Isaiah 41 Footnotes

41:8-9 Although God’s choice of one nation to be his special people may seem unfair to other nations, that choice came with the heavy responsibility for the people in that chosen nation to live holy lives and function as God’s servants in this sinful world. It was through the seed of Abram that God would bless the rest of mankind (Gn 12:3). The people of Israel frequently failed to be God’s servants, for they were not always faithful to his calling to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation—one that would obey him and keep his covenant (Ex 19:5-6). Israel’s past failures did not nullify God’s love (Dt 7:6-8), nor did his judgments for their disobedience nullify God’s plans for his people.