FBCHS Bible Study-Does God Show Favoritism?

Does God Show Favoritism?

"Wherefore now let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts." 2 Chr. 19:7

"And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:" 1 Peter 1:17

Respect of persons" has nothing to do with covenantal agreements, or even judgment based on merit, but with judgments based on our own suppositions and deductions. (The Hebrew in Deut. 10:17 for "persons" likewise means "countenance" or "face".) In other words, it means God does not take people at "face value" but searches them out. There is no relevance to the matter of the choice of Jews for service; they were chosen because their forefathers, and they, were obedient.

Favoritism defines out as one of two things: "an inclination to favor some person or group" or "unfair treatment of a person or group on the basis of prejudice". Neither of these applies here, since any person was eligible to become a Jew (like Ruth). Beyond this is the understanding of what "favoritism" means in a social-science perspective in the NT. The core issue is that God does not judge by "face value" -- He doesn't judge a book by its cover.