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Why are Jews God's chosen people? Why are Jews considered God's chosen people?

What is the “chosen people”?

Zalman Posner

Not so long ago, humanity witnessed how a people who proclaimed themselves the “superior race” almost led the entire civilized world to disaster. One of the consequences of this was a change in the attitude of many Jews towards the concept of the “chosen people”. For some, this transformation took the form of a defense against accusations of “chauvinism”; for others, it manifested itself in a pessimistic interpretation of the chosenness of the Jewish people as “chosen for disasters.” There are also those who feel embarrassed, even indignant, at the use of such terminology.

Let's return to the original meaning of the concept of “chosenness”.

When the Torah says that the Almighty chose the people of Israel, it does not mean that as a result the Jews will gain special privileges and dominate other nations. On the contrary, the representatives of the people of Israel bear a heavy burden of special responsibility and additional duties not imposed on any other people. Despite our commitment to the principles of democracy and universal equality, we cannot help but recognize their limitations and, to a certain extent, abstractness. In fact, it is obvious that people are not equal at all - they differ in innate abilities, skills acquired as a result of upbringing, their physical capabilities, etc. One can envy a genius, but one has to come to terms with the fact that his talent is an individual property inherent only to him and no one else. We are also forced to reckon with the artificial restrictions that society imposes on its members: social stratification, division into groups between which invisible barriers are erected. So, despite the principle of equal opportunity, universal suffrage, equality of all before the law and other gains of democracy, we are still very far from the true realization of the idea of equality.

Let's try to look back at history as it is reflected in the Torah. The ancients were familiar with the basic principles of morality, and the fulfillment of the Seven Commandments of the descendants of Noah, obligatory for all people, brought them closer to the Almighty. However, the religious feeling of the ancients was of a random nature. Most people were indifferent to spirituality and holiness. From time to time, individuals marked by special righteousness appeared, but this was the exception rather than the rule. Abraham was the first who made great efforts to spread faith in the One G-d and considered it his duty to attract other people to serve the Creator. Observing the Seven Commandments of the descendants of Noah was not enough for him: he desired constant closeness to G‑d.

However, the success of his “explanatory work” was short-lived: only one of his sons, Isaac, kept his precepts and continued to follow them. A generation passed, then another; beyond the small family of Abraham's immediate descendants, humanity remained unchanged. And the Almighty - God of Abraham– was not satisfied with this state of affairs. He wanted all mankind to have an idea of Him, and the “tool” to achieve this goal was to be the race of Abraham, a desperate individualist who passed on this quality to his descendants. However, it was not a family, but an entire nation that had to teach humanity that there is Someone more exalted than man can imagine, and only He should be served. This people was destined to become a clear and demonstrative example of the fact that the Lord is interested in man's service and the fulfillment of His will.

This is what the people of Israel were chosen for.

This election was mutual. After all, the people of Israel also chose the Almighty and thereby began to fulfill their mission. Our people have become an example of the embodiment of God's plan. Please note: the people - but not every Jew individually. A situation is possible when there are very few Jews striving to realize the Divine ideal, and others do not bear the burden of their responsibility of their own free will. However, none of them is able to evade their mission. No matter how a Jew changes his appearance, no matter what circumstances he finds himself in, his Jewish identification is preserved, and, regardless of his own desires, those around him associate with him the principles that his ancestor Abraham taught to anyone in the ancient country of Canaan. It is not the Jew's personal commitment to Judaism, but the very fact of his existence that immediately recalls the exceptionalism of Jews in this world.

There are thinker nations, warrior nations, shopkeeper nations. And there is one people who are a symbol of the relationship between man and G‑d, embodied proof of G‑d’s intervention in the destinies of mankind: the Jewish people. We can protest against this, deny our mission, but all this is in vain. We are not able to dissolve into humanity and disappear, no matter how much we ourselves wish for it. The enemies of the Jewish people have repeatedly tried to destroy us so that the symbol of Divine Providence would disappear from the face of the earth. Many times our haters tried to erase the last trace of Judaism in their countries. They understood that as long as there was at least one Jew in the area who kept the commandments, their own ideas and principles would not gain full power. Totalitarianism and Jews are incompatible. And it is far from accidental that countries that are a threat to normal life and the very existence of mankind have always been openly hostile towards Jews or even “Judenfrei”.

Now there are many insinuations about Christianity as serving the God of the Jews: they say, Russians should serve their own “Russian” gods, and Orthodox Christians serve Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Who said about Himself that He came “to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” From this the conclusion is drawn that God’s chosen people are the Jewish nation.

Let's see if this conclusion is correct.

House of Israel... I.e. House of the Descendants of Israel. Israel is the new name given to Jacob... Jacob is the son of Isaac and the grandson of Abraham, and it was Abraham who made the Covenant with God, which read as follows: “To your descendants (This word is indicated by Strong's number H2233) I will give this land” (Gen. 12 :7) (repeated in Gen. 13:15-16; Gen. 15:3-5; Gen. 15:18) And finally: “I will establish My covenant between Me and you and between your descendants (H2233) After you throughout the generations theirs is an everlasting covenant, that I will be the God of thy and of thy descendants (H2233) after thee” (Gen. 17:7)

From this it is clear that God made the Covenant with Abraham, and not with Eber, the forefather of Abraham in the sixth generation (Gen. 11:14). This means that other descendants of Eber are not God’s chosen people. True, it should be noted that God Himself instructs Moses to say to Pharaoh of Egypt: “Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews” (Ex. 7:16; similar to Ex. 5:3; Ex. 9:1; Ex. 9:13; Ex. 9 :17). However, God never uses this expression further. It is used only when communicating with Pharaoh... Therefore, it can be assumed that God communicated with Pharaoh in a language he understood: the Egyptians called the descendants of Jacob Jews, so for them God says: “God of the Jews.” Based on the above, it is clear that the God the Bible speaks of is not the god of the Jewish nationality.

