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Speaker 1: Let us pray. And the king said, unto her, what

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Speaker 1: aileth thee? Then she answered, this woman said, unto me,

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Speaker 1: give thy son that we may eat him to day,

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Speaker 1: and we will eat my son tomorrow. Second King six

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Speaker 1: twenty eight, Heavenly Father, when difficult moments arise, keep my

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Speaker 1: heart in my mind steadfast on you. I will not

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Speaker 1: loose focus on what is important, but instead I will

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Speaker 1: keep my heart and my thoughts centered on you and

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Speaker 1: your word. I will not allow the draft of this

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Speaker 1: world to cause me to compromise my beliefs and devour

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Speaker 1: the promise that you have given me. I will not

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Speaker 1: allow emotion from challenges to cause me to harm others

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Speaker 1: in my life simply because I am upset or I

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Speaker 1: don't have the answers I desire. Instead, open my life

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Speaker 1: up and bless me with supernatural abundance and provision, like

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Speaker 1: you did for the lepers in Second King six twenty

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Speaker 1: four seven twenty as you do, give me the access

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Speaker 1: to tell others where your blessings are flowing, so that

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Speaker 1: they too may be free from seasons of lack and despair.

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Speaker 1: In Jesus name, Amen, listening to these daily prayers strengthens

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Speaker 1: your relationship with God. Continue hearing from the Lord by

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Speaker 1: listening to today's Bible in a Year brought to you

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Speaker 1: by Bible in a Year dot com Famine Insumaria. In

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Speaker 1: our last story, we saw ly shall avoid the wrath

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Speaker 1: of the armies of Adam. The Lord confused them and

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Speaker 1: lured them into a trap by blinding them to the

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Speaker 1: identity of Elishah. He led them into the capital of Israel,

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Speaker 1: where they were at the mercy of the king's army. However,

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Speaker 1: instead of killing them, they showed mercy. As a result,

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Speaker 1: Aram and Israel lived at peace with one another. Now

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Speaker 1: we hear about one of the darkest stories in Israel's history,

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Speaker 1: a story of a famine so harsh that people were

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Speaker 1: forced into the greatest sin anyone could commit. Yet even

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Speaker 1: in this moments of redemption are awaiting Israel. Inspired by

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Speaker 1: the Book of Second Kings, this is Jack Graham with

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Speaker 1: today's episode of the Bible in a Year podcast. In

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Speaker 1: the last reading, we heard how God blinded the soldiers

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Speaker 1: of Aram who had surrounded Elisha, the prophet. Elisha had

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Speaker 1: seen God's army, his angel army there to protect him,

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Speaker 1: and had not wavered in his faith. This spite the

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Speaker 1: enemy at his doorstep. We then saw how God worked

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Speaker 1: through Elishah to bring peace between Israel and Aram as

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Speaker 1: the Israelis showed mercy and kindness to the enemy and

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Speaker 1: did not kill, even when doing so would have been

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Speaker 1: very easy and within their rights. Today, we'll turn to

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Speaker 1: an event that's truly hard to understand. A famine so

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Speaker 1: intense and a people so desperate that they turned to

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Speaker 1: unspeakable acts and commit grievous sin in a desperate attempt

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Speaker 1: to stay alive. So let's listen now to this reading

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Speaker 1: from God's word. Israel enjoyed a brief moment of peace

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Speaker 1: and prosperity. Conflict with the Aramians had ceased, and all

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Speaker 1: seemed well. However, evil looked in the darkness beyond the

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Speaker 1: borders of Israel. Ben Hadad, the King of Syria, had

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Speaker 1: planned a deadly insurgence on Samaria, the capital of Israel.

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Speaker 1: The shining jewel of a once prosperous nation, crumbled under

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Speaker 1: the boot of Syria's vast ardor. Women had taken as

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Speaker 1: prostitutes and slaves, men were murdered on the battlefield, and

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Speaker 1: children were left without homes. Even worse, the armies of

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Speaker 1: Syria made its home less than a hundred miles away

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Speaker 1: to raid Israel again and again. As a result, Samaria

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Speaker 1: fell into a famine unlike any in its history. Samaria

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Speaker 1: wept like a broken and dying orphan. Hunger lingered like

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Speaker 1: a dull blade lodged in someone's stomach. Even the king

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Speaker 1: himself walked to the city streets with pain and hunger.

