← The World and Everything In It
The World and Everything In It
12.5.25 Culture Friday on dehumanizing rhetoric, a review of Zootopia 2, and a reflection on the Incarnation
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Nick Eicher
Hey, what a great week it's been for our new donor drive. We are grateful for the response and the week isn't over yet. But I do want to take a moment now to say thanks. If you've already made your first time gift, your support all week long has been an encouragement and it strengthens our work. So thank you very much.
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Myrna Brown
Today and tomorrow are the last days of the drive and if you've been listening all week, maybe thinking about giving but not quite acting yet, this is your moment to step into the story. Because listen, without the support of faithful world listeners, there is no story to write. But with that support, there is a greater story to tell, that of independent Christian journalism for such a time as this. So step on in, y'.
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Nick Eicher
All.
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Myrna Brown
Join the many who have already made their first time gift and join that $50,000 challenge gift that kicked things off. Just goes to show you, nobody here gives alone. We go together.
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Nick Eicher
We do go together, you know. And if world means something to you, if we are your go to podcast and you've never given before, well, would you please visit wng.org newdonor and make your first time gift today? I hope you will.
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Myrna Brown
Good morning. Today on Culture Friday, President Trump's harsh words about political opponents, why his rhetoric puts Christian backers in a bind.
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Mark Mellinger
Ilhan Omar is garbage.
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John Stonestreet
She's garbage. Her friends are garbage.
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Nick Eicher
John Stonestreet is ready to talk also today.
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Myrna Brown
This is our only chance to set things right.
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Nick Eicher
Zootopia 2, the biggest mystery yet. And later, our Advent series.
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Myrna Brown
It's Friday, December 5th. This is the world and everything in it from listener support. Welcome to Departed World Radio. I'm Myrna Brown.
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Nick Eicher
And I'm Nick Iger. Good morning.
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Myrna Brown
Up next, Mark Mellinger with today's news.
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Mark Mellinger
The commanding admiral who saw September's controversial double strike on a narco terror boat from Venezuela all the way through says there was no kill them all order. Previous reports indicated Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the boat's entire crew killed before the operation began. But Admiral Frank Bradley testified to Congress Thursday that was not the case. Some lawmakers have questioned whether the follow up strike, which took out two survivors of the first hit, was an act of war. But Republican Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton says the evidence shows the second strike was justified because unlike in other recent drug boat takedowns, the survivors were trying to flip the boat and stay in the fight.
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John Stonestreet
And in subsequent strikes, there is an example where survivors actually were shipwrecked and distressed and not trying to continue on their mission. And they were treated treated as they should be as non combatants.
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Mark Mellinger
Another lawmaker in the private briefing, Democratic Connecticut Congressman Jim Himes, maintains the follow up strike should not have happened, saying the survivors of the initial strike were not in a position to continue their mission in any way. It is a war crime to kill shipwrecked people in need of assistance and care. But the Trump administration insists in this case those taken out in the second strike were still acting as combatants. It looks unlikely there will be a deal to end Russia's war on Ukraine anytime soon. Thursday, Russian leader Vladimir Putin said some proposals in the US Peace plan are unacceptable to the Kremlin. He refused to say exactly which points of the plan Russia would accept or reject. The comments come after Putin's meeting this week in Moscow with US Special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump's son in law Jared Kushner. Thursday, Ukrainian diplomats were in Florida to get a briefing on the Putin meeting from Wyckoff and Kushner. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky translated through an interpreter.
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John Stonestreet
Our task now is to obtain full information about what was said in Russia. What other reasons Putin found to prolong the war and put pressure on Ukraine, on us, on our independence.
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Mark Mellinger
Putin is threatening to take full control of Ukraine's Donbas region if Ukraine won't withdraw. Ukrainian and European leaders have accused Putin Putin of merely feigning interest in peace efforts. Leaders from Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo were in Washington, D.C. thursday signing a U.S. brokered peace agreement. If it holds, the deal will end more than 30 years of fighting between the two African nations. The conflict is one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, leaving millions of people displaced. The deal formalizes a ceasefire, allows refugees to return to their homes and calls for justice for those who've committed atrocities. President Trump says the peace deal has also led to new economic agreements between both nations and the US Today. The United States is also signing our.
