What was the situation of the Gentile regarding the covenant promises?
The Gentile had no part in the covenant promises. They were far off, without hope and without God in the world. But in Christ Jesus, they who were far off are made nigh, not by the Law or the covenants, but by the blood of Christ.
Les explains that the Jew was under the covenant promises, while the Gentile had no part in them, being far off, without hope and without God in the world. Paul does not leave us hopeless, however. In Christ Jesus, Gentiles who were once far off are made nigh to God—not by the Law or the covenants, but by the blood of Christ, His finished work on the cross. Les uses Jonah as a type: Jonah could not be a fit servant to the Gentiles until he experienced death, burial, and resurrection, after which he went to Nineveh and they repented. Similarly, Jesus had to experience death, burial, and resurrection before He could be the object of faith for the mass of the Gentile world. When Israel refused and rejected the covenant promises, God set them aside temporarily and turned to the Gentile in grace. This contrasts Law and Grace.