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Speaker 1: Food became so scarce that a donkey's head sold for

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Speaker 1: over eighty shekels of silver, doves dung was sold as

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Speaker 1: food for five shekels. The children of Israel were driven

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Speaker 1: to madness, too hungry and thirsty to think rationally or selflessly.

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Speaker 1: With the hunger came chaos. One morning, the king was

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Speaker 1: walking among the city near the border wall. His lungs

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Speaker 1: filled up with dust and his lips were parched from

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Speaker 1: lack of water. At his people, the pain of seeing

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Speaker 1: them die slowly was greater than the hunger pains in

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Speaker 1: his stomach. To make matters worse, there was no way

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Speaker 1: to defend against Syrian attack, since his soldiers were starved.

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Speaker 1: He would have cried, but his body was devoid of water.

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Speaker 1: He could not spare a single tear. The king leaned

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Speaker 1: against the wall and surveyed his broken kingdom. As he

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Speaker 1: was stumbling through the city, he heard a shout, help,

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Speaker 1: my lord. The king turned to see a woman. The

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Speaker 1: woman looked as if she was once very beautiful. However,

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Speaker 1: hunger took away her color. Her once dark and healthy

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Speaker 1: hair was thin and gray. Her eyes reflected great pain

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Speaker 1: and sorrow. She was, in many ways, a perfect image

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Speaker 1: of the state of Israel. The king shook his head

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Speaker 1: in despair. How could I help you? If the Lord

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Speaker 1: has not helped us, how on earth could I possibly

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Speaker 1: aid you? The King's voice choked up. He felt helpless.

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Speaker 1: His people needed him, and he could do nothing but

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Speaker 1: despair alongside them. He looked up at her. She looked

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Speaker 1: completely broken. Her thin frame was trembling in its place.

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Speaker 1: Her frail face looked up at the king with longing

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Speaker 1: and helplessness. The king sighed, what is your need? He asked,

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Speaker 1: we ate him? She said. There was a pause for

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Speaker 1: a moment. The King's heart grew heavier as she watched

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Speaker 1: the woman crumble with grief. My neighbor and I agreed

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Speaker 1: to eat our sons, our babies. The words seemed almost

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Speaker 1: like a cruel joke. But the woman spoke with complete seriousness.

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Speaker 1: We agreed to eat my son yesterday and her son today.

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Speaker 1: So we boiled my child and ate him. And now

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Speaker 1: the woman and her boy are nowhere to be found.

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Speaker 1: The darkness of her words shrouded the king in sorrow.

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Speaker 1: Righteous anger welled up inside him. His fist pressed against

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Speaker 1: the wall, and he or his clothes. He did not

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Speaker 1: blame the woman for what she did, nor did he

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Speaker 1: blame the other woman for leaving with her son to

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Speaker 1: save him. The king blamed only one man for all

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Speaker 1: this suffering. He blamed the man of God. He blamed Elisha.

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Speaker 1: May God put me to death if I do not

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Speaker 1: have Elishah's head falling from his shoulders by the end

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Speaker 1: of the day. So the king sent out his commander

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Speaker 1: to Elishah to lure him in so he might be murdered.

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Speaker 1: Elisha sat in his home, surrounded by the elders of Israel.

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Speaker 1: The men were standing beside a fire, no food, no wine,

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Speaker 1: no water. Before the commander approached the house, Elishah spoke

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Speaker 1: to the elders quietly, the king has despatched a murderer

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Speaker 1: to slay me. When he comes, shut the door and

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Speaker 1: hold it against him. His master will not be far behind.

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Speaker 1: As he was speaking, a knocking was heard from the

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Speaker 1: front of the house. The king's commander was behind the door,

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Speaker 1: doing his best to seem harmless and well intentioned. He

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Speaker 1: heard no response from the house, so he knocked again nothing.

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Speaker 1: After waiting for a long while, he tried to enter

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Speaker 1: the home to no avail. The commander was angry now

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Speaker 1: and yelled through the door. This plague is from the Lord.

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Speaker 1: Why should I wait on him any longer for help?