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John Stonestreet
Own bilateral agreements with the Congo and.
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Mark Mellinger
Rwanda that will unlock new opportunities for the United States to access critical minerals.
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John Stonestreet
And provide economic benefits for everybody.
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Mark Mellinger
The ceasefire is tenuous. There are still regular skirmishes in pockets of the war torn region where the two nations have been fighting for so long. The FBI has arrested the suspect accused of planting pipe bombs in Washington, D.C. almost five years ago. Investigators say Brian Cole Jr. Was taken into custody Thursday morning. He's accused of planting those bombs outside the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic National Committees in the Capitol on the eve of the January 6, 2021 riots. The bombs were ultimately disposed of and no one was hurt. Attorney General Pam Bondi says the evidence needed to crack the case was there all along.
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John Stonestreet
Let me be clear. There was no new tip, there was.
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Myrna Brown
No new witness, just good diligent police.
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John Stonestreet
Work and prosecutorial work, working as a team.
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Mark Mellinger
Cole is charged with the use of an explosive device. FBI Director Kash Patel says his arrest should serve as a warning.
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John Stonestreet
When you attack American citizens, when you.
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Mark Mellinger
Attack our institutions of legislation, when you.
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John Stonestreet
Attack our nation's capital, you attack the.
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Myrna Brown
Very being of our way of life.
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Mark Mellinger
And this FBI and this Department of.
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John Stonestreet
Justice stand here to tell you that.
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Joseph Holmes
We will always refute it and combat it.
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Mark Mellinger
Bondi said more charges are likely, but she did not elaborate. The Supreme Court says Texas redrawn congressional maps will be used in next year's midterm elections, a major win for the Trump administration. On Thursday, the justices paused a lower court ruling that blocked the maps for discriminating on the basis of race. The Supreme Court said the lower court likely ruled against the maps in error, failing to honor the presumption of legislative good faith. The high court was acting on an emergency request from Texas, where Monday is the deadline to file for candidacies in the new districts, and primaries are set for March. Texas lawmakers redrew the maps this year at the request of President Trump, who's hoping the new boundary lines could net the GOP five more congressional seats. The U.S. house's newest lawmaker is officially on the job. Speaker Mike Johnson swore in Republican Tennessee Congressman Matt Van Epps Thursday. Afterward, Van Epps delivered his first remarks on the House floor.
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Nick Eicher
I come to this distinguished body as a Christian, a husband and a father, and an army special operations helicopter pilot.
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Peter Mead
With nine combat tours who has seen.
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Nick Eicher
Firsthand what makes this nation exceptional.
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Mark Mellinger
Tuesday, Van Epps won a special election to hold retiring Congressman Mark Green's seat for the gop. He defeated Democrat Afton Bain by nine points. Political heavy hitters from both parties got involved in the race, including President Trump and Kamala Harris.
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I'm Mark Mellinger. Straight ahead, Culture Friday with John Stonestreet, A review of Zootopia 2 too. Plus Reflections for Advent. This is the World and everything in it.
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Myrna Brown
It's Friday, December 5th. Glad to have you along for today's edition of the World and Everything in It. Good morning. I'm Myrna Brown.
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Nick Eicher
And I'm Nick Eicher. It's Culture Friday. Joining us now, John Stonestreet, the president of the Colson center and host of the Breakpoint podcast. John, good morning.
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John Stonestreet
Good morning.
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Nick Eicher
Well, John, this is one of those moments that frustrates even a lot of the president's own supporters. There's a legitimate issue on the table, in this case the documented fraud scandal in Minnesota's Somali community, which even the Wall Street Journal editorial page says was massive and long ignored by state officials. So Trump starts there. Then, as he so often does, he dials it up to 11. The context here is a Cabinet meeting this week with the media present. And according to the New York Times and the Raw audio transcript, I did go back and check. He goes way past the fraud story and launches into a broad tirade about Somali immigrants. He says their country stinks. He says they contribute nothing. He says they came from hell. And he says he doesn't want them in the United States. Here's a clip that captures that escalation. Let's listen to it.
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Mark Mellinger
You know, our country's at a tipping point.
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John Stonestreet
We could go one way or the other and we're going to go the.
