Beginning of the End - Ellen G. White

God called Israel in order to reveal Himself through them to
everyone who lived on the Earth. It was for this reason that He
commanded them to keep themselves distinct from the idolworshipping
nations around them.
It was just as necessary then as it is now for God's people to be
pure, "unspotted from the world." But God did not want His people
to shut themselves away from the world so that they could have no
influence on it. It was their evil heart of unbelief that led them to
hide their light instead of letting it shine on the peoples around
them, shutting themselves away in proud exclusiveness as if God's
love and care were only for them.
The covenant of grace was first made in the Garden of Eden.
After the Fall, God promised that the seed of the woman would
bruise the serpent's head. This covenant offered to everyone pardon
and the assisting grace of God to obey through faith in Christ. It also
promised eternal life on condition of loyalty to God's law, and so the
patriarchs received the hope of salvation.
God renewed this same covenant to Abraham in the promise,
"In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed" (Genesis
22:18). Abraham trusted in Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and it
was this faith that was credited to him for righteousness. The
covenant with Abraham also upheld the authority of God's law. The
testimony of God was, "Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My
charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws" (Genesis
319