Let's figure it out further. Abraham, as you know, had two children: from the slave Hagar (Ishmael) and from his wife Sarah (Isaac). If in the word Covenant under H2233 the descendants according to the flesh were meant, then, naturally, the Covenant of God must be with both Ishmael and Isaac. But the Lord said: “I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you” (Gen. 17:21). Well... So “your descendants” (H2233) are not everyone born according to the flesh...

But it's possible that offspring the fetus born from a wife is called, and not from a slave... But even here it does not agree... Isaac had twins from his wife: the older Esau and the younger Jacob. Did the Lord make His Covenant with both sons? No, but only with Jacob (Gen. 28:13-14). By the way, it is Abraham who God calls the father of Jacob, although according to the flesh he is his grandfather... And the strangeness does not end there... None of the twelve sons according to the flesh is said more: “In you and in your descendants (H2233) "... Always later, the Lord called Himself “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” and never added a fourth to these three names... And the most amazing and completely meaningless event at first glance: Jacob’s struggle with God and the renaming of Jacob to Israel ( translated as “God-fighter”). What kind of Jacob is a “god-fighter” if God considers it worthy to be called “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”? And one more strange thing: God renamed him Israel, but after that he again refers to him with the same name: Jacob! (Gen. 46.2)

Now let’s try to figure out these oddities, and at the same time figure out: who are these “ your descendants».

When addressing the descendants of Jacob according to the flesh (the Jews according to language), God never again uses the word “seeds” H2233 of Jacob, but “the Children of Israel” (see the Laws of Moses from Ex. 14 onwards throughout the Pentateuch of Moses). After Jacob, the pious inheritance according to the flesh is cut off, but the blessing of God continues to remain with his family. Therefore, God does not leave them, but gives them instructions on how to please God in order to become partakers of the saints of God Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

However, the very name “Israel” (“fighter of God”) shows us: God knew how hard it would be for him to lead this people... Which is confirmed by the words of the Holy Scripture: “I knew that you would act treacherously, therefore from the very womb (from creation ) you are called an apostate” (Isa. 48:8). Hence God’s address to the sinning, murmuring people: “This people” (Exodus 24:14 and many other places in the Old Testament), “Your people” (To Moses: Exodus 32:7; Ahab: 1 Kings 20:42) and even “This is an evil company” (Num. 14:27)...

God wanted to destroy this rebellious people and recreate the descendants of Israel through Moses (Exodus 32:9-10), but Moses twice prevented this from happening (Exodus 32:11-14; Num. 14:13-20)... -Secondly, the Lord promised that it was in the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Therefore, it was precisely in this rebellious people that we had to preserve a model of behavior for God’s chosen ones...

But who, after all, are God’s chosen ones, if they are not the Jewish people and not even the descendants of Jacob in the flesh? God tells us: “If you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you will be my inheritance among all nations, for the whole earth is mine, and you will be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:5-6) and “If If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments and do them, then..." (many blessings)... "...I will walk among you and will be your God, and you will be My people" (Lev. 26: 3;Lev. 26:12) And on the contrary: “If you do not listen to Me and do not keep My commandments...” (curses if there is no correction)... “...My soul abhors you” (Lev. 26 :14; Lev. 26:30). Therefore, God's chosen ones are those who follow God's instructions (as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob did earlier) and do works of mercy and justice.

Let's check our conclusion. In Lev. 20:2 says: “If anyone gives one of his children to Molech (a pagan deity), he shall be put to death; the people of that place shall stone him.” All. The life of the wicked man was cut short. What else is there to talk about? But God continues: “And I will set My face against that man, and will destroy him from among his people.” How to exterminate a person from the people if he is already dead? But everything falls into place if we relate these words to God’s chosen people.

But let's return to our main topic. Yes, God says, “My people are Israel” (1 Samuel 2:29; 1 Samuel 9:16), but if God owns the whole earth, does he care about other nations? Yes! “Blessed are My people the Egyptians, and the work of My hands are the Assyrians, and My inheritance is Israel” (Isaiah 19:25). However, the Lord still shows great concern for the descendants of Jacob/Israel, because It is through them that God's Covenant with humanity is preserved. “In your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed”... And therefore: “I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior: I gave Egypt, Ethiopia and Sheba as a ransom for you. You are precious in my sight, highly prized, beloved; therefore I give men and nations for your soul” (Isaiah 43:3-4). I draw special attention to the words “for your soul,” i.e. for the sake of your salvation in eternity, for the sake of strengthening and growing faith... If the people plunge into sin, into destruction, then on the contrary: it is through other nations that God’s inheritance is punished (Jer. 1:18; Jer. 5; Ezek. 21:12 ; Ezekiel 33:28 and many other places of Holy Scripture).