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Mark Mellinger
Wrong way if we keep taking in.
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John Stonestreet
Garbage into our country. Ilhan Omar is garbage. It's just garbage.
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Mark Mellinger
Her friends are garbage.
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Nick Eicher
Now, Ilhan Omar is an open anti Semite. Her insults are profane. They are nasty. But then the president goes off and turns her into a martyr and the policy issue vanishes. So suddenly the whole debate is over the insult and not the underlying problem. So what is the story here for us, John? What's a good way for Christians to be thinking about this?
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John Stonestreet
Well, I think this is another example that any time in history we have tried to advocate even or define in any way human dignity along the lines of any other foundation other than the fact that humans are made in the image and likeness of God and therefore value and worth is intrinsic to who we are, not something that we earn or something that we acquire or something that we're born into or born out of. Anytime you base that, even if you're trying to advance human dignity, but you do it without that solid ground, you're going to go wrong. You're going to end up leaving certain people out. Now, there have been times that the president's concerns have aligned with those who believe that every human is made in the image and likeness of God. We see that in some of the pro life things that he did, but we also see the opposite, that it did not align with some of the other things that he has advance. For example, quote, unquote, fertility in the name of IVF or whatever else. Why is it that we align on some things and we don't align on other things? It's because we believe that humans are made in the image and likeness of God. And the President might say that. In fact, he has said that in a speech which was pretty moving when we heard it, but it's not where he's coming from in his worldview. He's not coming from that perspective. And anytime you advance any understanding of human dignity or human worth or human value, even if trying to reacquire it, you know, for a group of people, and in this case, I think for the presidents, the American citizens, those who've been defrauded, he might even be trying to get to the right end here or a right end here, but he's not doing it based on the right foundation. And this is what's so dangerous about an untethered conservatism. This is why so much is at risk within the conservative movement right now. When you talk about the Nick Fuentes, Tucker Carlson incident and all that it represents from those on the right who are basically on the right as nihilists, they're coming from a Nietzschean perspective that the goal is power, and the goal is to get what one wants by any means necessary. And it's not grounded on any principle. It's not grounded on any eternal truth. The Christian believes in eternal truth. It's not because we want to. It's not because it works, although both of those things are true, we should want to. And it does work. It's because it is. It's because the Christian worldview begins not with something that we think up or imagine or want to accomplish. It begins with what is revealed. And what is revealed is this fundamental truth about what it means to be human. So whether you like it or not, you have to begin there. And if you begin there, you can't go down these roads that the President sometimes goes on. And I think that explains why sometimes we align and sometimes we don't.
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Myrna Brown
Well, John, before we get into this next story, just a quick note of context. Secretary of Defense Pete Hexseth, or Secretary of War, as he likes to be called, he does have a cloud of allegations swirling around him right now over possible war crimes. Nothing proven, and he should be presumed innocent. We. We covered that on Washington Wednesday. And, you know, I don't want to pretend it isn't out there, but with that noted, here's the other story that's brewing. According to a memo leaked to the media, Hegseth's Pentagon may cut ties with the Boy Scouts or Scouting America, as it's now called. The memo says he's alarmed by what he sees as the Scouts moral collapse, the LGBTQ overhaul, the gender neutral policies, the whole cultural rebrand. And assuming the memo is genuine and the reporting on it is accurate, he's prepared to go further. He may ask Congress to pull Defense Department support for one of their biggest events, the National Jamboree. He actually does have the authority to do that if he believes it touches national security. So, John, you have been critical of the Scouts for many years. Is this the kind of line drawing moment we need?
