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. Deuteronomy 7:6-8
After the Lord your God has driven them out
before you, do not say to yourself, “The Lord has brought me here to take
possession of this land because of my righteousness.” No, it is on account of
the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out
before you. It is not because of your righteousness or your
integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on
account of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God will drive them out
before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob. 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 9:4-6
We know why
God didn’t choose them. It was not
because they were a numerous, mighty nation.
We know from history it’s not because they were a compliant nation. Israel was stubborn and selfish. It was not because they were a righteous
people with integrity either.
The reason
God chose them out of all people on the earth was because he made an oath to
their ancestors, starting with Abraham.
God fulfills his promises and never breaks them. That promise lasted centuries.
God also
chose Israel as a rod of punishment against the great evil the nations in the
promised land were doing—worshipping false gods.