In the Hebrew Scriptures, Prophet Amos made one of the significant statements of God that spoke about His chosen people. “You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth. Therefore, I will punish you for all your sins.” (Amos 3: 2ff) Some consider this statement as the essence of the designation of the Jews as the “Chosen People.”
Yet, some might question how come the Jews, being a tiny minority in the world be the chosen people of God? Again, when we speak of such a minority of people as “the chosen people of God” does it mean that God has favorites? Or does it mean the choice of God of the Jews imply His lack of concern for other nations? Overall, why did God chose the Jews as His chosen people? Was there no other nation better than the Jews?
The people of Israel’s own understanding of their past began with the first couple; Adam and Eve and groups including the patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and then Joseph and his eleven brothers. Since the time of Abraham, the people had the belief that they had been chosen by God (Gen 12:1-3). The Book of Exodus provides an early witness to this idea of the Jews of having been chosen by God as it stated, “I will take you as my people, and I will be your God.” (Ex. 6:7) And then, the rest of the Hebrew Scriptures confirm this belief. Again, in the New Testament a similar confirmation is given, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. God’s own people.” (1 Peter 2:9).
However, the important thing to know is; chosen for what? In fact, in history, some of the Jews had the idea that their election or choice was God’s lack of concern for other nations. And so, there was a tendency to feel that they were special and then to isolate themselves from the rest of the nations. Perhaps, the pride in their privileged position ruined their sensitivity to the will of God. This was evident in the story of Jonah as it pictured a narrow mentality which would see the interest of God extending only to Israel (Jonah 4:11). Nevertheless, a rabbinic theory stated that God initially offered his message and the law to the world at large. But, only the Jews were willing to respond to the message and the commandments of God. And God chose Israel to a unique function of becoming a nation through whom all other nations of the world could know Him. He gave the Jews this special privilege not because they deserved special treatment on their own merits or they were better than other nations in the world. But rather, God wanted them and He chose them based on His love. (Deut 9:4-6). Also, they were chosen with a responsibility to spread the word of God and make Him known to the world. Even Jesus did not see the Jewish nation as chosen for privileges, but rather to serve God and the rest of humanity. Other than this traditional theological answer, there appears to be no logical answer to this. Therefore, it may not be that easy to find a direct answer to explain why God chose this particular nation as mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul expresses it as follows; “On the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Romans 11:33.)
— Fr. Niranjan Rodrigo, Ph.D.
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