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Speaker 1: Let us pray, And the king said to Arauna, Nay,

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Speaker 1: but I will surely buy it of thee at a price.

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Speaker 1: Neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord, my god,

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Speaker 1: of that which cost me nothing. So David bought the

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Speaker 1: threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver,

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Speaker 1: Second Samuel twenty four, twenty four. Dear Lord, when the

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Speaker 1: abundance of your goodness is apparent and on display in

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Speaker 1: my life, I will make sure that insecurities won't lead

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Speaker 1: me into thinking that all I have will be preserved

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Speaker 1: by my own methods and tactics. As you increase the

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Speaker 1: works of my hands, Lord, help me not to see

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Speaker 1: those you've called me to lead as commodities and not

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Speaker 1: sheep you've called me to honor, protect, and shepherd. I

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Speaker 1: declare that you are my sustaining force and the lifter

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Speaker 1: of my head. Keep me from experiencing loss and defeat

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Speaker 1: as David did. I will instead look to you and

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Speaker 1: your power to cover my weak areas when I feel

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Speaker 1: insecure and inadequate. Thank you for reminding me that my

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Speaker 1: life is about serving and helping others. As I grow

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Speaker 1: to become more like you in Jesus Name Amen. Listening

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Speaker 1: to these daily prayers strengthens your relationship with God. Continue

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Speaker 1: hearing from the Lord by listening to today's Bible in

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Speaker 1: a Year, brought to you by Bible in a Year

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Speaker 1: dot com. Taking account of the People. In our last story,

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Speaker 1: we witnessed the continued bravery of David, even into old age.

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Speaker 1: He continued to wage war against all who would in

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Speaker 1: the flock of God. As a result, David became weary,

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Speaker 1: it did not lose hope in the Lord of his salvation.

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Speaker 1: In this story, we witness an odd change in the

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Speaker 1: character of David as he takes a census over the

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Speaker 1: people in order to maintain control and wealth for the nation.

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Speaker 1: Inspired by Second Samuel and First Chronicles. Hello, I'm pastor

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Speaker 1: Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible in a

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Speaker 1: Year podcast. In our last episode, we learned how David

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Speaker 1: made right on a wrong done by his predecessor Saul

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Speaker 1: to the gibbeon Ice, and how God blessed his righteous

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Speaker 1: actions with prosperity for Israel. The Philistines once again attacked,

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Speaker 1: wanting to plunder Israel's wealth, but David's army was strong,

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Speaker 1: well trained, and courageous, just as their leader David David

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Speaker 1: now is in his older years, and he had built

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Speaker 1: a legacy, a life of courage and conviction and commitment

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Speaker 1: that glorified God and blessed the people of God. So

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Speaker 1: today we'll hear how David actually allowed some insecurity, in

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Speaker 1: and a sense of ownership of the people, causing him

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Speaker 1: to seek to control God's people by taking a census.

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Speaker 1: Though he was warned by his friend and commander Joe Ebb,

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Speaker 1: David pushes forward. And as always when we disobey God,

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Speaker 1: there is a price to pay for his actions, and

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Speaker 1: David will be faced with a very tough decision. What

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Speaker 1: will he choose? Let's find out on today's reading. David

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Speaker 1: arose early in the morning. His bones creaked as he

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Speaker 1: lifted himself out of his bed. His muscles were sore

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Speaker 1: and every step revealed, and no part of his body

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Speaker 1: that ached. David's youth was waning. Decades of battle had

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Speaker 1: aged him rapidly. His once muscular and chiseled frame felt

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Speaker 1: as if it had been slightly eroded by the sea.

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Speaker 1: David washed his face and gazed into the mirror. His

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Speaker 1: beard was becoming gray, and the light in his eyes

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Speaker 1: seemed to be dimming. David realized that he was no

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Speaker 1: longer the young warrior who defeated Goliath. He was older

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Speaker 1: and less capable of defending Israel with his sword. In

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Speaker 1: light of this new insecurity, David decided to take a

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Speaker 1: census of the nation to measure the vastness in Israel.

