In psalm 67.1-3 it is clear that the psalmist knew the special place of Israel as a light and messenger to the nations.  “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way  may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.  Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!”

Two of the promises to Abraham in Genesis 12 were that he would become a great nation, and all the “families” of the earth would be blessed through him. The Israelites knew they were the fulfillment of the first promise, and they expected that God’s face shining on them would be one means of making the second part so – others would see God’s saving power and desire Him.

But it was easy for some to rely on heritage rather than faith. It was easy to shift from thankfulness to complacency; some expected that God would always bless them just because of their ancestor. They needed to remember the reason Abraham was blessed was because of his trust in the One True God of the universe.  His true descendants are not based on progeny but on belief.

So it must have been a surprise when Babylon attacked, razed the city and took the survivors away as captives.  They did not remember that God keeps ALL his promises, including the basic message of Deuteronomy 28:  Obey and be blessed; disobey and be cursed.  The prophets warned of their disobedience; they did not have the faith to believe them or God.

John 3:18 re-emphasizes this point.  After the gloriously familiar “For God so loved the world” of verse 16, the next verses note that the saving criterion is belief in Jesus Christ. “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

The pattern is clear.  Abraham believed and was blessed.  Many Israelites did not believe the warnings of scripture and were punished.  Jesus offers a choice:  Believe and have eternal life OR don’t believe and miss out!