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Speaker 1: Let us pray all the kingdoms of the earth. Hath

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Speaker 1: the Lord, God of Heaven given me, and he hath

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Speaker 1: charged me to build him and house in Jerusalem, which

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Speaker 1: is in Judea Second Chronicles thirty six twenty three, Heavenly Father,

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Speaker 1: in the midst of my most trying circumstances, and in

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Speaker 1: the moments where I feel like I'm being held captive

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Speaker 1: to my past mistakes, my heart will rejoice in the

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Speaker 1: words you've spoken over me to day through the Prophet Jeremiah.

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Speaker 1: In spite of what I see, I choose to declare

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Speaker 1: that you know every plan and purpose for my life.

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Speaker 1: I rejoice that in your great plan you desire to

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Speaker 1: give me hope and a future life and not death. Therefore,

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Speaker 1: like the words in today's reading, I will change the

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Speaker 1: environment I am in and hold steadfast to your ways

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Speaker 1: until the time of my deliverance, because You've promised to

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Speaker 1: bring me out and set my feet on fertile soil,

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Speaker 1: soil ready to receive my seed of faith to unlock

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Speaker 1: the harvest of abundance that you have for me. In

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Speaker 1: Jesus's name, Amen, thank you for praying with us today.

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Speaker 1: Continue your time with God by listening to today's Bible

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Speaker 1: story brought to you by Bible Ineyear dot com.

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Speaker 2: You know your principles, priorities, and practical health care needs

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Speaker 2: better than anyone else. That's why Christian Healthcare Ministries empowers

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Speaker 2: health insurance. You can have freedom over your health care

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Speaker 2: decisions and doctors with affordable programs, and when you join,

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Speaker 2: you're surrounded by fellow believers who share the same values.

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Speaker 2: Learn more by visiting Chministries dot org.

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Speaker 3: Slash prey the destruction of Judah.

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Speaker 4: In our last story, we learned of God speaking through

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Speaker 4: the prophet Jeremiah. His words of comfort, justice, and repentance

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Speaker 4: began to truly affect the hearts of Judah. However, the

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Speaker 4: King planted seeds of doubt and burned his words and

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Speaker 4: the fire. Now we learn about the destruction of Judah

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Speaker 4: at the hands of Babylon. The enormous nation rises up

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Speaker 4: like a great beast to completely destroy Judah and all

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Speaker 4: its inhabitants. Captives are taken like cattle back to Babylon,

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Speaker 4: but not without a glimmer of hope for the future.

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Speaker 4: Inspired by the books of Second Chronicles, Second kings and Jeremiah.

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Speaker 5: Hello, this is Jack Graham with today's episode of the

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Speaker 5: Bible in a Year. In our last episode, we heard

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Speaker 5: how Jeremiah's words often fell on deaf ears, and how

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Speaker 5: the priest of Judah were some of the biggest opponents,

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Speaker 5: even trying to put him the prophet, to death. But

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Speaker 5: Jeremiah was not afraid, and along with his scribe by Ut,

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Speaker 5: Jeremiah recorded God's warnings on a scroll to speak truth

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Speaker 5: to his generation and generations to come. Sparks of revival

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Speaker 5: flickered in the land, but the harshness and hardhearted nature

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Speaker 5: of King Jehoicam kept the people from truly turning back

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Speaker 5: to God. Today we'll hear how the enemy from the north,

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Speaker 5: the great nation of Babylon, finally descends upon Judah to

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Speaker 5: enact God's judgment on his people. God's people are led

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Speaker 5: away as slaves amid destruction and devastation of their home.

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Speaker 5: But this is not a story without hope, because we

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Speaker 5: know that God always has a plan and a purpose

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Speaker 5: for his own and that God is faithful. Let's listen

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Speaker 5: now to God's word.

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Speaker 4: Josiah's time as king was over. The battlefield claimed him

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Speaker 4: and the reforming king was sent to the dust. His son,

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Speaker 4: Jehoahaz took his place as king. He was a young man,

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Speaker 4: only twenty three years old. Although he possessed similar traits

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Speaker 4: as his father, he would be unable to rule rightly

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Speaker 4: in Judah, for a rising threat emerged from the south.