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John Stonestreet
You know, that's a good question. I do think it is a line drawing moment in the Department of Defense. And this is something that Secretary Hegseth has done on many occasions. And some people think he's crossed the line in some ways, and other people think he's just finally coming through. I tend to lean that way, although I'm not making a statement again on these kind of recent accusations. I have been a critic of the Scouts. Every time I am a critic of the Scouts, I get a flurry of emails and letters defending the Scouts, and I appreciate those. And I think actually the defensiveness about the Scouts and the pushback, whenever anyone is critical, reflects just how important the Scouts have been in the American context. I mean, literally, there's not a better example of what Edmund Burke calls called mediating institutions. These institutions of civil society that are voluntary, that are non governmental, pre political, and that actually connect us as individuals in ways that the state cannot. And when they function the way that they are supposed to function, then they produce enormous goods for a society. And, you know, it's hard to measure in the life of Scouting what has been done. But what do we have now? We have a real crisis of young men. We have young men who are not doing well by every measure. We have a critique of masculinity, as if masculinity itself is always toxic, without any sort of distinction between the good things and the bad things. And now we have this rising movement, which I had really hoped was just four or five young men in somebody's basement, but tends to be a pretty dominant or a rising force within the American right, particularly in politics of young men embracing this kind of Nietzschean, nihilistic vision of conservatism that's unhinged and untethered, and it's not built on formation as a man, but is actually itself a reaction, as a victim to everything. I was talking to some folks this week, and I'm actually convinced that Nick Fuentes is actually a form of radical feminism for men, where vices are turned into virtues and, and somebody's always a victim. So if we see the rise in this sort of thing, then I think it actually points to the fact that Scouting is not doing what Scouting should do. There is a crisis here. And to be honest, whether you like it or not, whether you want to be defensive of individual troops and individual leaders, as a movement, Scouting was designed to be one thing and to produce a particular kind of young man. Those things are no longer the case. And Secretary Hegseth came in with the promise that he was going to remove, for lack of a more sophisticated or specific term, wokeness from the military and from the things the military supports. If that is a priority of his, which it has been, and he's followed through one, then this would be a logical next step. And again, I think there are wonderful leaders and wonderful troops, but as an organization, it's just not what it used to be.
- [18:11]
Nick Eicher
John, before we go, you know, you need to be aware that Spotify Wrapped has dropped. It dropped this week. This is the annual ritual where Spotify tells you what you listened to, who your top artists were, how many minutes you streamed, all wrapped up in bright graphics that people share online, and so on a hunch. This is the first time I've done this. So suffice it to say I am a classical music fan. I am also such a big Andrew Peterson fan. This is news. I'm such a big Andrew Peterson fan. I made it into Andrew Peterson's top 500 listeners on Apple. So how about that? You don't get there without working hard. But evidently these personal years in review have become such a big deal that not only is Apple copying Spotify, but so is Goodreads. Wrapping your reading, food delivery apps, wrapping your eating habits, fitness apps, wrapping your workouts, even party invite apps, wrapping your social life. And evidently I don't have one of those. So, John, the New York Times, in all seriousness, quoted a woman who said that she felt so boxed in by all of this, saying she can't tell whether her taste is really hers or if it's just the algorithm shaping her choices. So what do you think is going on here culturally? Why do these little digital rituals carry so much weight for us? And what does it say, if anything, about how technology is forming us?
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John Stonestreet
Well, I think then my wife might be the most eclectic person on the planet because my daughters did that for her over Thanksgiving and she hit every genre that you could possibly hit. And it was pretty impressive. And at least two of my kids would fall into the the top 500 listeners of Adventures and odyssey. So. So there's some of that stuff going on in our family. Listen, Aristotle said that we are what we habitually do, that we are creatures of habit and a digital age. Our digital habits are those things that are obviously forming us because our habits form us. They form us in ways that go beyond what we think or what we say. The problem is, is when we think we actually don't have freedom over this. I'm just really stunned by this quote from this woman because just because there's a report of how much she listens to it doesn't mean she has to hit play on those same things next year or tomorrow. None of that makes a whole lot of sense, but it does tell us a little bit about kind of how we think about ourselves, that we are fish that don't know we're wet. You know, these are the cultural realities in which we swim. And the ability to step outside of those cultural realities Is a really powerful and important thing that we've got to be able to do. I also think it's important at times to evaluate our habits and to say, what are those things that are habitually forming me? I may want something else to be forming me. I may want to read more books, but you never pull on a new habit without taking off an old one. And so you have to decide, I'm going to now re budget my time. I'm going to re budget my energy. The thing that scripture adds to Aristotle, Other than a whole lot of other things, Is that we are not just what we habitually do, but what we habitually do shapes what we habitually love and what we worship. And love and worship are used in very synonymous ways in holy scripture. It's what we give our allegiance, our heart to. That's why the author of Proverbs says to guard your heart. And so it's even a little bit deeper than huh. I wonder, you know, how many times I look listen to this particular song or how big of a fan am I? It really does point to something deep, to what I'm actually giving my time, my energy, my talent to. And that's a question of spiritual formation. That's a question of what kind of lover I am. Because to be human, St. Augustine said, is to be a lover. It's to love not only loving the right things, but loving the right things in the right order. So, you know, I wouldn't get too involved in all these things, but they're helpful, particularly given the amount of time we spend in front of our glowing rectangles on a daily and weekly basis.
