20:5 I chose Israel. God chose Israel, not vice versa, because of Abraham and Jacob, and his choice was unconditional and everlasting. Yet again and again and again, His people rebelled against Him—in Egypt, then in the wilderness, then repeatedly in the land of Israel, and God repeatedly forgave and restored them when they repented. Finally, their rebellions became so flagrant and pervasive that He sent them into captivity in Assyria and Babylon.