Why did the Gentiles not have the Word of God in Old Testament times?
During the Old Testament period, God dealt primarily with the nation of Israel—Jew only. From 1500 B.C. onward, Israel possessed the Word of God, while the Gentiles were outside that revelation and destitute of it. This distinction explains why Scripture was directed to the Jew under the Law.
Les explains that during the Old Testament economy, God was dealing primarily with the nation of Israel—Jew only. Israel had the Word of God from 1500 B.C. onward, while the Gentiles were out there destitute of any of that revelation. That is why the Old Testament is written to the Jew under the Law, and Les says this makes all the difference when interpreting it. On the other side, Paul becomes the apostle of the Gentiles, and his church letters are directed primarily to Gentiles in the Body of Christ, our heavenly position. Les notes that people get hung up on Old Testament questions because they fail to see to whom it was spoken: it was written to the Jew under the Law, not to us, since we are not under the Law and not Jews. Conversely, the Jew today has a hard time with Paul because those letters are not written to the Jew but to the Gentile.