I recently was asked the question, “Does the Bible actually call the Jews God’s chosen people?” To be honest I’ve never considered that the Jews are not God’s chosen people. For one, I have always been taught that they are God’s chosen people. This question got me looking for proof that God does in fact call the Jews his chosen people. 

The Beginning

In order to answer the question “Are the Jews God’s chosen people,” we need to start at the beginning. Where did the Jews come from? In Genesis 12 we see Yahweh setting aside one man named Abram, who would later be renamed Abraham, and promising to make him a great nation. ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ (‭ESV) says, “Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’” 

From the very beginning of this nation we call Israel, and call the people group Jewish, we see the Lord setting them aside as special. He tells Abram not only will he become a great nation, but in fact, later on the Lord tells Abraham in Genesis‬ ‭17‬:‭4‬ ‭(ESV‬‬), “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.” 

Not just one nation will come from Abraham, but a multitude of nations. While this has come about, the question becomes, which of these multitude of nations is the special one? Is there one nation that is in fact said to be God’s chosen nation? Yes! 

Which Nation is the Chosen Nation

God promised Abraham and Sarah a child, and through this child a nation would come. As time passed and Sarah became too old to bear any children, she came up with the idea of Abraham having a child with her maidservant Hagar. During this time in history it was common for a maidservant to bear a child with the husband if the wife was unable to have children. In the eyes of the law, this child would be considered the child of the husband and wife. I believe this was Sarah’s motivation in suggesting Abraham and Hagar have a child together. Sarah was trying to help God, and it ended up backfiring on her big time! 

So, Abraham has a son with Hagar and later a son with Sarah. Which one is the promised child? Which one is God talking about when he says, “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” Genesis‬ ‭12‬:‭3‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬. Which son will be the source of all the earth being blessed? The answer to this is first answered by the Lord in Genesis 17: 

“I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.”” Genesis‬ ‭17‬:‭16‬, ‭18‬-‭21‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

When Abraham says, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” he is really saying, “Don’t forget about my son, Ishmael. Is the covenant with him?” We see God reply, ‭‭“No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.” The promise is given to Isaac. He is the promised son, and his descendants are the promised people (nation). 

We see God does promise that Ishamel will become a multitude of people too, but the promise God made to Abraham all those years ago is for Isaac, not Ishmael. 

The Next Layer of This Promise

So we know God set aside Abraham and Isaac to be a great nation that will bless the whole earth. How does this happen? 

Isaac grows up and marries Rebekah. They have twin sons, Esau and Jacob. When Jacob is grown with a family of his own we see God speak to Jacob and say, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭35‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

We see the Lord telling Jacob the exact same thing that was told to his grandfather, Abraham. By this conversation we can be assured that the promise made to Abraham regarding Isaac being the chosen son is now being passed on to Jacob, who is renamed Israel. Here, we see the connection to the nation we know of as Israel and the man named Israel. 

Jacob marries two sisters, Leah and Rachel. It is through Leah and Rachel and their servants, Bilhah and Zilpah, that we get the 12 tribes of Israel. Between all these ladies, Jacob (Israel) was given 12 sons, who became the 12 tribes. Out of these tribes, one became the ancestor of Jesus. Who did God choose to be the mother of the nation that would give us the Savior? Leah. Leah’s son Judah is the tribe in which Jesus came from. 

Here is where the promise of “all the earth will be blessed” is fulfilled through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jesus is the fulfillment of this promise. We are all blessed because we can now be grafted into the family of God, which includes the Jews, because of the gift offered by Jesus. 

When we surrender our life to Jesus, he grafts us into his family. Part of his family is his biological family of Judah. This is why Paul says in the book of Romans, “But if some of the branches (Jews) were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot (Gentiles), were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭11‬:‭17‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

Where did the Name Jew Come From

We see the descendants of Israel (Jacob) being called Israelites. This makes sense. So where do we get the term Jew for this group of people? 

Hundreds of years after the person Israel died there was a king named David. He was from the tribe of Judah. In fact, God makes a covenant with David. The covenant is that his throne will be established forever. We see this in 2 Samuel 7:16 (ESV), “And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.” 

‭‭How is this possible? Is there still a man who rules over Israel who is a descendant of David? While I can’t say if there is a man on the earth currently from the line of David who is in government in Israel, I can tell you that once again, Jesus is the fulfillment of this covenant. Since Jesus came from the line of David, and he is the King of kings, he is the one prophesied by Nathan who will establish David’s throne forever. This was in fact a prophecy about Jesus ruling as king.

So, after David dies, his son Solomon becomes king. Then, after Solomon dies we see the kingdom of Israel split. We get the Northern Kingdom called Israel and the Southern Kingdom called Judah. Eventually the northern kingdom ceases to exist and is captured by various people groups. Now the descendants of Abraham are only in the southern kingdom called Judah. What does one call the people group from Judah? Jews of course!  

Are the Jews Still God’s Chosen People

The answer to the question, “are the Jews still God’s chosen people?” after the cross is yes and no. Let me explain. 