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Speaker 1: He took great pride in the work he had done

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Speaker 1: as king. Therefore, he desired to measure his success by

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Speaker 1: accounting the people in his armies. He also wanted to

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Speaker 1: gage how vulnerable Israel might be to outside attack. David

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Speaker 1: gathered Joab and said, we will take a census of

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Speaker 1: all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba. We

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Speaker 1: will know just how many people are within our borders.

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Speaker 1: Joab winced at David's orders. He knew that the census

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Speaker 1: was a means to control people. The Law of Moses

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Speaker 1: clearly stated that a man only had the right to

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Speaker 1: count what belonged to him. Israel belonged to God, not David.

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Speaker 1: Joab knew this and spoke up to David, saying, you

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Speaker 1: know I love you King. It is my prayer that

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Speaker 1: God blesses you a hundredfold. But Why would you do

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Speaker 1: this to the people? It would cause unrest and discomfort.

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Speaker 1: David ignored Joab's complaints. He was solely focused on fortifying

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Speaker 1: what he had built. He sent out all of his

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Speaker 1: commanders to comb the country to count all of the people.

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Speaker 1: Nine months had passed and David's men had disrupted every city, town,

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Speaker 1: and farm and Israel to count its members. Joab returned

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Speaker 1: from his nine months journey and handed the records to David.

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Speaker 1: Joab's eyes scanned David's demeanor as he read the results

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Speaker 1: of the senses. There was only one thing David truly

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Speaker 1: cared about in the nation of Israel. There were one

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Speaker 1: point three million capable men able to fight. With this.

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Speaker 1: David put down the report and went to bed. That night,

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Speaker 1: David tossed and turned in his bed. David's delicate conscience

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Speaker 1: began to stir within him. Imagined all of the people

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Speaker 1: of Israel being rounded up like cattle to be counted.

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Speaker 1: He pictured the humiliated look on men's faces when soldiers

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Speaker 1: entered their homes. He sat up from his bed and

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Speaker 1: took a deep breath. He covered his face with his

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Speaker 1: hands and began to weep. What have I done? He whispered.

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Speaker 1: David got up from his bed and grabbed his heart.

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Speaker 1: He sat on his balcony and strummed. It soothed him.

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Speaker 1: He prayed for the Lord for a while and began

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Speaker 1: to weep again. Lord, forgive me, forgive my guilt. I

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Speaker 1: have been so foolish. The next morning, a prophet in

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Speaker 1: the land named Gad sat in the halls of David,

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Speaker 1: waiting for him. David walked around the corner to find

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Speaker 1: Gads sitting and waiting. He knew why Gad was there

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Speaker 1: and had no need to ask. Gad arose from his

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Speaker 1: seat and beckoned to David to walk with him. Together

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Speaker 1: they strode the courtyards of David's home, and Gad spoke

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Speaker 1: clearly to David, saying, you must choose from three punishments

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Speaker 1: from God. Only one of the three will be inflicted

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Speaker 1: upon you. David gulped and nodded for God to continue.

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Speaker 1: Three years of famine, hunger and strife, three months of

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Speaker 1: fleeing your enemies in fear for your life, three days

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Speaker 1: of severe plague on the land. These are your choices.

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Speaker 1: David held his breath for a long moment. His heart

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Speaker 1: began to race, sweat, dripped down his brow. Every option

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Speaker 1: seemed too much to bear. I am in a desperate situation.

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Speaker 1: David yelled. His lower lip began to tremble, but he

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Speaker 1: regained his composure and said, I would rather us fall

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Speaker 1: into the hands of the Lord than the hands of man,

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Speaker 1: so I choose the plague. David's logic seemed to be sound.