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Speaker 1: His outburst confirmed Elisha's theory. People blamed God and him

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Speaker 1: for their troubles. In reality, it was the Syrians, But

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Speaker 1: any time discomfort or pain was experienced, people believed it

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Speaker 1: must have been the spiteful playing of an angry God.

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Speaker 1: Alisha approached the door and spoke calmly through it. Hear

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Speaker 1: the word of God. Tomorrow at about this time, flower,

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Speaker 1: barley and gold will flow through the gate of samaria Ha.

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Speaker 1: The captain explained, Has the Lord finally made windows in

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Speaker 1: heaven to see our plight and send favors? He asked?

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Speaker 1: His words were spiteful and filled with cynicism. Hear me,

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Speaker 1: Elisha said again, you shall see it all with your

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Speaker 1: own eyes, but you will taste none of it yourself.

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Speaker 1: With those words, the commander left filled with doubt, frustration,

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Speaker 1: and hunger. Meanwhile, at the edge of the gate of Zamaria,

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Speaker 1: there were four lepers resting in the shade of the

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Speaker 1: Mighty wall. Not only were their bodies outward lay wasting

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Speaker 1: away from their disease, but their inward parts were being

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Speaker 1: consumed by hunger. Lepers were not allowed in the city

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Speaker 1: for fear of the disease spreading, so they were doomed

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Speaker 1: to rot outside the gates. One of them looked to

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Speaker 1: the distance beyond Israel. Pillars of smoke could be seen

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Speaker 1: where the Syrian camp was. Why are we just sitting

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Speaker 1: here until our inevitable deaths, he said. If we stay,

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Speaker 1: we die of hunger. If you go into the city,

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Speaker 1: we die of hunger or stoning. He sighed and looked

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Speaker 1: back at the horizon. But if we go to the

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Speaker 1: Syrian camp, maybe they will have pity on us and

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Speaker 1: give us food, or they will just kill us and

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Speaker 1: will die, leaving us no worse off than we were before.

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Speaker 1: The plans seemed rational, so the four lepers limped their

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Speaker 1: way towards the Syrian camp. It was twilight and darkness

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Speaker 1: had just begun to cover the empty skies. The Lepers

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Speaker 1: drew closer to the camp, expecting bonfires and torches to

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Speaker 1: illuminate the path. Instead, all they saw was darkness. Coals

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Speaker 1: were burning off the last of their heat, and pits. Food, weapons,

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Speaker 1: and supplies were thrown around as if they had been

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Speaker 1: dropped in a hurry. The camp itself was completely empty

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Speaker 1: of any Syrians. As it turned out, earlier that day,

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Speaker 1: the Lord had sent a confusing wind to rush through

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Speaker 1: the canyons beyond the Syrian camp. Thunderous noises burst through

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Speaker 1: the valley beside them, giving the illusion of a great

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Speaker 1: army approaching. Out of fear of ambush, the Syrians left

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Speaker 1: in a hurry, leaving all their plunders, horses, food, and

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Speaker 1: tents behind. The Lepers could barely contain their excitement. They

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Speaker 1: immediately filled their bellies with food, wine, and water. They

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Speaker 1: ransacked the camp for all valuables, gold, silver, and flower.

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Speaker 1: All of the sudden, these four forgotten Lepers were the

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Speaker 1: richest men in Israel. They took the mules and packed

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Speaker 1: them with flower, barley, gold and water. Then they hid

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Speaker 1: them for themselves, as they were unpacking the mules, a

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Speaker 1: gentle nudge of God's spirit came upon them. All of

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Speaker 1: the sudden, their eyes were opened to what they were doing.

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Speaker 1: This isn't right, they said. We ought to share this

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Speaker 1: good news with the king so all can enjoy this blessing.

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Speaker 1: It was still dark, but the lepers wasted no time.

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Speaker 1: They ran towards the gate keeper and told him everything.

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Speaker 1: He ran to the king and woke him up. When

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Speaker 1: the King heard of this, he leaped to his feet

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Speaker 1: in excitement. However, a rush of skepticism followed. How do

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Speaker 1: we know this isn't a trap, he asked himself. So

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Speaker 1: the king sent two horsemen to scout the area and

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Speaker 1: make sure the Syrians had truly left. On their travels.

