My “Chosen” People

WED., NOV. 24, 1993, 9:05 AM
OFFICE, PULLIAM HALL

The study and discussion of this old Old Testament story is winding down, leaving the question that you focused on, for a time, this morning. What is God’s purpose in choosing who He chooses… and what if they do “screw up,” as you phrased it? On a dreary, showery morning in a quiet office hear Me, o son, as I offer some answers to such questions.

Let’s commence with a Truth… capital T. I do choose. The notion that I must hew to cultural definitions and descriptions of absolute fairness, here in the earth, is not one of My characteristics. You could “create” a (G)god who has no favorites and is equally concerned with each individual, here in the earth, but that would not be Me. (And consider, please, My first Commandment… even a “better god.)

Now the problem that “fairness freaks” have is with the supposed corollary – if I favor some, then I have “disfavored” others. What about those who are not chosen? How can a compassionate God make choices that seem to “slight” some humans? Well, first, notice that, above, I used the phrase “here in the earth.” How many times have I told you that this time in the earth is only a part, and often a small part, of your whole spiritual journey? Hear it again. And because the earth is this quite “special” realm, full of apparent good and evil, there are usually multiple reasons why certain people are in the situations in which they “find themselves.” Add to this the truth that I usually let circumstances develop as they do, from myriad influences… which means that I seldom intervene and change situations for the benefit of one or some.

Consider this story, parts of which you have been studying. The Scriptural story tells that I chose Jacob over Esau, in the womb. Before they were born I chose Jacob to be the one to “flesh out” My promise to his grandfather Abraham. Esau was the first one born and therefore technically the older son. In that culture, that I had chosen for My purposeful Story, the eldest son should have had the blessing and been the father of My future generations. I chose Jacob, instead… just as I had chosen his father Isaac over his older brother Ishmael. (In that culture the mother was not important, but she was, sometimes, to Me.)

Jacob “knew”, even as a young man, that he was chosen, and therefore it seemed right to obtain Esau’s birthright and then their father’s blessing. His life continued to be full of intrigue, but, by four “wives” (two of whom couldn’t be wives, in that culture), he had 12 sons. Rachel, his favorite, was barren until almost the end of his “line”, but one of her sons was Joseph, the one I chose to continue the dramatic story.

Did I allow or cause Rachel to be barren as her sister and maids had sons for Jacob? Did I allow or cause Joseph to be arrogant so that he was legitimately mistreated by his brothers? Did I prevent his premature death? How was I involved in his rise to power in Egypt… or in the famine “up north”?

There are no simple, direct answers to such questions. I have influence, and I use it when, where, how, and with whom I please. As much as possible I allow situations to be “natural,” with consequences. There is no way you, or any human, can understand how I mesh these Truths in daily life.

I choose because I can and because choice and influence help to fulfill My purposes. Many individual humans have hard circumstances of life, some for which they are responsible and some not. There is violence. There is deprivation. Some young must grow up without love and loving guidance. Cultures can be harsh with some, in the spirit of justice. But as each passes on from the earth each gets My full attention. Those who have been chosen usually are judged more thoroughly… even as grace is not withheld if your spirit reaches toward Mine.