“My destiny”... “Salvation from the Jews,” said the Lord. Here I am forced to make a digression for those who have not read the Bible: after Solomon, Israel was divided into Israel proper and Judea. Nevertheless, wickedness overcame both parts. The Lord defined the years of iniquity as 390 years for Israel and 40 years for Judah (Ezek. 4:4-8). The Lord calls them depraved sisters with their sister Sodom; sisters Oholah and Oholibah (Ezek. 23)... So there is no need to particularly distinguish between Israel and Judah - neither those nor these tribes are God’s chosen people. The very essence of God’s care for the house of Israel and the house of Judah is most clearly expressed in the parable of the loincloth (Jer. 13)... As a result: this nation turned out to be “worthless for anything”... So much so that the name by which they gave themselves They say, “You will remain My chosen one for curse, and the Lord God will kill you, and He will call His servants by another name” (Isa. 65:15)

Now, having figured out who is not God’s chosen people, let’s try to figure out who they are and how Christians are involved in this.

Yes... The people who were protected by God Himself, the Creator of heaven and earth (for the sake of the promise to His saints Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - not to leave their descendants without care), became “a nation worthless for anything”... So worthless that He Himself The Lord testifies to the impossibility of listening to their appeals to Him: “The hand of the Lord, as before, can save, His ear still hears, but sins have become a barrier between you and your God; because of your evil deeds He has turned away and does not listen to you” (Isaiah 59:1-2) God saw: “The truth is no more, and he who turns away from evil is insulted. And the Lord saw this, and it was disgusting to His eyes that there was no judgment... And he saw that there was no man... And he marveled that there was no intercessor... And then His justice became His support” (Is. 59:15- 16)

What is the essence of this support? What could God rely on, seeing the senselessness and impossibility of further leading this nation, and, at the same time, bearing in mind the impossibility of breaking the oath given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? - A humanly insoluble question... But God found a solution to it!

“The Redeemer of Zion will come, the sons of Jacob, who have turned from sin” (Isaiah 59:20) “And this is My COVENANT with them, says the Lord: My Spirit which is upon You (Redeemer), and My words which I have put in Your mouth , they will not depart from Your mouth, and from the mouth of Your descendants (H2233) and from the mouth of the descendants of Your descendants (H2233 H2233), says the Lord, from now on and forever” (Isa. 59: 20-21) Elsewhere about the same NEW IN THE COVENANT says the Lord thus: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not such a covenant as I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of land of Egypt; They broke that covenant of mine, although I remained in covenant with them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law within them, and write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they will be My people” (Jer. 31:31-33). . And again: “Behold My Servant, Whom I hold by the hand, My chosen one, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him and will proclaim judgment to the nations... Thus says the Lord God, who created the heavens and their expanses, who spread out the earth with its products, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk on it. I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, and I will hold Your hand and keep You, and I will make You a COVENANT for the people, a light for the Gentiles” (Is. 42, 1: 6-7)

So, the NEW TESTAMENT, the Lord promises, will be concluded through the Redeemer, Who Himself and His word will become an everlasting covenant to His descendants and the descendants of those descendants, and the evidence of enrollment in the descendants of the Redeemer will be the Spirit of God in their mouth.

“Not only will You serve to restore the tribe of Jacob and to convert the remnant of Israel, but I will make You a light for the nations, so that My salvation may reach to the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6)

Therefore, His mission is:

1. In the restoration of the tribe of Jacob. How is this possible if Jacob died? According to the flesh, this is impossible (but you and I previously concluded that the promise of God is not inherited according to the flesh). However, in spirit, the heirs of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, i.e. completely renouncing one’s will for the sake of following the will of God is quite possible.

2. Conversion of the remnants of Israel. Not all of Israel, but only its remnants. Those who follow the laws given to Moses, but thanks to the shepherds “who fed themselves” (see Ezekiel 34) got lost and strayed from the path of salvation.

3. Salvation will reach all ends of the earth.

The evidence of salvation will be the Spirit of God, Who rests on the saved.

And then the Redeemer came. He came about whom John the Baptist said: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). “The sins of the world”, and not the sins of “Israel”, “Judea”, “Jews” or anyone else. Accordingly, the very first testimony announces to us the fulfillment of the third part of the Redeemer's mission.

Now let us consider how the Savior fulfilled the tasks of His mission.

First part. Restoration of the Tribe of Jacob. As we remember, the first saint of God was not Jacob, but Abraham. Therefore, let us consider the words of the Savior with the mention of Abraham: “God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones” (Matthew 3:9). These words confirm our conclusion that the descendants of Abraham are not his relatives in the flesh. “If you were children of Abraham, you would do the works of Abraham” (John 8:39). This confirms our conclusion that the descendants of Abraham are those who act like him. “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness” (Rom. 4:3; Gal. 3:6). Therefore, righteousness is trusting and following the will of God.

Based on these instructions of our Lord, we summarize what has been said: the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are not their relatives in the flesh, but those who follow the Divine will. IN Old Testament circumcision is prescribed as evidence of the beginning of following the will of God foreskin. In the New Testament, the Lord promises that He will redeem those “who will believe and receive Baptism” (Mark 16:16). Consequently, now evidence of the beginning of following the will of God is Baptism (analogous to circumcision in the Old Testament). But this is just the beginning. All Israelites accepted circumcision, but only three people fulfilled the will of God in full... This means circumcision did not guarantee salvation. That is why God, through Moses, had to give detailed instructions on how to follow the will of God in the conditions of our everyday life: “Say to the children of Israel”... promising for this to enroll the executor among His people (see above: Exodus 19:5-6). And in the New Testament, acceptance of Baptism is not yet a guarantee of salvation. In the above passage about the second condition it is said “whoever believes.” Believe in whom, what, how? This issue is addressed in Matt. 28:19-20: “Go therefore and teach the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you: and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen". Therefore, we must believe, we must trust the word of God, transmitted to us through the holy apostles. The Lord Himself promised them: “The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything that I have told you” (John 14:26) And after His resurrection from the dead He Himself testified that they received the Holy Spirit by breathing on them and saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). Consequently, they were given the power to remember and write down what the Savior did and said. Therefore, disbelief, distrust of their word, the word written in the Gospel, is distrust of God Himself, and therefore deprivation of oneself from the divine Atonement: “He who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18).

