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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Speaker 1: that they too may be free from seasons of lack

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Speaker 1: and despair. In Jesus name, Amen, listening to these daily

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Speaker 1: prayers strengthens your relationship with God. Continue hearing from the

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

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

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Speaker 2: Famine in Samaria. In our last story, we saw Laisha

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Speaker 2: avoid the wrath of the armies of Aram. The Lord

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Speaker 2: confused them and lured them into trapped by blinding them

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Speaker 2: to the identity of Elisha. He led them into the

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Speaker 2: capital of Israel, where they were at the mercy of

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Speaker 2: the king's army. However, instead of killing them, they showed mercy.

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Speaker 2: As a result, Aram and Israel lived at peace with

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Speaker 2: one another. Now we hear about one of the darkest

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Speaker 2: stories in Israel's history, a story of a famine so

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Speaker 2: harsh that people were forced into the greatest sin anyone

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Speaker 2: could commit. Yet even in this moments of redemption are

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Speaker 2: awaiting Israel. Inspired by the Book of Second Kings, this.

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Speaker 3: Is Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible in

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Speaker 3: a Year podcast. In the last reading, we heard how

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Speaker 3: God blinded the soldiers of Aram who had surrounded Elishah.

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Speaker 3: The prophet. Elisha had seen God's army, his angel army

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Speaker 3: there to protect him, and had not wavered in his

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Speaker 3: faith despite the enemy at his doorstep. We then saw

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Speaker 3: how God worked through Elisha to bring peace between Israel

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Speaker 3: and Aram as the Israelis showed mercy and kindness to

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Speaker 3: the enemy and did not kill even when doing so

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Speaker 3: would have been very easy and within their rights. Today

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Speaker 3: will turn to an event that's truly hard to understand.

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Speaker 3: A famine so intense and a people so desperate that

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Speaker 3: they turned to unspeakable acts and commit grievous sin in

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Speaker 3: a desperate attempt to stay alive. So let's listen now

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Speaker 3: to this reading from God's word.

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Speaker 2: Israel enjoyed a brief moment of peace and prosperity. Conflict

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Speaker 2: with the Aramians had ceased, and all seemed well. However,

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Speaker 2: evil lurked in the darkness beyond the borders of Israel.

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Speaker 2: Ben Hadad, the King of Syria, had planned a deadly

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Speaker 2: insurgence on Samaria, the capital of Israel, the shining jewel

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Speaker 2: of a once prosperous nation, crumbled under the boot of

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Speaker 2: Syria's vast army had taken as prostitutes and slaves. Men

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Speaker 2: were murdered on the battlefield, and children were left without homes.

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Speaker 2: Even worse, the armies of Syria made its home less

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Speaker 2: than one hundred miles away to raid Israel again and again.

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Speaker 2: As a result, Samaria fell into a famine unlike any

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Speaker 2: in its history. Samaria wept like a broken and dying orphan.

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Speaker 2: Hunger lingered like a dull blade lodged in someone's stomach.

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Speaker 2: Even the king himself walked to the city streets with

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Speaker 2: pain and hunger. Food became so scarce that a donkey's

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Speaker 2: head sold for over eighty shekels of silver, doves dung

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Speaker 2: was sold as food for five shekels. The children of

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Speaker 2: Israel were driven to madness, too hungry and thirsty to

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Speaker 2: think rationally or selflessly. With the hunger came chaos. One morning,

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Speaker 2: the king was walking among the city near the border wall.

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Speaker 2: His lungs filled up with dust and his lips were

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Speaker 2: parched from lack of water. Looked at his people. The

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Speaker 2: pain of seeing them die slowly was greater than the

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Speaker 2: hunger pains in his stomach. To make matters worse, there

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Speaker 2: was no way to defend against Syrian attack. Since his

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Speaker 2: soldiers were starved. He would have cried, but his body

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Speaker 2: was devoid of water. He could not spare a single tear.

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Speaker 2: The king leaned against the wall and surveyed his broken kingdom.

