Do you know in which country was the technology developed for the original cellular phone? Where was voicemail technology invented? How about the first ingestible video camera? Which country has the highest annual production of scientific papers per capita? Which country has the world’s highest rate of university degrees per capita? The answer: Israel. Surprised? In addition, 13 Israeli minds have won the Nobel Prize in the fields of chemistry, economics, literature and peace. That’s more per capita than our country! Israel indeed is a very impressive nation. God has blessed its people and according to yearly surveys, even though the nation is constantly in and out of war, its people are one of the happiest peoples on the planet.
Anyone who has even read a little bit of the Bible would know that Israel is a very special people. God chose the nation of Israel for himself. Of all the nations that were available for God to choose, he chose this one.
Deuteronomy 7:6
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.
What God wanted to do when he chose the people of Israel was to reveal the truths about himself and of this world to the rest of the world through Israel. The nation he chose was to be a showcase to the world. What would be an alternative? What I meant to ask is in what other way could God have revealed himself to the world? I suppose the answer would be that God could have chosen to bypass any one nation, and instead reveal himself to the whole world in one shot. In the end, that was not what he chose to do. He chose to reveal himself not to the whole world at once, but to one single nation, and from there, to reveal himself to the rest of the world.
But of all the nations in the world, why did God choose Israel? Why did he not choose, for example, Nigeria, or Argentina, or Taiwan? The truth is God could have chosen Nigeria, or Argentina, or Taiwan. So why didn’t he? Are you ready to hear the answer? God chose Israel because God chose Israel. Israel was chosen because God chose Israel. There was nothing particularly lovely or special about Israel. He didn’t choose Israel because Israel was lovelier than all the other nations. God didn’t choose Israel for any special reason. God chose Israel because he chose Israel.
Deuteronomy 7:7–9
The 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. But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath He swore to your forefathers 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. Know 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 commands.
Because God chose Israel for himself, all the people of Israel during the Bible times must have felt pretty good about themselves. Even today in the 21st century, those of Israeli descent should be very proud. But it is not all glamorous as you and I think. As I mentioned above, God’s desire was for Israel to reveal the truths about himself and about the world to the world. Because God chose Israel, Israel had work to do. God’s selection came with a huge responsibility. Israel was to be a nation of priests, prophets, and missionaries to the world, and as such, Israel was held to a higher standard than all the rest of the nations. That is a tall order. I don’t think Nigeria, Argentina or Taiwan would have done any better than Israel!
Jeremiah 13:11 "'For as the waistband clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole household of Israel and the whole household of Judah cling to Me,’ declares the LORD, ‘that they might be for Me a people, for renown, for praise and for glory; but they did not listen.'" Amos 3:2 You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins.
Anyone can see that the people of Israel are an impressive people. Perhaps you have a friend, or friends who are from Israel. Israel indeed is a special nation. God has blessed and continues to bless Israel. God called the people of Israel his people. No other nation in the world could say that. You and I ought to thank the people of Israel for they revealed the truths about God and about the world to us. But God chose Israel not because for any special reason. He is the sovereign God. God chose Israel because God chose Israel.