In the beginning, humanity was formed in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-28). Nevertheless, they turned away from goodness and love of their Heavenly Father. The sons and daughters of the Most High renounced their family and lost access to the wonder.
In time, the violence and repression grew.”The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil“(Genesis 6:5).
To counteract the darkness, God started calling a group of people to His heart. This would be a new “family” that would enable the transformation of creation.
Starting with Abraham—a childless man from a family of idol-makers (Joshua 24:2)—God initiated a new type of relationship with the goal of drawing all ethnicities to Himself. He declared, “through your offspring, all nations on earth will be blessed” (Genesis 22:18).
Abraham had several children, but it was only through Isaac that the “redeemed family” continued. In this, we see that God’s purposes were advanced, not by bloodline alone, but by faith.
Paul declared, “Abraham ‘believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.’ So we see that it is men of faith who are the sons of Abraham” (Galatians 3:6–7).
Through obedience and relationship, the Abrahamic bloodline was distinguished as God’s special possession among the nations. This “family” developed customs and ways of life that conveyed the redemptive story.
God enabled them to, not only display His character but also become receptacles of His heavenly revelation. Through them, a future redeemer-king would emerge who would restore relationship to many. Paul makes reference to this, writing:
“They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them his law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping him and receiving his wonderful promises. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen” (Romans 9:4-5).
The New Testament makes it abundantly clear that “salvation comes from the Jews” (John 4:22). They alone were the means of God’s purposes in the earth.
Nevertheless, as important as Israel was to God’s mission, they ultimately weren’t the covenant’s underlying purpose. In many ways, they were merely the means. The goal was for Abraham’s blessing to be conveyed to all nations.
Whereas Israel, alone, functioned as God’s people in the Old Testament era, God’s covenant was intended to be extended to “all the families of the earth” (Genesis 12:3). The Heavenly Father always intended gentiles to join Israel in His multifaceted family.
We must never forget that, in the end, it is through Jesus that “the whole family in heaven and earth is named” (Ephesians 3:15).
