“Chosen” means to be set apart for a special purpose, not chosen for any inherent superiority. God elected Israel out of all nations to receive His revelation and to model a relationship with Him. As Moses told the Israelites:

For 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. 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 ancestors 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 commandments.

(Deuteronomy 7:6–9)

Later, Moses told the Israelites to “understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people” (Deuteronomy 9:6). Thus, Israel’s chosenness never implied they were naturally superior to others. The Bible explicitly refutes that idea.

God chose Israel — despite her stubbornness — to demonstrate His love, patience, mercy and power. A vivid way to picture this is through the analogy of a chess master. In chess, the queen is the most powerful piece, able to move in any direction. The knight (horse), by contrast, is often seen as a much weaker piece. It moves in an odd L‑shaped pattern, which makes it seem limited compared to the others. Yet a master strategist might choose to build a game-winning strategy around that knight. Why? Perhaps precisely because it is an unexpected, humble piece whose value lies in the player’s skill. If outsiders saw the chess master favoring the knight, they might wrongly assume, “That must be the best piece!” But the master’s choice doesn’t mean the knight is inherently superior to the queen, rooks or bishops. It means the master, in his wisdom, assigned it a special role in the plan. God is the master planner of history. In choosing Israel, the “fewest of all peoples,” He effectively said, “I will demonstrate My power through the small and weak.”

This way, God gets the glory, not human pride. Israel is like that knight — chosen as the key piece in God’s redemptive plan. This chosenness means having a role in blessing the world (e.g., producing and preserving Scriptures, birthing the Messiah), but it does not mean that every Israelite is godly, holy or better than others. The Old Testament is brutally honest that Israel often failed and sinned; she needed God’s mercy like everyone else. Her own prophets chastised the leaders of Israel for their arrogance, pride and sinfulness.

If God had chosen a powerful and impressive nation (parallel to the queen in chess), it would be easy to assume that victory belonged to the nation’s own might, not to God’s hand. But in choosing a small and vulnerable group, God makes it unmistakably clear that it is not about the strength of the members of the team He coaches, but about His own wisdom, power, faithfulness, and glory. The story of Israel is a testimony that God delights in working through the weak and sinful — so that all may know it is His love and presence that make all the difference.

Chosen for Service, Not for Favoritism

This underscores that Israel’s election was an act of grace, not a reward for superiority. Just as a master chess player might choose an unassuming knight as the key piece in his strategy, God chose a humble “piece” — a tiny nation — to carry out a grand design. The knight is not the most powerful piece on the board, yet in the hands of a chess master, its movements can influence the entire game. So it is with Israel: their chosenness is about God’s strategy, not about Israel being intrinsically worthy. God chose Israel to demonstrate His glory to the world and bless it, not to form an exclusive club of spiritual elitism. Understanding this guards both Jews and Gentiles from wrong attitudes. For Israel, it’s a reminder that their election is undeserved — a gift that should inspire gratitude and obedience, not chauvinism. For others, it’s a reminder that Israel’s chosenness is for their sake too! God told Abraham, “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). Israel was chosen to deliver benefits to the whole world (most notably, bringing forth the Bible and the Messiah). Thus, no one should resent or ridicule God’s choice.

Importantly, being chosen carried responsibility and a mission. God said Israel is “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6), meaning they were to represent God’s truth to the world. “Holy” doesn’t mean pure or perfect — it means set apart, different. The Sabbath is holy (Exodus 20:8) not because it’s better than other days of the week, but because it is dedicated to a unique purpose. In the same way, Israel is called holy — not because of superiority or perfection, but because God set these people apart for His own specific purpose. Thus, biblical chosenness is about service, not privilege for privilege’s sake. Of course, with divine responsibility comes divine discipline.

Far from encouraging pride, being ‘chosen’ demanded humility and obedience. The prophet Amos delivered this sober word from God: “You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins” (Amos 3:2). In other words, because Israel was chosen, they were held to a higher standard and disciplined when they strayed. Chosenness was never a license for arrogance. Being chosen did not mean God loved other people less — indeed, the goal was to use Israel as an instrument to teach and educate not just Israel but the entire world.

As the New Testament later echoes, “God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong” (1 Corinthians 1:27). Even today, with over 8 billion people in the world, Jews make up barely 0.19% of the global population. And yet, their presence is felt everywhere — in Nobel Prizes, psychology, medicine, entertainment, technology, science, philosophy, and economics. A people so small in number, yet so disproportionately influential, cannot be explained merely by statistics. Can you imagine what our world would look like if the Jewish people had never existed?

