Editing Book of Exodus (section)

=== Election of Israel ===
God elects Israel for salvation because the "sons of Israel" are "the firstborn sons" of the God of Israel, descended through Shem and Abraham to the chosen line of [[Jacob]] whose name is changed to Israel. The goal of the divine plan in Exodus is a return to humanity's state in [[Garden of Eden|Eden]] so that God can dwell with the Israelites as he had with [[Adam and Eve]] through the Ark and Tabernacle, which together form a model of the universe; in later [[Abrahamic religion]]s Israel becomes the guardian of God's plan for humanity, to bring "God's creation blessing to mankind" begun in Adam.<ref>Dempster, p. 100.</ref>