Why the Jews?

[Zooey]

Your query made me remember a little poem I heard ages ago:

How odd
that God
should choose
the Jews.

Anyway, I googled it and found this article by Jimmy Akin in This Rock which is enlightening.

That was the first thing that popped into my head, too! Glad I’m not the only one!!

Now, as to the OP’s question, I have often pondered on a saying of the late, great Israeli premier, Golda Meir, who said something like, “People always seem to take it as an insult, when the Scriptures call us Jews a ‘stiff-necked people’. I think of it another way. If Jews weren’t the stubbornest, most stiff-necked people on earth, God wouldn’t have chosen us. Because only a people this “stiff necked” would have lasted this long!”

I think maybe, like my Irish ancestors’ love of laughter & Guinness (fairly useless bent though it may be), that there may, indeed, be a certain stubborn refusal to be conquered in Jewish folks, and that God, knowing that whomever He chose would have to undergo great hardships, He chose the Jews for their “stick-to-itivity”, without which the whole history of the world would have been changed. (And not for the better…)

But God, knowing the beginning from the end in all things, has, we must believe, His own reasons, and all my notions (as well as Golda’s) may be just so much foolishness.

 

[Nita]

1 Cor. 1:26 For consider your call, brethren; not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth; 1:27 but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, 1:28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 1:29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

2 Cor. 12:9 but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Old Testament era:
Except for a very brief period in human history (David and Solomon), Israel had no earthly glory/power. It is the very absence of earthly strength and influence that makes it more obvious that God must be involved (not only in their survival, but in the excellence/superiority of their theology and moral code).

New Testament era:
To me, the very existence today of the Jewish people is a testimony to the validity of the “God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”. They are a people who for 1900 years had no homeland, were dispersed throughout the world, severely persecuted throughout those years, and yet retained their religious identity and national identity. I’m unaware of anything similar in human history. (Let me know if I’m wrong.)

They are Our Lord’s people.

Nita

 

[Valke2]

Since Purim is here, I thought I’d jump in with a little theological thought. Purim, as you may know, celebrates the act of Esther saving the Jewish people from Haman’s plan to exterminate them. A little more on this in a bit.

In Jewish tradition, there is a belief that God held the mountain over the Jewish people and said ‘accept Torah and live’ or reject it and I’ll drop the mountain. So the Jews accepted it. But then when they did things that were against Torah, or ignored the commandments, they would say ‘sure, you forced the Torah on us so we said yes. You want to twist our arm again?’

We travel in time to after the destruction of the First Temple. The Jews are dispersed and Jerimiah prophecies that they will return in 70 years. In the meantime, most of them are dispersed throughout the Persian empire.

The Talmud teaches: King Ahasueres, thinking the Jews would not return to Israel after 70 years – that the prophecy was not fullfilled – had a feast to celebrate. Mordeci told thte Jews not to attend the feast because there would be naked women, lewdness, etc. So of course, everyone went

Later Haman plotted to kill all the jews. But, the Talmud teaches, he was ok if Jews converted. Convert or die. (We’ve heard it all before).

For one whole year, not one Jew converted. Despite the fact that they had ignored God, or not followed Torah, and were not exactly a nation of priests at all times, they refused to abandon Torah or their faith, even under penalty of death!

It was at this point that God knew His people had voluntarily accepted Torah! This is perhaps why the Scroll of Esther is completely devoid of references to God. It is showing us that the Jews voluntarily accepted God and Torah (and that there are times when one has to take action to save themselves).

 

[Zooey]

Since Purim is here, I thought I’d jump in with a little theological thought. Purim, as you may know, celebrates the act of Esther saving the Jewish people from Haman’s plan to exterminate them. A little more on this in a bit.

In Jewish tradition, there is a belief that God held the mountain over the Jewish people and said ‘accept Torah and live’ or reject it and I’ll drop the mountain. So the Jews accepted it. But then when they did things that were against Torah, or ignored the commandments, they would say ‘sure, you forced the Torah on us so we said yes. You want to twist our arm again?’

We travel in time to after the destruction of the First Temple. The Jews are dispersed and Jerimiah prophecies that they will return in 70 years. In the meantime, most of them are dispersed throughout the Persian empire.

The Talmud teaches: King Ahasueres, thinking the Jews would not return to Israel after 70 years – that the prophecy was not fullfilled – had a feast to celebrate. Mordeci told thte Jews not to attend the feast because there would be naked women, lewdness, etc. So of course, everyone went

Later Haman plotted to kill all the jews. But, the Talmud teaches, he was ok if Jews converted. Convert or die. (We’ve heard it all before).

For one whole year, not one Jew converted. Despite the fact that they had ignored God, or not followed Torah, and were not exactly a nation of priests at all times, they refused to abandon Torah or their faith, even under penalty of death!

It was at this point that God knew His people had voluntarily accepted Torah! This is perhaps why the Scroll of Esther is completely devoid of references to God. It is showing us that the Jews voluntarily accepted God and Torah (and that there are times when one has to take action to save themselves).

I love it!! Thanks, Valke!!