The nation of Israel came from God's call of Abram, when God promised to make him a great nation and then carried that promise through Isaac and Jacob.
In Genesis 12, the Lord told Abram to leave his country, kindred, and father's house and promised, 'I will make of thee a great nation.' Les Feldick teaches that this call—when God pulled Abram out of a pagan world—is exactly where the nation of Israel began. God then fulfilled the promise supernaturally through Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob's twelve sons.
Genesis 12:1 — Records God's first call to Abram to leave his country and family, which is the starting point of Israel's origin.
Genesis 12:2 — Records God's promise to make Abram a great nation, the foundational promise by which Israel came into existence.
Scripture begins its account of Israel with the Lord's call to Abram. In Genesis 12:1 the Lord says, 'Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee.' In Genesis 12:2 God adds, 'And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing.' These verses give the biblical starting point for Israel. The same biblical narrative continues through Isaac and Jacob, whose twelve sons became the heads of the family line that would grow into the nation of Israel.
Les Feldick repeatedly starts the nation of Israel at Genesis 12, when God called Abram out of Ur of the Chaldees. He points out that Abram's family were idolaters and pagans who had no knowledge of the one true God, so the call to leave everything was a call to begin something entirely new. Les describes the birth of Israel as God pulling a 'little stream' out of the great river of humanity, a special race whom we know as the Jew. This little stream was to be used by God to bring the nations of the world to a knowledge of their God. That was Israel's purpose and option, which they ultimately rejected. Les's timeline is that after 2,000 years of human history from Adam to the Tower of Babel, God at 2,000 B.C. called Abram and promised a nation, land, and a king. The promise was fulfilled through the supernatural birth of Isaac, then Isaac's son Jacob, then Jacob's twelve sons, who went down to Egypt and later came out as God's chosen, set-apart nation under Moses.
Les calls the Genesis 12 promise the Abrahamic covenant. He explains that God first spoke to Abram while he was still in Ur of the Chaldees and commanded him to leave Ur, his family, and his country for a land God would show him. In that covenant God promised Abraham a nation of people, a place to live, and at the appropriate time their king and kingdom—and Israel was to be the evangelization of the nations.
Les traces the promise through the supernatural birth of Isaac, then Isaac's son Jacob, then Jacob's twelve sons. Those sons and their families ended up in Egypt, and after God brought the Israelites out under Moses, He began dealing with them as His chosen, set-apart nation. Les dates Abram at about 2,000 B.C. and Israel's nationhood after the Exodus at about 1,500 B.C.
Les points out that the human race after Adam, the Flood, and the Tower of Babel had gone right back into paganism. At 2,000 B.C., God said, in effect, 'I'm going to call out one man.' From that one man He would bring a little nation, prepare them, and through them take salvation back to the whole mainstream of humanity. Israel was to be the means of bringing the nations to a knowledge of the one true God.
From Genesis to Exodus: Understanding the Biblical Timeline of Israel
Hello, and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick. An Oklahoma rancher and farmer, Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick.
God's call of Abram out of idolatry
Readers learn that Israel's start is not an accident: God deliberately called Abram, whose family were idolaters, out of a pagan world at Genesis 12.
Israel as a separate stream from humanity
Les's 'river of humanity' illustration shows why Israel matters: God separated one family line to bless all nations through them.
Genesis 12 as the beginning of the nation
Les grounds Israel's origin in the Abrahamic covenant, explaining that God's first word to Abram in Ur was to leave everything and go to a land God would show him.
Timeline from Abram to nationhood
Les supplies the timeline—Abram at roughly 2,000 B.C. and national Israel after the Exodus at roughly 1,500 B.C.—showing that the nation grew out of God's dealings with Abraham.
God calls out one man to make a nation
Les explains God's strategy: after humanity kept failing from Adam to Babel, God called out one man to form a nation that would carry salvation to the rest of humanity.
Promise fulfilled through Isaac, Jacob, and twelve sons
Les tracks the supernatural fulfillment: Isaac's birth, then Jacob, then twelve sons, then the move to Egypt and God's dealings with Israel as His chosen nation.
Genesis 12 as the nation's origin
Les locates the nation's origin in Genesis 12—the Abrahamic covenant—while the first eleven chapters cover the first 2,000 years of human history.
Genesis 12:1: Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
God's call to Abram marks the beginning of the line that becomes the nation of Israel.
Genesis 12:2: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
This is the foundational promise by which God identified Israel as Abram's descendants.
God called Abram (later Abraham) out of Ur and promised to make him a great nation. Les Feldick teaches that the nation of Israel begins with this call in Genesis 12 and continues through Abraham's descendants.
The Abrahamic covenant is God's promise to Abram at 2,000 B.C. to give him a nation of people, a land, and a future king. Les says the whole Old Testament centers on God's dealing with that nation.
The nation of Israel begins in Genesis 12, where God calls Abram out of his country and promises to make him a great nation.
Watch the Teaching: From Genesis to Exodus: Understanding the Biblical Timeline of Israel