Israel’s calling was to be the focal point of Yahweh’s battle against sin. This is evident from the context of Abraham’s call in Gen. 12. Yahweh promised earlier He would no longer flood the earth. After Babel the nations have been scattered and He will no longer deal with them directly. Yet, He did not resign himself to a world under the dominion of sin. Instead, He pursued His holy war against sin within the house of Abraham. This paradigm also means that Israel’s history is exemplary of the history of the human race in a particular way: The warfare that Yahweh carried on against Israel in the Old Testament is now being waged everywhere. In the past, the New Testament tells us, God “winked” at Gentile sin and rebellion, and (as it were) concentrated all His energies on Israel. No more: Now, He is after every nation, and He will not rest until all the nations of the earth have died and risen in Jesus, the true Israel.
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