Because Israel was in rebellion and out of fellowship, God spoke of them as 'thy people' — Daniel's people — rather than claiming them as 'My people.'
Scripture shows that when Israel was obedient and in covenant blessing, God called them 'My people' (Exodus 3:7; 19:5). After their golden-calf rebellion, He told Moses, 'thy people' (Exodus 32:7), and in Daniel's day, when Israel was captive in Babylon for idolatry, He again said 'thy people' (Daniel 9:24). Les Feldick teaches that this pronoun shift marks the nation's condition: out of fellowship, though not abandoned.
Daniel 9:24 — The exact verse where God says the 490 years are determined upon 'thy people' — Israel.
Exodus 32:7 — The earlier instance where God called Israel 'thy people' after their rebellion with the golden calf.
In the Old Testament, God uses 'my people' to speak of Israel in covenant relation with Him. When He heard their cry in Egypt, He said, 'I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows' (Exodus 3:7). At Sinai He made that relationship conditional: 'Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine' (Exodus 19:5). But after Israel's rebellion, the language changes. When they worshipped the golden calf, God said to Moses, 'Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves' (Exodus 32:7). Centuries later, in Daniel 9:24, the seventy weeks are 'determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city.' In Matthew 23:38, Jesus likewise says, 'Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.' Yet Ezekiel 37:23 promises a future day: '...so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.'
Les Feldick traces a clear pattern: while Israel was in its proper place — obedient to God, in the land, and under His blessing — God called them 'My people.' But when stiff-neckedness, rebellion, and idolatry put them out of fellowship, God shifted the pronoun. He even said to Moses, 'Thy people,' and with the temple, 'your house is left unto you desolate' (Matthew 23:38). In Daniel's situation, Israel was in Babylon because of their rejection of Jehovah. God therefore addressed them as 'thy people' — Daniel's people — not claiming them as His own. That does not mean God forgot His promises. Les emphasizes that God still has His hand over Israel, but today they are in the 'lo-ammi' condition — 'not My people' — until the promised future day when God will cleanse them and say again, 'It is My people.'
Les explains that the pronoun change follows rebellion. After Israel's stiff-neckedness and worship of the golden calf, God called them 'thy people' rather than 'My people.' In Daniel's day they were in Babylonian captivity because they had gone into idolatry and rejected Jehovah, so God addressed them as 'thy people' instead of claiming them as His own.
No. Les points out that even while they were 'not My people,' God still had His hand over Israel and was watching over them, though they were completely out of fellowship. The promises remain; the nation is simply in a place of discipline. The future restoration shows that God never gave up on them.
In the future, according to Ezekiel 37:22–23, Israel will be made one nation, cleansed from idols and sin, and God says, 'so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.' Les says that has not happened yet, but the day is coming when God will again say, 'It is My people,' and Israel will say, 'The Lord is My God.' The new covenant with the house of Israel will become a reality.
Daniel's 70 Weeks and 'Thy People'
Les identifies 'thy people' in Daniel 9:24 as Israel—Daniel's own nation—showing God's prophetic word is directed to Israel.
'Not My People' Today
Les explains that although God continues to watch over Israel, He calls them 'thy people' rather than 'My people' because they are out of fellowship—yet a day is coming when they will be His people.
'My People' = Israel in the Old Testament
Les shows that whenever God says 'My people' in the Old Testament, He is speaking of Israel, His covenant people, as when He heard their cry in Egypt.
Pronoun Shift at Rebellion
Les traces the shift from 'My people' to 'thy people' — from Moses' day to Jesus' 'your house is left unto you desolate' — showing it marks Israel's stiff-necked rebellion.
Future Restoration as 'My People'
Les contrasts Daniel's day, when God did not claim Israel as His own, with the future day when He will say 'It is My people' and Israel will say 'The Lord is my God.'
Lo-ammi — 'Not My People'
Les cites Ezekiel 37:23 to show Israel has not yet reached the place where God says 'so shall they be My people'; currently they are 'not My people' until the future cleansing and restoration.
Israel, God's Earthly Covenant People
Les explains Israel's distinctive calling as God's separated, covenant people—the people to whom all these 'My people' and 'thy people' terms apply.
Conditional Covenant Relationship
Les highlights Exodus 19:5's 'if ye will obey...then ye shall be a peculiar treasure,' showing that the relationship in which God calls Israel 'My people' is conditioned on obedience.
Daniel 9:24: Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
The key verse where God calls Israel 'thy people' — Daniel's people — during their Babylonian captivity.
Exodus 3:7: And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
Shows God using 'my people' for Israel while they were in Egypt and He was about to deliver them.
Exodus 19:5: Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
Makes Israel's special status as God's people conditional on obedience to His covenant.
Exodus 32:7: And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:
The first clear biblical example of God shifting from 'my people' to 'thy people' after Israel's rebellion.
Matthew 23:38: Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
Jesus uses the possessive 'your' for the temple, paralleling the shift from 'My people' to 'thy people' after Israel's rejection.
Ezekiel 37:23: Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.
The future promise when God will again call cleansed Israel 'my people.'
Jeremiah 31:31: Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
The new covenant that will become a reality in the future restoration of Israel as God's people.
Because Israel was in rebellion and out of fellowship during the Babylonian captivity, God did not claim them as His own; He called them Daniel's people, 'thy people.' Les teaches this is consistent with the pattern of God using 'My people' only when Israel was in a place of obedience and blessing.
No. Les points out that God still had His hand over Israel and was watching over them, even though they were out of fellowship. The future promises of cleansing and restoration, when God will again say 'It is My people,' show He has not abandoned them.
Les uses 'lo-ammi' to describe Israel as 'not My people' today — the same condition reflected in God's use of 'thy people' in Daniel's day. It is not permanent; the day is coming when Israel will be cleansed and called 'My people' again.
Watch the Teaching: Daniel's 70 Weeks Explained — The 490-Year Prophecy Unpacked