If the ancient Hebrews were "god's chosen people," then why...?

It seems to me that people that know the least are often the most vocal and/or aggressive in their speech and/or conduct. Maybe they know this and that is their way of making up for the deficiency in their knowledge. So maybe the ancient heebs needed to claim some sort of superiority because they had nothing else to contend with their contemporaries. Sooo, let's make up a deity that ought to do the trick. This alternative also seems to me to be the laziest route. Hmmm, nothing to contribute and lazy so make up a god to make you feel superior and whala here we are today.