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Speaker 1: They saw remnants of Syrian clothing, weapons, and jewelry, proof

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Speaker 1: that they had left in haste. So all the people

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Speaker 1: were given permission to storm the Syrian camp and finally

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Speaker 1: find food. Silently and subtlely, the Lord provided for the

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Speaker 1: needs of his people. The people were ravenous and rejoiced

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Speaker 1: in the taste of fresh food for the first time

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Speaker 1: in months. They returned to Samaria with the spoils. The

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Speaker 1: crowd was so large that they posed danger to the

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Speaker 1: city gates, so the king appointed his commander to oversee

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Speaker 1: the gates. He stood at attention and watched the tidal

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Speaker 1: wave of people approaching with flower and barley. The commander's

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Speaker 1: heart sank as he remembered the words of Elisha. Hear

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Speaker 1: the word of God tomorrow at about this time, flower, barley,

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Speaker 1: and gold will flow through the gate of Samaria. The

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Speaker 1: words echoed in his mind as he watched the people

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Speaker 1: approach with more flower, barley, and gold than he had

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Speaker 1: seen in his life. But then he remembered what Elisha

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Speaker 1: said afterwards, you shall see it all with your own eyes,

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Speaker 1: but you will taste none of it yourself. As those

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Speaker 1: words resonated in his memory, the sea of people crashed

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Speaker 1: upon the city gates. The commander did his best to

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Speaker 1: stop them, but he was knocked over traveled to death.

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Speaker 1: As we opened today's scripture, the peace Israel had enjoyed

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Speaker 1: for a time has been shattered by the Syrian king

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Speaker 1: and his army. They invaded Israel's capital city, Samaria, and

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Speaker 1: slaughtered men, enslaved women, and left countless orphans. It was

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Speaker 1: truly the darkest of times in the kingdom. But things

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Speaker 1: were only going to get worse. The Syrians set up

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Speaker 1: an outpost nearby that allowed them to come back again

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Speaker 1: and again to attack, pillage, and kill. Samaria was plunged

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Speaker 1: into severe famine that even the most unpalatable foods like

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Speaker 1: donkey heads and dove dung were worth their weight in silver.

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Speaker 1: One day, as the king walked along the wall of

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Speaker 1: the city, a woman cried to him for help. Though

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Speaker 1: he could not help her, he asked what her trouble was.

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Speaker 1: Her answer revealed that desperation was so high that some

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Speaker 1: had turned to an unthinkable evil. This woman told the

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Speaker 1: king that she and another woman had agreed to boil

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Speaker 1: their babies and eat them. She had gone first, killing

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Speaker 1: her own child and consuming him with the other woman,

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Speaker 1: but now the other woman had hidden her child, refusing

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Speaker 1: to hold up to her end of the agreement. Life

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Speaker 1: has now lost all value in the face of such

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Speaker 1: need and oppression. It's such a sad commentary on the

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Speaker 1: state of Samaria that mothers were sacrificing their own babies

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Speaker 1: so that they could continue to live. This woman's story

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Speaker 1: was too much for the king. He tore his clothes

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Speaker 1: in anger in mourning. He had every reason to be

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Speaker 1: angry and filled with sorrow. But what happened next revealed

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Speaker 1: how misdirected his anger was. He vowed to kill Elisha,

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Speaker 1: God's prophet that very day. He was sure it was

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Speaker 1: Elishah's fault that all of this was happening. In effect,

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Speaker 1: he was blaming God for these circumstances. Elisha was just

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Speaker 1: the closest target. So he sent his commander to bring

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Speaker 1: Elishah out of his home and murder him. And when

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Speaker 1: the commander could not get Elishah to come out, he

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Speaker 1: grew frustrated, and in his frustration revealed that, just like

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Speaker 1: the King, he blamed God for what was going on.

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Speaker 1: We read his words in Second King six thirty three.

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Speaker 1: The messenger came down to him and said, the trouble

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Speaker 1: is from the Lord. Why should I wait for the

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Speaker 1: Lord any longer? Before we judge the king and his

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Speaker 1: commander too harshly, we might want to think and consider

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Speaker 1: how we are often guilty of blaming God for other things.