Chosen ≠ Perfect

If the people of Israel were perfect, it would be difficult for anyone to relate to them. People might even begin to worship them. Moreover, there would be no real purpose for God to enter into relationship with Israel. Perfection implies there’s nothing left to learn, no need to mature or grow. But Israel’s narrative — marked by spiritual struggles, moral failures, existential survival, and historical growth — stands as a living testimony for all humanity. It is not merely the story of one nation, but a mirror of the human condition itself: our weakness and resilience, our failures and redemption, our exile and return — a journey that others can connect with, learn from, and find hope in. It’s through imperfection that God’s grace, patience, and redemptive power are most clearly seen.

Furthermore, God’s relationship with Israel is not simply about Israel representing God to the world. It’s about the nations looking at God’s relationship with Israel and learning from it — discovering the character of the God of Israel through the story of His faithfulness.

Think about it; if God were ever to abandon Israel, then His covenant promises would collapse — and with them, the very foundation of our trust in Him. For if He could forsake the people He swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, then how could we be certain He will not forsake us? The reliability of God’s Word rests on His faithfulness to Israel. If His promises to them fail, then none of His promises can be trusted.

In watching how God loves, disciplines, forgives, and restores Israel even when she fails and goes astray, the world sees that His love never fails, no matter how far we wander. For “if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” (2 Timothy 2:13) Throughout the pages of history, Israel’s story becomes a living lesson for all nations — and individuals — about the unbreakable, redemptive love of God.

The Husband, Redeemer and Protector of Israel

The Bible’s primary genre is narrative — a grand, unfolding story. Scripture is not simply a collection of laws, doctrines, or abstract truths. Yet many overlook one of its deepest layers: the epic romance at its heart. The Bible tells the story of a relentless love affair between the God of Israel and the people of Israel (as seen throughout the Old Testament), and how, through Israel’s Messiah, God extends His blessings to the rest of the world (as seen in Acts, Paul’s letters, and Revelation). Through this story, God reveals His character, His passion, His mercy, His universal redemptive plan (Philippians 2:10-11), and His relentless pursuit of His beloved.

Some of the greatest stories ever told revolve around the tension between a charming prince and a rebellious, strong‑willed woman. The Scriptures are no different. The Bible tells the love story of a divine Bridegroom — faithful, noble, and unyielding in His devotion — and His chosen bride, who is often unfaithful, rebellious, and resistant to His love. Even the name He gave her, “Israel” (Genesis 32:28), means “one who struggles/strives with God.” Yet despite her waywardness, the Lord does not give up. Instead, He pursues her, redeems her, and transforms her until she is restored to her true calling: beloved, radiant, and faithful once more.

In the Bible, God often calls Israel by special nicknames, including “my wife” (e.g., Isaiah 54:5, Hosea 2:19–20) and “the apple of my eye” (Zechariah 2:8). But one of the most well‑known designations God gave Israel is that of being His ‘chosen’ (e.g., Psalm 135:4; Isaiah 41:8–9).

Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, God often describes Himself as Israel’s husband and calls Israel His wife. For example, in Isaiah:

For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called.

(Isaiah 54:5)

And in Hosea:

I will take you for my wife forever; I will take you for my wife in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will take you for my wife in faithfulness, and you shall know the Lord.

(Hosea 2:19–20)

The book of Hosea provides one of the most profound illustrations of this truth. God commands the prophet Hosea to marry Gomer, a woman who — like Israel — would be unfaithful to him, as a living parable of Israel’s unfaithfulness to God. Hosea’s painful love, his willingness to pursue, forgive, and restore Gomer again and again, mirrors God’s own love for Israel (and for all prodigals). The message is clear: God’s covenant and promises for Israel are not transactional nor conditional, but deeply personal and passionate:

Therefore, behold, I will allure her, bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her… In that day, declares the Lord, you will call me “My Husband.”

(Hosea 2:14, 16)

Since at its core the election of the people of Israel is not about privilege but about purpose, the ultimate calling of Israel is to serve as a model to the nations — a living vessel through which God reveals Himself and instructs the world. Even now, whether consciously or not, the story of Israel is being used by God to teach the nations important lessons. Throughout Israel’s history, God demonstrates both His unwavering faithfulness to His covenants and His steadfast love, even in times of unbelief and discipline.

