The chosen and the unchosen – is God unfair?

A prominent question in Genesis is election or who is chosen by God. Throughout the book, some like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are chosen, others like Ishmael and Esau are not. This is not unique to Genesis; Israel’s chosen status as against the nations is present throughout the Old Testament and the rejection of Saul and the choice of David as king is another notable example, though in the latter case, it is easier to find justification for God’s decision based on the two men’s attitude. So, isn’t God unfair in favouring some and not others? Why does He have to choose at all, we may ask. Should He not love all His created children equally? I believe there are two issues that particularly colour our perception as we approach this question. First, the history of the twentieth century shows that thinking of oneself as chosen and special can lead to feelings of superiority and to violence against those not part of the elect. Second, Christians associate being chosen with salvation and not being chosen as rejection and ultimately damnation. No wonder, we are troubled by the image this conjures up of God.

The purpose of God’s choice

Why then does God choose some at all? Why is Israel’s story (starting with Abraham) inserted into the larger story of humanity? Throughout the Old Testament, there are scattered clues. God chooses a people to have a special relationship with, which is compared to marriage (e.g. Hos 1:2; 2:19-20). While such commitment excludes others in some ways, it is not a rejection of them but a different way of relating, similar to the way married couples have friendships other than their spouse but keep the special bond of physical intimacy within the marriage. In God’s case, His close bond with one people involves nurturing and guiding them into deeper ways of knowing God (e.g. Gen 18:17-19). Thus, Abraham has encounters with God that teach him that God loves, protects and blesses, He is trustworthy and keeps His promise, is powerful to do the impossible, He requires trust and full commitment to Himself, He listens and responds to prayer and is just but also merciful (Sodom). Later, Israel will experience God’s saving acts in the exodus and receive the Law to guide them into God’s will and into ways of living that lead to flourishing. There is a parallel to this kind of investment in relationship in the New Testament, where Jesus has an inner circle of friends, starting small and going deep with the Twelve (and within that with three –Peter, John, and James) in order to reach ultimately all.

The basis for God’s choice

The basis for God’s choice is simply explained as love (Deut 4:37; 10:15). It is not grounded in special qualities in Israel, it is not her righteousness or greatness that make her acceptable to God (Deut 7:7-8; 9:4-7). This is also true of the patriarchs. While we may admire some traits in Abraham (his faith in God’s promise, his willingness to leave all behind to follow God), we have also seen that he shamefully exposes Sarah to potential abuse by saying that she is his sister (not once but twice)! Jacob is even less of a model of a godly man, but a cheat and an opportunist who strips his brother of his birth right and steals his blessing. One recurrent feature of God’s choice is that He picks the undeserving, the unworthy, as well as the insignificant, the weak, the negligible – note how God’s favour never falls on the firstborn son in Genesis. Thus, there is no room to boast of one’s chosenness based on merit. In fact, it may seem counterintuitive to choose an elderly and barren couple (Abraham and Sarah) to start a new nation, a deceiver (Jacob) to become a forefather of a people who are meant to be God’s light in the world, yet God’s grace and power patiently works with and transforms these people to become His servants. It is a pattern also recognised in the New Testament (1 Cor 1:26-29).

How does God deal with the unchosen?

How then does God deal with those not elected? We get a glimpse of this in Genesis in the story of Ishmael and later Esau. Although God’s covenant continues in Isaac, not Ishmael, the latter is promised greatness which parallels that of God’s people. He will be blessed, become a great nation and the father of twelve princes (Gen 17:20-21). In fact, the story of Hagar and Ishmael’s expulsion in Genesis 21, though harsh, makes it clear that God cares about them, even if separation of Isaac and Ishmael is necessary at this point. Just as the Lord cared for Hagar the first time she fled from Sarah when pregnant (Gen 16:7-14) and promised greatness to her son, so now God hears Ishmael’s cry as Hagar wonders with him dazed in the desert, reassures her of His promise to make him into a great nation and opens her eyes to His provision (Gen 21:17-19). Thus, Hagar encounters God twice; we might even say that she has a deeper insight into God’s character than Sarah to whom God does not speak directly at all. In the later story of Esau, his ‘blessing’ does not sound like a blessing at all (Gen 27:39-40), but by the time Jacob returns home from Paddan-Aram, Esau clearly has plenty and bears no grudge against his brother (Gen 33:4-9). Later, Esau’s land (Edom) is protected by God, so Israel is admonished not to try and take it away because it was given specifically to Esau’s descendants (Deut 2:4-5).