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Speaker 1: He chose three days of a plague than three years

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Speaker 1: of hunger. However, he also chose the harm of people

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Speaker 1: over the harm of himself. In the first part of

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Speaker 1: that week, seventy thousand Israelites died of intense sickness. David

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Speaker 1: was the streets with horror as people were crying out

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Speaker 1: in pain. The anguished cries filled David's ears and he

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Speaker 1: could hardly bear it. In an emotional daze, David caught

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Speaker 1: a glimpse of something passing through the streets, hovering over

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Speaker 1: the sick and dying David's an angel of the Lord

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Speaker 1: administering the punishment due to Israel because of David. Immediately,

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Speaker 1: David fell to his knees and prayed to God, Lord,

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Speaker 1: I am the one who has sinned. David beat his chest.

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Speaker 1: These people are innocent, sheep. They have done nothing. Let

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Speaker 1: your anger fall on me and my family. Do not

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Speaker 1: harm them anymore. Finally, David understood he had lost his

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Speaker 1: shepherd's heart. In doing the senses, David had acted as

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Speaker 1: a tyrant king instead of a loving shepherd. The very

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Speaker 1: reason David was chosen as king in the first place

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Speaker 1: was that he would willingly lay down his life for

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Speaker 1: the protection and joy of his people. Yet in the

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Speaker 1: past few years, David had lived his life solely for

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Speaker 1: his own safety and security. David arose from his knees

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Speaker 1: and went back to the center of Jerusalem. David sacrificed

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Speaker 1: much of his personal wealth to build an altar for

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Speaker 1: the Lord in the center of Jerusalem. There he made

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Speaker 1: sacrifices to God on behalf of himself and all the

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Speaker 1: people of Israel. He wept, he worshiped, and he prayed

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Speaker 1: for the preservation of his sheep. God answered, and there

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Speaker 1: was a restoration in the land of Israel, unlike any

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Speaker 1: has ever seen. As we began today's passage, David is

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Speaker 1: feeling the toll of his years. He has fought many battles,

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Speaker 1: and his body reminds him that he's not a young

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Speaker 1: warrior anymore. So much of his identity has been wrapped

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Speaker 1: up in his strength and courage, from his days as

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Speaker 1: a shepherd boy defending the flocks from wild beasts, to

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Speaker 1: the time of killing the Great Giant, and then later

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Speaker 1: protecting God's people from foreign aggressors as the king of

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Speaker 1: the nation of Israel. But without that that vigor of youth,

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Speaker 1: David began to worry that he could no longer defend

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Speaker 1: God's people. He would have done well to remind himself

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Speaker 1: of all the promises of God that God would keep

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Speaker 1: and protect his people. But as insecurity began to creep in,

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Speaker 1: a switch seemed to flip in David's mind. David wanted

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Speaker 1: to take hold of what he had accomplished to control

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Speaker 1: his kingdom. Chronicles tells us that Satan tempted David to

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Speaker 1: take a census of the people. Surely, the devil was

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Speaker 1: not pleased that God's people were prospering and that David

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Speaker 1: was leading so well, so he went on the attack.

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Speaker 1: He planted a seat, but it was David who acted.

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Speaker 1: David took debate. He took the temptation and called for

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Speaker 1: a count, a census of all the people, once again

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Speaker 1: in disobedience to God's instructions. Joe Ebb, David's nephew and

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Speaker 1: commander of his army, was troubled by the orders and

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Speaker 1: counseled the king to reconsider. Had seemed to know that

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Speaker 1: David was motivated by fear and a desire to control,

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Speaker 1: but unfortunately David ignored him, and for over nine months

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Speaker 1: they counted people throughout the land. One point three million

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Speaker 1: souls were numbered in David's kingdom. But what David did

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Speaker 1: to bring himself peace had the exact opposite effect. He

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Speaker 1: is now troubled and convicted of his disobedience. I think

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Speaker 1: all of us can relate to this. When we disobey God,

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Speaker 1: when we don't follow God's guidance and leadership in our lives,

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Speaker 1: we find ourselves grieved and filled with guilt. God gave

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Speaker 1: David three choices, two that would afflict his people in

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Speaker 1: one that would afflict him. Only David chose the shortest punishment,

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Speaker 1: three days of plagues on the people. It might have

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Speaker 1: seen the best choice, a wise choice, but there was

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Speaker 1: so much selfishness in David at this point. He opted

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Speaker 1: for his own safety, taking care of himself, rather than

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Speaker 1: seeking to protect God's people. They were punished for his sin.

