Ps 136:17-22: God “struck down great kings, for his faithful love continues forever; and slew great kings, for his faithful love continues forever: Sihon, king of the Amorites, for his faithful love continues forever; and Og, king of Bashan, for his faithful love continues forever; and gave their land as a heritage, for his faithful love continues forever; a heritage to his servant Israel, for his faithful love continues forever”
Psa. 145:20: “The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.”
Ps 147:11: “The Lord favors those who fear him, those who look for his faithful love.”
The God who showed his power by creating everything from nothing also shows his power by creating somebodies—people destined to bear the image of his Son—out of nobodies. The one who turned even chaos into an inhabited world can also make something new even in a world that humans messed up, forming a remnant who will prove faithful to him.
Throughout the Bible, God favors those who love and trust him. But he does not favor them for their sake alone: he favors them to bless others.
In Genesis 1, after God creates other creatures, he forms humans in his own image. These humans are the pinnacle of his creation, and he appoints them to govern the earth. They are to be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it (Gen 1:28). God blesses them (1:28), and gives them a mandate to be a blessing to his creation. They are his special favorites in all creation, meant to nurture the earth.
In Genesis 6, after humanity goes astray and corrupts the earth, God starts over with humanity. Noah finds favor with God and walks with God (6:8-9); he is called to reverse the curse and restore God’s plan (5:29). After rescuing the animal species of the humanly inhabited region, Noah’s family is to be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it (Gen 9:1, 7). God blesses the new creation for their sake (9:9-10); they are to be a blessing to creation.
But despite God’s favor for Noah, Noah’s descendants also end up going astray. (Human propensity to sin is not a new problem.) Just as a genealogy lists ten of the generations between Adam and Noah, ending in three sons, so does another genealogy list ten of the generations between Noah and Abram, ending in three sons.
In Genesis 12, God calls Abram. Abram is God’s favorite, trusting and obeying God. God chooses Abram so he may command his descendants to follow the ways of justice (18:19). He is going to be fruitful (17:6), as will his grandson Jacob (28:3; 35:11) and their descendants (47:27; 48:4; Exod 1:7; Lev 26:9). But Abraham is not a blessing only for his own sake; he is called to be a blessing to all the peoples of the earth (Gen 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14).
But sin springs up again. During Israel’s rebellion in the wilderness, God almost starts over with Moses (Exod 32:10). Moses pleads successfully for God to spare the people, and the next generation of Israelites, under Joshua, subdues the promised land. Later God makes a special promise to the line of King David, from whom ultimately comes Jesus—who came to bring blessing to all the earth.
God has his favorites—those who are in relationship with him. But the favor is not for their sake alone. God also uses these special people to bring his blessings to the attention of others, so they too can join the ranks of God’s favorites. A God of infinite love has plenty to go around, and that means that anyone can become one of God’s favorites. He created us each to be special to him. That is what he wants for us, and he welcomes us to step into that role by becoming his children in Christ.
