Grace is defined as “unmerited favor.” If that’s the case, then God’s selection of Israel as His chosen people is the very embodiment of grace—albeit with an entire nation of people.
To be clear, Israel absolutely did not deserve to be God’s people. They did nothing to merit this type of selection, and Moses chose to humble them by spelling this out in thick, bold letters.
They weren’t the biggest. They weren’t the strongest. They weren’t the wealthiest.
In fact, God even says that the seven nations of the Canaanites that they are all about to battle were all “greater and stronger than you” (Deuteronomy 7:1). If God was looking for a rock star nation to hang His hat on, it wasn’t Israel. He would’ve been far better off with the Girgashites.
No, the only reason God chose them was because He made a promise to the patriarchs. These were the men and women that lived for Him, and who He told would inherit this land. As their descendants, Israel was the direct beneficiary of this.
God doesn’t tell them this to pump them up (or tear them down). Instead, He does so to remind them of the surety of His promises. If God can keep a promise He made four hundred years earlier, He can also keep other promises—like those concerning His justice.
Just as sure as God promised Abraham that He would bring His descendants back to Canaan, He promises this generation that He will “repay those who hate Him to their faces.” That should strike fear into their hearts as they contemplate their future in the land.
God keeps His promises. Always.