During what period was God dealing predominantly with Jews only?
From the call of Abram in Genesis chapter 12 until well into the book of Acts, God dealt predominantly with the Jews only. Although there were Gentile exceptions such as Jonah's mission to Nineveh, Naaman, Rahab, and Ruth, the overall period was centered on Israel.
Les explains that Romans 11 declares God is not through with His covenant people Israel. Though Israel has been in spiritual blindness for the last 1900 some years, and the nation as such is blinded, there was a specific period when God dealt predominantly with Jews only. Les points to the board and shows that from Genesis chapter 12, the call of Abram, all the way up until well into the book of Acts, it is predominantly Jew only. There were exceptions: Jonah went to the city of Nineveh, Naaman the Syrian general, Rahab the harlot, and Ruth the Moabitess. But for the most part God was dealing with Jew only. Then after we get well into the book of Acts, the apostle Paul is called aside, and God tells him, 'I'm going to send you far hence to the Gentiles.' Les then switches to Acts chapter 28 and other verses. By the end of Acts, Paul is in prison in Rome, not too far from his martyrdom, still writing his prison epistles. He had already been out among the Gentiles for many years, yet he went first to the Jew, to the synagogue many times, and when they rejected him, he turned to the Gentiles.