One of the most profound messages that Israel brings to the world is this: God never abandons His promises. Despite centuries of dispersion, suffering, and disbelief in their Messiah (partly caused by Christian persecution and Christian antisemitism), the Jewish people remain a living testament to a faithful God who keeps His word. The endurance of Israel — against all odds — shows the nations that the God of Israel is reliable, steadfast, and trustworthy. He is a covenant-keeping God, and if He has not forsaken Israel, neither will He forsake those who put their trust in Him. Yet, as any loving father does, God also disciplines those He loves, shaping and refining His people so that they might fulfill their purpose.

The Jewish people’s journey — through faith, failure, exile, and return — continues to serve as a living message from God to the nations: a message of loyalty, discipline, mercy, and hope. And as Israel moves closer to its destined calling, the world can expect new light, insight, and blessing to flow out of Zion — just as the prophets foretold.

In other words, we see in God’s enduring relationship with imperfect Israel a picture of grace: God’s commitment is stronger than our weakness. This should inspire awe and worship. No wonder Jeremiah, after describing God’s unbreakable ordinances of sun, moon, and stars as guarantees of Israel’s permanence, bursts into praise of God’s unfathomable mercy:

This is what the Lord says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the Lord Almighty is his name: “Only if these decrees vanish from my sight,” declares the Lord, “will Israel ever cease being a nation before me.”

(Jeremiah 31:35–36)

Consider the implications: those who claim the Jewish people no longer exist, are essentially saying that Jesus’s physical lineage — his descent from Abraham and David — has ended; ‘defeated,’ in biblical terms. This would mean that God’s promises about an everlasting people and a perpetual physical lineage (Genesis 17:7, Leviticus 26:44, Deuteronomy 7:6–9, 2 Samuel 7:12–16, Amos 3:2, Jeremiah 30:11, Isaiah 49:15–16, Malachi 3:6) have failed. If the Jews have vanished, then both the reliability of Scripture and the faithfulness of God’s covenant are called into question.

Spiritual Warfare: Why Satan Targets Israel

The Bible reveals that behind the scenes of human history is a spiritual war: “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against…the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). If God has set apart Israel as a critical piece in His plan, it stands to reason that His cosmic opponent — Satan — will seek to attack and destroy that piece.

From the beginning, Satan — the great adversary — has worked tirelessly to derail God’s purposes. And so, whoever or whatever God appoints as His instrument instantly becomes the bullseye of satanic rage. This is not just a private battle but a cosmic one, forcing the nations to decide: Will they align themselves with God and His chosen people, or oppose them? It is against this backdrop that God spoke His timeless promise to Abraham: “I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you.” (Genesis 12:3)

This cosmic battle also shines a light on the extraordinary endurance and persecution of the Jewish people through the ages: From the very birth of Israel as a nation, we read of inexplicable hatred aimed at her. When Israel was enslaved in Egypt, Pharaoh wasn’t content with oppression; he decreed the murder of all Hebrew baby boys, essentially attempting genocide (Exodus 1:15–22). This was more than political fear — it was evil resisting the people through whom God’s redemption (the Exodus, and ultimately Christ) would come. God intervened and saved Moses to deliver Israel, thwarting that evil plan.

Later, in the time of Esther, a royal official — Haman — became the archetype of irrational anti-Jewish hatred. He persuaded Persia’s king to issue an edict to annihilate all Jews in the empire on a single day — women and children included (Esther 3:13). What had this scattered minority done to merit such fury? Nothing — it was the same ancient diabolic enmity against God’s chosen people. But again, God foiled the plot through Queen Esther’s bravery, and Haman ended up executed on the gallows he built for Mordecai (Esther 7:10). The pattern is clear: time and again, when Satan tries to destroy Israel, God provides deliverance, often turning the evil back on its perpetrators.

The attempt to annihilate the people of Israel runs like a dark thread throughout Scripture, yet history consistently testifies to God’s faithfulness — every empire that rose against Israel eventually fell. This aligns with His solemn warning: “I will destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem” (Zechariah 12:9).

History beyond the Bible tragically continued this pattern. Oppressive regimes, from the Seleucid Greeks (who outlawed Judaism and defiled the Temple) to the Roman Empire, all tried to stamp out the Jews or their faith. In the medieval and modern eras, Jewish communities suffered expulsions, inquisitions, pogroms, and ultimately the horror of the Holocaust. The sheer persistence of antisemitism — an irrational, extreme hatred against a tiny group of people — defies any secular explanation. Why did the Nazis fanatically prioritize exterminating Jews, even to their own strategic detriment? Why do some today demonize Israel above all nations? There is a spiritual dimension at work. Just as prophecy foretold, “Jerusalem will be a cup of trembling… and a burdensome stone for all people” (Zechariah 12:2–3). The forces of darkness know that God’s plans are tied to the people of Israel (Romans 11:12, 15, 26), so they labor to destroy or discredit Israel.

