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Speaker 1: Behold, here is my daughter, a maiden, and his concubine them.

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Speaker 1: I will bring out now and humble ye them, and

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Speaker 1: do with them what seemeth good unto you, but unto

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Speaker 1: this man. Do not so vile a thing. Judge is

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Speaker 1: nineteen twenty four. Lord, I can't thank you enough for

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Speaker 1: the spirit of discernment, like the Levite, give me the

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Speaker 1: intuition and instincts necessary to know when to stay at

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Speaker 1: a place and when to leave the company of people

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Speaker 1: who would seek to distract me from my mission or

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Speaker 1: cause me harm in any way. From this moment on,

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Speaker 1: I have decided to follow your blue print from my life, Lord,

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Speaker 1: and not deviate from the layout or directions that you

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Speaker 1: have given me. Help me to realize that when I

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Speaker 1: try to forge my own path like the Levite, I'll

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Speaker 1: end up killing the very thing that I've sacrificed time, effort,

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Speaker 1: and energy to obtain. Therefore, I declare that my ears

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Speaker 1: are open to hear your voice. Lord. I declare that

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Speaker 1: my feet are firmly planted on your path God, And

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Speaker 1: when others try to come and pry my promise for

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Speaker 1: my hands, I will stand boldly then confront my opponents

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Speaker 1: knowing that you will give me strength to stand and fight.

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Speaker 1: Quicken my feet, Heavenly Father when I stray, so that

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Speaker 1: I can make it back to the place where the

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Speaker 1: wings of your grace can comfort and protect me. In

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Speaker 1: Jesus Name, Amen, Listening to these daily prayers strengthens your

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

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

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Speaker 1: Bible in a Year dot com. The wickedness of the

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Speaker 1: Benjamite tribe. In our last story, we learned about the

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Speaker 1: tribe of Dan stealing idols from the house of Micah

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Speaker 1: and their violent siege over an innocent village. The tribe

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Speaker 1: of Dan found a home at the expense of others,

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Speaker 1: and Israel continued to sin before God. Now we learn

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Speaker 1: about the journey of a young Levite and his concubine

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Speaker 1: as they seek their own path away from God, they

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Speaker 1: fall victim to all sorts of dark evils, as inspired

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Speaker 1: by the Book of Judges. Hello, this is Pastor Jack

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

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Speaker 1: In our last episode, we heard the story of Micah's

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Speaker 1: spiritual confusion and how the tribe of Dan stole idols

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Speaker 1: from the House of Micah to place in their own

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Speaker 1: places of worship in a city they stole from innocent people.

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Speaker 1: It was a sign of Israel's moral bankruptcy in a

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Speaker 1: when each person did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.

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Speaker 1: Yet as God's people continued to drift further away from him,

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Speaker 1: God continued to wait for a time to rescue his children.

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Speaker 1: Today we'll see that Israel continues its descent into wickedness,

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Speaker 1: and we'll hear another story of a man straying from

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Speaker 1: God to seek his own path, a Levite who will

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Speaker 1: leave his wife and journey with his concubine into dangerous

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Speaker 1: territory both physically and spiritually. It's a story that's destined

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Speaker 1: to end in tragedy, of course, but let us not

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Speaker 1: miss the lesson that there is for all who will

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Speaker 1: listen and learn so less Here today's reading, Israel continued

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Speaker 1: its fall from the favor of God. The days of

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Speaker 1: parted seas and Mana falling from heaven were long forgotten,

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Speaker 1: and even the holiest of people did what was right

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Speaker 1: in their own eyes. Pursuing peace, blessing, and kindness was

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Speaker 1: a distant virtue. Now people wandered the land without purpose.

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Speaker 1: In those days, there was a certain levite who was

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Speaker 1: sojouring in the wilderness of Ephrium. This leavite, called to

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Speaker 1: be a man who serves the people of God, left

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Speaker 1: his wife and took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem.

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Speaker 1: Together they traveled, but the woman was unfaithful to him

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Speaker 1: and traveled back to Bethlehem. Heart broken and love sick.

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Speaker 1: The levite traveled back to Bethlehem to win back his

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Speaker 1: concubine's affection. He brought gifts and wrote poems, and outside

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Speaker 1: her father's house he sought to serenade her. Her father

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Speaker 1: opened the door, overjoyed to see that the levite returned

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Speaker 1: for his daughter, He invited the levite to stay with

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Speaker 1: him for three days. The leavite gladly accepted the invitation,

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Speaker 1: Yet there was a strangeness in the father's smile. A

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Speaker 1: lingering wickedness that was too subtle to spot clearly hovered

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Speaker 1: over the house. The levite ignored it, wanting only to

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Speaker 1: win back as concubine's heart. So we entered the father's

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Speaker 1: house and stayed for three days. The two men ate

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Speaker 1: drank in exchanged tales, of their travels and exploits. The

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Speaker 1: wine continued to pour and the food continued to be cooked.