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Speaker 2: As he was stumbling through the city, he heard a shout, help,

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Speaker 2: my lord. The king turned to see a woman. The

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Speaker 2: woman looked as if she was once very beautiful. However,

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Speaker 2: hunger took away her color. Her once dark and healthy

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Speaker 2: hair was thin and gray. Her eyes reflected great pain

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Speaker 2: and sorrow. She was, in many ways, a perfect image

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Speaker 2: of the state of Israel. The king shook his head

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Speaker 2: in despair. How could I help you? If the Lord

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Speaker 2: has not helped us, how on earth could I possibly

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Speaker 2: aid you? The King's voice choked up. He felt helpless.

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Speaker 2: His people needed him, and he could do nothing but

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Speaker 2: despair alongside them. He looked up at her. She looked

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Speaker 2: completely broken. Her thin frame was trembling in its place.

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Speaker 2: Her frail face looked up at the king with longing

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Speaker 2: and helplessness. The king sighed, what is your need? He asked,

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Speaker 2: we ate him? She said. There was a pause for

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Speaker 2: a moment. The King's heart grew heavier as she watched

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Speaker 2: the woman crumble with grief. My neighbor and I agreed

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Speaker 2: to eat our sons, our babies. The words seemed almost

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Speaker 2: like a cruel joke, but the woman spoke with complete seriousness.

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Speaker 2: We agreed to eat my son yesterday and her son

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Speaker 2: to day. So we boiled my child and ate him.

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Speaker 2: And now the woman and her boy are nowhere to

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Speaker 2: be found. The darkness of her words shrouded the king

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Speaker 2: in sorrow. Righteous anger welled up inside him. His fist

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Speaker 2: pressed against the wall, and he told or his clothes.

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Speaker 2: He did not blame the woman for what she did,

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Speaker 2: nor did he blame the other woman for leaving with

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Speaker 2: her son to save him. The king blamed only one

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Speaker 2: man for all this suffering. He blamed the man of God.

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Speaker 2: He blamed Elisha. May God put me to death if

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Speaker 2: I do not have Elisha's head falling from his shoulders

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Speaker 2: by the end of the day. So the king sent

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Speaker 2: out his commander to Elishah to lure him in so

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Speaker 2: he might be murdered. Elisha sat in his home, surrounded

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Speaker 2: by the elders of Israel. The men were standing beside

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Speaker 2: a fire, no food, no wine, no water. Before the

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Speaker 2: commander approached the house, Elishah spoke to the elders quietly,

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Speaker 2: the king has despatched a murderer to slay me. When

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Speaker 2: he comes, shut the door and hold it against him,

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Speaker 2: his master will not be far behind. As he was speaking,

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Speaker 2: a knocking was heard from the front of the house.

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Speaker 2: The king's commander was behind the door, doing his best

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Speaker 2: to seem harmless and well intentioned. He heard no response

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Speaker 2: from the house, so he knocked again nothing. After waiting

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Speaker 2: for a long while, he tried to enter the home

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Speaker 2: to no avail. The commander was angry now and yelled

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Speaker 2: through the door. This plague is from the Lord. Why

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Speaker 2: should I wait on him any longer for help? His

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Speaker 2: outburst confirmed Elisha's theory. People blamed God and him for

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Speaker 2: their troubles. In reality, it was the Syrians, But any

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Speaker 2: time discomfort or pain was experienced, people believed it must

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Speaker 2: have been the spiteful playing of an angry God. Alysha

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Speaker 2: approached the door and spoke calmly through it. Hear the

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Speaker 2: word of God. Tomorrow at about this time, flower, barley

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Speaker 2: and gold will flow through the gate of samaria Ha,

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Speaker 2: the captain explained, Has the Lord finally made windows in

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Speaker 2: heaven to see our plight and send favors?

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Speaker 1: He asked?

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Speaker 2: His words were spiteful and filled with cynicism. Hear me,

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Speaker 2: Elisha said again, you shall see it all with your

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Speaker 2: own eyes, but you will taste none.