- [22:22]
Myrna Brown
Glowing rectangles. Johnstone street is president of the Colson center and host of the Breakpoint Podcast. Thank you John. See you next time.
- [22:33]
John Stonestreet
Thank you both.
- [22:43]
Additional Additional support comes from Ambassadors Impact.
- [22:46]
Peter Mead
Network, helping entrepreneurs with a purpose find.
- [22:49]
John Stonestreet
The support they need to thrive with faith aligned financing options. More@ambassadorsimpact.com and from Water's Edge. Save More, Do More, Give More Helping Christians support ministry by giving through a donor advised fund.
- [23:08]
Peter Mead
Watersedge.com.
- [23:24]
Nick Eicher
It is official. Oxford University Press has announced its 2025 Word of the Year. And if you've ever been online, of course you have, you've no doubt been caught up in it. The word is worth Rage bait. You're scrolling along in peace until suddenly a scenario just like this explained by a lexicographer on the BBC.
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Mark Mellinger
We might see a cute kitten and scroll past it, but then we see something that makes us so angry we engage. And then it is amplified by the algorithm which maintains that level of anger.
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Nick Eicher
And there you have it. Rage bait, which to me seems a close cousin to last year's Word of the Year. Bright brain rot. So pretty clear evidence the algorithm's still at work.
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Myrna Brown
It's just gotten angrier and I nominate one for 2026.
- [24:10]
Nick Eicher
Log off it's the World and Everything In.
- [24:27]
Today is Friday, December 5th. Thank you for turning to World Radio to help start your day. Good morning, I'm Nick Iker.
- [24:34]
Myrna Brown
And I'm Myrna Brown. Coming next on the World and Everything In It, a return to a beloved animated world. Disney's Zootopia 2 is a sequel to the 2016 animated hit and it's the biggest global box office opening of the year. The biggest animated global opening of all time. Here's World film critic Joseph Holmes.
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Joseph Holmes
It's easy to be cynical that Hollywood has run out of ideas with all the remakes and sequels they keep putting out, but Zootopia 2 reminds us why we keep watching them. It's not as deep as the first film, but it's an enjoyable movie with good messages and mostly absent objectionable content for families.
- [25:14]
Nick Eicher
Unlikely duo Judy Hawke, the city's first bunny copy, and Nicholas Wilde, a small time street.
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John Stonestreet
Fox uncovered a conspiracy by Mayor Bellwether.
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Mark Mellinger
Today using a toy carrot recorder pen.
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John Stonestreet
I can bring you too.
- [25:29]
Joseph Holmes
Zootopia 2 follows Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, a buddy in Fox who live in a multi species metropolis called Zootopia. After saving the city in the first film, they're struggling to work together as partners in the Zootopia police department Just when they're given a final warning by their police chief to shape up or be split up. A snake steals a priceless journal. This leads Judy and Nick on a merry chase to unravel a conspiracy against all reptiles who haven't been seen in zootopia in nearly 100 years.
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John Stonestreet
We have to set another meeting with the chief. Promise we'll be better.
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Myrna Brown
Yeah.
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John Stonestreet
Or we go with my playbook and.
- [26:00]
Peter Mead
We just lay low.
- [26:02]
Myrna Brown
We cannot prove ourselves if we are.
- [26:04]
John Stonestreet
Stuck in that room. And if we complain to Chief Beef, he'll just make us stay longer. Play it smart, stay off the radar. And don't let it get to you.
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Peter Mead
Kay.