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Speaker 1: When things aren't going our way, or if life is

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Speaker 1: in disarray, or some tragedy that we cannot has come

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Speaker 1: upon us. Do we turn to God for help and

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Speaker 1: wait on him and trust in him? Or do we

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Speaker 1: blame our problems, our troubles, our struggles, or accuse him

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Speaker 1: in ways that are unconscionable. God had not caused this trouble.

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Speaker 1: It was the Syrian army, the enemy, who had attacked

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Speaker 1: and taken Samaria. God was not the source of their trouble.

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Speaker 1: But as Elisha was about to tell them, God would

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Speaker 1: be the source of their rescue. He told the commander

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Speaker 1: that the very next day, food would come through the

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Speaker 1: gates of Samaria, barley, flower, and even gold would enter

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Speaker 1: the gates. The commander scoffed at this promise. He wasn't

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Speaker 1: just being doubtful, he was being unbelieving, and his lack

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Speaker 1: of faith or no faith, was going to cost him.

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Speaker 1: Elishah told him that what he said was true, and

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Speaker 1: that the commander would see it with his own eyes,

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Speaker 1: but never taste it for himself. And just as Elishah

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Speaker 1: the prophet said, God provided four lepers who lived outside

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Speaker 1: the walls ventured into the Syrian camp. They supposed that

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Speaker 1: they would either receive food or a swift death, and

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Speaker 1: either would be welcomed outcomes. But as they entered the

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Speaker 1: camp they found it empty. God had sent a mighty

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Speaker 1: wind and a thunderous noise to strike fear and confusion

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Speaker 1: into the enemy, and they had all fled, leaving behind

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Speaker 1: what flower, barley, and gold. The four men initially planned

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Speaker 1: to keep it all to themselves, but God moved in them,

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Speaker 1: and they ran to Samaria to tell the king, And

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Speaker 1: just as God had promised to Elijah, the next day, Barley, flower,

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Speaker 1: Gold entered the gates of the city. Rescue had come

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Speaker 1: in the most unlikely and supernatural of ways. This was

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Speaker 1: the work of God. The commander at the gate saw

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Speaker 1: it all, but in a sudden rush of people, that

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Speaker 1: man was trampled underfoot and died. We may never know

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Speaker 1: or understand why bad things happen to us is an

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Speaker 1: ancient question, isn't it. Why do bad things happen to people?

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Speaker 1: Why is there suffering? Why are their tragedies in life?

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Speaker 1: We've wrestled with these kinds of questions for thousands of years.

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Speaker 1: But here's what we know. We know that God loves us,

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Speaker 1: that God is working always in our behalf to those

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Speaker 1: of us who know and love Him Romans a twenty

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Speaker 1: eight and the New Testament says, for we know that

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Speaker 1: God is working all things together for the good to

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Speaker 1: those who love the Lord and who are called according

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Speaker 1: to his purpose. Yes, God is good, he does good,

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Speaker 1: and He's working all things together for good to those

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Speaker 1: who trust in him. Dear God, we thank you for

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Speaker 1: your word to us today. It's a very hard story

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Speaker 1: to read, and we admit that we don't often understand

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Speaker 1: the reason for tragedy and pain. We can't understand why

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Speaker 1: a woman would take the life of a precious child.

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Speaker 1: But we thank you that always you are there for

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Speaker 1: us with mercy and grace to provide for us and

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Speaker 1: our needs. That you are working all things together for

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Speaker 1: our good and your glory. Help us to believe in

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Speaker 1: you even when we don't see our way through that

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Speaker 1: we look to you in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you

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

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Speaker 1: Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Prey dot com

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Speaker 1: app and make prayer and Bible study a priority in

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Speaker 1: your life. If you enjoyed this podcast, share it with

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Speaker 1: someone you love, share it with a friend, Pass it

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Speaker 1: on because this podcast can make a huge difference in

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Speaker 1: people's lives. I'm hearing wonderful stories of the impact of

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Speaker 1: God's word as a result of listening to Bible in

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Speaker 1: a year. And if you want more biblical resources, resources

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Speaker 1: from God's Word that will enable you and assist you

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Speaker 1: in your walk with God, then be sure to visit

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Speaker 1: Jack Graham dot org. That's Jack Graham dot org. God

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Speaker 1: bless you. This episode is sponsored by Medician, an innovative

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