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Speaker 1: Time moved quickly, and on the fourth day, the levite

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Speaker 1: and his woman arose to leave. The father put his

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Speaker 1: hand on the levite's shoulder and smiled, Why don't you

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Speaker 1: stay for one last meal before you go? He said,

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Speaker 1: so the two of them ate together once again. Their

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Speaker 1: meal and conversation lasted hours, and the morning quickly turned

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Speaker 1: into dusk. The levite opened the door to depart and

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Speaker 1: looked at the horizon. He was surprised to see that

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Speaker 1: the night had come so quickly. The skies turned into

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Speaker 1: a deep red as the sun set against the bare sky.

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Speaker 1: It was an uneasy sunset, and it sent chills down

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Speaker 1: the levite's neck. Ah, what do you know, the father

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Speaker 1: said from behind him. It is our sun set. You

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Speaker 1: might as well stay one more night. The levite was

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Speaker 1: uneasy about spending another night, but the father insisted, so

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Speaker 1: he stayed another night. On the fifth morning, the levite

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Speaker 1: gathered his things, his woman, and his servant, and the

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Speaker 1: three of them prepared to depart from the father's house.

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Speaker 1: It was still dark, but the girl's father had already

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Speaker 1: been awake, tending to the fields. He shouted from a distance, saying,

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Speaker 1: strengthen your hearts. Stay and I will make you breakfast

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Speaker 1: until the sun arises. So the three of them remained.

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Speaker 1: Time seemed to move at a different pace in that

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Speaker 1: dining room. Drinks flowed like a river into the Levite's cup,

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Speaker 1: and he found himself lost in a drunken stupor that

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Speaker 1: lasted all day. Slapping himself awake, the levite thanked the

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Speaker 1: girl's father and finally went off to depart. But the

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Speaker 1: sun had already begun its descent and day was almost over. Well,

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Speaker 1: there's no harm in spending the night again, the father said,

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Speaker 1: with a jolly grin. His rotted teeth could barely be

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Speaker 1: spotted underneath his white beard. First thing tomorrow morning, you

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Speaker 1: can all start your journey, he said. The levite peered

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Speaker 1: into his eyes, the uneasy chills overcame him again. The

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Speaker 1: levite nodded politely, and the woman's father left the room

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Speaker 1: to go prepare the beds. Then he took his concubine

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Speaker 1: and servant, and they made a mad dash for the door.

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Speaker 1: They saddled their donkeys and rode off. He would not

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Speaker 1: spend the night again, for he feared that it could

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Speaker 1: very well be his last if he did. The treer

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Speaker 1: traveled to Jebas, which is now Jerusalem. The day was

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Speaker 1: nearly over and the sun was half way below the horizon.

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Speaker 1: The levite's servant said to him, let us descend into

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Speaker 1: the city of the Gebasites and spend the night, and

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Speaker 1: may become dangerous soon. The levite looked uneasy. He had

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Speaker 1: heard rumors of the Geebascites and was not sure if

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Speaker 1: he wanted to stay in their city, so they turned

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Speaker 1: away to get Ibia as the sun set behind them.

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Speaker 1: Gibbea belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, and the Levite

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Speaker 1: was sure they could find lodging among God's people. However,

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Speaker 1: they had no such luck. The three of them knocked

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Speaker 1: on every door in the city, seeking a place to

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Speaker 1: rest their heads, yet each one turned them away. So

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Speaker 1: the levite, his concubine, and his servant huddled in the

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Speaker 1: courtyard in the middle of the city. Alone and cold.

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Speaker 1: They slept without blankets or food to warm them. It

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Speaker 1: was still night and the levite had finally fallen into

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Speaker 1: a deep sleep. His snores were interrupted by an old

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Speaker 1: man poking at him and his companions. The levite jolted

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Speaker 1: awake and rose to his feet. The old man backed

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Speaker 1: away and gave a nervous smile. What are you doing

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Speaker 1: out here in the middle of the night, he said,

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Speaker 1: This place is dangerous at night. We are traveling back

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Speaker 1: to Ephraem, but no one has taken us in to

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Speaker 1: spend the night. We have donkeys in need of straw

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Speaker 1: and water, and we are in need of food. The

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Speaker 1: levite responded, hoping desperately that the man could help them.

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Speaker 1: Of course, the man said, I can care for all

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Speaker 1: your needs. Just please do not spend the night out here.