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Speaker 3: Of it yourself.

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Speaker 2: With those words, the commander left filled with doubt, frustration,

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Speaker 2: and hunger. Meanwhile, at the edge of the Gate of Samaria,

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Speaker 2: there were four lepers resting in the shade of the

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Speaker 2: Mighty Wall. Not only were their bodies outward lay wasting

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Speaker 2: away from their disease, but their inward parts were being

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Speaker 2: consumed by hunger. Lepers were not allowed in the city

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Speaker 2: for fear of the disease spreading, so they were doomed

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Speaker 2: to rod outside the gates. One of them looked to

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Speaker 2: the distance beyond Israel. Pillars of smoke could be seen

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Speaker 2: where the Syrian camp was. Why are we just sitting

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Speaker 2: here until our inevitable deaths, he said. If we stay,

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Speaker 2: we die of hunger. If you go into the city,

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Speaker 2: we die of hunger or stoning. He sighed and looked

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Speaker 2: back at the horizon. But if we go to the

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Speaker 2: Syrian camp, maybe they will have pity on us and

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Speaker 2: give us food, or they will just kill us and

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Speaker 2: will die, leaving us no worse off than we were before.

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Speaker 2: The plans seemed rational, so the four lepers limped their

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Speaker 2: way towards the Syrian camp. It was twilight and darkness

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Speaker 2: had just began to cover the empty skies. The Lepers

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Speaker 2: drew closer to the camp, expecting bonfires and torches to

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Speaker 2: illuminate the path. Instead, all they saw was darkness. Coals

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Speaker 2: were burning off the last of their heat, and pits. Food, weapons,

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Speaker 2: and supplies were thrown around as if they had been

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Speaker 2: dropped in a hurry. The camp itself was completely empty

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Speaker 2: of any Syrians. As it turned out, earlier that day,

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Speaker 2: the Lord had sent a confusing wind to rush through

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Speaker 2: the canyons beyond the Syrian camp. Thundrous noises burst through

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Speaker 2: the valley beside them, giving the illusion of a great

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Speaker 2: army approaching. Out Of fear of ambush, the Syrians left

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Speaker 2: in a hurry, leaving all their plunders, horses, food in

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Speaker 2: tents behind. The Lepers could barely contain their excitement. The

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Speaker 2: immediately filled their bellies with food, wine, and water. They

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Speaker 2: ransacked the camp for all valuables, gold, silver, and flower.

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Speaker 2: All of the sudden, these four forgotten Lepers were the

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Speaker 2: richest men in Israel. They took the mules and packed

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Speaker 2: them with flour, barley, gold, and water. Then they hid

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Speaker 2: them for themselves. As they were unpacking the mules, a

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Speaker 2: gentle nudge of God's spirit came upon them. All of

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Speaker 2: a sudden, their eyes were opened to what they were doing.

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Speaker 2: This isn't right, they said. We are to share this

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Speaker 2: good news with the king so all can enjoy this blessing.

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Speaker 2: It was still dark, but the lepers wasted no time.

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Speaker 2: They ran towards the gate keeper and told him everything.

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Speaker 2: He ran to the king and woke him up. When

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Speaker 2: the King heard of this, he leaped to his feet

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Speaker 2: in excitement. However, a rush of skepticism followed. How do

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Speaker 2: we know this isn't a trap, he asked himself. So

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Speaker 2: the king sent two horsemen to scout the area and

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Speaker 2: make sure the Syrians had truly left. On their travels.

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Speaker 2: They saw remnants of Syrian clothing, weapons, and jewelry, proof

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Speaker 2: that they had left in haste. So all the people

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Speaker 2: were given permission to storm the Syrian camp and finally

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Speaker 2: find food. Silently and subtlely, the Lord provided for the

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Speaker 2: needs of his people. The people were ravenous and rejoiced

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Speaker 2: in the taste of fresh food for the first time

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Speaker 2: in months. They returned to Samaria with the spoils. The

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Speaker 2: crowd was so large that they posed a danger to

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Speaker 2: the city gates, so the king appointed his commander to

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Speaker 2: oversee the gates. He stood at attention and watched the

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Speaker 2: tidal wave of people approaching with flower and barley. The

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Speaker 2: commander's heart sank as he remembered the words of Elisha

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Speaker 2: hear the word of God tomorrow at about this time, flower,

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Speaker 2: barley and gold will flow through the gate of Samaria.