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Joseph Holmes
Zootopia 2 is a fun ride. Judy and Nick, as always, have infectious chemistry. And they are once again performed to perfection by the ever brilliant Jennifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman. Judy's hyperactive determination and Nick's deadpan wisecracks create an enjoyable push and pull to their obvious mutual affection. The Zootopia world is an endless sandbox of creativity. And it's fun to see new places and animal types like the world of reptiles in this film. As well as old favorite characters like Mr. Big and Duke Weaselton. A lot of the jokes land giving plenty of wholesome laughs.
- [26:43]
John Stonestreet
Conversing with these beautiful sea creatures is.
- [26:45]
Nick Eicher
Like talking to anyone a little different.
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Mark Mellinger
Just takes open and respectful communication.
- [26:52]
Myrna Brown
Hey bub.
- [26:52]
Nick Eicher
Hey bub. Hey Abub.
- [26:53]
Joseph Holmes
Hey bub.
- [26:53]
Myrna Brown
Hey bub.
- [26:54]
Peter Mead
Hey.
- [26:54]
Mark Mellinger
Hey.
- [26:56]
Abub.
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Joseph Holmes
There are plenty of positive messages as well. The Zootopia franchise is about different animal species living together. So it likes to use that to remind us to love groups of people who are different from us. The film also forces Judy and Nick to learn to accept their own individual differences from each other and take responsibility for their own flaws. Likewise, the film praises the heroes who expose the truth of a centuries long cover up, regardless of personal cost.
- [27:20]
Myrna Brown
This is our only chance to set things right. And when I do, my family will finally be able to come home.
- [27:31]
Joseph Holmes
That said, the film doesn't quite reach the same heights as the first Zootopia. The thoughtful commentary and clever jokes about what it's like to live alongside very different people groups are mostly replaced with surface level animal parts. And Judy and Nick don't have quite as well developed character arcs as they did in the original.
- [27:48]
John Stonestreet
We've been official partners for one week.
- [27:51]
Myrna Brown
At the university and we are functioning fine. Better than fine. And we did sort of save the city. So us being here kind of seems like a huge misunderstanding.
- [28:02]
Joseph Holmes
The film is safer for families than a lot of modern kids content, but it still has a few things parents might want to know going in. Characters are frequently in danger or being chased by bad guys with tranquilizers or lethal poison weapons. The secure voiced giraffe pop star swings a lot of Shakira inspired hips during her singing. An initially masculine looking sheep gets sheared to look more feminine and loves the look. Parents may also be concerned that the movie continues the trend of films like Frozen 2 and Wicked, with plots that hint that the culture that you live in, specifically one that is very America coded, is predominantly based on lies.
- [28:35]
Myrna Brown
Snakes never hurt anyone. We aren't the bad guys, they are.
- [28:42]
Joseph Holmes
All in all, Zootopia 2 is a reminder why when you create good characters in a good world, it's worthwhile revisiting it might not be as good as the first one, but when you're revisiting old friends as a family, it doesn't.
- [28:53]
John Stonestreet
Always have to be I'm Joseph Holmes.
- [29:14]
Myrna Brown
Good morning. This is the world and everything in it from listener supported World Radio, I'm Myrna Brown.
- [29:21]
Nick Eicher
And I'm Nick Eicher. In years past, we have ended each week of December with the music of Advent. But this time around, we're doing something a little different. Back in 2014, pastor, church planter and author Peter Meadow published an Advent devotional that was titled Pleased to A Biblical Introduction to the Incarnation.
- [29:43]
Myrna Brown
Well, with thanks to Christian Focus Publishers, we've condensed that book down to four radio presentations. Our goal is to encourage you in your faith no matter how you mark the Advent of Christ. Today. Part one From Peter Mead, the Anointed Deliverer.
