God chose the Israelites as His special people because of Abraham’s obedience. God looked down from heaven and saw Abraham’s willing heart. He called out to him and told Abraham to go to a land He would show him and in return God would bless not only Abraham’s family but also the nations of the world (Gen. 12:1-3). Abraham’s response? He went (v.4). There was not even enough hesitation for Scripture to address. Later, the promise was repeated to Isaac and Jacob, his son and grandson, respectively.
God reminded the Israelite’s of His covenant with their Patriarchs as He prepared them to enter the Promised Land. “The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of peoples, but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments” (Deut. 7:7-9).
So what was special about Abraham? He obeyed. It’s not that He earned this privilege because of some feat that he accomplished. It was merely because of His response. The surprising truth about people God used in the Bible is that they were just like you and me with willing hearts. None of them were perfect. Abraham came out of Ur which was a polytheistic metropolitan area. No doubt Abraham had bowed his knee to a false god. But when the Great I Am called him, Abraham turned and responded.
We also need to recognize that if we chose not to respond, God will find someone else to bless. This makes me think of King Saul. God had set him head over the tribes of Israel, anointing him as king (1 Sam. 20:17). All God asked from Saul was his obedience, and God would bless him and his line forever. But Saul chose to reject God’s instruction and rule the people by his own justifications. Eventually, the Lord took the kingship away from Saul and gave it to a man after his own heart, David of Judah (1 Sam. 13:14). David was not perfect, but when he did disobey, he turned to God with a repentant heart. That’s all that God asks of us. King David was blessed for His response and so was the nation of Israel and eventually the world.
No matter where we come from or what we have done, God wants to use us for His Kingdom. All He asks for is a willing and obedient heart. God takes us from where we are at and raises us to where we need to be. Without His wisdom and direction, we would never be able to fully serve Him. The nation of Israel was not chosen as God’s people because of something within them that set them apart, but instead because of God’s loyalty to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that loved the Lord with full hearts.