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Speaker 2: The words echoed in his mind as he watched the

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Speaker 2: people approach with more flower, barley in gold than he

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Speaker 2: had seen in his life. But then he remembered what

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Speaker 2: Elishah said afterwards, you shall see it all with your

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Speaker 2: own eyes, but you will taste none of it yourself.

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Speaker 2: As those words resonated in his memory, the sea of

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Speaker 2: people crashed upon the city gates. The commander did his

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Speaker 2: best to stop them, but he was knocked over and

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Speaker 2: traveled to death.

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Speaker 3: As we opened today's scripture, the peace Israel had enjoyed

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Speaker 3: for a time has been shattered by the Syrian king

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Speaker 3: and his army. They invaded Israel's capital city, Samaria, and

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Speaker 3: slaughtered men, enslaved women, and left countless orphans. It was

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Speaker 3: truly the darkest of times in the kingdom, But things

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Speaker 3: were only going to get worse. The Syrians set up

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Speaker 3: an outpost nearby that allowed them to come back again

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Speaker 3: and again to attack, pillage, and kill. Samaria was plunged

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Speaker 3: into severe famine that even the most unpalatable foods like

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Speaker 3: donkey heads and dove dung were worth their weight in silver.

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Speaker 3: One day, as the king walked along the wall of

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Speaker 3: the city, a woman cried to him for help. Though

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Speaker 3: he could not help her, he asked what her trouble was.

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Speaker 3: Her answer revealed that desperation was so high that some

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Speaker 3: had turned to an unthinkable evil. This woman told the

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Speaker 3: king that she and another woman had agreed to boil

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Speaker 3: their babies and eat them. She had gone first, killing

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Speaker 3: her own child and consuming him with the other woman,

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Speaker 3: but now the other woman had hidden her child, refusing

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Speaker 3: to hold up to her end of the agreement. Life

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Speaker 3: has now lost all value in the face of such

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Speaker 3: need and oppression. It's such a sad commentary on the

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Speaker 3: state of Samaria that mothers were sacrificing their own babies

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Speaker 3: so that they could continue to live. This woman's story

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Speaker 3: was too much for the king. He tore his clothes

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Speaker 3: in anger in mourning. He had every reason to be

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Speaker 3: angry and fill with sorrow. But what happened next revealed

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Speaker 3: how misdirected his anger was. He vowed to kill Elisha,

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Speaker 3: God's prophet that very day. He was sure it was

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Speaker 3: Elisha's fault that all of this was happening. In a fact,

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Speaker 3: he was blaming God for these circumstances. Elisha was just

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Speaker 3: the closest target. So he sent his commander to bring

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Speaker 3: Elishah out of his home and murder him. And when

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Speaker 3: the commander could not get Elisha to come out, he

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Speaker 3: grew frustrated, and in his frustration revealed that, just like

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Speaker 3: the King, he blamed God for what was going on.

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Speaker 3: We read his words in Second King six thirty three.

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Speaker 3: The messenger came down to him and said, the trouble

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Speaker 3: is from the Lord. Why should I wait for the

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Speaker 3: Lord any longer? Before we judge the king and his

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Speaker 3: commander too harshly, we might want to think and consider

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Speaker 3: how we are often guilty of blaming God for other things.

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Speaker 3: When things aren't going our way, or if life is

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Speaker 3: in disarray, or some tragedy that we cannot expel blame

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Speaker 3: has come upon us. Do we turn to God for

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Speaker 3: help and wait on him? And trust in him, or

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Speaker 3: do we blame our problems, our troubles, our struggles, or

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Speaker 3: accuse him in ways that are unconscionable. God had not

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Speaker 3: caused this trouble. It was the Syrian army, the enemy,

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Speaker 3: who had attacked and taken Samaria. God was not the

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Speaker 3: source of their trouble. But as Elisha was about to

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Speaker 3: tell them, God would be the source of their rescue.

