Since the beginning of Christianity, anti-Jewish sentiments have been pervasive among large segments of its adherents. Even while a growing number of believers are choosing to stand with Israel, antisemitic influences remain embedded in certain ideologies that target the Jewish people with accusations of wickedness (whether those claims are rooted in reality, or not). But these allegations are not merely an end in themselves. Their strategy is to assert that Israel’s sins have annulled their position as God’s people. But is this really so? Does Israel’s status as the chosen nation depend upon whether they are righteous or wicked? Not at all, and in Deuteronomy 9, we find Moses clearly demonstrating the contrary: that God’s choosing of the Jewish people is not dependent upon their righteousness, but is instead based on the promises He made to their fathers, as well as on His own reputation which He tied to those promises.

As Israel was preparing to enter the Promised Land, Moses gave them his final teachings. Israel needed to understand that they had not earned the blessings that they were about to receive, so that they would not credit their own righteousness when they gained victory. So Moses explained to them:

“Know, therefore, that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people…. Even at Horeb you provoked the Lord to wrath, and the Lord was so angry with you that he was ready to destroy you.” (Deu. 9:6-8, esv)

To remind the people of their stubbornness and rebellion, Moses recounted Israel’s wickedness at Mount Sinai (Horeb), when they fashioned a golden calf and turned away from God’s covenant (Deu. 9:12). Far from meriting His blessings, Israel’s conduct was so unrighteous that it warranted the worst judgment possible: annihilation (9:13-14). Nonetheless, God spared Israel because of Moses’ plea: “O Lord God, destroy not your people…. For they are your people and your heritage…” (9:26-29, esv). If Israel had ceased to be God’s people, then Adonai would have had no reason to spare them. Yet even in the midst of His burning wrath, He would not destroy them, because regardless of their actions, they were still God’s people (10:11).

So if Israel remains God’s people even in the midst of their idolatry, then their righteousness—or their wickedness—is not what determines His faithfulness toward them. Instead, we see the true basis of Israel’s chosenness as Moses continues his appeal:

“Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Do not regard the stubbornness of this people, or their wickedness or their sin….” (Deu. 9:27-29, esv)

Moses asked God to disregard Israel’s sin because of His promises to the patriarchs. God chose Israel because He loved their fathers and promised that their offspring would be His people (Deu. 10:15; Gen. 17:7-8). Even as Israel bowed to an idol, God’s hand was stayed by the memory of His oath that the nation of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would dwell in Canaan and be a blessing to all the earth (Gen. 12:13, 15:16). Since he had made these promises without condition or qualification, He acted based not on Israel’s conduct, but on His own love for Israel’s ancestors. Even as they stretched God’s patience to the limit, He would not break His word.

Finally, Moses appealed to God on the basis of not only His love for the patriarchs, but also His concern for His own reputation, saying:

“Do not regard… their wickedness or their sin, lest the land from which you brought us say, ‘Because the Lord was not able to bring them into the land that he promised them, and because he hated them, he has… put them to death in the wilderness.’” (Deu. 9:27-28, esv)

All the nations knew that Adonai had chosen Israel as His people and was bringing them to the Promised Land. Moses reasoned that if God destroyed them now, the nations would call Him a God who does not—or cannot—keep His promises (Num. 14:13-16). If God was to be known as a true, powerful, and faithful God, He could only show it by keeping His promises to Israel. As Paul would later affirm, Israel is “beloved on account of the fathers”; and since Adonai’s “gifts and… calling” are “unregretted-of,” He does not revoke His calling of Israel even when they rebel or reject Him (Rom. 11:28f, mjlt). Because of God’s concern for His reputation among the nations, He retains Israel as His people—not because of anything they do, but because of His own holiness (Ezk. 36:19-28, Isa. 48:8-11).

God’s mercy despite Israel’s sin shows that His unconditional faithfulness is not because of their righteousness, nor is it undermined by their faithlessness (Rom. 3:3f). Rather, God’s love for Israel is solely built upon His covenant with their fathers, certified by His reliable, holy Name. God chose Israel, and He will not withdraw His love from them. Though they rebel in unrighteousness, Adonai keeps His promises: through Yeshua, He will not remember their sins, He will be Israel’s God, and Israel will forever be His people (Jer. 31:33f).

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