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Speaker 1: Be strong and of good courage. Fear not nor be

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Speaker 1: afraid of them. For the Lord thy God, he it

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Speaker 1: is that doth go with thee. He will not fail thee,

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Speaker 1: nor forsake thee. Deuteronomy thirty one six. Dear God, as

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Speaker 1: the words of Numbers and Deuteronomy ring loud in my ear,

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Speaker 1: I will remember that life and death stand before me.

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Speaker 1: Each day as a new day dawns, Blessings and cursing

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Speaker 1: are before me, and I will choose the path of blessings.

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Speaker 1: I declare that I will not stray from your commands, Lord,

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Speaker 1: for in them I find life and life everlasting. Because

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Speaker 1: of my devotion to you, you will promote me in

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Speaker 1: front of your children. You will make public declaration that

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Speaker 1: you have qualified me by your heart and not by words,

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Speaker 1: standards and accolades. Like Joshua, I will be strong and courageous.

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Speaker 1: I will walk with godfidence because you've promised me you'd

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Speaker 1: be with me. Thank you for the Moses in my

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Speaker 1: life who have gone before me and have passed the

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Speaker 1: baton into my hands. Let my life be a living

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Speaker 1: memorial to the dedication and diligence of the mighty men

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Speaker 1: and women of faith. Who have gone before me. I'm ready.

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Speaker 1: I can do this in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you

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Speaker 1: for making prayer a priority in your day. To learn

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Speaker 1: more about the Bible, stay tuned for today's story, brought

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Speaker 1: to you by Bible in a Year dot com The

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Speaker 1: Life of a True Servant. In our last story, we

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Speaker 1: learned how Balem was unable to curse Israel, but instead

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Speaker 1: blessed to them. Three times he prophesied from God and

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Speaker 1: spoke blessings in truth over them. Finally, he spoke of

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Speaker 1: an all powerful one that would come from Israel, a

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Speaker 1: shining star from Jacob. In this story, we learn about

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Speaker 1: the passing of Moses, his final words before God, and

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Speaker 1: how Joshawah became the new leader to lead the Israelites

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Speaker 1: into the Promised Land. Has inspired by the Book of

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Speaker 1: Numbers and Deuteronomy. Hello, I'm Jack Graham with today's episode

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

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Speaker 1: we heard the story of Balem, who, after his encounter

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Speaker 1: with God, had a changed heart and no longer sought

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Speaker 1: to curse Israel for his own personal gain, but rather

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Speaker 1: blessed the nation God had chosen. Our passage ended with

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Speaker 1: a prophecy from Balem of one who would come from

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Speaker 1: Israel and shine bright as a star and bless the

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Speaker 1: whole world. Today we move ahead many years to the

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Speaker 1: final days of Moses, the great leader God has used

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Speaker 1: for so many years to guide his people out of

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Speaker 1: Egypt and through the desert. We'll also learn of the

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Speaker 1: leader who was to come after him, a young man

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Speaker 1: we've met before, who desired to follow God and to

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Speaker 1: live in his presence less list than now to today's reading.

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Speaker 1: It was still evening when the Lord spoke to Moses.

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Speaker 1: The stars spread across the skies like a tapestry. Moses,

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Speaker 1: now one hundred twenty years old, slept in his tent soundly.

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Speaker 1: Dawn was approaching, and God spoke to Moses in the quiet, saying,

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Speaker 1: go up to the mountain, and I will let you

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Speaker 1: gaze upon the land I have promised Israel, even though

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Speaker 1: you may not enter it, I shall let you see

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Speaker 1: the fruit of your labor before you die. Moses had

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Speaker 1: he accepted his fate and was going to welcome death gracefully. However,

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Speaker 1: he was still concerned about the people of Israel. Moses,

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Speaker 1: still lying in his bed, spoke to the Lord saying,

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Speaker 1: God of body and soul, appoint a man from among

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Speaker 1: the people who shall lead, for they will be like

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Speaker 1: sheep without a shepherd. Moses was a shepherd after all,

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Speaker 1: and he had come to realize the people of Israel

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Speaker 1: were no different than sheep. In need of guidance and love.

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Speaker 1: God spoke to Moses. Take Joshua, who has my spirit,

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Speaker 1: and lay your hand on him to bless him. Make

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Speaker 1: him stand before Aliaizar, the priest, and commission him. As

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Speaker 1: dawn broke, Moses gathered Joshua, Aliaisar and the congregation of Israel.