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Speaker 4: Egypt had risen up against Judah with chariots of iron.

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Speaker 4: The king of Egypt, Neko, met Jehoahaz on the battlefield

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Speaker 4: and claimed him. He captured the king and drug him

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Speaker 4: back to Egypt as captive. The king desired to dominate Judah,

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Speaker 4: but not rule it, so he appointed jehoah Has, his

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Speaker 4: younger brother, as king in his place. Ilia Kim was

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Speaker 4: also the son of Josiah, but possessed none of his

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Speaker 4: noble qualities. He was a quiet and brooding man. He

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Speaker 4: was a wicked and self serving king. Pharaoh changed his

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Speaker 4: name to Jehorakim. Egypt was cruel and dominant. However, it

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Speaker 4: was but a fish compared to the shark that lurked

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Speaker 4: in the distance. The great beast Babylon was growing in

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Speaker 4: the north. Its mighty army was vast, Unlike any in history.

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Speaker 4: Babylon was the great boiling point from the north that

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Speaker 4: Jeremiah had once seen, and like a shark that sens

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Speaker 4: his blood. Babylon approached when Judah was at its most vulnerable.

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Speaker 4: King Jehoakim woke in the middle of the night to screaming.

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Speaker 4: He looked out his window to see pillars of fire

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Speaker 4: lighting up the horizon. The city of Jerusalem was burning.

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Speaker 4: Women and children rushed out of burning buildings as men

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Speaker 4: lifted their swords to attack the incoming Babylonians. Jehoakim watched

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Speaker 4: as every man was slaughtered in the streets. Panicked, Jehoakim,

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Speaker 4: he gathered his things to escape out the back of

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Speaker 4: the palace. As he went to open his door, it

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Speaker 4: burst open with force. Jehoakim fell flat on his back

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Speaker 4: and looked up to see him. He was tall and

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Speaker 4: dripping with power. His armored chest was broad and puffed outward.

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Speaker 4: His salt and pepper beard was dirtied from ash and blood.

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Speaker 4: His eyes were dark and glaring. Jehoa Kim looked up

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Speaker 4: in terror at the infamous king Nebuconesser. The Babylonian king

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Speaker 4: said nothing. He sauntered towards the half naked King of

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Speaker 4: Judah and leaned down. He picked him up with ease,

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Speaker 4: as if he was lifting a cat by its neck fur.

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Speaker 4: Jehoakim trembled and begged for mercy. Neberconzer gave an impassive stare.

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Speaker 4: His eyes were pits of unrepentant evil. There would be

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Speaker 4: no mercy dispensed from him. He threw the small king

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Speaker 4: onto the ground and had his men bind him in chains.

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Speaker 4: Jehoakim said nothing. He knew that this would be the

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Speaker 4: end of his life. It would be the end of

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Speaker 4: Judah itself. King Neberkonezzar and his army scoured the city

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Speaker 4: of Jerusalem for wealth. They went from house to house,

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Speaker 4: seizing any and all gold and silver. They opened up

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Speaker 4: the house of the Lord and carried away all its

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Speaker 4: vessels and precious items. After stripping Judah naked, never Canza left.

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Speaker 4: He allowed for Johoakim's son, jehoah Kin, to reign in

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Speaker 4: his father's place. Neber Caineza needed Judah to remain a

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Speaker 4: nation as a strategic edge over Egypt and Assyria. Jehoah

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Speaker 4: Kin was evil like his brother and a willing servant

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Speaker 4: of Neberkaneszer. However, his rule was short lived. After only

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Speaker 4: three months and ten days, he was summoned to Babylon

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Speaker 4: and kept there for the rest of his days. After

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Speaker 4: jehoah Kin was taken away, Neberkonezza appointed his uncle Zedekiah

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Speaker 4: as king. Zedekiah was a young man, only twenty one

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Speaker 4: years old. He was filled with pride and patriotism. He

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Speaker 4: ignored the calls of Jeremiah to repent, and instead ward

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Speaker 4: against God and the kingdom of Babylon. Vainly he rebelled

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Speaker 4: against King Nebeconezzer. He provoked him to anger. This would

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Speaker 4: prove to be more fuel for the King of Babylon

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Speaker 4: to tighten his grip on Judah. The priests and leaders

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Speaker 4: of Judah followed in Zedekiah's footsteps. They rebelled against God

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Speaker 4: and turned to the idols of ancient cultures. They defiled

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Speaker 4: the house of the Lord and sent Judah's leaders into madness.

