Why was Israel sent into dispersion and had their temple and land taken away?
Israel was sent into dispersion and lost temple and land because the nation constantly rejected God’s salvation and covenant purpose. In unbelief they refused their opportunity to be a light to the Gentiles, so God turned to the Gentile world through the apostle Paul and the gospel of grace.
Les explains that the Old Testament covenants promised the day would come when, after Israel’s promises were completed, God would turn to the Gentile world. Israel was to have been God’s light to the Gentiles, carrying His salvation to the ends of the earth. But they rejected it in unbelief. Because Israel was constantly rejecting it, God had to send the nation into dispersion, take away their temple, take away their land, and turn to the Gentiles through the apostle Paul in the gospel of the grace of God. Les also points to Hosea, where those who were not God’s people—Gentiles—would be called the children of the living God in this age of grace.