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God’s Chosen People, God’s Chosen Land

The land was given by God to Abraham and his descendants:

Gen. 12:1-3  “The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.  I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you.  I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you and and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.’”

Gen. 12:7  “The Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this land.’”

Gen. 13:14-15  “The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, ‘Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west.  All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.  I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted.  Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.’”

Gen. 15:18   “On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, ‘To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates...’”

Gen. 17:3,7-8  “Abram fell facedown and God said to him, ‘...The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you;  and I will be their God.’”

The land was given to Isaac, Abraham’s son:

Gen. 26:2,3-5  “The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, ‘...For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.  I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws.’”

The land was given to Jacob, Abraham’s grandson:

Gen 28:13-15  “There above it stood the Lord, and he said, ‘I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.  I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. (the West Bank)  Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south.  All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.  I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land.  I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.’”

The land was given to Israel, (Jacob’s new name):

Gen 35:9-12  “After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him.  God said to him, ‘Your name is Jacob,  but you will no longer be called Jacob, your name will be Israel.’  So he named him Israel.  And God said to him,  ‘I am God Almighty, be fruitful and increase in number.  A nation and a community of nations will come from you and kings will come from your body.  The land gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.’”

The land was given to the Israelites in Egypt:

Ex. 3:7,8  “The Lord said, ‘...So I have come down to rescue them from the land of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey - the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.’”

Ex. 3:15-17  “God also said to Moses, ‘Say to the Israelites,  The Lord, the God of your fathers - the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob - has sent me to you.  This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.  Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, The Lord, the God of your fathers - the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob - appeared to me and said:  I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt.  And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites - a land flowing with milk and honey.’”

Ex. 6:6,8  “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘...I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.  I will give it to you as a possession.  I am the Lord.”

The land was given unconditional:

Lev. 26:43-46  “‘For the land will be deserted by them and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them.  They will pay for their sins because they rejected my laws and abhorred my decrees.  Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies,  I will not reject them or abhor them so as to destroy them completely, breaking my covenant with them.  I am the Lord their God.  But for their sake I will remember the covenant with their ancestors whom I brought out of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be their God.  I am the Lord.’  These are the decrees, the laws and the regulations that the Lord established on Mount Sinai between himself and the Israelites through Moses.”

Deut. 7:7-9   “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 forefathers 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 you 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 commands.”

Ps. 89:30-37  “If his sons forsake my law and do not follow my statues, if they violate my decrees and fail to keep may commands,  I will punish their sin with the rod, their iniquity with flogging;  but I will not take my love from him, nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.  I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have uttered.  Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness - and I will not lie to David - that his line will continue forever and his throne endure before me like the sun;  it will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky.”

The land was not given to Ishmael:

Gen. 17:19-21  “The God said,  ‘Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac.  I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.  And as for Ishmael, I have heard you.  I will surely bless him;  I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers.  He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation.  But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.’”

The land was not given to Esau:

Rom. 9:10-13  “Not only that, but Rebekah’s children had one and the same father, our father Isaac.  Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad - in order that God’s purpose in election might stand; not by works but by him who calls - she was told,  ‘The older will serve the younger.’  Just as it is written, ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.’”

God promised to bring them back to the land:

Deut. 30:3-5  “...then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you.  Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back.  He will bring you to the land that belonged to your fathers, and you will take possession of it.  He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers.”

Is 14:1-2  “The Lord will have compassion on Jacob;  once again he will choose Israel and will settle them in their own land.  Aliens will join them and unite with the house of Jacob.  Nations (Gentiles) will take them and bring them to their own place.  And the house of Israel will possess the nations as menservants and maidservants in the Lord’s land.  They will make captives of their captors and rule over their oppressors.”

Is. 43:5-7  “Do not be afraid, for I am with you;  I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.  I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’  Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth.”