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Speaker 4: Yet the Lord continued to send his message of compassion.

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Speaker 4: He used his prophets to warn them of their ways.

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Speaker 4: He wanted them to turn to him and cry out

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Speaker 4: to him, as the slaves in Egypt once did. If

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Speaker 4: they had just humbled themselves and asked, he would have answered. Instead,

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Speaker 4: they dug their own graves by warring against Babylon and

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Speaker 4: turning from God. The image of the Potter burned in

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Speaker 4: Jeremiah's mind as he watched his nation break. There would

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Speaker 4: be hope soon, but now was the time for destruction.

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Speaker 4: The Chaldeans were the next nation to rise up against

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Speaker 4: Judah under the banner of Babylon. The great army stormed

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Speaker 4: Jerusalem like a great beast. The walls of Jerusalem began

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Speaker 4: to crack under the force of Chaldean battering rams. Balls

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Speaker 4: of fire were sent flying through the air, crashing into homes.

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Speaker 4: The Chaldeans broke down the walls of Jerusalem. The crumbling

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Speaker 4: stone shook the earth and signaled for the entire city

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Speaker 4: to run. Panic filled the streets. Chaldean soldiers showed no mercy.

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Speaker 4: Women were pinned to the floor and rate men's heads

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Speaker 4: were thrown onto pikes. Children were chained up and sent

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Speaker 4: into slavery. The city charred as the screams of men

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Speaker 4: and women rose up with the smoke. There in the

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Speaker 4: middle of the city was the Temple of God. The

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Speaker 4: cedar beams and golden walls were turning to black as

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Speaker 4: the fire consumed it. All its altars turned to ash,

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Speaker 4: and all hope faded into oblivion. The surviving Judeans were

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Speaker 4: captured and chained. With the burning city of Jerusalem at

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Speaker 4: their backs, they marched forward to Babylon. God's people were

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Speaker 4: carted off like cattle, once again slaves. The heart of

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Speaker 4: God ached for his people to cry out to him.

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Speaker 4: He had Jeremiah send a word to them, a word

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Speaker 4: of hope and clarity. My children, God said, you will

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Speaker 4: be taken captive by Babylon, but this is not the

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Speaker 4: end of you. Go there and thrive, plant gardens, build

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Speaker 4: homes and start families. Be there and affect the culture

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Speaker 4: for good. When seventy years are completed, I will come

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Speaker 4: to you. I will free you and bring you back.

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Speaker 4: The words filled the captive's hearts with both joy and sorrow.

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Speaker 4: I have great plans for you, plans for good and

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Speaker 4: not evil. I will give you a future and a hope.

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Speaker 4: When you call upon me, I will be there when

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Speaker 4: you seek me. I will restore your soul. I will

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Speaker 4: set you free. So the people of Judah were brought

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Speaker 4: to Babylon, where they would be captives for seventy years.

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Speaker 5: As we begin today's reading, Judah has fallen into the

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Speaker 5: hands of Egypt, but rather than take Judah into captivity,

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Speaker 5: Egypt only controls the nation, appointing one of Josiah's son, Ilaiacum,

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Speaker 5: as king, though he was a king with no real

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Speaker 5: power and lacking the integrity of his father. The king

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Speaker 5: of Egypt even made him change his name to Johokam.

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Speaker 5: Judah was experiencing hardship and suffering, but nothing like what

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Speaker 5: was coming. The Lord had shown Jeremiah the prophet, the

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Speaker 5: vision of a pot boiling with water facing north. It

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Speaker 5: represented Babylon, the giant nation had risen to greater power

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Speaker 5: than any other before. Josiah had foolishly allowed the Babylonians

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Speaker 5: into Judah to show off the prosperity of a small nation,

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Speaker 5: and thus set in motion a conquest that would bring

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Speaker 5: about God's punishment for the disobedience and unfaithfulness of his people.