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Speaker 3: He told the commander that the very next day, food

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Speaker 3: would come through the gates of Samaria, barley, flower, and

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Speaker 3: even gold would enter the gates. The commander scoffed at

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Speaker 3: this promise. He wasn't just being doubtful, he was being unbelieving,

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Speaker 3: and his lack of faith are no faith was going

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Speaker 3: to cost him. Elishah told him that what he said

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Speaker 3: was true, and that the commander would see it with

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Speaker 3: his own eyes, but never taste it for himself. And

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Speaker 3: just as Elishah the prophet said, God provided four lepers

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Speaker 3: who lived outside the walls ventured into the Syrian camp.

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Speaker 3: They supposed that they would either receive food or a

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Speaker 3: swift death, and either would be welcomed outcomes. But as

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Speaker 3: they entered the camp they found it empty. God had

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Speaker 3: sent a mighty wind and a thunderous noise to strike

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Speaker 3: fear and confusion into the enemy, and they had all fled,

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Speaker 3: leaving behind what flower, barley, and gold. The four men

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Speaker 3: initially planned to keep it all to themselves, but God

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Speaker 3: moved in them, and they ran to Samaria to tell

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Speaker 3: the king, And just as God had promised to Elijah,

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Speaker 3: the next day, Barley, flower, Gold entered the gates of

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Speaker 3: the city. Rescue had come in the most unlikely and

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Speaker 3: supernatural of ways. This was the work of God. The

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Speaker 3: commander at the gate saw it all, but in a

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Speaker 3: sudden rush of people, that man was trampled underfoot and died.

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Speaker 3: We may never know or understand why bad things happen

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Speaker 3: to us. It's an ancient question, isn't it. Why do

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Speaker 3: bad things happen to people? Why is there suffering? Why

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Speaker 3: are their tragedies in life? We've wrestled with these kinds

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Speaker 3: of questions for thousands of years. But here's what we know.

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Speaker 3: We know that God loves us, that God is working

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Speaker 3: always in our behalf to those of us who know

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Speaker 3: and love Him Romans eight twenty eight, and the New

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Speaker 3: Testament says, for we know that God is working all

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Speaker 3: things together for the good to those who love the

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Speaker 3: Lord and who are called according to his purpose. Yes,

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Speaker 3: God is good, he does good, and he's working all

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Speaker 3: things together for good to those who trust in him.

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Speaker 3: Dear God, we thank you for your word to us today.

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Speaker 3: It's a very hard story to read, and we admit

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Speaker 3: that we don't often understand the reason for tragedy and pain.

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Speaker 3: We can't understand why a woman would take the life

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Speaker 3: of precious child. But we thank you that always you

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Speaker 3: are there for us with mercy and grace to provide

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Speaker 3: for us and our needs. That you are working all

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Speaker 3: things together for our good and your glory. Help us

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Speaker 3: to believe in you even when we don't see our

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Speaker 3: way through that we look to you in Jesus's name. Amen.

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Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.

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Speaker 3: I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download Theprey dot Com

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Speaker 3: app and make prayer and Bible study a priority in

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Speaker 3: your life. If you enjoyed this podcast, share it with

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Speaker 3: someone you love, share it with a friend, Pass it

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Speaker 3: on because this podcast can make a huge difference in

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Speaker 3: people's lives. I'm hearing wonderful stories of the impact of

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Speaker 3: God's Word as a result of listening to Bible in

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Speaker 3: a year. And if you want more biblical resources, resources

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Speaker 3: from God's Word that will enable you and assist you

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Speaker 3: in your walk with God, then be sure to visit

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Speaker 3: Jack Graham dot org. That's Jack Graham dot org. God

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Speaker 3: bless you.