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THE CHOSEN PEOPLE


By Eiron


Originally God chose Israel to be His chosen people, but His people rebelled against Him time and again. The door to salvation was open to the Gentiles. Throughout the history of 6,000 years, God kept His promise and never completely rejected the Israelites. 70 years after Jesus' death, Israel did not exist at all and the nation became a nation once again in 1948 after the Second World War. History shows that the great empires that once flourished were lost for ever, never to revive again, the Babylonian, Persian, Greek and Islamic empires were history. The chosen people of Israel existed for 6000 years, and 4000 years of existence later, they were scattered around the world, and Israel did not exist for nearly 2000 years. Now Israel is slowly getting together again in this century.
God blessed Abraham, the ancestor of David, His chosen king. In Abraham, all who believe in the God of Abraham would be chosen and saved. Jesus Christ came from the line of David.

Matthew 1:17
  • So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.
Isaiah 11:10; Romans 15:12
  • And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
Revelation 5:5
  • Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book,...
GOD'S INSTRUCTION TO ISRAEL


Before entering the land of milk and honey, God revealed His plan in Deuteronomy 6 to hear God, and to keep His commandments, which consisted in loving Him with all the heart (16). They must not tempt the Lord (16). They were commanded to instruct their children as well (20).
Hear, therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey (3).
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord (4):
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might (5).
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart (6).
 
 

REASONS WHY GOD CHOSE ISRAEL

The reasons why God chose Israel to be His chosen people are revealed in Deuteronomy 7:6-8. God looks inside the hearts of men and not on outer appearance. He did not choose the mightiest in power or numbers, but He calls them holy..
In Deuteronomy 7:6-8, God spoke to the Israelites: "For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people to himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.
The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:
But because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had swore unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt."
 

THE CHOSEN PEOPLE

Wikipedia
In Judaism, chosenness is the belief that the Jews are the chosen people: chosen to be in a covenant with God. This idea is first found in the Torah (five books of Moses in the Bible) and is elaborated on in later books of the Hebrew Bible. Much is written about these topics in rabbinic literature.

COVENANT KEEPERS

God chose the Israelites to be covenant keepers with Him so that they would sit with Him forever if they kept the covenant. At one time God was so displeased with the Israelites that He regretted creating them and wanted to destroy all living creatures on the earth. But God was pleased with Noah and decided to destroy the whole world with the exception of Noah and his family of eight. So it rained 40 days and all the living things were destroyed.

Exodus 19:5
  • Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine.
Psalm 132:12
  • If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore.
Isaiah 56:4-5
  • For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant;
  • Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.
Daniel 9:4
  • And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments.
HOLY PEOPLE
God's chosen must be holy and righteous for God is Holy and without sin. They are called forth from darkness into the glorious light.
Deuteronomy 14:2
  • For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.
1 Peter 2:9
  • But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
Deuteronomy 26:19
  • And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the Lord thy God, as he hath spoken.
CHARACTERISTICS OF SHEEP
To be God's chosen, they must be like sheep, gentle, obedient, and follow the shepherd's command without question.
Psalms 100:3
  • Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Psalm 95:7
  • For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today if ye will hear his voice.
Psalm 79:13
  • So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will shew forth thy praise to all generations.
PREPARED FOR SERVICE
The chosen people are not just passive followers, but actively preparing for the Master's return to judge the whole world. They are like Elijah, John the Baptist, Paul and the apostles actively working their lives for the Lord and Saviour, preaching, working miracles, and doing good deeds.

Luke 1:17
  • And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
2 Timothy 2:21
  • If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.
THE LAW WRITTEN UPON THEIR HEARTS


God would use the Holy Spirit to dwell in the hearts of the chosen to direct, guide and teach them the laws of God. The Holy Spirit will dwell in the hearts of the believers unless they commit sins and the Holy Spirit cannot dwell in the hearts of sinners. God's Spirit is holy and has no part with the ungodly. When the sinners repent and pray again to God to fill their repentant hearts, God will receive them again. All sins are forgiven except sinning against the Holy Spirit.


Hebrews 8:10
  • I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.
1 Peter 2:9
  • But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
Re 21:3
    Multi races
  • And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.


            Multi races 
  

The Grafted Israelites

It can be seen that the phrase, "chosen people" definitely applied to Israel. But the composition of Old Testament Israel that came out of Egypt was made up of: (1) the descendants of Jacob (Exodus 1:1; Joshua 13:6), and, (2) those who joined Israel through circumcision and keeping the law (Exodus 12:48-49).
The chosen people were originally the people of Israel as a whole, but God also looked at the hearts . The Israelites were chosen as a nation and also chosen spiritually. Those non-Israelites who joined the group from Egypt should not be differentiated because God stipulated that there was no distinction between the two groups if the non-Israelites of the males be circumcised.


Exodus 12:48-49
  • And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.
  • One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.
Ezra 6:21
  • And the children of Israel, which were come again out of captivity, and will such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the Lord God of Israel, did eat.
New Testament quotes

John 12:20
  • And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast.
Acts 14:1
  • And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed.
Acts 6:5 - Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch.
Acts 13:43 - Paul, Barnabas and religious proselytes
Acts 17:4 - the devout Greeks
Keeping the covenant was a requirement for all those who wished to remain a part of Israel (Genesis 17:14, Exodus 12:15,19; 30:32,38; 31:14; Leviticus 7:20-21, 25,27; 17:4,9-10, 14; 18:29; 19:8; and Numbers 15:30-31). These Scriptures show that membership in the nation of Israel was dependent on obedience to God's commandments. To disobey God was to lose one's citizenship.

The Chosen People are the Israelites and all those who choose to obey all the commandments of God, and not not those who half heartedly obey God, choosing what they themselves feel what is right in their own conscience.
Romans 2: 28-29
  • But he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
  • But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly.
Choseness is of the Jews, but is open to all who obey the commandments of the God of Israel. The covenant is between God and the Israelites. God only chose Israel, spiritual Jews and non Jews who are inwardly spiritual Jews.. 

Related Topics

DISPERSION AND GATHERING OF THE ISRAELITES http://hubpages.com/hub/dispersiongatheringisraelites

THE REVIVAL OF ISRAEL http://hubpages.com/hub/revivalofisrael

CHINESE JEWS RETURN TO ISRAEL http://hubpages.com/hub/chinesejewsreturntoisrael

INDIAN JEWS RETURN TO ISRAEL http://hubpages.com/hub/indianjewsreturntoisrael

Source: Eiron in HubPages

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