In the Old Testament, there were two special men called by God. The first was Abraham. God blessed him and told him, "I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore" (Gen. 22:17). He also said that "Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation" (18:18). This was not fulfilled in Abraham's lifetime. In fact, at the end of Genesis, seventy of his descendants moved to Egypt (46:27). Rather than being a mighty nation, they lived under Pharaoh's administration.

After Abraham, the second great person was Moses, who represents a further stage of development. Through Moses, God was able to raise up His people as His corporate testimony, forming them into a great nation. The children of Israel followed Moses out of Egypt, became a nation, and received the law of God from Moses' hand. This was a fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham.