The promises offered to the Jewish people were predicated on their ability to hear and obey the voice of God, in keeping with the example of the patriarch Abraham. The primary purpose of this cultivated people was to prepare the way for the Messiah. Yet this promise was not intended to be exclusive to the Jewish community, for God clearly states that through them all the families of the earth would be blessed. What was God’s purpose in creating this special family, how do Gentiles become a part of it, and what is God’s purpose in allowing the Jews to return to their homeland in Israel?