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Speaker 1: Let us pray be strong and of good courage. Fear

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Speaker 1: not nor be afraid of them. For the Lord, thy God,

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Speaker 1: he it is that doth go with thee. He will

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Speaker 1: not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Deuteronomy thirty one six.

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Speaker 1: Dear God, as the words of Numbers and Deuteronomy ring

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Speaker 1: loud in my ear, I will remember that life and

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Speaker 1: death stand before me. Each day as a new day dawns,

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Speaker 1: Blessings and cursing are before me, and I will choose

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Speaker 1: the path of blessings. I declare that I will not

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Speaker 1: stray from your commands, Lord, for in them I find

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Speaker 1: life and life everlasting. Because of my devotion to you,

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Speaker 1: you will promote me in front of your children. You

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Speaker 1: will make public deck that you have qualified me by

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Speaker 1: your heart and not by words, standards and accolades. Like Joshua,

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Speaker 1: I will be strong and courageous. I will walk with

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Speaker 1: godfidence because you've promised me you'd be with me. Thank

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Speaker 1: you for the Moses in my life who have gone

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Speaker 1: before me and have passed the baton into my hands.

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Speaker 1: Let my life be a living memorial to the dedication

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Speaker 1: and diligence of the mighty men and women of faith

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Speaker 1: who have gone before me. I'm ready. I can do

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Speaker 1: this in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you for making prayer

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Speaker 1: a priority in your day. To learn more about the Bible,

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Speaker 1: stay tuned for today's story, brought to you by Bible

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Speaker 1: in a Year dot com.

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Speaker 2: The Life of a True Servant. In our last story,

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Speaker 2: we learned how Balem was unable to curse Israel, but

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Speaker 2: instead blessed to them. Three times he prophesied from God

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Speaker 2: and spoke blessings in truth over them. Finally, he spoke

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Speaker 2: of an all powerful one that would come from Israel,

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Speaker 2: a shining star from Jacob. In this story, we learn

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Speaker 2: about the passing of Moses, his final words before God,

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Speaker 2: and how Joshua became the new leader to lead the

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Speaker 2: Israelites into the Promised Land. Has inspired by the Book

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Speaker 2: of Numbers and Deuteronomy.

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Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible

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Speaker 3: in a Year podcast. In yesterday's episode, we heard the

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Speaker 3: story of Balem, who, after his encounter with God, had

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Speaker 3: a changed heart and no longer sought to curse Israel

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Speaker 3: for his own personal gain, but rather blessed the nation

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Speaker 3: God had chosen. Our passage ended with a prophecy from

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Speaker 3: Balem of one who would come from Israel and shine

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Speaker 3: bright as a star and bless the whole world. Today

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Speaker 3: we move ahead many years to the final days of Moses,

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Speaker 3: the great leader God has used for so many years

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Speaker 3: to guide his people out of Egypt and through the desert.

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Speaker 3: We'll also learn of the leader who was to come

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Speaker 3: after him, a young man we've met before, who desired

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Speaker 3: to follow God and to live in his presence. Let's

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Speaker 3: listen now to today's reading.

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Speaker 2: It was still evening when the Lord spoke to Moses.

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Speaker 2: The stars spread across the skies like a tapestry. Moses,

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Speaker 2: now one hundred and twenty years old, slept in his

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Speaker 2: tent soundly. Dawn was approaching, and God spoke to Moses

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Speaker 2: and the quiet, saying, go up to the mountain, and

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Speaker 2: I will let you gaze upon the land I have

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Speaker 2: promised Israel, even though you may not enter it, I

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Speaker 2: shall let you see the fruit of your labor before

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Speaker 2: you die. Moses had already accepted his fate and was

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Speaker 2: going to welcome death gracefully. However, he was still concerned

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Speaker 2: about the people of Israel. Moses, still lying in his bed,

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Speaker 2: spoke to the Lord, saying, God of body and soul,

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Speaker 2: appoint a man from among the people who shall lead,

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Speaker 2: for they will be like sheep without a shepherd. Moses

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Speaker 2: was a shepherd after all, and he had come to

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Speaker 2: realize the people of Israel were no different than sheep.

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Speaker 2: In need of guidance and love. God spoke to Moses.

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Speaker 2: Take Joshua, who has my spirit, and lay your hand

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Speaker 2: on him to bless him. Make him stand before Eliazar,

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Speaker 2: the priest, and commission him. As dawn broke, Moses gathered Joshua,

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Speaker 2: Eliazar and the congregation of Israel. Moses looked at the

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Speaker 2: people of Israel, God's sheep, their hopeful faces shone from

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Speaker 2: the rising sun. Moses's heart welled with love, hope, and sadness.

