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Speaker 1: And the priests said, unto them, go in peace before

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Speaker 1: the Lord is your way, wherein ye go, Judge is

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Speaker 1: eighteen six Heavenly Father. As I observe my life, I

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Speaker 1: will make sure that small compromises won't erode my sense

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Speaker 1: of what's right and wrong. I will not take what

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Speaker 1: does not belong to me, no matter how appealing it

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Speaker 1: may be for my life. Help me to discern what

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Speaker 1: is for me and what needs to exit my life.

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Speaker 1: I denounced the shackles of faithlessness that the enemy tries

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Speaker 1: to tether around me. I will fortify my faith by

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Speaker 1: making sure I keep my heart and my eyes fixed

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Speaker 1: on You, Lord, my rock and my fortress. I declare

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Speaker 1: that any false idles that I have set up in

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Speaker 1: my life, either knowing or unknowing, are being demolished and

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Speaker 1: torn from my life. To day, Holy Spirit, show me

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Speaker 1: where I am spiritually settling instead of boldly seizing the

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Speaker 1: promise and personal growth You've destined for me to have.

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Speaker 1: Through Micah's life, I can see how compromise destroys the

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Speaker 1: very thing you are trying to keep when you misalign

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Speaker 1: yourself with wrong thinking and unfruitful relationships. However, today that

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Speaker 1: will not be my story that is not a chapter

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Speaker 1: in my book of becoming. I declare that I am

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Speaker 1: idle free. I declare that my heart is more focused

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Speaker 1: than ever before, and I declare that your face is

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Speaker 1: all I will pursue. It is not the time to

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Speaker 1: shrink or settle. It's time for me to take ground

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Speaker 1: in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you for making prayer a

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Speaker 1: priority in your day. To learn more about the Bible,

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Speaker 1: stay tuned for today's story, brought to you by Bible

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Speaker 1: in a year dot com. Micah, the Levite and the

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Speaker 1: Tribe of Dan. In our last story, we learned about

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Speaker 1: Samson's weakness for Delilah, leading him to reveal the secret

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Speaker 1: to taking away his strength. Samson was bound and captured

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Speaker 1: by the Philistines, and they gouged out his eyes. Samson,

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Speaker 1: with one final push, with the strength of God, toppled

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Speaker 1: the Philistine temple and killed three thousand. In this story,

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Speaker 1: we learn about the dark ages of Israel, where everybody

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Speaker 1: did what was right in their own eyes. We follow

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Speaker 1: the life of Micah, a man struggling to find peace

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Speaker 1: in the tribe of Dan, a tribe struggling to find

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Speaker 1: home and fired by the Book of judges. Hello, I

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Speaker 1: am Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in the

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Speaker 1: Dallas area. With the day's episode of the Bible in

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Speaker 1: a Year and yesterday's episode, we heard the tragic but

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Speaker 1: redemptive conclusion of Samson's life story. His failure wasn't final,

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Speaker 1: and God gave him another chance to finish well in victory.

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Speaker 1: His sin and his pride got the better of him.

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Speaker 1: He was captured and tortured and mocked. But in the end,

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Speaker 1: Samson made things right with God and gave himself in

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Speaker 1: a sacrifice to destroy three thousand Philistine idol worshippers in

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Speaker 1: their pagan temple. Today we'll hear is Israel once again

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Speaker 1: descends into darkness, given over to their own desires and

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Speaker 1: moral relativism, where each person did whatever was right in

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Speaker 1: their own eyes. We'll hear the story of Micah and

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Speaker 1: his moral and spiritual confusion, and we'll learn about the

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Speaker 1: tribe of Dan, their search for a home, and how

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Speaker 1: one man's actions led to a whole community of idolaters.

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Speaker 1: It is a story about how something small can grow

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Speaker 1: into a fire that consumes and destroys everything in its path,

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Speaker 1: and it is once again a story of God's patience

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Speaker 1: and undying love for his children. So let's listen now

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Speaker 1: to today's reading. The state of Israel was descending into madness.

