A history of the work of redemption. Containing the outlines of a body of…

We cannot certainly determine precisely at what time the apostasy of the Gentile nations from the true God, or there being concluded in visible unbelief, became universal. Their falling away was a gradual thing, as we observed before. It was general in Abraham's time, but not universal; for then we find Melchizedec, one of the kings of Canaan, was priest of the most high God. After this the true religion was kept […] for a while among some of the rest of Abraham's posterity, besides •he family of J•c•b; and also in some of the posterity of Nahor, as we have instances in Job, and his three friends, and Elihu. The land of Uz, where Job lived was a land possessed by the posterity of U•, or H•z. the son of Nahor, Abraham's brother, of whom we read, Gen. xxii.21. Bildad the Shuhire was of the offspring of S••u•b, Abraham's son by K•truah, Gen. xxv.1.2.: and Elihu the Buzit•, was of […] the son of Nahor, the brother of Abraham. So the true religion lasted among some other people, besides the Israelites, a while after Abraham. But it did not l•st long: and it is probable that the time of their total rejection, and giving up to idolatry, was about the time when God separated the children of Israel from Egypt to serve him; for they are often put in m•nd on that occasion▪ that God had now separated them to be his peculiar people; or to be distinguished from all other people upon earth, to be his people alone; to be his portion, when others were rejected. This seems to hold forth thus much to us, that God now chose them in such a manner, that this visible choice of them was accompanied with a visible rejection of all other nations in the world; that God visibly c•me, and took up his residence with them, as forsaking all other nations.