Who had the covenants of promise?
The covenants of promise were given to the Jew, beginning with Abraham and repeated to Isaac and Jacob. Gentiles were strangers to those covenants and had no part in them, being outside Israel’s commonwealth and without God in the world. Thus the covenant promises belonged to Israel, not to the Gentiles.
Les explains that the covenants of promise belonged to the Jew, not to the Gentiles. They were first given to Abraham, then repeated to Isaac and Jacob. Gentiles are described as strangers from the covenants of promise and having no part in them; they were outside the commonwealth of Israel and without God in the world. Because they lacked those covenant promises, the Gentile world was steeped in paganism. Les notes that God reached down to Abram and promised to make from him a nation of people who would be the only people on earth with a knowledge of the one true God.