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Speaker 1: Moses looked at the people of Israel, God's sheep, their

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Speaker 1: hopeful faces shone from the rising sun. Moses's heart welled

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Speaker 1: with love, hope, and sadness. He rose his hand and

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Speaker 1: spoke his final blessings over them. Hear me, sweet children

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Speaker 1: of Israel, Blessings and curses stand before you. Every day.

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Speaker 1: There will be a choice to choose between life and death,

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Speaker 1: hope and hopelessness, good and evil. If you listen closely

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Speaker 1: to the voice of God and obey his commands, he

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Speaker 1: will restore your souls. He will circumcise your heart as

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Speaker 1: he did your bodies. Love the Lord your God with

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Speaker 1: all your soul, and you will prosper. Your enemies will

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Speaker 1: be cursed, and all you do will succeed. For God

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Speaker 1: will take delight in you as he did your forefathers.

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Speaker 1: Keep his commands close to your hearts. The afternoon had come,

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Speaker 1: and Moses continued to speak to Israel with a contented

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Speaker 1: smile on his face. I am one hundred twenty years old.

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Speaker 1: To day, I am no longer able to keep myself upright.

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Speaker 1: The Lord will go before you and lead. He will

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Speaker 1: vanquish every nation that opposes you. Moses then held the

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Speaker 1: shoulder of Joshua and brought him before the people. Joshua

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Speaker 1: will lead you as the head. Be strong and courageous.

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Speaker 1: Fear no one, for God will not leave you or

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Speaker 1: forsake you. The people cheered as the final words of

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Speaker 1: Moses struck the collective chord of Israel. Hope filled the

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Speaker 1: crowd like an overflowing well. Moses turned to Joshua, holding

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Speaker 1: his head close to his own. Be strong and have courage,

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Speaker 1: he said to Joshua. It is God who goes before you.

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Speaker 1: He will be with you. He will not leave you.

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Speaker 1: Do not fear anything. Moses's voice cracked as he held

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Speaker 1: back tears. Joshua looked deeply into the eyes of Moses,

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Speaker 1: the eyes of a man blessed by God. After this,

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Speaker 1: Moses said his final blessings over Israel. He spoke to

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Speaker 1: them as a tender and loving father. Tears streamed down

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Speaker 1: their faces as they listened in silence. After Moses said

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Speaker 1: his prayers and blessings over Israel, he sang over them.

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Speaker 1: His voice was old and raspy, but the people were

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Speaker 1: enraptured by every word. They swayed to the song. Smiling.

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Speaker 1: Moses sang to God, and in that moment his heart

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Speaker 1: for the Lord was pouring out on to all the

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Speaker 1: people listening. The deep well of connection was now overflowing,

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Speaker 1: and the people rejoiced. The sun began its descent. Moses

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Speaker 1: then climbed up the plains of Moab towards Mount Nebo.

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Speaker 1: There at the peak, the Lord showed Moses the entire land.

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Speaker 1: God mapped out the countryside before him, making mention of

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Speaker 1: where all the twelve tribes would dwell. This is the

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Speaker 1: land I swore to Abraham. God said gently, even though

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Speaker 1: you will not step foot in it, I have allowed

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Speaker 1: you to see it. The setting sun painted the sky

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Speaker 1: a deep orange, the land was golden. A strong breeze

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Speaker 1: galloped across the plains up towards the mountain and blew

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Speaker 1: Moses's hair back. He could not take his eyes off Canaan.

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Speaker 1: Since that infamous day he met God as a burning bush.

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Speaker 1: Moses had dreamed of the day he would finally see it.

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Speaker 1: The land flowing with milk and honey. Tears fell from

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Speaker 1: Moses's cheeks. He smiled and continued to look towards the countryside.

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Speaker 1: As the golden rays dimmed below the horizon, Moses breathed

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Speaker 1: his last breath and was joined with God for all eternity.

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Speaker 1: The people mourned and looked to Joshua for guidance, and

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Speaker 1: God blessed Joshua and filled him with a courageous spirit.

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Speaker 1: Thus the days of Moses came to a close. The

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Speaker 1: man God had chosen to lead his people out of

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Speaker 1: captivity had died. One day, A leader greater than Moses

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Speaker 1: would lead God's children out of captivity from their sin.

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Speaker 1: The sting of death would split in half, just as

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Speaker 1: the red sea. He would be the greater Moses. So

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Speaker 1: Israel waited hundreds of years until his arrival. We opened

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Speaker 1: today's story with Moses, who is now one hundred and

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Speaker 1: twenty years old. He has lived under the discipline of

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Speaker 1: God because he spoke to the rock angrily and took

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Speaker 1: credit for the water that flowed. God said, you will

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Speaker 1: never enter the promised land. And yet God extended grace

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Speaker 1: and peace to Moses in the final days of his life.

