people (Old Testament Israel). They were called into existence for the sake of God’s redemptive purpose for all the nations. They experienced God’s redeeming grace. They lived in covenant relationship with him, in the inheritance of the land he had given to them. The central section (from David to the exile) also had its vital lessons, which the historical books and the books of the prophets made clear. One affirmation was that Yahweh, the God of Israel, was in sovereign control of world history—