Beginning of the End - Ellen G. White

complaint against God. They do not see that to not give human
beings freedom of choice would make them mere robots. Like the
inhabitants of all other worlds, we must undergo the test of
obedience; but we are never brought into a position where yielding
to evil becomes necessary. No temptation or trial is permitted that
we are unable to resist.
As the population increased, almost the whole world joined the
rebellion. Once more Satan seemed to have gained the victory, but
the earth was cleansed by the Flood from its moral pollution.
Why God Chose Israel
The prophet says, "Let grace be shown to the wicked, yet he
will not learn righteousness ... and will not behold the majesty of the
Lord" (Isaiah 26:10). This is how it was after the Flood. The
inhabitants of the earth again rebelled against the Lord. The world
had twice rejected God's covenant--both the people before the Flood
and the descendants of Noah threw off the divine authority. Then
God entered into a covenant with Abraham and took to Himself a
people to become the guardians of His law.
Satan immediately began to lay his snares in order to entice and
destroy these people. The children of Jacob were tempted to marry
the heathen and worship their idols, but Joseph's faithfulness was a
testimony to the true faith. In order to shut out this light Satan
worked through Joseph's brothers to cause him to be sold as a slave,
but God overruled. Both in the house of Potiphar and in the prison,
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