What does it mean that the Jews are God's chosen people?

With Israel, God chose them, sanctified them, set them apart for His own purpose, and then called upon them to answer to His thoughts in sanctifying them for Himself. This choice is never altered—never set aside—and all God’s ways in government are to bring them practically into line with His thoughts for them. In the end God will triumph by bringing the practical into accord with the positional. This will be seen when Israel accepts their Messiah, and the millennium will show to the world what the choice of Israel by God as His earthly people means.

The Old Testament makes it clear that God, even in His aspect of Jehovah, the God of Israel, never limited Himself to Israel. He made them His particular people. He made known His name, His will for a people on earth to Israel only. He abounded in every kind of privilege that could be to a people in the flesh. Israel as naturally, were the chosen people who belonged to Him here below. They were objects of favour and goodness and mercy in a way that no other nation received, except the people in the land of Palestine.

"Thou art an holy people to the Lord thy God." He does not say, "Ye ought to be an holy people." How could they ever make themselves an holy people, or a peculiar people to Jehovah? Utterly impossible. If they were not His people, no effort of theirs could ever make them such. But God, in His sovereign grace, in pursuance of His covenant with their fathers, had made them His children, made them a peculiar people above all the nations that were upon the earth. Here was the solid foundation of Israel's moral edifice. All their habits and customs, all their doings and ways, their food and their clothing, what they did and what they did not do — all was to flow out of the one grand fact, with which they had no more to do than with their natural birth, namely, that they actually were the children of God, the people of His choice, the people of His own special possession.

God then speaks of Israel as His son, His first-born. They owe their place among the nations to His adoption of them, in accordance with His faithfulness to the covenant He had made with their fathers. They had not worked for this, it was according to God's sovereign choice, but as it was said to their father, Jacob, so is it with them, "The children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him that calleth" (Rom. 9:11). Yet this grace to Israel in no wise implies the rejection of other nations, but rather the reverse, as the promise to Abraham long before declared, "In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed." It is indeed blessed to know that "Israel's God is ours."

The same term is employed in a national sense with reference to the chosen people of God. As Adam was set in the world to be the representative of his Creator, and to rule for Him over the works of His hands, so Israel was elected from' among all other nations to be the accredited representative of Jehovah in the earth. They were formally appointed as a people to execute certain important functions of direct service to the Lord.

This high purpose with regard to the seed of Abraham was clearly enunciated by Jehovah to Moses in mount Sinai, when He said, "For unto me the children of Israel are servants: they are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt" (Lev. 25:42, 55). This national relationship was recalled by Isaiah in words which Jehovah spoke to the people through him: "But thou Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend; thou whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the corners thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant" (Isa. 41:8-9; cp. also Isa. 44:1-2). Accordingly, this favoured people, in their capacity as God's agents, were made the recipients and custodians of His holy oracles, the exponents of the worship of the One and Only Deity, and the seat of Jehovah's earthly government among the nations of mankind. In consequence of the service due from them in these and in other respects, it was necessary that Israel should be faithful to this trust and obedient to all the precepts of Him who dwelled between the cherubim in their Holy of holies.

On earth Israel are the people, having their own special links with Christ as Son of Abraham and Son of David, in whom the blessing of all the nations of the earth is secured. They were a family, a nation chosen of God out of the system of nations which compose the world, to be Jehovah's witnesses and the vessel of His blessing to all the families of the earth. The head of this family was separated by divine call from country, kindred, and father's house. The nation of Israel were separated from the world by divine call also (Hosea 11:1), made good in the power of redemption. The world out of which they were taken is morally a system of which Satan is the god and prince. Of Israel God has said, "This people have I formed for Myself; they shall shew forth My praise." (Isa. 43:21) No wonder that such a people were the objects of the deadly hostility of Satan. In order to bless the world God must first take a people out of the world and connect them with Himself. Hence He said to Abraham, when He called him out, "I will bless thee, and make thee a blessing." It is ever so. The Lord speaks of those whom He has chosen out of the world thus: "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world;" and then He adds His purpose as to them: "As Thou hast sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world."

It was a great honour for Jonah to be divinely selected to carry a message from God to Nineveh, the imposing capital of the greatest earthly power in his day. Jonah should have endeavoured to enter into Jehovah's thoughts and feelings in the matter, so that he might faithfully represent Him to the dark heathen. In this the prophet most miserably failed. In like manner, the nation of Israel was divinely chosen and separated to be God's channel of blessing to all the people of the earth. "Ye are My witnesses, says Jehovah, and My servant whom I have chosen" (Isa. 43:10). The most cursory reader of the Old Testament cannot fail to see that Israel occupies the central place therein. About four centuries after the flood when all the newly formed nations had gone into idolatry God called Abram and blessed him; but this was with a view to universal blessing. "In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed" (Gen. 12:3). This word was confirmed and expanded after the offering up of Isaac: "Thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" (Gen. 22:17-19).

It was never intended that this highly favoured stock should be exclusive. Their very sanctuary was to be "a house of prayer for all peoples" (Isa. 56:7). It does not appear that Israel was meant to be a missionary people, earnestly propagating what they knew of the one true God, but they were certainly meant to be a model people. Possessing laws that were perfect, having been received direct from Heaven, all their ways should have been well pleasing to God, and a rebuke to the nations around them. But, alas, they were untrue to their privileged position of separation to God (which alone could have made them a blessing to the world); they copied the evil ways of their neighbours; and so brought down upon themselves the stern censure: "the name of God is blasphemed among the nations through you" (Rom. 2:24). It will be a great day for the world when Zech. 8:23 becomes true: "thus says Jehovah of hosts: In those days ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying; We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you"

Israel was "a holy people" to the Lord, who had chosen them as a people for Himself, a special treasure above all others (v.6). Since they were exclusively His, they should both deeply appreciate this honor and act constantly in positive testimony for Him, which is contrary to the course of the world.

As for Israel, so for the Church today, the Lord did not set His love on them because of their large population, for they were few in number (v.7). His love for them was sovereign, not influenced by natural considerations, but moved by pure divine wisdom, wisdom that had chosen their fathers and promised their fathers marvelous blessing that could come to their descendants. This love had already accomplished their amazing liberation from Egypt, so it was proven beyond doubt to them (v.8).

Who, then, were the JEWS? Turn to Romans 9:3-4, and 5, "For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: who are ISRAELITES; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law (note this), and the service of God, and the promises; whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen." This is a brief description of what the JEWS were. They were a separated people — a distinct nation set apart to God. But an earthly nation they were. Hence you will find God, speaking of them through the prophets, says — "Jehovah hath chosen Jacob unto Himself, and ISRAEL for His peculiar treasure" (Ps. 135:4). And, again, "For JACOB my servant's sake, and ISRAEL mine elect, I have called thee by name, though thou hast not known me" (Isaiah 45:4). The Lord had set barriers, if I may so say, around them, separating them from all other nations.

The intention of God with regard to the people of Israel, whom He chose for Himself, was that they should be "a kingdom of priests" unto Him (Ex. 19:6). They were also to be "a peculiar treasure" to Him above all people (verse 5) and "an holy nation."