Yes — after 2,000 years of humanity's rejection, God sovereignly called Abraham and formed the nation of Israel to carry His blessing to every nation.
From Adam to Abraham, human history ran a course of hopelessness: the flood, the Tower of Babel, and continued paganism. At 2,000 B.C., God told Abraham He would make a great nation and that through him all families of the earth would be blessed. Les explains that God then pulled Israel out of the stream of humanity, dealt with them as His covenant people, and intended to use them to funnel salvation back to the rest of the world (Clips 1, 3).
Genesis 12:2-3 — God promised Abraham that through his nation all families of the earth would be blessed, showing the purpose behind the focus on Israel.
Exodus 19:5-6 — God designated Israel as a special, covenant people above all nations, setting the stage for their unique role.
Matthew 1:1 — The King was to come from David and Abraham, linking Israel's focus to the promised royal line.
Psalm 110:1 — Les points to this verse to show the rejected King waiting at the Father's right hand.
Scripture records that after the flood and the scattering at Babel, God called Abram out of Ur and promised him: "I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing... and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 12:2-3). The nation that came from Abraham was given a position above all other peoples: "Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation" (Exodus 19:5-6). God promised that from David's line a King would reign — "The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool" (Psalm 110:1). When the New Testament opens, Jesus is presented as "Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham" (Matthew 1:1), grounding His kingship in the covenants God made with Israel. At the birth of John the Baptist, Zacharias praised "the Lord God of Israel" for visiting and redeeming His people and raising up salvation in the house of His servant David (Luke 1:68-69).
Les explains that for the first 2,000 years of human history, God dealt with the whole human race. After the flood and Tower of Babel, humanity went right back into paganism, and at 2,000 B.C. God said — in exasperation — 'I'm going to do something totally different.' He called out one man, Abraham, and from Abraham formed the nation of Israel. This is why Les pictured God pulling one little stream out of the great river of humanity: Israel was to be a nation-wide representative. God worked through that little nation to prepare it to take salvation back to all the nations of the world. Les also emphasizes that God never told Israel to go out and proselyte the nations. Instead, He separated Israel and made them distinct; they were His covenant people, set above all others for a special role. But Israel rejected God by killing the prophets, and ultimately when God sent His Son, they killed Him too (Clips 6, 7). Even then, God did not cancel Israel — the focus on Israel was not arbitrary but was the means by which God intended to bless every family on the earth.
Les explains that God's purpose was never to bless Israel alone. From the first call of Abraham, God said He would make Abraham a blessing, and in him all families of the earth would be blessed. God pulled Israel out of the mainstream of humanity like a little stream so that through this favored nation He could funnel knowledge of the one true God back into every other nation (Clips 1, 2). God even made Israel a separated people, not telling them to proselyte the nations, but preparing them to play a unique role in His program for the whole human race (Clip 6).
No. Les says God's focus on Israel didn't mean He blanked out the Gentile. During the 2,000-year period of Jew-only dealings, God still made rare exceptions: Nineveh, Rahab, Ruth, Syrian General Naaman, the Canaanite woman in Jesus' earthly ministry, and the Roman centurion. Most of the nations, however, continued like a river beside Israel, seeing God's plan work through that one chosen nation (Clips 1, 2, 5).
Les describes Israel's history as one of rejecting God's direct attention. They killed the prophets God sent, and when God later sent His Son, they killed Him too. Yet even after this rejection God did not cancel the nation. Instead, He sovereignly continued His plan, eventually setting Israel aside temporarily and grafting believing Gentiles into the blessings promised to Abraham (Clips 4, 7).
Les says when Jesus is presented as the King, the Scriptures go back only to the promises of the King — 'The Son of David, the Son of Abraham' — because out of that Abrahamic covenant the King is coming. The whole prophetic program was given to Israel within a time frame of 490 years, during which Israel could have had their King and the Kingdom (Clip 0).
The King from the Abrahamic Covenant
Les shows that the King in Israel's prophetic program comes through the covenant with Abraham and David, which is why the gospel records trace Jesus' lineage that way.
Israel Drawn From the River of Humanity
Les explains that God pulled the nation of Israel out of the mainstream of humanity and intended Israel to funnel knowledge of God back into all the other nations.
A Favored Nation for a Unique Role
God sovereignly chose Israel as a covenant nation above all others, not to ignore the Gentiles, but to prepare Israel to bring every other nation to Israel's God.
God's New Direction at 2,000 B.C.
After humanity's hopeless failures, God called one man, Abraham, and built a nation from him through whom salvation would eventually go back to the whole mainstream of humanity.
The Root Opened to Gentiles
When Israel rejected the promises, God set them aside and grafted the Gentile believers into the blessings Abraham had been promised.
Jew Only, With Exceptions
Les lists the rare exceptions God made during His 2,000-year focus on Israel — Nineveh, Rahab, Ruth, Naaman, the Canaanite woman, and the Roman centurion.
A Separated Covenant People
God made Israel a separated people and never told them to proselytize; His focus was on making them distinct so He could work through them.
The Prophets and the Son Rejected
Israel responded to God's focused attention by killing the prophets and later killing His Son — yet God still did not cancel the nation.
Genesis 12:2-3: 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: 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 promise shows why God's focus on Abraham and his descendants was always meant to bless every nation.
Exodus 19:5-6: Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
Here God publicly set Israel above all nations for the purpose of mediating His covenant.
Matthew 1:1: The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
The King promised to Israel came through the very covenants God made with Abraham and David.
Psalm 110:1: The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
Les cites this as the ascension verse showing the rejected King at the Father's right hand.
Luke 1:68-69: Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;
Zacharias identified God as the God of Israel and connected salvation to David's house.
No. Les shows that although God dealt predominantly with Israel, He made rare exceptions such as Nineveh, Rahab, Ruth, Naaman, the Canaanite woman, and the Roman centurion. More importantly, Israel's special calling was never for Israel's benefit alone — it was through Israel that God intended to reach every nation (Clips 1, 5).
Because after 2,000 years of humanity's rejection from Adam to the Tower of Babel, God chose to do something altogether different: He called Abraham and formed a unique nation from him. Through that nation He planned to take salvation back to the whole mainstream of humanity (Clip 3).
Israel killed the prophets God sent, and when God sent His Son, they rejected and killed Him too. Yet God did not cancel the nation. Later, He set Israel aside and grafted believing Gentiles into the blessings promised to Abraham (Clips 4, 7).
Watch the Teaching: Why Israel Failed to Evangelize the World — Isaiah to Acts