Q.
Why are (or were) the Jewish people God’s chosen people?
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will grow into a prosperous nation. Abram’s household will swear loyalty
to Elohim and Elohim will be faithful to Abram’s descendants forever. There
are plenty of other gods, but Abraham will only swear loyalty to Elohim, as
Elohim has sought him out.
One god—out of many—chose to be in covenantal relationship with one
extended household out of many. It’s not until the Babylonian exile that Israel
began to conceive of YHWH/Elohim as the only god in the entire universe.
Christians conceive of their relationship with God as covenantal (based
on a holy promise). Such an understanding does not preclude a single God in
relationship with other groups of people. Of course, there are plenty of Chris-
tian groups that presume their covenant is the only game in town.
Historically and scripturally, I fi nd as much evidence for the possibility of
multiple covenants as they might claim for an exclusive one.Scriptural References
Genesis 1:26–27; Psalm 82; Matthew 20:1–16; Luke 15:11–32; GalatiansSuggested Additional Source for Reading
- Reuven Firestone, Who Are the Real Chosen People? The Meaning of
Chosenness in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Skylight, 2010).
Suggested Questions for Further Discussion/Thought
- Does God show favor to some people over others? Why or why not?
- Have you ever felt specially chosen for something? Explain.
- If you discovered that God showed the same favor to Muslims, Jews, or
agnostics/atheists as we believe God does to Christians, would it affect
your own faith? How?