"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as
some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward,
not willing that any should perish, but that all should come
to repentance" (II Peter 3:9).

The first covenant of salvation -- to Adam and
Eve -- in Genesis 3:15 (the woman's seed would bruise the head
of the serpent which tempted her) sounds like God may
have intended for such salvation to be universally effective
for all mankind. Again in the Noahic Covenant, God made
a promise of survival, an "everlasting covenant between
God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the
earth" (Genesis 9:16).

But as we see God's plan begin to unfold, we may
be tempted to doubt that God wanted every member of
the human race to experience His salvation, for in Genesis
12 God focuses His program on only one
man -- Abram -- whom He calls and promises to bless. From Abram the nation
of Israel came, and they became the people of God and
experienced God's special guidance and blessing. Of
particular importance is that God chose to reveal His eternal
written Word through them.

But let's look again at God's call to Abram. In
Genesis 12:2 God not only says "I will make of thee a great
nation, and I will bless thee," but He also promises that "in
thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (v.3). God is
sharing His wider perspective and exposing His great heart
of love for all by declaring Israel to be a whole race of
priests on behalf of the rest of the nations (Exodus 19) and a
light to the Gentiles (Isaiah 42:6).

Eventually the ultimate love of God was realized:
"When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His
Son, made of a woman" (Galatians 4:4), "that the world
through Him might be saved" (John 3:17). KLB