In Genesis 12:1-3, God calls Abraham and we have the beginning of the past history of Israel. Abraham is a very important person to the Jew, Muslim and Christian. We read in in These verses that Abraham is told to leave his family in Ur and move to the land that God will show him. There are appalling things happening on the earth at this time:-

• People are morally degenerate.
• The worship of God and the name of God has been almost totally forgot.

So God comes to Ur and chooses Abraham to start this nation Israel who are to be God’s chosen people. God elected Abraham. Is there any particular reason why God chose Abraham? See Deuteronomy 7:7-8, Malachi 1:2 and Romans 9:9-15. It was His love. In the call of Abraham there is a move from an individual to a nation to universal blessing. There are three promises given to Abraham.

• Nation. See Genesis 12:3. In Exodus 1-12 this promise became true.
• Land. See Genesis 13:14-17. In Genesis 15:18, God tells Abraham of the boundaries of the promised land. This promise has not been fully completed, but shall come true in the future.
• God’s blessing. See Genesis 12:2. Abraham and his descendants have provided two great blessings to the world.

1. The scriptures.
2. The Messiah.

Those who bless Israel will be blessed and those who curse Israel will be cursed. This has happened many times throughout history. E.g. Nazis. Exodus 1-12 marks the birth of the nation of Israel. They were given the constitution at Mount Sinai. Abraham had been given promises but now the Israelites were to experience these promises. Their enjoyment of these promises depends on their obedience to the constitution.

The Israelites move from Mount Sinai to their promised land. As Israel are obedient, God blesses them. When they are disobedient, God holds back His blessing. This can be seen throughout the Old Testament. Whenever a nation blesses Israel, God blesses that nation. Whenever others curse Israel then God curses that nation. E.g. Romans, Nazis.

For the Jew, A.D. 70 is a fateful year. It was in A.D. 66 that the Jewish people revolted against the Roman government. The temple was destroyed and the Jewish people were scattered. See Matthew 24:1-2. This came about because the Jewish people had rejected their Messiah. The nation lost their three promises but they will be restored in the future.

See Deuteronomy 28:63-66. These verses mention three things which are to happen to Israel in this present period.

• Scattered – Moses predicted this happening 2,000 years before it actually happened.
• Persecuted – See Deuteronomy 28:37. Among the nations of the earth no other nation’s existence has been more in doubt than Israel. This has happened because of their disobedience.
• Blinded – See Romans 11:7, 25. The nation of Israel have been blinded because of their rejection of Jesus their Messiah. There is always a remnant who will believe. There are three type of blindness:-

1. Judicial.
2. Natural.
3. Satanic.

There are three stages that Israel have to go through in the future:-

• Tribulation – Israel are to be reunited into their promised land and this time in all it’s fullness. The Tribulation period is for the nation of Israel and not the Church. There will be many Jews saved during the Tribulation. The Bible mentions 144,000 of them that will be a blessing to all the nations of the Earth. The Jews will have their temple by the middle of the Tribulation period. It does not have to happen before the Rapture of the Church takes place. It is after the Tribulation that Jesus will come and every eye shall see Him.
• Millennium – During this period of 1,000 years the three promises given to Abraham will be fully accomplished. All the nations of the earth will come to Jerusalem.
• Eternity – The three promises will continue for all eternity. This earth shall be destroyed and a new one established. See 2 Peter 3:10-13 and Revelation 20-22.

There are three and they are important to remember.

• The reliability of the Word of God. There has been the fulfilment of God’s prophecies concerning Israel. E.g. The coming Messiah.
• The heart of man fails continually.
• The faithfulness of God. Even though Israel was unfaithful to God, God has not been unfaithful to Israel.