Pharaoh, Haman, Hitler, Hassan Nasrallah, Ali Khamenei — all embody the same demonic spirit that has sought throughout history to destroy God’s chosen people. Though their names and faces change, the underlying force remains the same: a relentless hatred and opposition to the nation God has chosen to use.

“The Jews, Sire.”

In the court of Frederick the Great, amid the Enlightenment’s rising tide of skepticism, the Prussian monarch once challenged his advisors to offer a simple, irrefutable proof of God’s existence. The room fell silent until one voice—whether chaplain or physician, history does not agree — answered with quiet conviction: “The Jews, sire.” It was not a theological argument nor a philosophical treatise, but a statement of historical endurance. A people exiled, persecuted, scattered across continents, yet never erased. Their survival defied the logic of empire and time. In that moment, the king received not a proof of doctrine, but a living testament.

If the powers of evil could prove God unfaithful to Israel despite His promises (Genesis 12:3, Leviticus 26:44, Deuteronomy 7:6–9, Amos 3:2, Jeremiah 30:11, 31:37, Malachi 3:6) — if they could wipe Israel out — they would invalidate God’s promises and character. But Satan has failed and will continue to fail. Despite innumerable attempts to take down God’s “knight,” the piece remains on the board. The continued survival of the Jewish people, against all odds and after millennia of exile, testifies to a Power greater than the hate. God declared through Jeremiah a challenge to the universe: only if the fixed order of sun, moon, and stars vanished could Israel ever cease being a nation before Him:

This is what the Lord says: “Only if the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth below be searched out will I reject all the descendants of Israel because of all they have done,” declares the Lord.

(Jeremiah 31:37)

In other words, never.

While many Christians acknowledge that Israel, presently, is in a state of spiritual rebellion — and some even wrongly assume this means God has abandoned Israel — the New Testament foretells a coming day when Israel’s return to God will not mean rejection, but rather the release of unprecedented blessing for all nations:

But if their [Israel] transgression means riches for the world, and their [Israel] loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their [Israel] full inclusion bring! I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. For if their [Israel] rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their [Israel] acceptance be but life from the dead?

(Romans 11:12-15)

When that day comes, the world will not be handed another Protestant, Catholic, or Orthodox system of doctrine, but rather a deeply Jewish renewal of faith — one that reads the Scriptures through the lens of Israel’s ancient worldview. This will be nothing less than a spiritual revolution, for the Jews are the very context of Jesus the Messiah. He was born among them, spoke their language, taught in their synagogues, and was grasped by them in ways no outsider could fully perceive. To understand Jesus rightly is to see Him through the prism of His own people — the Jewish context of the Messiah. This is most likely what Paul had in mind when he spoke of Israel’s “greater riches” overflowing to the Gentiles when Israel’s “full inclusion” will finally take place.

Israel’s future embrace of faith will be nothing less than a global spiritual blessing — a wave of insight, understanding, and renewal that only the people who first received the Torah and the promises can bring.

Israel’s Narrative Will Find Redemption

In verse 26, Paul emphasizes, “and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: ‘The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.'” (Romans 11:26)

If biblical Israel no longer exists today — as some believe — how could Paul speak of a future day when “all Israel will be saved”? The very hope and promise of Paul’s words depend on Israel’s continued existence. Without Israel, that longing and prophecy would be meaningless.

As for now, the role of the Christian Church, as Paul also explains in Romans, is not to boast over Israel or to look down upon her, but rather to “provoke Israel to jealousy” (Romans 11:11) — that is, to live in such a way as to inspire Israel to rediscover her own Messiah. Sadly, history has shown the opposite: instead of loving Israel, the Church often turned against her. The dark legacy of Christian anti-Semitism, including replacement theology (the idea that God has forever forsaken Israel), has alienated the very people the Church was called to love!

Thankfully, there have been positive changes in recent decades. The Catholic Church, for example, repented of centuries of anti-Semitism and Replacement Theology in and since the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s. Likewise, a small segment of the Protestant and Orthodox denominations affirms that Israel remains God’s chosen people with an ongoing role in God’s plan.