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Speaker 1: Seventy thousand Israelites died, and as David walked the streets,

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Speaker 1: he saw God's judgment angel giving out punishment on the people,

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Speaker 1: striking them with disease. He could take it no more

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Speaker 1: and cried out to God, as we read in Second

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Speaker 1: Chronicles twenty four, verse seventeen, behold, I have sinned, and

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Speaker 1: I've done wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done?

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Speaker 1: Please let your hand be against me and against my

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Speaker 1: father's house. Once again, David the good Shepherd emerged, eager

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Speaker 1: to save his people. It was a foreshadowing of something

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Speaker 1: much greater, a greater king, one greater than David, won

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Speaker 1: greater than Solomon, who would take our sins to a

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Speaker 1: cross and die in order that he may experience the

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Speaker 1: judgment that we deserved. This is the message of the

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Speaker 1: Christian faith that God redeems our suffering, that he saves

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Speaker 1: us from our sin, not because we deserve it, but

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Speaker 1: because of what Jesus himself has done in laying down

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Speaker 1: his life as the full and final sacrifice for all

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Speaker 1: that we have done in disobedience to God. Jesus took

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Speaker 1: the wrath of God in order that we might experience salvation, forgiveness,

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Speaker 1: and eternal life. David built an altar to offer sacrifices

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Speaker 1: to the Lord and atone for his sins and save

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Speaker 1: Israel from God's wrath. He purchased a threshing floor, insisting

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Speaker 1: to pay a fair price because he knew that a

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Speaker 1: sacrifice that costs David nothing would not honor God. In fact,

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Speaker 1: David said, God forbid that I would sacrifice to the

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Speaker 1: Lord that which costs me nothing. Today's lesson reveals once

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Speaker 1: again that David is very human, and very sinful, and

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Speaker 1: very imperfect. But there is a God who is faithful,

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Speaker 1: and the God of Israel, the God of David, the

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Speaker 1: God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, is faithful

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Speaker 1: to us today. And when we sin and break God's

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Speaker 1: commandments and repent of that sin, we receive God's grace.

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Speaker 1: God loves you with an everlasting love. He will never

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Speaker 1: let you go. He keeps you and holds you not

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Speaker 1: because of what you have done, but because of the

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Speaker 1: work of His son on the cross and by the

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Speaker 1: power of his love. Dear God, thank you for today's

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Speaker 1: scripture a reminder that you are quick and eager to

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Speaker 1: forgive when we repent and turn to you. Help us,

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Speaker 1: like David, to be willing to sacrifice our own comfort

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Speaker 1: and well being for the sake of others. May we

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Speaker 1: be generous in what we give to you. May we

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Speaker 1: become living sacrifices as you tell us in the scripture,

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Speaker 1: and lay our lives on the altar in Jesus's name. Amen.

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Speaker 1: Thank you so very much for listening to Today's Bible

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Speaker 1: in a Year podcast. We are so very grateful for

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Speaker 1: the millions of people who have downloaded this podcast. I'm

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Speaker 1: pastor Jack Graham, and when you download the Prey dot

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Speaker 1: com app and make it a priority in your life

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Speaker 1: to listen to God's word, your life truly will be changed.

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Speaker 1: We are hearing reports from so many of the power

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Speaker 1: of God's Word in their lives. So let me encourage

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Speaker 1: you to pass this podcast onto others, to share it

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Speaker 1: with someone you know, someone you care about, because the

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Speaker 1: Word of God truly will change lives. And if you

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Speaker 1: want more resources on how to experience God's power in

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

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Speaker 1: We would love to connect with you and for you

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Speaker 1: to connect with us again. That's Jack Graham dot org.

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Speaker 1: God bless you. This episode is sponsored by Medicine, an

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Speaker 1: innovative healthcare solution for Christians to save money without sacrificing quality.

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Speaker 1: E