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Speaker 1: All tradition, devotion, and prayer was deluded by the worship

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Speaker 1: of false gods. All sense of right and wrong was

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Speaker 1: eroded by years of small compromise, and the Israelites found

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Speaker 1: themselves in an apathetic days. It was truly a different

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Speaker 1: form of captivity. Instead of being chained by an opposing nation,

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Speaker 1: they were shackled by their own faithlessness. During that time,

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Speaker 1: there was a man who lived in the hill country

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Speaker 1: of Ephraim named Micah. Michael was a confused but honest man.

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Speaker 1: One day he one thousand, one hundred pieces of silver

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Speaker 1: from his mother. When his mother cursed the silver because

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Speaker 1: it was stolen, Micah quickly returned it. When Micah returned

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Speaker 1: the silver to his mother, she melted it down and

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Speaker 1: made a carved image. I dedicate this to the Lord

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Speaker 1: and to my son, she said. So Micah erected a

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Speaker 1: shrine for his carved image and placed it there with

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Speaker 1: other household gods. There on the hills of Israel. Micah

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Speaker 1: began to build his own little temple for false gods

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Speaker 1: to mingle with the God of Israel. Micah, impressed with

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Speaker 1: his exploits, appointed his son as priest over his household.

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Speaker 1: Micah's debased practice revealed a sickness that plagued the hearts

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Speaker 1: of Israel. Micah paid no attention to God's law to

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Speaker 1: not create any false gods. Instead, he nodded in approval

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Speaker 1: at the wonderful work he had done. Little did he

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Speaker 1: know he was creating a temple of straw waiting to

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Speaker 1: be blown away by the wind. A young man was

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Speaker 1: passing through the hill country near Micah. He was a

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Speaker 1: Levite from the family of Judah. Levites had a home

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Speaker 1: for themselves, serving God and the people of God. But

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Speaker 1: this man wanted to forge his own way and do

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Speaker 1: what was right in his own eyes. Micah spotted the

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Speaker 1: young man from Afar and brought him near. Where do

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Speaker 1: you come from, Micah asked, I am a Levite of Bethlehem.

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Speaker 1: I have come from far to find my own place

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Speaker 1: and forge my own path. The young man responded, come

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Speaker 1: in and stay with me. Awhile, Micah said, I am

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Speaker 1: in need of a priest over my shrine. I will

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Speaker 1: pay you ten pieces of silver a year, and provide

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Speaker 1: you with a home and food. The Levite agreed, and

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Speaker 1: the two of them worshiped their idols as well as

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Speaker 1: the God of Israel. Micah was convinced that having a

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Speaker 1: Levite in his home would bring him blessings from God,

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Speaker 1: for in his mind, title was all that mattered. He

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Speaker 1: would be terribly mistaken. There was no king and no

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Speaker 1: judge to rule over Israel. Each man and woman wrote

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Speaker 1: their own laws and lived by their own desires. The

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Speaker 1: tribe of Dan, instead of bravely seizing the land God

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Speaker 1: had intended for them, shrunk away and lived without a home.

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Speaker 1: So they wandered in search of an inheritance. One day,

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Speaker 1: the tribe of Dan sent out spies to scour the

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Speaker 1: country in search for land to conquer. On their travels,

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Speaker 1: they stumbled upon the house of Micah. When they saw

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Speaker 1: that there was a Leavite among them. The men were curious,

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Speaker 1: who brought you here? They asked, what is your business here?

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Speaker 1: Micah has hired me as his priest, so I dwell here,

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Speaker 1: he said. The Danites perked up with curiosity. Leavites were

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Speaker 1: rare and the chosen priests of God. The people of

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Speaker 1: Israel craved any sort of favor from God they could get,

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Speaker 1: for their interaction with him was few and far between.

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Speaker 1: Please ask a God if we will succeed in finding

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Speaker 1: land for ourselves. The Danites requested, go in peace. The

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Speaker 1: Levites said, the Lord will watch over you. So the

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Speaker 1: Danites left with confidence. The men traveled far and came

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Speaker 1: to the land of Layish that was inhabited by the Sedonians.

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Speaker 1: The Sedonians were quiet people. They kept to themselves and

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Speaker 1: tended to the fields around them. Children played in the

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Speaker 1: grass while their mothers and fathers farmed and tended to

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Speaker 1: their herds. The Danites saw that the land was rich

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Speaker 1: and the Sedonian people were weak. Like a wolf licking

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Speaker 1: its chops at a helpless lamb, the Danites planned their attack.

