (apparently Old is not as good as New).

Believer, I have no idea of your religious heritage, but I would like to encourage you to embrace the beauty that is in the Old Testament.  There God shows us the blessings that come from obedience to his precepts and the consequences of disobedience.  We find prophecies of the coming Messiah, and descriptions of God’s plan for all his peoples.  It is a beautiful story well worth embracing.