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Speaker 2: He rose his hand and spoke his final blessings over them.

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Speaker 2: Hear me, sweet children of Israel, blessings and cursest and

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Speaker 2: before you every day there will be a choice to

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Speaker 2: choose between life and death, hope and hopelessness, good and evil.

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Speaker 2: If you listen closely to the voice of God and

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Speaker 2: obey his commands, he will restore your souls. He will

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Speaker 2: circumcise your heart as he did your bodies. Love the

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Speaker 2: Lord your God with all your soul, and you will prosper.

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Speaker 2: Your enemies will be cursed, and all you do will succeed,

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Speaker 2: for God will take delight in you as he did

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Speaker 2: your forefathers. Keep his commands close to your hearts. The

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Speaker 2: afternoon had come, and Moses continued to speak to Israel

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Speaker 2: with a contented smile on his face. I am one

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Speaker 2: hundred twenty years old. Today I am no longer able

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Speaker 2: to keep myself upright. The Lord will go before you

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Speaker 2: and lead. He will vanquish every nation that opposes you.

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Speaker 2: Moses then held the shoulder of Joshua and brought him

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Speaker 2: before the people. Joshua will lead you as the head.

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Speaker 2: Be strong and courageous. Fear no one, for God will

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Speaker 2: not leave you or forsake you. The people cheered as

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Speaker 2: the final words of Moses struck the collective cord of Israel.

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Speaker 2: Hope filled the crowd like an overflowing well. Moses turned

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Speaker 2: to Joshua, holding his head close to his own. Be

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Speaker 2: strong and have courage, he said to Joshua. It is

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Speaker 2: God who goes before you. He will be with you.

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Speaker 2: He will not leave you. Do not fear anything Moses's

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Speaker 2: voice cracked as he held back tears. Joshua looked deeply

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Speaker 2: into the eyes of Moses, the eyes of a man

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Speaker 2: blessed by God. After this, Moses said his final blessings

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Speaker 2: over Israel. He spoke to them as a tender and

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Speaker 2: loving father. Tears streamed down their faces as they listened

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Speaker 2: in silence. After Moses said his prayers and blessings over Israel,

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Speaker 2: he sang over them. His voice was old and raspy,

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Speaker 2: but the people were enraptured by every word. They swayed

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Speaker 2: to the song. Smiling. Moses sang to God, and in

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Speaker 2: that moment his heart for the Lord was pouring out

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Speaker 2: on to all the people listening. The deep well of

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Speaker 2: connection was now overflowing, and the people rejoiced. The sun

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Speaker 2: began its descent. Moses then climbed up the plains of

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Speaker 2: Moab towards Mount Nebo. There at the peak, the Lord

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Speaker 2: showed Moses the entire land. God mapped out the countryside

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Speaker 2: before him, making mention of where all the twelve tribes

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Speaker 2: would dwell. This is the land I swore to Abraham.

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Speaker 2: God said gently, even though you will not step foot

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Speaker 2: in it, I have allowed you to see it. The

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Speaker 2: setting sun painted the sky a deep orange. The land

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Speaker 2: was golden. A strong breeze galloped across the plains, up

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Speaker 2: towards the mountain and blew Moses' hair back. He could

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Speaker 2: not take his eyes off Canaan. Since that infamous day

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Speaker 2: he met God as a burning bush, Moses had dreamed

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Speaker 2: of the day he would finally see it. The land

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Speaker 2: flowing with milk and honey. Tears fell from Moses's cheeks.

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Speaker 2: He smiled and continued to look towards the countryside. As

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Speaker 2: the golden rays dimmed below the horizon, Moses breathed his

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Speaker 2: last breath and was joined with God for all eternity.

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Speaker 2: The people mourned and looked to Joshua for guidance, and

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Speaker 2: God blessed Joshua and filled him with a courageous spirit.

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Speaker 2: Thus the days of Moses came to a close. The

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Speaker 2: man God had chosen to lead his people out of

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Speaker 2: captivity had died. One day, A leader greater than Moses

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Speaker 2: would lead God's children out of captivity from their sin.

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Speaker 2: The sting of Death would split in half, just as

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Speaker 2: the red sea. He would be the greater Moses. So

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Speaker 2: Israel waited hundreds of years until his arrival.

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Speaker 3: We open today's story with Moses, who is now one

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Speaker 3: hundred and twenty years old. He has lived under the

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Speaker 3: discipline of God because he spoke to the rock angrily

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Speaker 3: and took credit for the water that flowed. God said,

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Speaker 3: you will never enter the promised land. And yet God

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Speaker 3: extended grace and peace to Moses in the final days

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Speaker 3: of his life. And though he would never enter the

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Speaker 3: land of Promise, God would show Moses the land that

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Speaker 3: he would give to Israel. Moses served God faithfully for decades,

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Speaker 3: leading a stiff necked people with both strength and humility.

