We often hear people say that the Jewish nation is the chosen ones.
Did you know the Jewish people do not necessarily want to be the chosen ones? They were not chosen because they were better or worse than any other people group, they were simply chosen. They had no say.
This means that the God of the universe gave some special attention to this people group and was going to use them as an example to the other nations of the world.
Being used as an example is not necessarily a great thing.
Human nature is such that we envy or get jealous over someone who gets “special” attention. Remember back to school, the teacher’s pet. Or that person at work who is the bosses favorite. I bet if I asked about your grandma or grandpa and wondered if they had/have a favorite, a name would flash into your mind. It could be your brother or sister, or your cousin, but if that name was not yours - it probably brought a pang of jealousy with it. It is especially painful when one of your parents had a favorite and the pang of hurt will even be stronger if it was not you. We only like the “special” attention when it is focused on us and it was positive. It made us feel special.
The whole conflict in the middle east between the Muslims/Islam and the Jewish people is caused by pangs of rejection. It had its very start with Abraham and Sarah who were the parents of Isaac (Jewish) and Ishmael (Islam).
Abraham and Sarah made a choice not to wait for God to follow through on His promises. They were promised by God to have a son. Now that is not so unusual, but the when you are past child bearing years and in your 80’s/90’s it is a bit unusual. When God did not come through after a few years, they got nervous. Sarah sent Abraham in to sleep with her maid, Hagar – the mother of Ishmael (Islam) to “help God out”. I bet you have never done that either – trying to help God out, you start to ask yourself these questions: maybe He forgot about you? this could not possibly be the way God had meant for it to be?
God chastised Abraham and Sarah and said that Ishmael was not the “promised” son. God said He would make him into a great nation, but this was not the child He was referring to.
Hagar and Ishmael got sent away by Abraham and Sarah, Sarah the one who had forced the issue now decided that Hagar and her son would not have a part in their inheritance. Hagar and Ishmael were rejected, and thus the spirit of hatred, jealousy and rejection was born, and the animosity between the two brothers and the two nations continues to this very day, thousands of years later.
Not being chosen, brings with it a spirit or feeling of rejection. Rejection is a huge problem for a great many people. Were you ever the last one picked for a team, sitting there all by yourself while everyone else got chosen? Those moments bring horrible feelings of rejection compiled onto all those negative thoughts you already had about yourself, proving to yourself that you really are not good enough.
But if what we are saying is true – that the Jewish people were chosen, just because, not because they were better or worse than anyone else, then it stands to reason that it was never about being good enough. That should take some pressure off.
How do we know if we are operating in a spirit of rejection? Here are some indicators:
- You are never convinced you are good enough
- You are always comparing yourself with others
- You are continuously looking for the approval of others
- You get angry easily and want revenge
- You strive to get attention
One of God’s favorite things to get us to do is “wait”.
“Wait on the Lord” is mentioned approximately 28 times in the Bible.
But we hate it, don’t we? We do not like waiting and so we like Abraham and Sarah are not so different, we try to fix it or speed it up.
But just like Abraham and Sarah when we take matters in to our own hands, the messes can be just as big, just as messy and can last for a very, very long time.