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Speaker 1: Six hundred men from the tribe of Dan rose against

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Speaker 1: the Sedonians with weapons of war and hatred. They marched

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Speaker 1: towards the hill country and passed by the home of

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Speaker 1: Michael once again. The five men that spoke to the

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Speaker 1: Levite approached the home with their weapons. While Michael was gone,

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Speaker 1: they burst through the door and took MICA's shrine, his

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Speaker 1: carved image, and his household gods. Then they turned to

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Speaker 1: the Levite. He cowered in the corner, afraid of what

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Speaker 1: they might do to him. The five men approached him

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Speaker 1: with their swords in hand. Slowly, one of them brought

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Speaker 1: his sword to the Levite's chest and said, tell me

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Speaker 1: what is better. A sly grin arose from his face,

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Speaker 1: to be a priest to one man or to a

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Speaker 1: whole tribe. It took a moment for the levit to

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Speaker 1: understand what the man was saying, but when he did,

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Speaker 1: his frown was replaced by a smile. The men embraced

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Speaker 1: and laughed. The levite packed his things and left with

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Speaker 1: the six hundred men, leaving MICA's home ransacked and emptied

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Speaker 1: of all its gods. Mike had discovered that his possessions

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Speaker 1: had been taken, so he gathered surrounding men to ambush

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Speaker 1: the tribe of Dan. They ran towards the six hundred men,

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Speaker 1: sending the children out in front of them so Dan

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Speaker 1: would not attack first, using children as a human shield.

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Speaker 1: Micah spoke with a booming voice filled with anger, how

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Speaker 1: dare you take what is mine? What is wrong with

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Speaker 1: you that you would take my gods and my priest?

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Speaker 1: He shouted. The men of Dan turned around and stared

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Speaker 1: at Micah in his small army of children and villagers.

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Speaker 1: They posed no threat to them. Shut up, they yelled,

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Speaker 1: turn around, or you will lose your life along with

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Speaker 1: the lives of your household. The people of Dan turned

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Speaker 1: their backs to him and walked away. Micah, now cooling

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Speaker 1: down from his rage, realized that he was no match

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Speaker 1: for them. Ashamed and stripped of his false sense of holiness,

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Speaker 1: Micah wandered back to his broken home alone. The sun

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Speaker 1: was setting and the people of Dan looked upon the

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Speaker 1: land of Laish. The city was quiet. A subtle whistle

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Speaker 1: of the wind blew through the valley. The tribe of

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Speaker 1: Dan descended down the hills into the valley. They passed

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Speaker 1: each home quickly and struck down each member of the

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Speaker 1: city with the edge of the sword. Not a scream

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Speaker 1: could be heard, for their swords swung swiftly and in

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Speaker 1: total surprise. After the men had struck down every soul

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Speaker 1: with their blades, they set the city on fire for

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Speaker 1: good measure. The flames illuminated the skies. Dan rebuilt the

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Speaker 1: city and inhabited it. They named the city Dan, and

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Speaker 1: their families thrived in their new home, they set up

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Speaker 1: the carved images they stole from Micah and set them

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Speaker 1: in the house of God. What began as small idolatry

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Speaker 1: for Micah turned into the idolatry of an entire tribe

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Speaker 1: of Israel. The entirety of Dan knelt down to the

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Speaker 1: silver image that was formed by Micah's mother, and their

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Speaker 1: descent into more madness continued. God looked upon them, still

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Speaker 1: loving and still patient. He remained waiting for a moment

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Speaker 1: to deliver his people. Once again, we began to He's

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Speaker 1: reading with Micah, a young man in Ephraim, and right

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Speaker 1: out of the gate, our protagonist admits a theft. He

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Speaker 1: seems to be convicted by his own conscience when he

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Speaker 1: hears his mother curse the silver that was stolen, so

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Speaker 1: he tells his mother that he had stolen it and

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Speaker 1: gives it back to her. Micah's mother then melts some

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Speaker 1: of the silver and has it turned into a graven image,

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Speaker 1: an idol, which she dedicates to God and her son. Micah,

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Speaker 1: in turn places the image in a shrine in his house,

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Speaker 1: filled with other religious symbols and household gods. Clearly, the

