Daily Bible Readings YLT February 3rd

"For many are called but few are choice" Few prove worthy. Few are quality. Few are choice people, committed in obedience to the service of Christ.The last four words are generally translated 'but few are chosen.' This is another example of where the object and the subject are reversed: the object is the one making the choice. God gives out the invitation and the invited make their choice, just as He had shown his wonders to the Pharoah but the result is Pharoah hardens his heart. It sounds from the translation that the calling person is also the one doing the choosing. But the words that follow show that the ones who are invited make the decision: theirs is the response to the invitationThe first of those who are called to his marriage feasts "were not willing to come". We can be called but refuse to be chosen, so we cannot be chosen. Our willingness is a necessity for our being chosen. In the second example of those called has an added detail about the feast which make it more attractive, inviting and enticing, "my dinner I prepared, my oxen and fatlings have been killed and all is ready" but they, "having disregarded, went away, the one to his own field and the other to his merchandise" . They disregard, they are not interested, they pay no attention, it has not appeal for them, they do not listen or bother to respond. They are busy getting on with the things they find more interesting - 'the one to his own field' and the other to his merchandise. You cannot serve both God and Mammon. The marriage feast has no appeal for those who want to make money, who are preoccupied with how to do that, or to indulge in to what they own, "his own field". If we are busy about the things of the world, we can have no time or interest in stopping in order to answer the invitation to God's marriage feast. And what of the rest who were called? The Scripture says: " having laid hold of his servants, did insult and slay them." These ones persecute, insult and kill those who interrupt them and make sure they will not waste any more off their time make and will not occur again by killing the servants of God. From God's point of view, these ones are not "choice". They are not worthy of the invitation. But if we read the words as 'few are chosen' it sounds like God is making the choice whereas it is us who make the choice . The sentence could be continued 'few are chosen because they are not willing to leave what they want to do in their lives and come to a marriage feast instead.