Why did God make a covenant with Abraham and turn Israel into a nation?
God made the covenant with Abraham so Israel would become a nation of people living in the land under His sovereign kingship. Had they been a nation of believers, God would have used them to carry the knowledge of Himself to all the heathen around them.
Les explains that in Genesis 12 God called Abraham and made a covenant with him, forming Israel as a nation of people living in the land under God's sovereign kingship. The purpose was that, if they became a nation of believers, God would use them to take the knowledge of Himself to all the surrounding heathen. But instead, as the context shows, they were losing their set-apart position and everything God had given them, as seen in Jeremiah 44.
More Questions
What was God's original purpose for Israel under the Abrahamic covenant?
In the Genesis 12 covenant, God intended Abraham's descendants to be a nation living in the land under God's sovereign kingship, and if Israel had been a nation of believers, God would have used them to take a knowledge of himself to the surrounding heathen nations.