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Speaker 3: God tells him he'll soon join his brother Aaron and

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Speaker 3: all of his people who had gone before him. Death,

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Speaker 3: after all, is an open door to Heaven to all

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Speaker 3: who trust in the Lord God through Jesus Christ. Even

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Speaker 3: in these final days, Moses' chief concern is for the

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Speaker 3: people and who will shepherd them. Moses wanted to be

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Speaker 3: sure they were taken care of when he was gone,

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Speaker 3: and not left to go astray, as he knew they would.

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Speaker 3: God reveals to Moses who his leader will be. It

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Speaker 3: is the same one, the same man who set outside

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Speaker 3: the tent of meeting. Even as others went back to camp.

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Speaker 3: It is the same man who believed God to take

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Speaker 3: the Promised Land along with Caleb. When the Spies entered

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Speaker 3: into the land, it was the same man who led

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Speaker 3: their first battle against the Amalekites. Yes, this man is

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Speaker 3: none other than Joshua. God tells Moses to call Joshua

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Speaker 3: and bless him and commission him before Eliazar, the priest

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Speaker 3: and the whole congregation of Israel. Moses, who is barely

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Speaker 3: able to keep himself upright, then addresses his flock one

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Speaker 3: last time. He has so much to remind them of

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Speaker 3: all of God's commandments, the laws for living is God's

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Speaker 3: holy people. He recounts the stories of God's faithfulness over

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Speaker 3: many years and countless challenges and campaigns. The final chapters

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Speaker 3: of Numbers and most of Deuteronomy record his words. Then,

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Speaker 3: in Deuteronomy thirty verses fifteen and sixteen, Moses says this,

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Speaker 3: see I have set before you today life and prosperity,

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Speaker 3: and death and adversity. In that I command you today

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Speaker 3: to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways,

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Speaker 3: and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments,

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Speaker 3: that you may live and multiply, and that the Lord

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Speaker 3: your God may bless you in the land where you

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Speaker 3: are entering to possess it. These are the greatest rewards

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Speaker 3: for obeying God. If they choose obedience, they will experience

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Speaker 3: fullness of life, blessing, and God's hand of provision and protection.

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Speaker 3: Think about it because the same is true for us.

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Speaker 3: Of course, it doesn't mean that we will live our

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Speaker 3: lives without adversity or hardship. But what we know because

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Speaker 3: of the promises of God is that God's ways are

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Speaker 3: higher and better than our ways, and his way always

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Speaker 3: leads to abundant life and blessing. But there is the

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Speaker 3: other side. Moses warns the people that if they turn

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Speaker 3: from God and follow other gods, false gods, they will perish.

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Speaker 3: They are to keep God's commands close to their hearts.

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Speaker 3: This is a powerful, powerful encouragement to you and me

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Speaker 3: to stay in God's word daily and obey him. Moses

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Speaker 3: then spoke to Joshua with the word he would keep

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Speaker 3: close to his heart for years to come. Be strong

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Speaker 3: and courageous. Joshua was taking on a task that would

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Speaker 3: require strength and courage in the face of great fear.

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Speaker 3: But as Moses also reminded Joshua, God would be with

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Speaker 3: him and go before him. God's faithful servant knew it

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Speaker 3: was time to go. God took him to the top

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Speaker 3: of Mountain Nebo and showed Moses the land that he

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Speaker 3: would give to Israel. God's grace and kindness shown through

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Speaker 3: Moses one more time before he took his final rest

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Speaker 3: and joined his heavenly father. Dear God, how we thank

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Speaker 3: you for the story of Moses. What a life, a

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Speaker 3: life of example in leadership and service, one of the

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Speaker 3: greatest men who ever lived, because he was your man.

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Speaker 3: May we follow his example of humility and strength in

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Speaker 3: our lives and look to you in obedience, and help

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Speaker 3: us to be strong and courageous always as we follow

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Speaker 3: you no matter what. In Jesus' name, Amen, thank you

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Speaker 3: for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm

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Speaker 3: Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download thepray dot Com app

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Speaker 3: and make Bible reading and prayer the priority of your life.

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Speaker 3: If you enjoyed this podcast, share it with someone you

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Speaker 3: love because by sharing this podcast, you can make a difference,

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Speaker 3: a big difference, an eternal difference, in someone else's life.

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Speaker 3: And if you want more, resources on how to tap

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Speaker 3: into God's power for your life. Be sure to visit

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Speaker 3: Jack Graham dot org. God bless you,