Has God abandoned Israel?
No. Although Israel is presently set aside and spiritually blinded for the most part as a nation in unbelief, God has not abandoned His covenant people. He is not through with them; He will one day pick up where He left off and restore them to covenant blessing as the apple of His eye.
Les explains that Israel today is not presently the apple of God's eye because the nation is in unbelief, but that does not mean God has abandoned them. He warns not to expect the government in Jerusalem to be godly or righteous, since it is secular and composed of ordinary human beings who, like Washington D.C., are under the control of the God of this world. Yet Israel has this exception: they are still God's covenant people. For now they have been set aside and are spiritually blinded for the most part as a nation, but God is not through with them. He will yet pick up where He left off, and His mercy shall not depart. The final covenant promise to Israel is still future; it is not appropriate to apply it to them tonight, but they will one day enjoy it, as Jeremiah 31 shows.