No — God was not unfair to the rest of humanity when He focused on Israel.
God dealt with the entire human race for 2,000 years before calling Abraham, and humanity responded with rebellion, paganism, and idolatry. In response, He chose one man and made a small nation — Israel — not to abandon the rest, but to prepare a people through whom He would eventually bring the whole mainstream of humanity back to Himself. Even when Israel failed, God did not forget the Gentiles; He later brought the nations in by grace. As Les Feldick says, we can never accuse God of being unfair — He is always fair, just, and righteous.
Deuteronomy 32:8 — Shows that even the boundaries of the nations were set with Israel in view, displaying Israel's central place in God's plan for all humanity.
Ephesians 2:12 — Describes the Gentile condition apart from Israel, directly addressing the question of whether God was unfair to them.
Genesis 12:2-3 — The original promise to Abraham included the blessing of all families of the earth, showing that Israel's selection was never an abandonment of the nations.
The Bible shows that God always had every nation in view, even when He called Abraham. In Genesis 12:2-3, God promised that in Abraham all families of the earth would be blessed. This was not a promise of favoritism for Israel only; it was a promise of eventual blessing for the whole human race. Deuteronomy 32:8 records that when the Most High divided the nations their inheritance and separated the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel, connecting the nations of the world to Israel from the very beginning. Ephesians 2:12 describes what the Gentiles were apart from Israel—without Christ, aliens, strangers, having no hope, and without God in the world—but that description is given in a letter telling those same Gentiles that they have now been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Les Feldick teaches that God was not unfair when He turned His special attention to Israel. For the first 2,000 years after Adam, God dealt with the whole human race, but humanity fell into rebellion after the flood and into paganism at the Tower of Babel (Clip 4, Clip 6). At that point God said, in effect, 'I'm going to do something totally different' — He called out one man, Abraham, and from him formed a small nation to work with and teach (Clip 0, Clip 4). Les emphasizes that this was not a rejection of the Gentiles. God told Abraham that He would be a blessing to all the rest of the world, so He had to set Israel apart for a unique role in order to ultimately reach the nations (Clip 5). The goal was that Israel would be prepared and then funneled back into the stream of humanity to bring the nations to a knowledge of Israel's God (Clip 0, Clip 2, Clip 3). Les concludes that God has always been fair, just, and righteous, and we can never accuse Him of unfairness (Clip 7).
No. Les teaches that when God set Israel apart as the chosen people, He did not 'blank out' the Gentile (Clip 3). God told Abraham that he would be a blessing to all the rest of the world too (Clip 5). Israel's special place in the promises was designed to prepare them to bring all other nations to the knowledge of Israel's God (Clip 3). During the Old Testament period, God made rare exceptions for Gentiles, showing that the mass of humanity was never completely cut off (Clip 2). Even after Israel rejected her King, God went to the Gentiles directly, as Paul proclaimed (Clip 6).
Les explains that God first gave the entire human race every opportunity. For 2,000 years, humanity came out of Adam, was destroyed in the flood, and then went right back into paganism at the Tower of Babel (Clip 4). Because God knew what those Gentiles would have done with His offer of salvation — they had already trampled it underfoot for thousands of years — He chose to do something different (Clip 6). He turned to one man and one small nation, not to exclude the world, but to prepare that nation to go back to the world (Clip 0, Clip 6). This was a just response to the failure of all humanity.
God's new approach after 2,000 years of idolatry
God was not caught by surprise; after humanity was saturated in idolatry, He chose one man to make a small nation, teach them, and later funnel them back into the rest of humanity.
Israel at the center of God's dealings with every nation
In Scripture, even the national boundaries of the nations were set in relation to Israel, showing God always intended Israel to be central in His dealings with all peoples.
Israel drawn out as a small stream from the river of humanity
From the great mass of humanity God pulled out the nation of Israel, not to discard the rest, but so Israel could bring the nations into a knowledge of their God.
Chosen for a unique role, not to exclude the Gentiles
Being the chosen people does not mean God blanked out the Gentiles; Israel's preparation was for the express purpose of bringing all other nations to the knowledge of Israel's God.
God's exasperation and the call of Abraham
After 2,000 years of rebellion — the flood, then paganism at Babel — God called out one man to make a nation through whom He would take salvation to the whole mainstream of humanity.
Promise to bless all nations through Abraham
Even as Israel received the promises, God had told Abraham that through him all the rest of the world would be blessed, so setting Israel in a special place was not unfair.
God knew the Gentiles would reject
God was not unfair because He knew what the Gentiles had done with His offer for 2,000 years, so He turned to Israel first and later reached the Gentiles directly.
God is always fair, just, and righteous
When people read that Gentiles were aliens and strangers with no hope, Les insists we cannot accuse God of unfairness — He has always been fair.
Genesis 12:3: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
This is the original promise to Abraham, showing that the blessing of the nations was part of God's purpose from the very beginning.
Deuteronomy 32:8: When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.
This verse connects the nations of the world to Israel, showing that Israel was central in God's arrangement of all peoples.
Ephesians 2:12: That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
This describes the Gentile condition apart from Israel, but it is addressed to believers who have now been brought near — showing God's plan was not permanently to exclude the nations.
No. God told Abraham that in him all families of the earth would be blessed. Les teaches that God set Israel apart to prepare them to bring all other nations to the knowledge of Israel's God. After Israel failed, God then went directly to the Gentiles.
Les teaches that God dealt with the whole human race for about 2,000 years, from Adam until around 2,000 B.C. Humanity went through the flood and then returned to paganism at the Tower of Babel, so God took a different approach with one man and one nation.
God chose Israel not because they were greater than other nations, but because He needed a prepared nation to carry His revelation and eventually bring all nations back to Him. Les explains that Israel was pulled out of the great river of humanity like a small stream so that they could funnel God's knowledge back into the world.
Yes. Les says God had already given all humanity 2,000 years with knowledge of Himself, and they rejected it. God knew what the Gentiles would do with His offer of salvation, so He worked through Israel first. Even then, His ultimate purpose was to bless all nations through the seed of Abraham.
Watch the Teaching: The Abrahamic Covenant: Why God Chose Israel & What It Means For Us