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Speaker 1: culture of Israel has gone off the rails. Micah and

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Speaker 1: his mother give us a picture of this syncretism, a

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Speaker 1: blending of different religions, the dedication of things to God

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Speaker 1: that do not worship him and him alone. It is

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Speaker 1: a picture of the culture all around them. And we

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Speaker 1: then hear these words in Judges seventeen six. In those

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Speaker 1: days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what

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Speaker 1: was right in his own eyes. There perhaps no more

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Speaker 1: dangerous words for a society than that last sentence. Everyone

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Speaker 1: did what was right in his own eyes. That is

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Speaker 1: a recipe for a disaster. This is a recipe for judgment.

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Speaker 1: That is where Israel finds itself, looking not to God

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Speaker 1: for governance and guidance or morality, but to whatever seemed

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Speaker 1: right to every person. It was moral relativism. With his

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Speaker 1: newly erected shrine, Micah searches for a way to legitimize

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Speaker 1: his worship, and a traveling levite seems to be just

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Speaker 1: the answer. Micah assumes that this man of a priestly

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Speaker 1: lineage has the right title to bring him the blessings

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Speaker 1: of God. Together, Micah and his priests engage in idolatry,

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Speaker 1: clearly violating God's law. But as we've already seen established

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Speaker 1: Israel wasn't looking up for guidance or governance. They were

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Speaker 1: looking around and looking to themselves. And we then meet

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Speaker 1: the tribe of Dead, a tribe living without a home.

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Speaker 1: Because they liked the courage to seize the land God

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Speaker 1: had given them, they wandered around looking for land to

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Speaker 1: take his their inheritance, and when they came upon Micah's household,

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Speaker 1: they met the Levite priests and sought the lord's favor

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Speaker 1: from him. The priests told them to go in peace,

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Speaker 1: that God would watch over them. This filled them with boldness,

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Speaker 1: and they left in search of land. They traveled far

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Speaker 1: away and found a land that they could easily take.

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Speaker 1: And as they marched out towards the conquest, they passed

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Speaker 1: by Micah's home, entered it, and stole the carved image

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Speaker 1: of Silver and the other gods. And then they called

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Speaker 1: the Levite priest to join them. He gladly left for

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Speaker 1: what he thought was greener pastures. When Mica discovered the theft,

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Speaker 1: he assembled an army to take back what was his,

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Speaker 1: but his efforts were feudal. He was no match for

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Speaker 1: the Danites, who marched on into the land they wanted

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Speaker 1: killed its inhabitants and burned the city. They rebuilt the

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Speaker 1: that he built a house of God, but filled it

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Speaker 1: with other gods, including Micah's silver idol. How crazy does

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Speaker 1: this seem that these people were fighting over false gods

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Speaker 1: and carved images. It's a tragedy. God's people have sinned

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Speaker 1: and strayed so far from him that he was considered

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Speaker 1: just another among all these false gods. Let's pray together. Lord.

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Speaker 1: We know the dangers of moral relativism and any faith

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Speaker 1: that looks to anyone else but you. We know that

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Speaker 1: we are to guard our hearts, Oh God, and not

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Speaker 1: build idols in our hearts or worship anything or anyone

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Speaker 1: but you. Lord. We thank you for your son, Jesus Christ,

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Speaker 1: who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And

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Speaker 1: we know according to John fourteen six, that no one

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Speaker 1: comes to you, Oh God, the Father, except through Jesus,

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Speaker 1: and we pray in his name. Amen. Thank you for

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Speaker 1: listening today to the Bible in a Year podcast. I'm

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Speaker 1: Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church.

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Speaker 1: Download the prey dot com app and make prayer a

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Speaker 1: priority in your life. And if you enjoy this podcast,

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Speaker 1: Share it with others, people that you love and care about,

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Speaker 1: people who want to know the Bible. Help them understand

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Speaker 1: the Bible as well. This podcast can make a huge

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Speaker 1: difference in someone's life. If you want more resources on

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Speaker 1: how to tap into the power of Jesus Christ in

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Speaker 1: your life, then be sure to visit Jack Graham dot org.

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Speaker 1: This episode is sponsored by Mediciane, an innovative healthcare solution

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Speaker 1: for Christians to save money without sacrificing quality