While what is often termed the ‘extermination of the Canaanites’ (cf. Deut 7:1-6) is a larger question that I cannot tackle here, suffice it to say that whatever is involved in the command, their dispossession of the land is not based on the fact that Israel is chosen and the Canaanites are not. Rather, they are to be driven out as part of God’s judgment on their wickedness (Deut 9:4-5). In fact, God explains to Abraham that His promise of taking possession of the land of Canaan will be delayed four hundred years because ‘the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete’ (Gen 15:13, 16). Amorite is used here as an umbrella term (like Canaanite) for the local population, and it suggests that God is giving them opportunity to repent and mend their ways before judgment will fall on them. Although we only get a brief glimpse into their story and not the full picture, this statement indicates that all peoples are to some degree accountable to God. They are not judged by the stricter standards revealed to Israel, but on the basis of general morality that is recognised even among pagans (compare Rom 2:12-16). The oracles against the nations give further insight into how God judges them, so that among their sins are often pride, arrogance, injustices (e.g. Isa 10:12-14; 14:4-6; 16:6). Yet, it is prophesied of several nations that they will come to acknowledge God in the future and worship Him (e.g. Isa 19:22-25). There are also Gentiles whose lives are touched by God or who become incorporated into Israel (e.g. Rahab – Josh 2:8-14, Ruth – Ruth 1:15-17, Naaman – 2 Kings 5:14-15). Thus, not being chosen is not therefore rejection, nor is it a final verdict or a condemnation to eternal judgment.

What is it like to be chosen?

Still, we might feel that being chosen is much better and it is unfair of God not to choose all. But what does election mean for those thus chosen? It is worth reflecting on Genesis to get an idea. For Abraham, being chosen meant leaving his family, land (and implicitly, inheritance behind – Gen 12:1-3). Yes, God promised him descendants, blessings and another land, but by the time Abraham died, he has only glimpsed a fraction of the fulfilment to God’s promise. He was blessed, true, but he only had Isaac and a plot of burial ground, a small beginning in the grand picture painted of the future. Moreover, God required his all, much of which ended up being a painful journey of loss. He had to let go of Ishmael (Gen 21:9-14) and later of Isaac (Gen 22:2), though he received the latter back.

Jacob, unlike his grandfather, Abraham, was not willing to wait for blessing but wrestled with people and with God to gain it. Yet, God’s principle that those who are grasping will lose all comes into effect in his life. His own manipulative actions lead to loss of land and family (when he had to flee from Esau’s wrath) and He could only receive blessing from God after he has been made weak, so that it is a limping Jacob that returns home (Gen 32:24-25). Yet, despite this encounter, Jacob still struggles with that grasping instinct so that he must lose his beloved son, Joseph, too (Gen 37:34-35). Those who are chosen receive more, but more is also expected of them. Finally, Joseph’s story is one of privilege as Jacob’s favoured son, but he is also chosen by God, as it becomes clear later (Gen 45:5-7). However, the journey to greatness starts with powerlessness and humiliation, a loss of family and land (again), as Joseph is sold into slavery in Egypt. Condemned because of his brothers’ jealousy, falsely accused of sin and imprisoned, and yet ultimately rising in power and bringing deliverance to the very family who condemned him, his journey foreshadows that of Christ (Phil 2:5-9).

Conclusion

Being chosen in the Old Testament, then, involves a special relationship that is exclusive and demanding, which often goes deeper than what the un-chosen experience of God and this may feel unfair. Nevertheless, not being chosen is not rejection, nor is it about eternal salvation and the Old Testament testifies of individuals and peoples outside the covenant whose lives are and will be touched by God in various ways. For the chosen, there is a depth of encounter and engagement with God that is precious, yet it carries more responsibility as well as the testing and shaping of character that involves pain, suffering and loss. Ultimately, the purpose is to shine God’s light into the world, to demonstrate something of what God is like and thereby draw others to God (Deut 4:5-8).

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