Old Testament and Attractional/Institutional?

This is going to sound odd, I know, but I was laying in bed tonight trying to sleep and this thought began buzzing through my head.  And I may be pushing the comparisons way too far.  But let me process it.

When I was in seminary, I was told that God perfectly placed Israel (the promised land) right at the heart of major trade routes from East to West and into Africa.  It was a purposeful location that would see the world brought to their doorstep.  If this is correct, we have the situation where the world came to the people of God.

In the New Testament, however, we see God in missionary mode.  He sent his Son.  He used persecution to drive the Christians out of Jerusalem to the world.  He sent Paul, et al, on missionary journeys.  In the New Testament, the people of God went to the world.

In the Old Testament, the nation of Israel focused on themselves, a warped view of their role.  Religion was institutionalized and rules based.

In the New Testament, the church was more organic in form and focused on becoming what God said Abram’s descendants would became: a blessing to all nations.

This is just something to chew on as you awake this morning.