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Speaker 1: And though he would never enter the land of promise,

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Speaker 1: God would show Moses the land that he would give

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Speaker 1: to Israel. Moses served God faithfully for decades, leading a

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Speaker 1: stiff necked people with both strength and humility. God tells

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Speaker 1: him he'll soon join his brother Aaron and all of

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Speaker 1: his people who had gone before him. Death, after all,

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Speaker 1: is an open door to heaven to all who trust

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Speaker 1: in the Lord God through Jesus Christ. Even in these

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Speaker 1: final days, moses chief concern is for the people and

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Speaker 1: who will shepherd them. Moses wanted to be sure they

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Speaker 1: were taken care of when he was gone, and not

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Speaker 1: left to go astray, as he knew they would. God

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Speaker 1: reveals to Moses who his leader will be. It is

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Speaker 1: the same one, the same man who set outside the

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Speaker 1: tent of meeting even as others went back to camp.

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Speaker 1: It is the same man who believed God to take

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Speaker 1: the Promised Land along with Caleb. When the Spies entered

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Speaker 1: into the land. It was the same man who led

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Speaker 1: their first battle against the Amalekites. Yes, this man is

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Speaker 1: none other than Joshua. God tells Moses to call Oshawa

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Speaker 1: and bless him and commission him before Elias are the

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Speaker 1: priest and the whole congregation of Israel. Moses, who is

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Speaker 1: barely able to keep himself upright, then addresses his flock

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Speaker 1: one last time. He has so much to remind them

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Speaker 1: of all of God's commandments, the laws for living as

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Speaker 1: God's holy people. He recounts the stories of God's faithfulness

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Speaker 1: over many years and countless challenges and campaigns. The final

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Speaker 1: chapters of Numbers and most of Deuteronomy record his words. Then,

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Speaker 1: in Deuteronomy thirty verses fifteen and sixteen, Moses says this,

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Speaker 1: see I have set before you today life and prosperity,

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Speaker 1: and death and adversity. In that I command you today

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Speaker 1: to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways,

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Speaker 1: and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments,

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Speaker 1: that you may live and multiply, and that the Lord

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Speaker 1: your God may bless you in the land where you

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Speaker 1: are entering to possess it. These are the greatest rewards

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Speaker 1: for obeying God. If they choose obedience, they will experience

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Speaker 1: fullness of life, blessing, and God's hand of provision and protection.

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Speaker 1: Think about it because the same is true for us.

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Speaker 1: Of course, it doesn't mean that we will live our

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Speaker 1: lives without adversity or hardship. But what we know because

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Speaker 1: of the promises of God is that God's ways are

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Speaker 1: higher and better than our ways, and his way always

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Speaker 1: leads to abundant life and blessing. But there is the

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Speaker 1: other side. Moses warns the people that if they turn

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Speaker 1: from God and follow other gods, false gods, they will perish.

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Speaker 1: They are to keep God's commands close to their hearts.

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Speaker 1: This is a powerful, powerful encouragement to you and me

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Speaker 1: to stay in God's word daily and obey him. Moses

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Speaker 1: then spoke to Joshua with the words he would keep

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Speaker 1: close to his heart for years to come. Be strong

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Speaker 1: and courageous. Joshua was taking on a task that would

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Speaker 1: require strength and courage in the face of great fear.

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Speaker 1: But as Moses also reminded Joshua, God would be with

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Speaker 1: him and go before him. God's faithful servant knew it

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Speaker 1: was time to go, and God took him to the

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Speaker 1: top of Mountain Nebo and showed Moses the land that

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Speaker 1: he would give to Israel. God's grace and kindness shone

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Speaker 1: through Moses one more time before he took his final

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Speaker 1: rest and joined his heavenly father. Dear God, how we

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Speaker 1: thank you for the story of Moses. What a life,

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Speaker 1: a life of example in leadership and service, one of

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Speaker 1: the greatest men who ever lived, because he was your man.

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Speaker 1: May we follow his example of humility and strength in

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Speaker 1: our lives and look to you in obedience, and help

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Speaker 1: us to be strong and courageous always as we follow

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Speaker 1: you no matter what. In us 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 Bible reading and prayer the priority of

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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 because by sharing this podcast, you can

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Speaker 1: make a difference, a big difference, an eternal difference in

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Speaker 1: someone else's life. And if you want more resources on

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Speaker 1: how to tap into God's power for your life. Be

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Speaker 1: sure to visit Jack Graham dot org. God bless you.

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Speaker 1: This episode is sponsored by Meta Share, an innovative healthcare

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