Israel is a small nation that may seem at first glance to have had little impact on the development of human history. Israel never grew to be a great power projecting empire like Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, or Rome. Its political influence during the era of these great political powers was, at best, minor. Yet, looks are deceiving.

Despite the minor political impact of Israel on the development of world history, she has dramatically altered the flow of history. The modern man tends to think of national significance in terms of politics. But Israel's importance was not primarily political. Rather her significance lay in the fact that she was used of God as the protecting sheath through which the seed of the covenant flowed. In other words, she was the agency through which God providentially brought Christ into the world. And the impact of Christ on history has been enormous.