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Speaker 5: The destruction of Judah did not happen all at once.

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Speaker 5: It began with the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem while Jehoicam

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Speaker 5: was ruler. King Nebuconazar easily overtook the city and sent

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Speaker 5: Jehoicam into captivity to Babylon. The Babylonians began to pillage

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Speaker 5: everything of value from Judah. The treasures Josiah had so

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Speaker 5: willingly shown them were taken and sent back to Babylon,

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Speaker 5: and so began a cycle of oppression. As Nevicanazar and

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Speaker 5: his armies picked Jerusalem apart, taking wealth of any kind,

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Speaker 5: even from the House of God. The Babylonians would appoint

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Speaker 5: a Jewish king who did not believe in God. And yet,

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Speaker 5: even as Judah was being conquered and ruled by a

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Speaker 5: pagan nation, God continued calling his people back to himself

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Speaker 5: through prophets like Jeremiah. It was not God's desire to

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Speaker 5: punish his people permanently, but to cause them and to

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Speaker 5: call them back to Him that they would cry out

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Speaker 5: for forgiveness, deliverance, and salvation. The Babylonians were God's rod

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Speaker 5: of iron to chastise his people. Sadly, they turned the

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Speaker 5: other way, falling back again into idle worship forgetting. Their

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Speaker 5: only hope for rescue was God Almighty. Next came the Chaldeans,

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Speaker 5: who served Babylon. They invaded Jerusalem and tore down her waltz, death, destruction, violation,

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Speaker 5: everything imaginable you can think of happened to the people

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Speaker 5: of Judah. It was a terrible and tragic time for

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Speaker 5: the people who refused to call out to God. However,

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Speaker 5: when all seemed lost, God sent a word of hope

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Speaker 5: and a promise and a letter from Jeremiah. He had

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Speaker 5: not abandoned his plan to bless these people and use

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Speaker 5: them to bless the world. God made a promise to Israel,

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Speaker 5: and he would keep it even in the midst of captivity.

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Speaker 5: Israel was to be a force for good. In Jeremiah

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Speaker 5: twenty nine to seven, God says, but seek the welfare

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Speaker 5: of the city where I have sent you into exile,

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Speaker 5: and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in

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Speaker 5: its welfare you also will find welfare. This is such

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Speaker 5: a powerful and important lesson. You may actually find yourself

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Speaker 5: far from God right now, or God may seem far away.

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Speaker 5: You may be under the hand of judgment or discipline

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Speaker 5: in your life. Maybe some of the dreams that you

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Speaker 5: had for your life and your future have fallen apart.

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Speaker 5: But God will not give up on you. God still

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Speaker 5: loves you. It has a plan for your life, and

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Speaker 5: that plan is to be a light even in the darkness.

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Speaker 5: Jesus would one day give a command which said, bless

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Speaker 5: those who cursed you and pray for those who abuse you.

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Speaker 5: Even in the toughest and the most terrible of circumstances,

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Speaker 5: God is faithful to his people. For seventy years, Judah

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Speaker 5: was held captive in Bablon, but God's plan to rescue

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Speaker 5: them remained, as did his faithfulness to all of his people.

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Speaker 5: Dear God, we are reminded in the reading today that

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Speaker 5: no matter our circumstances where we find ourselves, that You

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Speaker 5: are always seeking us. Give us hearing ears and hearing

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Speaker 5: hearts to receive and respond to your correction, turning to

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Speaker 5: you in repentance and faith. Thank You for the forgiveness

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Speaker 5: that we have in Christ, for the Cross and the resurrection,

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Speaker 5: the good news that saves us all who trust in Him.

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Speaker 5: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.

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Speaker 5: I'm pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Let me encourage

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Speaker 5: you to go ahead right now and download thepray dot

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Speaker 5: Com app and make the Word of God and prayer

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Speaker 5: a huge priority in your life. Let me also encourage

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Speaker 5: you to tell others about this podcast because you can

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Speaker 5: pass the word to others and if you want more

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Speaker 5: resources on how to tap into God's power for living

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Speaker 5: the Christian life. Be sure to visit Jack Graham dot org.

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Speaker 5: That's Jack Graham dot O r G. We would love

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Speaker 5: to connect with you right now