Israel, as the chosen descendants of Abraham, is seen in the record from Genesis 11:10 through Malachi 4. This group of people occupies most of the writing of the Old Testament. With the exception of the first ten and a half chapters of Genesis, which speak of the first two groups of people, the remainder of the Old Testament concerns this group of people.
Adam was a father, Noah was a father, and Abraham also was a father. Adam was the father of the created ones, Noah was the father of the saved ones, and Abraham was the father of the called ones. The group God created failed, and the group God saved also failed; therefore, God came to call out another group of people.
God called Abraham and gave him the promise of grace, and later his descendants inherited this promise. The content of this promise is the gospel that God is preaching to us today (Eph. 2:17; Gal. 3:8-9).
Although the descendants of Abraham were heirs of the promise, they did not stand firm in their position to inherit the promise; rather, they left Canaan and went down to Egypt, falling from their position as heirs of promise to a position of slaves.
They suffered afflictions in Egypt as slaves, so God came in to deliver them. Delivered by God out of Egypt, they were able to leave their position as slaves and return to their position as heirs of promise.
After they came out of Egypt and arrived at the foot of Mount Sinai, they received the law from God; they received God’s holy Word.
Then they passed through the wilderness, where they received God’s leading, encountered numerous circumstances, and saw many signs and wonders. In their journey God was manifested on many occasions among them.
They conquered the seven tribes of Canaan and captured the land of Canaan, allotting it for their inheritance.
Once they had gained the land, they established the kingdom. This brings us to the time of David and Solomon.
Not long after they established the kingdom, they were defeated, desolate, and carried away to the Gentile nations. The cause of their defeat, the condition of their desolation, and the result of their captivity are all recorded in 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles.
When seventy years of captivity were fulfilled, they were restored and brought back to Jerusalem in the land of Canaan.
Not long after they were restored and returned to their own land, however, they became desolate again.
Due to God’s judgment, the third group of people came to a temporary end at this point. Matthew 23:37-39, Luke 19:41-44, 21:5-6, 20-24, and 23:27-31 all show how God would judge His elect, the people of Israel, temporarily forsaking them until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
We can be very clear about the things concerning Israel as the chosen people of God if we remember these twelve points. In this long section of the Old Testament, from Genesis 11:10 to the end of Malachi 4, even though the Gentiles are sometimes mentioned, they are not the main subject; they are mentioned only because of their association with the children of Israel. In this long section of the Bible, the main character is Israel, the chosen people of God, the descendants of Abraham.
In summary, there are three groups of people in the Old Testament—the adamic race, the descendants of Noah, and the descendants of Abraham. We also can say that there are three fathers in the Old Testament: the first is the father of the created people; the second is the father of the saved people; and the third is the father of the called people. If we keep these things clearly in mind, we will have a thorough and accurate knowledge of the Old Testament.