God's Chosen People

In the season of Lent it is customary to give something up, as a reminder of what Christ gave for us, and as a prompt to reflect upon our spiritual lives when we feel the urge to partake of that which we have eschewed.   This year I gave up social media.  Since denial without reflection is simply an exercise in vanity I kept a Bible next to the computer and every time I wanted to, “tune in” I opened it to a random page and read a few verses. 

            While it would be nice to say that a clear stream of ecclesiastical code emerged as scales fell from my eyes, it did not.  But there was food for thought.  It should be no surprise that the majority of my readings came from the Old Testament. My Bible has 757 pages in the Old Testament; only 124 in the New!  The Old Testament contains 39 books while the New Testament has 27, and they are shorter in length, many of them being epistles (letters) from Apostles to various congregations.   

The majority of my readings dealt with the creation, history, trials and defense of the nation of Israel.   I began thinking about the Jews being God’s Chosen People.  Why is this so?  What did it mean historically?  What does it mean now?  How should this unique status between God and the Jews guide our thinking and actions?  Even if you are an atheist you must still recognize that even purely human and temporal perception form a reality upon which people act and react.

            According to Jewish belief, they are the Chosen People because they were chosen to make the idea of one God known to the world.  It is interesting that God did not choose the Jews because they had the biggest army, the widest lands or greatest power.  Deuteronomy 7:7 states, “It is not because you are numerous that God chose you, indeed you are the smallest of people.” 

            The Jews do not believe that being the Chosen People grants them special gifts; instead it places a great burden upon them.  They are called to be a, “light to the nations” (Isaiah 42:6); to do good in the world through gemilut hasidim (acts of loving kindness) and tikkun olam (repairing the world).  We also learn that Ruth, a Moabite convert to Judaism, would provide the line through which Jesus would enter the world. 

            I believe that there is one other compelling reason that the Jews are God’s Chosen People.  If God is eternal and omniscient, then He knew that Christ must be crucified and the Jews would be branded with the historical blame.  God also knew that the blame would lead to persecution by those who did not understand that Christ’s death was necessary to affect salvation.  [We can not have the one without the other.]  The Jews had to take on this awesome task to ensure the Grace of God for all of us.  Jews should be blessed instead of vilified for taking on the burden of the Crucifixion.  I believe that because God knew the punishment the Crucifixion would inflict upon the Jews, He has offered them the special benediction of His Chosen People.   They became the instruments of his gift of Grace. 

            God loves Israel.  God has offered a singular blessing to Israel and will preserve them in the future as He has in the past.  In times like these when the enemies of God are spreading with a satanic fire, we dismiss Israel at our own peril. 

            On Easter and always, honor Israel and keep the faith.