Ezekiel 36:32

36:32 Understand that ¹  it is not for your sake I am about to act, declares the sovereign Lord. Be ashamed and embarrassed by your behavior, O house of Israel.

Deuteronomy 7:7-8

The Basis of Israel’s Election

7:7 It is not because you were more numerous than all the other peoples that the Lord favored and chose you – for in fact you were the least numerous of all peoples. 7:8 Rather it is because of his ²  love ³  for you and his faithfulness to the promise ⁴  he solemnly vowed ⁵  to your ancestors ⁶  that the Lord brought you out with great power, ⁷  redeeming ⁸  you from the place of slavery, from the power ⁹  of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 9:5-7

9:5 It is not because of your righteousness, or even your inner uprightness, ¹⁰  that you have come here to possess their land. Instead, because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is driving them out ahead of you in order to confirm the promise he ¹¹  made on oath to your ancestors, ¹²  to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 9:6 Understand, therefore, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is about to give you this good land as a possession, for you are a stubborn ¹³  people!

The History of Israel’s Stubbornness

9:7 Remember – don’t ever forget ¹⁴  – how you provoked the Lord your God in the desert; from the time you left the land of Egypt until you came to this place you were constantly rebelling against him. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 106:8

106:8 Yet he delivered them for the sake of his reputation, ¹⁶ 

that he might reveal his power.

Psalms 115:1-2

Psalm 115 ¹⁷ 

115:1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us!

But to your name bring honor, ¹⁸ 

for the sake of your loyal love and faithfulness. ¹⁹ 

115:2 Why should the nations say,

“Where is their God?”

[36:32]  ¹ tn Heb “Let it be known.”

[7:8]  ² tn Heb “the Lord’s.” See note on “He” in 7:6.

[7:8]  ³ tn For the verb אָהַב (’ahav, “to love”) as a term of choice or election, see note on the word “loved” in Deut 4:37.

[7:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “oath.” This is a reference to the promises of the so-called “Abrahamic Covenant” (cf. Gen 15:13-16).

[7:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “swore on oath.”

[7:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 12, 13).

[7:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “by a strong hand” (NAB similar); NLT “with such amazing power.”

[7:8]  ⁸ sn Redeeming you from the place of slavery. The Hebrew verb translated “redeeming” (from the root פָּדָה, padah) has the idea of redemption by the payment of a ransom. The initial symbol of this was the Passover lamb, offered by Israel to the Lord as ransom in exchange for deliverance from bondage and death (Exod 12:1-14). Later, the firstborn sons of Israel, represented by the Levites, became the ransom (Num 3:11-13). These were all types of the redemption effected by the death of Christ who described his atoning work as “a ransom for many” (Matt 20:28; cf. 1 Pet 1:18).

[7:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “hand” (so KJV, NRSV), a metaphor for power or domination.

[9:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “uprightness of your heart” (so NASB, NRSV). The Hebrew word צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “righteousness”), though essentially synonymous here with יֹשֶׁר (yosher, “uprightness”), carries the idea of conformity to an objective standard. The term יֹשֶׁר has more to do with an inner, moral quality (cf. NAB, NIV “integrity”). Neither, however, was grounds for the Lord’s favor. As he states in both vv. 4-5, the main reason he allowed Israel to take this land was the sinfulness of the Canaanites who lived there (cf. Gen 15:16).

[9:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 9:3.

[9:5]  ¹² tn Heb “fathers.”

[9:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “stiff-necked” (so KJV, NAB, NIV).

[9:7]  ¹⁴ tn By juxtaposing the positive זְכֹר (zekhor, “remember”) with the negative אַל־תִּשְׁכַּח (’al-tishÿkakh, “do not forget”), Moses makes a most emphatic plea.

[9:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the Lord” (likewise in the following verse with both “him” and “he”). See note on “he” in 9:3.

[106:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “his name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.

[115:1]  ¹⁷ sn Psalm 115. The psalmist affirms that Israel’s God is superior to pagan idols and urges Israel to place their confidence in him.

[115:1]  ¹⁸ tn Or “give glory.”

[115:1]  ¹⁹ sn The psalmist asks the Lord to demonstrate his loyal love and faithfulness, not simply so Israel may benefit, but primarily so that the Lord will receive honor among the nations, who will recognize, contrary to their present view (see v. 2), that Israel’s God is committed to his people.