Why might have God confined his atonement to only the Israelites?

Question

I am trying to avoid getting struck down as opinion based by asking for POTENTIAL answers here. If you think my question can be rephrased in a non-opinion based way, feel free to edit.

In the Old Testament in places like Leviticus, God sets up mechanisms by which the Israelite people can purify themselves so that they are no longer unclean and can be saved. Why might he have not offered this to anyone else? There were many other tribes, after all. Were those people just condemned to hell?

Answer 1

In the Old Testament, the nation of Israel was God’s chosen instrument for witnessing about God’s saving grace. It was in this sense that Israel became the “chosen nation” (Ex 19:5). Specifically:

• Israel was to be a kingdom of priests to teach all nations (Ex 19:5, 6, Isa 61:6).
• Israel was to be a light to the world (Isa 42:6, 49:6, 60:3).
• Israel was to be a blessing to all nations via both their spiritual example and teaching, and the promised Messiah (Gen 12:2-3; 18:18; 22:18, Ps 67:1-2, Isa 2:2-4, 55:5, 61:9-11, 66:19-20, Jer 3:17)

Note that while Israel was chosen as the instrument to tell and show the world of God’s saving grace, salvation was always available to all people. Indeed, the Old Testament contains many examples of foreigners becoming part of Israel, indicating that the Israelite Covenant was open to all and was never exclusive. For example:

• Abraham’s own household must have consisted of perhaps 2000 people just to be able to raise an army of 318 men to liberate Lot, Gen 14:14. Indeed, Abraham’s chief servant (from Damascus) was clearly a believer and very devout as shown in Gen 24.
• The unfortunate story in Gen 38 about Judah and Tamar shows that a foreigner became the mother of the tribe of Judah.
• When Jacob entered Egypt, his family numbered 75 people (Acts 7:14, Ex 1:5). Some of these were not direct descendants of Abraham such as the wives of the 12 patriarchs, notably Joseph’s own wife. 215 years and four generations later at the exodus, Israel’s army had over 600,000 men, excluding women and children, (Ex 12:37, Num 1:46, etc) suggesting a total population of several million people, requiring many additions. This included a significant mixed multitude (Ex 12:38) showing that Israel obviously consisted of many non-biological Jews had joined. (Note that it is biologically impossible for Israelite numbers to have grown from 75 to several million biologically without many outside additions.)
• Moses married a Midianite (Ex 2:16-21) also known as a Cushite. Miriam and Aaron were severely reprimanded and punished for displaying racism (Num 12:1, 2)
• Caleb, who represented and led the tribe of Judah was a Kennizite (Num 32:12).
• Rahab was a Canaanite (Josh 2:1, 2, Matt 1:5)
• Ruth was Moabite (Ruth 1:4 16, 17, Matt 1:5) – these last two make King David descended from foreigners (Ruth 4:13-16).
• Uriah was a Hittite (2 Sam 11:3)
• King David’s elite personal regiment consisted of Gittites, that is, Philistines (2 Sam 15:18-22, 1 Chron 18:17)
• Isa 56:6, 7 - And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD to minister to Him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be His servants— all who keep the Sabbath without profaning it and who hold fast to My covenant—I will bring them to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar, for My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations.” See also V3.
• The Rechabites were Kenites (Jer 35:1-19)
• Many other foreigners lived in Israel (1 Chron 22:2, 17, 2 Chron 30:25)
• In Esther’s time “many of the people of the land became Jews” (Esther 8:17, 9:27)
• Even in NT times, many Jewish synagogues were attended by godly gentiles converted to Judaism (Acts 13:16, 26, 16:14, 17:17)
• Many Jewish proselytes came to worship in Jerusalem (John 20:20, Acts 2:9-11)
• Jesus quotes Isa 56:7, “My house shall be a house of prayer for all nations”, Mark 11:17.
• Further, biological Israelites could opt out of the covenant and be cut-off (Ex 30:33, 38, 31:14, Lev 7:20, 21, 25, 27).

Thus, it is abundantly clear that membership of Israel was always open to all and voluntary. See also “Pagan Salvation” for the logical extension of this idea. The distinction between a biological Jew/Israelite and a convert becomes extremely blurred if meaningful at all.

Paul confirmed this when he write:

Rom 9:6 - For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.

Answer 2

In the Old Testament God confined the atonement only to the Israelites because His OT covenant obligation (the Mosaic covenant) was only to His chosen people Israel. It was only a temporary covenant which later was fulfilled by Jesus with the New Covenant to cover the atonement for everyone.

From OT Israelites's perspective, they had a covenant with Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Other nations had their own gods with their own covenants (the Philistines had Dagon, the Moabites had Chemosh, and the Canaanites had Baal). The covenant responsibilities for Israel was spelled out in the Torah (including Leviticus) which applied only to Israel. This was Henotheism which later on became Monotheism where Yahweh became the supreme God over all creation.

There was no concept of hell at the time. Everyone thought they went to Sheol when they died, regardless of their nation (it was a common understanding in ancient times, at least in Mesopotamia). Only after the OT period was over (after 400 BC), when Persian and Greek influence came into the area, that there started to be a discussion of the resurrection of the righteous to heaven and punishment for the wicked in hell, which became the background idea of life after death in the various schools of early Judaism at the time of Jesus and the apostles.

After Jesus died on the cross, he went to preach the gospel to those souls in Sheol ("spirits in prison", 1 Peter 3:18-20). Then they went either to heaven or hell (see my other answer). Christians who are inclusivists (distinct than universalism!) believe that people who never had the gospel preached to them will also receive gospel presentation from Jesus after they die (post-mortem evangelization).