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Speaker 1: There would be trouble awaiting you. The old man seemed

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Speaker 1: nervous as he led them back to his home. He

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Speaker 1: was constantly shining his torch into the alleys and peering

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Speaker 1: over his shoulder. Another uneasy feeling came over the levite,

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Speaker 1: and the four of them entered the house safely. The

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Speaker 1: four of them were warming themselves by the fire, laughing

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Speaker 1: and eating warm food. The old man's family came out

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Speaker 1: to join them, and they ate, drank and laughed with

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Speaker 1: one another. Their laughter was interrupted by a violent banging

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Speaker 1: on the man's door. The levite looked towards the man,

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Speaker 1: and his face turned ghostly white. The man arose to

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Speaker 1: go answer the door and behold the men from the

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Speaker 1: city surrounded the entire house. The Levite could catch a

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Speaker 1: small glimpse of the men through the door. An ancient

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Speaker 1: wickedness could be seen in their eyes, the same wickedness

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Speaker 1: that tormented the hearts of Sodom and Gomorrah long ago.

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Speaker 1: One of them stood at the entrance of the home

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Speaker 1: and pointed straight to the Levite. Bring out your petty,

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Speaker 1: little leavite, old man. The words slithered out of his

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Speaker 1: grinning mouth. We would like to have our way with him,

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Speaker 1: he said. The Levite jumped to his feet and pressed

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Speaker 1: his back up against the wall. His eyes widened as

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Speaker 1: he watched the old man squirm near the door. Please,

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Speaker 1: my brothers, the old man trembled, do not do such

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Speaker 1: a wicked thing. These people are guests in my home.

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Speaker 1: But the men of the city craved the satisfaction of

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Speaker 1: forcing themselves on a young man. They had no regard

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Speaker 1: for politeness or honor. They wanted what they wanted, and

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Speaker 1: they would take it forcibly. For this was the state

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Speaker 1: of Israel's heart. After they turned away from God. The

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Speaker 1: men began to enter the home, but the old man

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Speaker 1: stopped them, saying, no, no, behold, here is my daughter.

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Speaker 1: She is a virgin, and here is the Levite concubine.

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Speaker 1: She is very beautiful. Take them and spare the Levite.

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Speaker 1: The men seized the concubine and drug her into the darkness.

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Speaker 1: Violent screams and evil laughs could be heard from the

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Speaker 1: distance as the men have used and raped her. It

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Speaker 1: was truly a dark time for Israel. What began his

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Speaker 1: idol worship slowly transitioned into a corruption that rivaled the

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Speaker 1: wicked kingdoms of old. Dawn began to break. The woman

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Speaker 1: crawled out of the alleyway. Her face was swollen from

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Speaker 1: being beaten, and her clothes were torn apart. Early alive,

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Speaker 1: she slept on the doorstep of the old man, waiting

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Speaker 1: for the Levite to come to her. The sun had

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Speaker 1: fully risen, and the Levite opened the door slowly to

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Speaker 1: see if the coast was clear. He found the woman

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Speaker 1: on the floor and said, quick, let us be going

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Speaker 1: before they return. The woman was silent and still. He

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Speaker 1: shook her and said, there is no time for delay.

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Speaker 1: Get up and let's go. But she still lay there,

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Speaker 1: so the levite picked her up and lay her on

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Speaker 1: his donkey. The levite had finally made it back to

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Speaker 1: his home. He came to wake up his concubine, only

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Speaker 1: to realize that she was dead. There she laid lifeless.

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Speaker 1: The levite boiled with anger and blamed the men for

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Speaker 1: killing her, even though it was not just the men

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Speaker 1: that slew her. His own cowardice is what killed her.

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Speaker 1: And a heartbroken and shameful fury, the levite took a

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Speaker 1: knife and began tearing the woman's body apart, limb by limb.

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Speaker 1: He fellayed her and separated her body. He tore her

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Speaker 1: into twelve pieces and sent her body throughout all the

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Speaker 1: territory of Israel. Pie says, of her body hung for

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Speaker 1: all of Israel to behold. Her bloodied and hanging limbs

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Speaker 1: represented the divided and corrupt hearts of Israel. The land trembled,

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Speaker 1: and God wept over their wickedness. We begin today's reading

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Speaker 1: in the wilderness of Ephriel with a nameless levite who

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Speaker 1: is wandering with his concubine. Concubines were considered legal wives

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Speaker 1: of their husband, but were afforded second class status, something

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Speaker 1: that will be shown to be true in a dramatic way.

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Speaker 1: In this story. This Levite, a man meant to be

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Speaker 1: set apart to serve God and his people, had departed

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Speaker 1: from his wife and from God's law and was living

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Speaker 1: in darkness. It is a darkness we see throughout this story.