We have moved a little away from the topic of our conversation... So what kind of “descendants” (H2233) and descendants of descendants (H2233 N2233) mentioned above (see Isa. 59:20-21) are we talking about? Let's figure it out. In the words “My Spirit which is upon you” we're talking about about the Holy Spirit, which comes from God the Father and is transmitted through God the Son (see Revealing the Creed to St. Gregory of Neocaesarea through the appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos and the Apostle John the Theologian). The descendants of the Redeemer, who have the same Spirit in their mouths, as we further saw, are the apostles - the disciples of the Savior. And who, in this case, turns out to be the “descendants of descendants”? The apostles were all Jews... Does this mean that only those Jews who believed their word became their descendants? Let's see if this assumption is true.

Let's start with the words of the Gospel: “He came to his own, but his own did not receive him. And to those who received Him He gave power to become children of God, who were born neither of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of man, but of God” (John 1:11-13). “Ours” is God’s lot: Israel and Judah. To those who accepted Him, He gave them to become CHILDREN OF GOD!!! “I have other sheep which are not of this fold, and these I must bring: and they will hear My voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:16) - “this court” again Israel with Judah , but there are sheep from “another yard”... Which one? We’ll figure it out later, but for now let’s remember: the herd will be “ONE”/”ONE”. “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to Me” (John 12:32). Everyone! EVERYONE!!! Therefore, a representative of no nation will be rejected!!! Thus the third part of the Savior’s mission was fulfilled! But let us check our conclusions by the works of God. In chapter 10 of the Acts of the Apostles, the Apostle Peter said to the centurion Cornelius and everyone there: “You know that our law forbids a Jew to communicate with foreigners and enter their house. But God commanded me not to call any of the people nasty or unclean... I realized that God has no partialities. He accepts everyone who honors Him and does good deeds, no matter what nation they are from... These people received the Holy Spirit just like us.” Based on Isa. 59:20-21 it turns out that Cornelius and his household became the “seed of the offspring” of the Redeemer, without accepting the Old Testament circumcision! Consequently, our conclusions are correct, which means we, who believe His word and accepted Baptism, are the tribe of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - and their God is our common Father. We have become ONE tribe with them!

To complete the picture, we will also examine the last remaining part of the Redeemer’s mission - the conversion of the remnants of Israel.

The Lord said to the apostles: “Go first to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:6) ... “Truly I say to you, before you have gone around the cities of Israel, the Son of Man comes” (Matthew 10:23) ... “ I was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24). At first glance, these words refute our above conclusions about the ONE tribe. But let's think about them. And our assistant in our reasoning will be the Apostle Paul, who examined this issue in detail in his letters to the Romans and Ephesians.

Yes, “to the Israelites belong the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the statutes, and the worship, and the promises” (Rom. 9:4). And we saw this and wrote about it at the very beginning of our research. But “not all those who are Israelites are of Israel” (Rom. 9:6). Now this is interesting! Then who are the Israelis - if not only the inhabitants of Israel? As we remember, the Lord said: “from your very birth you were called an apostate” (Is. 48:8). Consequently, “Israelites” are “god-fighters”, “apostates”, i.e. who received everything from God (adoption, glory, covenants, statutes, worship, promises), but departed from Him. But if it was they who received all this and preserved the word of God proclaimed to them (I must admit I admire the keepers of the Old Testament: how much one must love God in order to preserve His words about his people, that “his name will remain a curse to my chosen ones”!!! ), then who should the Redeemer save first if not them, “the remnant of the children of Israel”?!! Which He told us about in the above words (Matthew 15:24). However, the apostle already said: “go first...” (Matthew 10:6), i.e. first of all... And to whom then? “You will not have time to go around the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes” (Matthew 10:23). But He, who tells them this, is the Son of Man? How can we talk about this in the future tense? This means we are talking about the second coming of Christ, in glory. But then how can you “not be in time”? After all, Israel is not like that big country... Yes, but we are not talking about Israel, but about the cities of Israel, i.e. cities where the Israelis, the “apostates,” live. Consequently, the speech in this Gospel passage is about cities in which they heard about the word of God, miracles, promises, covenants, but did not live as the Lord commanded! And there are so many such countries, cities, villages and houses that, truly, before the coming of Christ it is not possible to get around them! Truly the word of God!!!

This is how the mission of the Savior was fulfilled and is still being fulfilled!

Well, actually what I was leading this investigation to: After this, how can one call God, who gave the Old and New Testament, god of the Jewish people? No, no and NO!