When you surrender your life to Jesus and proclaim him as the Messiah, the one who takes away the sins of the world, you become a co-heir with Jesus. You become a child of God. We see this in Romans 8:16-17 (ESV), “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”

‭‭

Furthermore, as children of God, we are also called a “holy nation” in 1 Peter 2:9-10 (ESV), “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

Does this mean that Christians have replaced the Jews as his chosen people? No, not at all. God does not lie. In fact he is incapable of lying. Therefore, when he told Abraham that he was making an everlasting covenant, that is exactly what he meant. “And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭17‬:‭7‬ ‭(ESV‬‬) 

I think of it this way. I have three children. They are currently my children and will always be my children. There is nothing they can do to take that away. Sure, they can legally separate themselves from me, and it can be said that I am no longer legally their mother. They can even change their names and identity to proclaim the fact that I am not their mom. However, there is one thing they can never do. They cannot take away the DNA that says, Cherise Best is this child’s biological mom. My DNA will always be a part of my children declaring that they are in fact my children. 

I believe the same goes for the nation of Israel today. This nation, as a whole, has declared themselves free from God being their parent. The Jewish religion has declared that Jesus is not their Messiah. However, none of this makes the truth invalid. When God told Abraham his descendants will be his pick to live life with, he meant it for that time and for modern times. God still wants to be the only God of Israel. His desire is for them to be known as his children. Sadly, as a nation, they have rejected this identity and taken on a false identity. 

Although both the religion of Judaism and the nation of Israel has rejected Jesus as Savior, it doesn’t disqualify them as special in the eyes of God. We see many Bible prophecies telling us that there will be a time when their spiritual eyes are opened and many of them will surrender their lives to Jesus the Messiah. (Revelation 7:4-8) 

Just because God has made an everlasting covenant with the descendants of Abraham does not mean they are exempt from the requirement to accept Jesus as Messiah. Anyone, Jew or otherwise, who rejects Jesus as Savior is not a part of God’s family. 

You see, there isn’t anyone in the world, including the Jews, who can be considered a child of God and reject the Son of God. Jesus is part of the Trinity – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. You cannot accept only one part of the Trinity and reject the other parts and be considered a child of God. You must accept all three parts of God because he is three parts in one. 

You Are Created in the Image of God

As a side note, you too are created as three parts in one. You are a body, a soul (mind, will, and emotions), and a spirit. It would be impossible for someone to say they accept you as a body, but not as a mind. If someone doesn’t accept you for the thoughts and emotions you have, then they reject you as a whole person. No one can accept only one part of you and reject the other parts and have a relationship with you as a whole person. 

The same goes for God. You must accept him as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You cannot only accept the Father and reject the Son and call yourself a child of God. This is why Jeus said in John 14:6-7 (ESV), “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.’” 

The only way to be called a child of God is to go through Jesus. Anyone who refuses to accept this protocol is not a child of God; it doesn’t matter if you are Jew or Gentile. The same rules apply no matter what your DNA says. 

Some Gentiles Were Also Called Children of God in the Old Testament

Did you know that just like today, there were Gentiles that became part of God’s family? In fact there are even a few of these Gentile converts in the lineage of Jesus.  

Rahab is one such person. Rahab was the prostitute who lived in the wall of Jericho before the Israelites came, marched around the city, and the walls fell down. If you recall the story, Rahab hid the spies sent in by Joshua and asked if she and her family could be spared when they came to destroy the city. The spies agreed, and Rahab became one of them. In fact, Rahab is the mother-in-law of Ruth and the great-great grandmother of King David. 

Another Gentile that became one of God’s chosen people to be in the lineage of Jesus is Ruth, Rahab’s daughter-in-law. Ruth was from the country of Moab. By all accounts, she was from a tainted nation, and a nation who was an enemy of both God and Israel. Yet, we see a beautiful story of redemption in the life of Ruth. Because of her loyalty to her mother-in-law and to the God of Naomi, Ruth ends up marrying Rahab’s son Boaz and becomes the great grandmother to King David. 

The requirements of Rahab and Ruth were the same as the requirements of people becoming children of God today. Hear me out. Rahab and Ruth both had to give up the beliefs of their families and nation, and come into agreement with serving the one, true God – Yahweh. They had to follow the protocols required by God to be called his children. It is no different today. 

Today, we are asked to give up serving the false gods of self, money, fame, etc. and serve the one, true God. We are asked to give up our whole life as we knew it before meeting Jesus to serve him alone. 

Summary

Are the Jews God’s chosen people? Yes. I don’t think you can read the Bible and not see that God separated this group out to be his people. It was his desire that they show the world the truth of who Yahweh is. He wanted them to live separately, but not exclusively. Like Rahab and Ruth, God’s desire was that other people were shown the truth of the one, true God, and come to faith in him alone. 

The same goes for today. God’s desire is that those of us who have accepted Jesus as our Savior will show this truth to a lost world. It is through our testimony of the saving power of Jesus that the rest of the world is also saved. It doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or Gentile, all are free and welcome into the family of God through Jesus. 

There is a difference between being chosen and being called a child of God. Yes, Israel is God’s chosen people, but that doesn’t make them his children. Only those who surrender their lives to Jesus as Savior (Messiah) are called children of God. It doesn’t matter what nationality you are, all are welcome, all are wanted. In fact, we see a beautiful picture of all people from all nations being children of God in Revelation 7:9-10 (ESV), “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’”

‬‬