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Speaker 1: The fact that our main character is not name seems fitting,

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Speaker 1: as he represents in many ways the wandering nation of Israel,

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Speaker 1: who are unrecognizable as God's chosen people. It's not long

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Speaker 1: before the levite has a taste of betrayal himself, as

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Speaker 1: his concubine is unfaithful to him and returns to her

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Speaker 1: father's home. After he spent some time licking his wounds,

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Speaker 1: the levite went to winter back. He succeeds, and he

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Speaker 1: and his father in law began to eat and drink together.

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Speaker 1: For three days, they did nothing but eat and drink

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Speaker 1: and be married. His father in law kept insisting that

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Speaker 1: he stays, so he did another two nights. Then on

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Speaker 1: the fifth day he took his servant and concubine, and finally,

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Speaker 1: late in the day departed. When it was nearly nighttime,

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Speaker 1: they found themselves near a city of foreigners, Jebus, which

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Speaker 1: would later become Jerusalem. The Levite did not want to

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Speaker 1: stay there for fear of what the foreigners might do

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Speaker 1: to him, so he chose to go instead to Gibbee,

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Speaker 1: a city of the tribe of Benjamin. Sadly, the wickedness

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Speaker 1: he found there was even greater. Unable to find lodging

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Speaker 1: for the evening, his party set up camp in the

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Speaker 1: center of town, but an elderly man of the tribe

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Speaker 1: of Ephraim came to their aid, pleading for them to

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Speaker 1: stay in his home. He knew the evil that lurked

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Speaker 1: in the streets, and he feared for their lives. But

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Speaker 1: the evil in the streets soon came knocking. Judges nineteen,

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Speaker 1: verse twenty two says this worthless fellows surrounded the house,

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Speaker 1: beating on the door, and they said to the old man,

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Speaker 1: the master of the house, bring out the man who

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Speaker 1: came into your house, that we may know him. Worthless fellows,

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Speaker 1: for sure, how low could Israel go? As the sin

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Speaker 1: of Sodom ran rampant in the hearts of these benjamin

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Speaker 1: Nite men. Rather than deliver the Levite, their host offered

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Speaker 1: his virgin daughter and the concubine. The Levite, fearing for

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Speaker 1: his own safety, and caring nothing for that of the

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Speaker 1: women he had sought out just five days before, gave

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Speaker 1: over the concubine to be beaten and raped brutally in

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Speaker 1: the streets. Meanwhile, he slept seemingly without a care in

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Speaker 1: the world. This story obviously shows us how deceitful and

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Speaker 1: wicked the human heart is. The Levite in these townspeople

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Speaker 1: paint a gruesome and awful picture of the evil that

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Speaker 1: people are capable of. The next morning, when the Levite

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Speaker 1: found the woman dead outside the door, he did not

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Speaker 1: mourn or offer her a proper burial. He carried her home,

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Speaker 1: desecrated her body, and sent pieces of her to each

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Speaker 1: of the twelve tribes. He wanted to rally the people

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Speaker 1: to deal with the men of give up. Instead, he

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Speaker 1: would set off a war in Israel. And that's what

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Speaker 1: we'll hear about the next time. Dear God, we know

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Speaker 1: that the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.

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Speaker 1: That's clear in the scripture and is clear in experience. Lord,

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Speaker 1: we ask for repentance, that our nation would repent, that

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Speaker 1: we personally would repent of our sins, confessing our sins,

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Speaker 1: that you might forgive us and pardon us. We praise

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Speaker 1: you that your son Jesus Christ came to us to

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Speaker 1: die on the cross for our sins and to give

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Speaker 1: us eternal life. May we guard our hearts that we

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Speaker 1: might not turn back to sin in any way in

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Speaker 1: Jesus name. Amen, thank you for listening to today's Bible

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Speaker 1: in the Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham, Dallas, Texas, and

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Speaker 1: you can download the Prey dot com app and make

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Speaker 1: prayer the priority of your life. It is our prayer

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Speaker 1: that you would know Jesus Christ in a personal way.

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Speaker 1: Jesus and knowing him is the key to understanding the Bible.

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Speaker 1: Jesus is on every page in the pathway of Scripture,

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Speaker 1: so I pray that you would know him and look

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Speaker 1: to Him for eternal life. As we see all of

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Speaker 1: these stories, some of them very sordid, we realize just

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Speaker 1: how desperately we all need the Lord. So invite Christ

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Speaker 1: into your life and receive him as your Lord and savior.

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Speaker 1: I would also encourage you to download the Prey dot

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Speaker 1: com app and let others know about this podcast and

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Speaker 1: if you want more resources on how to know God

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Speaker 1: and experience his presence in your life, be sure to

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Speaker 1: visit Jack Graham dot org. God bless you. This episode

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Speaker 1: is sponsored by Medica, an innovative healthcare solution for Christians

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Speaker 1: to save money without sacrificing quality