“They are no longer the people of the Lord, for the family of Israel and the family of Judah have betrayed me,” said the Lord (Jer. 5:10-11). However: “I will give them one heart, and I will put a new SPIRIT within them, and I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and put in a heart of living flesh, so that they may walk in My commandments and keep My statutes and do them. AND THEN they SHALL BE My people, and I will be their God” (Ezek. 11:15). This means that the Israeli people have lost the right to be called the people of God, but will regain such a blessing through the acceptance of the New Testament in receiving the Holy Spirit. “Those who fear God say to each other: “The Lord listens and hears all blasphemies, and before Him a book of remembrance is written about those who fear the Lord and honor His name.” And they will be Mine, says the Lord of hosts. On that day I will make them My treasure and I will be merciful to them, as a father is merciful to his son who helps his father. And then again you will see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not serve Him” (Mal. 3:17-18)

"And it will be in last days... Many nations will go and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and He will teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for out of Zion will go out the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem" (Isa. 2:2-3). “And many nations will flee to the Lord in that day, and they will be My people” (Zech. 2:11). How can one not recall here the already mentioned words of the Savior: “There will be one flock and one Shepherd”?! “I come to gather ALL nations and nations, and they will come and see My glory” (Isaiah 66:18).

“Rejoice with joy, daughter of Zion, rejoice, daughter of Jerusalem: behold, your king is coming to you, righteous, saving and meek; sitting on a donkey and a colt, the son of a donkey. (The Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem) ... He will proclaim peace to the nations, and His dominion will be from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth” (Zech. 9:9-10). “From the east of the sun to the west, my name will be great among the nations, and in EVERY place they will offer incense to my name, a pure sacrifice; My name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts” (Mal. 1:11).

“The Lord will destroy ALL the gods of the earth and ALL people will begin to worship Him, each in HIS country, peoples in EVERY region” (Zeph. 2:11).

“He is our world. He united Jews and pagans into one people... He came and brought the Good News of peace to you who lived far from God and to those who are close to Him. So, thanks to Him, we - both Jews and Gentiles - have access to the Father, united by one Spirit! So, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, you are equal members of God’s people and members of God’s household,” said the Apostle Paul to the Ephesians (Eph. 2:14-18). And as a final conclusion for all of us: “In union with Him you also are being created to become a dwelling place of God through the Spirit” (Eph. 2:22).

For those who thirst and hunger for the truth, I think the issue has been sufficiently answered. But I also want to appeal to those who are fanatically devoted to the idea of serving their own, national god, to those who, in response to this research, will say: “You never know who wrote something, laid out their fantasies... Why should I give up the idea that is the god in whom I believe also true, strong and powerful?”

The Lord God himself answers you: “Present your case, says the Lord; bring your evidence, says the King of Jacob. Let them imagine and tell us what will happen; let them announce something before it happened, and we will delve into it with our minds and find out how it ended, or let them foretell to us about the future. Tell us what will happen in the future, and we will know that you are gods, or do something, good or bad, so that we will be amazed and see with you. But you are nothing, and your cause is insignificant; He who chooses you is an abomination” (Isa. 41:21-24). And further: “Before Me there was no God and after Me there will be no God. I, I am the Lord, and there is no Savior besides Me. I have foretold and saved and proclaimed; But you have no other, and you are My witnesses, says the Lord, that I am God” (Isa. 43:10-12).

Consequently, the Lord Himself testifies: the truth of faith is tested by the announcement of the future. What notices do you have about the future, who trust in the ancient Slavic “gods”? Present your evidence!

The Lord God fully announced to us about the future in the Gospel and through the apostle, who personally received the Holy Spirit from the Redeemer. John the Theologian in his "Revelation". Read, analyze history and see the fulfillment of some of the prophecies. Look at contemporary events through the prism of Holy Scripture and understand what awaits us next. If you cannot believe without seeing, then at least, like the Apostle Thomas, believe after seeing the fullness of the previously announced prophecies!

And, in conclusion, I will tell you about one discovery I made while reading the Holy Scriptures. In the vision of the prophet Zechariah about four chariots emerging from the gorge between two copper mountains (Zecharia 6), it is said: “My spirit rested in the northern land.” In "Revelation" St. John the Theologian, after the story of the seven churches, says: “Come up here and I will show you what must happen after this” (Apoc. 4:1). Consequently, “churches” are certain periods of the existence of the earthly part of the one Church, which was founded by the Lord Himself (Matthew 16:18). According to the interpretation of St. Andrew of Caesarea, the name of the church indicates a specific period of church history. Because “Philadelphia” is translated as “brotherly loving”, and “Laodicea” is translated as “rule of the people”, then we can draw the following conclusion: the peculiarity of the Laodicean church is the rule of the people, i.e. rejection of the previously established hierarchy of hierarchy. As you know, this is what distinguishes numerous branches of Protestantism. Protestantism appeared after 1520. Before this, in “Revelation” there is a word to the brotherly loving church. “You don’t have much strength,” i.e. You had few descendants of the Redeemer. “I will save you from the time of temptation that will come throughout the entire universe to test everyone living on earth.” The whole world, all nations will be tested, and the Philadelphian church will escape this... If it preserves what it has. From all this evidence I conclude: we are talking about the Russian Church, which, as you know, has always been distinguished by brotherly love. The idea of “Moscow - the third Rome” captured the Russian people much earlier than 1520. Only the apostle reached the Russian land. Andrew the First-Called. The Holy Spirit rested on northern land- Russian land is located north of Jerusalem. And only the Philadelphia Church received such a great blessing: for the piety of its people it avoided universal temptation!

