Why did God choose the Jewish people as His “chosen” people and as the people to bring the
Savior through. Especially when He knew the Jewish people would reject Him and not believe in
Jesus Christ?!

We often think of Israel as a nation today, which they are now, but that was not always the case.
When we read the book of Genesis, we notice that there was no nation of Israel; that’s because it
did not exist yet. We should focus not on a nation but on a man. The beginning of God’s promise
to these people did not start when they became a nation; it started with one man, Abraham.

From this promise, we see that God did not choose a nation outright; He chose a man and built a
nation from him. It’s not as if God randomly picked Israel; He made Israel into a great nation,
fulfilling a promise He made to Abraham. This doesn’t make Israel more special; it makes God
more special because He keeps His promises. When you think of the nation of Israel, even the
land where Israel is located, we are reminded that when God says something, He will do it. The
Israelites were God’s chosen people because they represent God’s faithfulness to Abraham and
His commitment to keeping His word.

God was establishing the lineage through which Jesus would come. This is really the main reason
why God chose Israel to be His chosen people. The coming of Jesus fulfilled a major promise
God made to Abraham—that everyone alive now, who will live, or has ever lived, can benefit
from (Genesis 12:3).

How is it even possible that a small nation, not much bigger than New Jersey, could bless all the
peoples on Earth? The reason is that from Abraham’s lineage, we get to the Messiah, Jesus. It is
through Jesus that this promise is fulfilled. Because of Jesus, the offer of salvation flows to every
person and all peoples on the face of the Earth.

As we turn to the book of Revelation, we find a scene in which John sees people gathered around
the throne. Notice what John says:

“After this, I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from
every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They
were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.” (Rev 7:9)

​When God called Abraham in Genesis 12, He had Revelation 7 in mind. He didn’t just focus on
one nation; He had all the nations of the world in view. He chose Abraham and established a
nation through him, which ultimately led to Jesus. In Jesus, we see the fulfillment of the promise
made in Genesis, and we understand the result of that promise in Revelation. Notice that people
from every nation, tribe, language, and people will one day gather around the throne to worship
the Lamb. This demonstrates how all the people on earth are blessed through the seed of
Abraham.

A comparison between the promise God made to Israel and the promise God makes to us as
believers is found in the following verse:

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that
you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once
you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but
now you have received mercy”. (1Peter 2:9-10)

Thankfully, God’s promise did not end with the nation of Israel. His faithfulness to keep His
Word is not just true for Israel; it applies to all people. By trusting in Christ as your Lord and
Savior and obeying Him (Acts 2:38-39), you are now God’s special possession. You have been
called out of darkness, and God has saved you so you can be a light, pointing others to Jesus.
Like Israel, Christians were once not a people, but now they are the people of God. It is now the
Christian’s responsibility to uphold God’s standards on earth. The incredible thing is that this
promise, like the one God made to Abraham, will last forever. Let not only the nation of Israel
serve as a reminder, but also let the cross of Calvary be a permanent reminder that God is faithful
and that He keeps His Word. What He has said, He will do. Why did God choose Israel to be His
chosen people? Ultimately, because of the cross of Calvary and Jesus dying on it. And it is
because of that same cross that God chose us to be His special possession.

The nation of Israel was God's people under the Old Covenant, and the church is God's people
under the New Covenant. However, the church is not a simple continuation of Israel. OT Israel
existed before Christ, and the church exists after Christ. In a real sense, Christ's coming was a
turning point in history that required a change in many aspects of God's people's lives. 

The basic reason for this is found in the fundamental purpose for which God chose the original
Israel in the first place. The keyword is preparation. Israel’s main (if not sole) reason for her
special relation to God was to prepare the way for the first coming of Christ, the Savior of the
world. God chose this nation as a farmer chooses a field for a crop, and He dealt with this nation
as a farmer plows and works His field in preparing to sow His seed.

The church, as the new Israel, exists after Christ's first coming, and its covenant relationship with
God and its kingdom governance cannot be the same as those of OT Israel. For example, while
OT worship (such as sin offerings) subtly pointed to Christ and was fulfilled in Him, NT worship
(such as the Lord’s Supper) clearly looks back to and proclaims His already accomplished saving
work.

The church’s role can be summed up not in the word preparation, but in the word proclamation.
That is, the church exists to proclaim that the Messiah has already come (1 Pet 2:9) and to invite
the world to participate in all the blessings of salvation He has provided. Thank you, Jesus!