- [30:10]
Peter Mead
This time of year we feel a great tension between two striking images of Christ. On the one hand, the resurrected Christ who sits in the center of heaven, lovingly adored as the forever Lord of all. On the other hand, holiday cards, carols and school programs remind us of Christ at the center of Christmas, frail and cradled in the tender arms of a young mother. Heavenly glory and human frailty One of the greatest Christmas hymns of all time is Hark the Herald angel sing, written in 1739 by Charles Wesley. Veiled in flesh, the Godhead Sea hailed the incarnate Deity, pleased as man with man to dwell. Jesus, our Emmanuel. What does it mean that God was pleased to dwell with us? The answer begins in the garden where the Creator first walked with his creation. As we read through the first few chapters of Genesis, we discover language that nudges us towards a relational understanding of God and those made in his image, given dominion over the earth. Humanity was not Made in the image of a power hungry dictator. The dominion described is not one of conquering and crushing, but of multiplying and caring. The biblical language is one of generosity to all, of relationality, of genuine unity amidst delightful diversity. But it doesn't take long for everything to unravel. The great Twist in Genesis 3 shocks first time readers of the book. Here we meet the index case or patient zero, the first diagnosis of the disease that has condemned us all ever since. The desire for godlike autonomy and independence. Adam and Eve and all their descendants stand condemned. The great problem is not just misbehavior, it's the corrupt human heart. We want to be God, not for God to be God. Whether we express this corruption through wild rebellion or through self righteous obedience, we are all dead in sin. Yet in the midst of the dirge of gloom and rebuke comes God's surprising word of prophetic hope. God took charge of the situation and made a promise. The solution to the devastation of sin and death is not a what what we must do. It is a who. It is the seed of the woman who would deliver a lethal blow to the head of Satan. This divine promise plan is the very spine of the Bible. Throughout the Scriptures we discover a God who constantly moves toward his creation to dwell in their midst. The Lord appeared to Abram in person to make the promise of the seed. He invited people to trust in Him. As the picture develops, the seed must fulfill specific roles. First, he must be the prophet. Moses, who knew the Lord face to face, predicted that God would raise up a prophet like him, fully authorized to declare God's word with absolute authority. Second, the seed must be the priest. When the priesthood collapsed, God promised a faithful priest who would honor all that was on his heart and mind. But the great surprise of the Old Testament is that this messianic priest would offer the greatest sacrifice himself. He alone could make the necessary atonement for humanity's sin. Next, the seed must be the king. God made a promise to David in 2 Samuel 7 of A Forever Dynasty, a lasting throne and a seed who would sit on that throne forever. This greater Son of David is massively sacred, significant. Referred to explicitly as the Son of God, the prophet sharpened this anticipation. Micah declared that the king would come from Bethlehem and that his goings forth are from of old. Pointing to his divine identity, Isaiah affirmed this, calling him wonderful Counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. The king, we come to realize, is actually the Lord Himself. Finally, the Old Testament leaves us with the profound problem of the human heart that no law or system could fix. So the prophets pointed to a new covenant. This is God's glorious prescription, promising sins fully forgiven, the law written on the heart, and a living heart replacing the stony one. But here's the climax of our Old Testament journey. The glorious future new covenant is not just a new deal between God and man. It is a person between God and man. Isaiah reveals that the servant of the Lord himself is the covenant. God says, I will give you as a covenant for the people. All the blessings, sins forgiven, transformed, motivation, the spirit given are secured because of the coming of the Messiah, the prophet, the priest, the king himself. The covenant come to dwell with us in person. I'm Peter Meadow.
- [35:17]
Nick Eicher
Time now to name our crew who helped to put this week's programs together. Mary Reichard, David Bonson, Daniel Darling, George Barros, Emma Eichert and Andrew Walker, Hunter Baker, Onise Adua, Lindsay Mast, Eric Erickson, Josh Schumacher, Cal Thomas, John Stonestreet, Joseph Holmes and Peter Mead. Thanks also to our breaking news crew, Kent Covington, Mark Mellinger, Daniel Devine, Christina Grube, Travis Kircher and Steve Klosterman. And thanks to the moonlight maestros, Benj Eicher and Carl Peetz. Harrison Waters is Washington producer, Kristen Flavin is features editor, Paul Butler is executive producer, and Les Sillers is editor in chief. I'm Nick Iker.
- [36:03]
Myrna Brown
And I'm Myrna Brown. If you enjoy this podcast, help a friend find it too. Send a link to a favorite story or the whole podcast right from your app. One click helps a friend start the day the way you do and helps make program grow. The world and everything in it comes to you from World Radio. World's mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates and inspires. The Bible says. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Verses 4 through 7 of Titus, chapter 3. Sunday's coming, so make plans and to worship with a Bible believing church on the Lord's day. And Lord willing, we'll be right back here Monday morning. Go now in grace and peace.