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Who is the chosen one? - One who is able to complete the assigned task. For there is no chosenness without a goal. When, for example, it is necessary to build a stove, they choose not a genius of mankind, but a master stove maker. And the Jewish people were chosen as the most capable of preserving the most important Revelation to humanity about the coming to Earth of the Savior of the world - Christ, Who will free man from slavery to sin. The Jews kept this Revelation in writing. However, the leaders of the people deeply distorted the image of Christ the Messiah. They turned the King of holiness, love and truth of the eternal Kingdom of God into a universal earthly king who will give the fullness of earthly blessings. Notice when Christ said: No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be zealous for one and despise the other. If you cannot serve God and Mammon, then the Pharisees laughed at Him (Luke 16:13, 14), openly showing their god. Father Alexander Men said this very precisely: “ the idea of the Kingdom of God in Judaism is the idea of the external triumph of Israel and its fantastic prosperity on Earth" Therefore, the bulk of the Jewish people, brought up in such religious materialism, did not accept the coming Lord Jesus Christ, calling man to the fullness of spiritual and moral purity and to achieve eternal life in God.

At the Cross of Christ the final division of Israel into two parts took place (see: Luke 2:34): small herd chosen ones remainder(see: Luke 12, 32; Rom. 11, 2–5), who accepted the promised Christ and thereby preserved the covenant of election, which became the beginning of the Church, and the other part - those who became embittered, who finally lost this election by their betrayal of the Kingdom of Heaven for the sake of the kingdom on the ground. This includes the harsh words of rebuke from the prophet Isaiah: I called, and you did not answer; He spoke, and you did not listen... And leave your name for My chosen to be cursed; and the Lord God will kill you, and call His servants by another name (Isa. 65: 12, 15). This is another name - Christians (Acts 11:26).

The taking away of chosenness from Jews who do not accept Christ is spoken of many times in the Gospel: I tell you that many will come from the east and west and lie down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven; and the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:11-12); or the parable of the evil vinedressers: Therefore I tell you that the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and will be given to a people bearing its fruits (Matthew 21:43).

This is how Judaism arose, which, unlike the Old Testament, is essentially an ideology, not a religion, and prepares for the coming of its earthly Christ (Antichrist).

For more than one century, the theme of God's chosenness of the Jewish people has haunted the minds of mankind. The paradox is that Jews, recognizing the right to be called “chosen,” often refuse the imposed label. There is no uniformity on this score in the scriptures.

Controversial topic

For Jews, the topic of being chosen by God has always been special. But in Lately she became painful. Representatives of Jewry complain that other nations see chosenness as a doctrine of superiority and thirst for world domination.

Indeed, the cornerstone of many conspiracy theories is the idea of some kind of world government consisting of Jews, exploiting the rest of the Earth's population and striving to reduce its number as much as possible.

But even for the average person who is not a Jew or a supporter of conspiracy theories, God’s chosenness of the Jews causes, if not irritation, then at least bewilderment. The rabbis here take a dual position: they believe that the concept of “God’s chosen people” in its current sense is a product imposed by Christian ideology, but at the same time they recognize that the chosen mission of the Jews remains in force, since the Covenant of Moses with God has not been canceled.

However, even in the latter there is no unity among the Jews. In the religious circles of Judaism, there is a position that only strict adherence to the commandments makes Jews the chosen people, while the Orthodox claim that even a Jew who leads an exclusively secular lifestyle can be considered “chosen.”

For what merit?

A person inexperienced in religious knowledge may wonder why the Jews acquired such merits in the eyes of God. privileged position? To do this, you need to turn to religious texts.

In the Torah (Book of Breishit, chapter 12:1-3) God says to Abraham: “Get out of your country, from your kindred and from your father’s house to the country that I will show you. And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.”

The very concept of the chosenness of the Jewish people was first voiced approximately 1300 years BC (500 years from the time of Abraham) on Mount Sinai by Moses, who conveyed the words of God: “So speak to the House of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel... If you will obey Me and keep My covenant, then you will be My chosen one out of all nations” (Exodus 19:3-6).

According to Judaism, a Covenant was concluded between God and the Jewish people, which can be interpreted both as a blessing and as a huge responsibility that rests on the Jews. Orthodox publicist Sergei Khudiev writes that God's election differs from man's. If we choose for something, then to God it is an act of pure, freely given grace, which is not associated with any merit.

This idea is conveyed by the Bible, which emphasizes that the Jews were chosen not for merit, but in order to save all humanity. According to the Old Testament, the pagan peoples were unable to accept the incarnate God, and therefore the people of Israel had to prepare them for the coming of the Messiah.

Archpriest Dmitry Smirnov clarifies this issue. The Lord, in his opinion, did not choose the Jewish people. God chose Abraham. While many representatives of the human race were mired in pagan cults of worshiping a whole host of gods and deities, Abraham was faithful to the one God - the creator of all things on earth. And only later was chosenness related to the whole people.

Not elected, but appointed

Upon careful reading of the Bible, you will notice that the word “God’s chosen” does not accurately convey the meaning of the relationship between God and the Jewish people as reflected in the Holy Scriptures. “I have formed this people for Myself,” it is said on the pages of the Old Testament (Is. 43:21). It turns out that the people are not chosen by God, but created by God.

As one rabbi wittily remarked about the chosenness of his people: “Jews did not participate in the elections, no one elected them, they were simply appointed.”

The Apostle Paul says that the Jewish Old Testament law is “a teacher for Christ” (Gal. 3:24). This strange word becomes clear if we establish its Greek basis. The original Greek contains the word “pedagogon”, but it is not equivalent to the word teacher, which is close to us. In the ancient world, a teacher was a slave who closely monitored the child so that he got to school on time, did not play pranks and did not waste his energy.