Is 49:8,12,22-23   “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the time of my favor I will answer you and in the day of salvation I will help you;  I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances....See, they will come from afar - some from the north, some from the west, some from the region of Aswan ...See, I will beckon the Gentiles, I will lift up my banner to the peoples;  they will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders.  Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers.  They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground; they will lick the dust at your feet.  Then you will know that I am the Lord;  those who hope in me will not be disappointed.”

Jer. 16:14-15  “‘However, the days are coming.’ declares the Lord, ‘when men will no longer say, As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt, but they will say, As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.  For I will restore them to the land I gave their forefathers.’”

Jer 23:3-8  “‘I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number.  I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any by missing.’ declares the Lord. ‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.  In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety.  This is the name by which he will be called:  The Lord Our Righteousness.  So then, the days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when people will no longer say,  As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites out of Egypt, but they will say, As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.  Then they will live in their own land.’”

Jer 29:11-14  “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you.  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and will bring you back from captivity.  I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.’”

Ez 11:16-21  “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Although I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone....I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again.  They will return to it and remove all its vile images and detestable idols.  I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them;  I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.  Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.  They will be my people, and I will be their God.’”

Ez. 28:25-26  “This is what the Sovereign Lord says; ‘When I gather the people of Israel from the nations where they have been scattered, I will show myself holy among them in the sight of the nations.  Then they will live in their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob.  They will live there in safety and will build houses and plant vineyards; they will live in safety when I inflict punishment on all their neighbors who maligned them.  Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.’”

Ez 34:11-16   “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘I myself will search for my sheep and look after them.  As a shepherd looks after his flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep.  I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.  I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land.  I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land.  I will tend them in a good pasture and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.  I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down,’ declares the Sovereign Lord.  ‘I will search for the lost and bring back the strays.  I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy.  I will shepherd the flock with justice.”

Ez 36:24  “For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.”

Amos 9:11-15  “‘In that day I will restore David’s fallen tent.  I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be, so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear my name,’ declares the Lord, who will do these things. ‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes.  New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills.  I will bring back my exiled people Israel;  they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them.  They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.  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.”

God will never forsake Israel:

Jer 31:31-37  “‘The time is coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.  It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,’ declares the Lord. ‘This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,’ declares the Lord.  ‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.  I will be their God, and they will be my people.  No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, because they will all know me from the least of them to the greatest.’  For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.’”

Ez 36:25-38  “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean;  I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all you idols.  I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you;  I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.  You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God.  I will save you from all your uncleanness.  I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you.  I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine.  Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices.  I want you to know that I not doing this for your sake,’ declares the Sovereign Lord.  ‘Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct, O house of Israel!’  This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt.  The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it.  They will say;  This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden, the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited.  Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the Lord have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate.’  I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Once again I will yield to the plea of the house of Israel and do this for them;  I will make their people as numerous as sheep, as numerous as the flocks for offerings at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts.  So will the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people.  Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”

Ez 39:25-29  “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says; ‘I will now bring Jacob back from captivity and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name.  They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward me when they lived in safety in their land with no one to make them afraid.  When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies.  I will show myself holy through them in the sight of many nations.  Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind.  I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel,’ declare the Sovereign Lord.

Gentiles are grafted into Israel:

Eph 2:11-18  “Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called ‘uncircumcised’ by those who call themselves ‘the circumcision’ (that done in the body by the hand of men) - remember that at that time you were separate from the Messiah, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and with God in the world.  But now in the Messiah Jesus you who once were far away (Gentiles) have been brought near through the blood of the Messiah.  For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations.  His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them (Israel and Gentiles) to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.  He came and preached peace to you who were far away (Gentiles) and peace to those who were near (Israel).  For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.  Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with the Messiah Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.  In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.  And in him you too (Gentiles and Israel) are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Eph 3:6  “This mystery is that through the good news the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in the Messiah Jesus.”

Rom 11:11  “Again I ask:  Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all!  Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.  But if their transgression means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!”

Rom 11:23-25  “And if they (Israel) do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.  After all, if you (Gentiles) were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree (Israel), how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!  I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited:  Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.  And so all Israel will be saved (those who believe in the Messiah).

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