According to thy Word.

In this premier episode of the podcast, we will explain the title, “A Light to the Nations,” looking at how Scripture, particularly Luke’s Gospel, uses it; and how the author’s use of poetic parallelism reinforces the teaching.

Show Notes

In Scripture, no one gets to be exceptional or special. If you are special at all, it is only as an example used for the edification of others. To put it another way, you become the example of what not to do. In spite of your wandering astray, God can and does use your punishment and correction to achieve His purpose according to His will. Your screwing it up becomes a blessing to those on the outside. In this way, it fulfills what God told Abram in Genesis 22:18 when He told him that, “in your seed will all the nations of the earth be blessed.” This mechanism is key to understanding the Scriptural story as a whole; and particularly how we understand Israel being called “a light to the nations.” Join us as we look at examples from both the Old and New Testaments of how this phrase, which is used as the name of this podcast, can express a double-edged meaning; whether we hear it as positive or negative, it’s always according to the will of the Scriptural God. 

What is A Light to the Nations?

A Light to the Nations is a bi-weekly podcast examining all parts of the biblical story from a functional perspective. Instead of asking what words means, we consider instead their function, i. e., how they are used in other parts of the Bible. In each episode will discuss the functionality of words and how that allows us hear the teaching.