Also the Law of Moses, which the Jews were entrusted to implement, in their in true sense does not so much teach as warn. It is no coincidence that among the 613 commandments of the Pentateuch there are 365 prohibitions and 248 commands. The original mission of the chosen people of the Jews was to warn other peoples from abusing dangerous beliefs.

One of the attributes of the pagan cults practiced in Canaan, Phenicia or Carthage was such a terrible rite as infant sacrifice, confirmed by modern archeology. In these circumstances, Joshua’s orders to scorch the land of Canaan no longer seem so terrible from people whose religious minds had become so clouded that they sacrificed their own firstborn to their god.

“Fanaticism is tolerated in the Bible - in the face of pagan extremes, it is a lesser evil than indifference,” notes Russian theologian and philosopher Andrei Kuraev in this regard.

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Thousands of years have passed since those distant times. Are the people of Israel still forced to fulfill their mission? In the New Testament era, many deprived the Jews of this creative role. The Apostle Paul, endowing Christianity with universalism, contrasted the saving Gospel with the outdated Law. The Christian Saint interpreted Judaism as a “passed stage,” thereby diminishing the theological significance of Judaism in New Testament times.

In 2010, Middle Eastern bishops meeting at the Vatican passed a resolution demanding that Israel stop using the Bible to justify injustices against Palestinians. “The rights to the 'Promised Land' are no longer the privilege of the Jewish people. Christ abolished this right. The Chosen People are no more,” the Vatican resolution stated.

For Jews, such a statement became another reason to declare that the idea of God's chosenness was adopted and transformed by Christianity. According to the concept of medieval theologians, the mission of Israel ended with the birth of Jesus Christ in its midst. “Israel in the flesh” was now the Christian Church.

Perhaps the numerous troubles that befell the Jewish people with the advent of the Christian era are evidence that Israel’s mission is over? In the 19th century, the Russian saint Theophan the Recluse expressed his interpretation of this theological question: “Whoever God has chosen will punish him for correction, will deprive him of His mercy for a while, but will not completely reject him.”

One of the documents of the World Council of Churches of Protestant Communities for 1988 states that the Covenant between G-d and the Jewish people remains in force. Anti-Semitism, like any teaching that condemns Judaism, must be rejected.

Compensation for humiliation

All the complexity and inconsistency of the issue of God's chosenness in modern world lies in the dilemma: dogmatically the Jewish people remain the chosen people of God, but how should this manifest itself in real life, except for declaration, no one can explain.

In the eyes of the anti-Semitic part of the public, God's chosenness of Jews is expressed in their disdainful and arrogant attitude towards other peoples, in the privileged possession of rights and opportunities that are not given to mere mortals.

Stepping away from anti-Semitic rhetoric, one can try to understand what the special status of modern Jewry is. The famous translator of the Koran, Valeria Prokhorova, writes that “after a slave existence in Egypt, the sons of Israel became free, received abundant lands and prosperity, each of them was like a king.”

This aspect was also considered by the philosopher Nikolai Berdyaev: “There is a Jewish conceit that irritates. But it is psychologically explainable: this people was humiliated by other peoples and they compensate themselves with the consciousness of being chosen and their high mission.”

Striving to find feeling self-esteem after many years of deprivation and humiliation, it was imprinted in the genetic memory of the Jewish people and was expressed in gaining protection, including through a sense of superiority and the achievement of status and wealth.

Andrei Kuraev sees a prophetic pathos in Jews, repeating “we are responsible for everything.” Quite often one has to notice, writes Kuraev, that an ethnic Jew who has become Orthodox priest, becomes a man of the “party” and extremes. He cannot limit himself simply to the circle of his parish or monastic duties. He needs to “save Orthodoxy.”

Interfaith conflict

The Russian writer Yakov Lurie, explaining the Jewish phenomenon, noted that the issue here is not the Old Testament or nationality. “It is something intangible and elusive as a whole,” Lurie writes, “it is an extract from all elements that are fundamentally hostile to the moral and social order established on Christian principles.”

Indeed, the modern idea of Jewry being chosen by God can also be explained through a conflict with Christianity. After all, Christianity, in fact, applied those rights and responsibilities of God’s chosen people, which Moses presented to Israel, to itself - “once not a people, but now the people of God” (1 Pet. 2:10).

One of the preachers of Jewish nationalism in Russia, Sergei Lezov, sees the anti-Semitism of Christianity in the fact that it has “usurped Israel’s claims” to the exclusivity of its relationship with God. At the same time, fighters against anti-Semitism go further and demand that Christian peoples, in repentance for the crimes of pagan German Nazism, adopt a view of Israel as a people that still preserves its chosenness of God in absolute uniqueness.

For the Protestant theologian Oscar Kuhlman, there are two understandings of national messianism, between which there is an impassable line: does the chosen people exist in order to serve all of humanity, or so that all of humanity, having come to its senses, serves him.

Covenant under duress

The Talmud says that when the Jewish people stood at the foot of Sinai, God announced to them that if they refused to recognize Him, He would order the mountain to cover the entire Jewish camp with its mass, and the Jews, out of fear, against their will, feignedly agreed to serve Jehovah. The Law of Moses was therefore a great bondage for the Israelites (Shabbat 88:1).

If we were called to court, says Rabbi Solomon Yarhi, and asked why we do not adhere to what was told to us at Sinai, then we could answer that we do not want to know what was imposed on us by force. So, should the Covenant received by the Jews under duress be considered valid?