The People and the Land: An Inseparable Bond

A crucial aspect of God’s covenant with Hsi chosen nation Israel is the connection between the people of Israel and the Land of Israel (Canaan). From the first calling of Abraham, God’s promise had two halves: “I will make of you a great nation,” and “to your offspring I will give this land” (Genesis 12:2, 12:7). The Land of Israel is not an accident of history; it is part of the covenant gift. God repeatedly affirmed this tie. To Abraham, He said, “Lift up your eyes… all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever” (Genesis 13:15). He formalized it in the covenant of Genesis 17: “I will give to you and to your descendants… all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession” (Genesis 17:8).

Later, to Isaac and Jacob, the promise was reiterated. And the Psalmist summarizes how God “confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant: ‘To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit’” (psalms 105:8-11). Clearly, the Bible joins Israel and its land with a bond that God calls “everlasting.”

When exiled for disobedience, Israel always had the promise that God would bring them back home if they turned to Him (Deuteronomy 30:3-5). Yet the prophets spoke of a future gathering to the land even more spectacular than the Exodus from Egypt. For example, Amos prophesied:

“I will bring My people Israel back from exile… I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,” says the Lord your God.

(Amos 9:14–15)

Thus, the restoration of Israel to its land is portrayed as a decisive sign of God’s favor and redemption. In Ezekiel 36–37 — known as the vision of the valley of dry bones — God first gathers the scattered bones (symbolizing Israel) and brings them back to their land. Only afterward does He breathe His Spirit into them. This sequence reveals that physical return (possibly in 1948) and spiritual renewal are inseparably linked in God’s plan.

From a biblical perspective, to claim God has abandoned the land promise would imply He broke His covenant — which Scripture assures us He will not do (Leviticus 26:44-46). Even after centuries of dispersion, the fact that the Jewish people retained identity and have been reestablished in their ancient homeland in modern times is extraordinary and resonates with those prophetic promises. It’s a development virtually unparalleled in history, and it highlights that God remembers His covenant “for a thousand generations” (Psalms 105:8-11).

Just as the chess master’s strategy for the knight involves specific positions on the board, God’s strategy for Israel involves a particular land on the map. The two cannot be fully separated without nullifying God’s stated purpose. This is why efforts to sever the Jewish people from the Land of Israel — whether through theology (saying the promises were nullified) or through politics and war — ultimately run counter to what God has declared. Believers in the God of the Bible thus uphold that the same Lord who chose Israel as a people also allotted them a land, and He has not renounced either choice.

Conclusion: Scripture as the Divine Love Story Between a Perfect God and Imperfect People

Like any great story, the Bible weaves together several narratives at once. One of its deepest threads, running from Genesis to Revelation, is the love story between God and Israel. One of the most beautiful truths we learn from God’s relationship with Israel is this: He does not abandon us in our failures.

God is the faithful Bridegroom; Israel is His beloved but often wayward bride. Despite all her betrayals, wanderings, and heartbreaks, the divine Husband never gives up. He disciplines and grieves, but always with the promise of winning her heart again — of bringing about a future reconciliation and an unbreakable, eternal union. This is the relentless love that pulses through every page of Scripture.

Some Christians miss this storyline. They approach the Bible as a manual for individual escape from hell or a textbook for religious ethics, rather than as a living story of love and restoration between God and His people. They may not see why, in the end, the Bridegroom (God) will not rest until His beloved (Israel) is restored, healed, and brought home.

God’s pursuit is unstoppable. The story will not end in tragedy or abandonment. Just as Hosea never gave up on Gomer, so too the God of Israel will never abandon His people. He will pursue, allure, and ultimately restore His beloved — no matter how long it takes, or how many times she strays.

This is the true heartbeat of Scripture: not just rules, not just theology, but an unfolding, redemptive love story. And in this story, every nation and every believer is invited to witness, to learn, and ultimately to share in the joy of the Bridegroom’s relentless, redemptive love.

But what if, as Islamic theology claims, the Bible was corrupted and the promises for Israel — including those for the Land — were later insertions? If that were true, then the Bible itself could no longer be trusted. Every promise of God would hang in doubt, every covenant would be suspect, and the entire foundation of both the Jewish and Christian faith would collapse under its own weight. Without the basic reliability of Scripture, and if there is no Israel, then there is no covenant, no Messiah, no redemption, no hope.

And that is precisely why, in the next chapter, we must confront the Islamic claim that the Bible has been corrupted head-on.

This was an excerpt from my upcoming book, “The Elephant in the Middle East: The Hidden Theological Context of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.”