God-fighting motives were noted back in the days of the first Patriarchs. It is no coincidence that when Jacob was blessed, he received the name Israel - “He who wrestles with God.” “You have fought with God, and you will overcome men” (Gen. 32:27,28), the Creator admonished him.

The desire for freedom also manifested itself in the heirs of Jacob. They were interested in everything that the Torah prohibited. This is how Kabbalah arose - preaching magic and astrology and denying the One Personal God-Creator. The pagan doctrine of transmigration also found a place in the house of Israel.

Jews created a religion of self-deification, says Andrei Kuraev about Kabbalah. They finally gave in to the desires of their hearts, which the Prophets had forbidden them to do. The Prophets are gone, and the Grace of God is gone. "Jerusalem! Jerusalem! you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! how many times have I wanted to gather your children together, as a bird gathers its chicks under its wings, and you did not want to! “Behold, your house is left to you empty,” Christ addressed the children of Israel (Matthew 23:37).

Israel, for whom the Covenant turned out to be a heavy burden, giving in to temptations secret knowledge, has largely abandoned God’s chosenness. Christianity values Israel's historical mission more highly than Israel itself, wrote Catholic theologian and French Cardinal Henri de Lubac. – Israel exists not for its own sake, but for the sake of all humanity.

Henri de Lubac compared the Jews to the eldest son, who in a famous parable did not want his Father to accept him younger brother. Israel gave Christ to the world, but they themselves did not notice it. As a result, according to the theologian, when, at the end of its providential mission, Israel desired to maintain its privileges, it became a usurper.

Controversial topic

For Jews, the topic of being chosen by God has always been special. But lately she has become painful. Representatives of Jewry complain that other nations see chosenness as a doctrine of superiority and thirst for world domination.

For what merit?

A person inexperienced in religious knowledge may ask the question: for what merits did the Jews acquire a privileged position in the eyes of God? To do this, you need to turn to religious texts.

In the Torah (book of Breishit, chapter 12:1-3) God says to Abraham:

Go away from your country, from your relatives and from your father’s house to the country that I will show you. And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

The very concept of the chosenness of the Jewish people was first voiced approximately 1300 years BC (500 years from the time of Abraham) on Mount Sinai by Moses, who conveyed the words of God: “So speak to the House of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel... If you obey Me and keep My covenant, then you will be My chosen one from all nations” (Exodus, chapter 19: 3-6).

Not elected, but appointed

It turns out that the people are not chosen by God, but created by God.

As one rabbi wittily remarked regarding the chosenness of his people:

Jews did not participate in the elections, no one elected them, they were simply appointed

Likewise, the Law of Moses, which the Jews were entrusted to implement, in its true sense does not so much teach as it warns. It is no coincidence that among the 613 commandments of the Pentateuch there are 365 prohibitions and 248 commands. The original mission of the chosen people of the Jews was to warn other peoples from abusing dangerous beliefs.

Fanaticism is tolerated in the Bible - in the face of pagan extremes, it is a lesser evil than indifference notes the Russian theologian and philosopher Andrei Kuraev in this regard.

No more favorites?

In 2010, Middle Eastern bishops meeting at the Vatican passed a resolution demanding that Israel stop using the Bible to justify injustices against Palestinians.

Rights to the “Promised Land” are no longer the privilege of the Jewish people. Christ abolished this right. The Chosen People are no more reported in a Vatican resolution.

Whomever G-d has chosen will punish him for correction, will deprive him of His mercy for a while, but will not completely reject him

Compensation for humiliation

All the complexity and inconsistency of the issue of God's chosen people in the modern world lies in the dilemma: dogmatically, the Jewish people remain the chosen people of God, but no one can explain how this should manifest itself in real life, other than a declaration.

This aspect was also considered by the philosopher Nikolai Berdyaev:

There is a Jewish conceit that irritates. But it is psychologically explainable: this people was humiliated by other peoples and they compensate themselves with the consciousness of being chosen and their high mission

The desire to gain self-esteem after many years of deprivation and humiliation was imprinted in the genetic memory of the Jewish people and was expressed in gaining protection, including through a sense of superiority and the achievement of status and wealth.

Andrei Kuraev sees a prophetic pathos in Jews, repeating “we are responsible for everything.” Quite often one has to notice, writes Kuraev, that an ethnic Jew who becomes an Orthodox priest becomes a person of the “party” and extremes. He cannot limit himself simply to the circle of his parish or monastic duties. He needs to “save Orthodoxy.”

Interfaith conflict

The Russian writer Yakov Lurie, explaining the Jewish phenomenon, noted that the issue here is not the Old Testament or nationality.

Covenant under duress

Jerusalem! Jerusalem! you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! how many times have I wanted to gather your children together, as a bird gathers its chicks under its wings, and you did not want to! Behold, your house is left to you empty Christ addressed the sons of Israel (Matthew 23:37).

Israel, for whom the Covenant turned out to be a heavy burden, having given in to the temptations of secret knowledge, has largely abandoned God's chosenness. Christianity values Israel's historical mission more highly than Israel itself. Israel does not exist for its own sake, but for the sake of all humanity wrote the Catholic theologian and French cardinal Henri de Lubac.

Henri de Lubac compared the Jews to the eldest son, who in a famous parable did not want the Father to accept his younger brother. Israel gave Christ to the world, but they themselves did not notice it. As a result, according to the theologian, when, at the end of its providential mission, Israel desired to maintain its privileges, it became a usurper.

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