Speaker 1: Previously on the chosen people. As the twelve sons of
Speaker 1: Jacob departed from this life, a new generations sprouted from
Speaker 1: their branches. So did the line of Pharaoh, the king,
Speaker 1: who once considered Joseph a brother and the Hebrews his
Speaker 1: kin passed. His son took the throne vaguely remembering the
Speaker 1: promises made to Israel. But when his son came after him,
Speaker 1: the promises eroded into whispers. Soon the name of Joseph
Speaker 1: was forgotten. In its place the legacy of Pharaohs, the
Speaker 1: image of Ra, the might of the Nile. The storehouses
Speaker 1: were replaced with monuments to their greatness, and the children
Speaker 1: of Israel were no longer favored in the land. From
Speaker 1: the heights of his palace, Rameses the First looked down
Speaker 1: upon the multitudes of Israel with a heart gripped by
Speaker 1: suspicion and rage.
Speaker 2: Send the truths to Ghosa, surround them with swords, whips
Speaker 2: and spears, seize their property, melt their weapons, and make
Speaker 2: a decree.
Speaker 3: The Israelites are no longer guests in my land. From
Speaker 3: this day forth, they shall be bricks laid at the
Speaker 3: foundation of my empire. I am Pharaoh, the image of Rah.
Speaker 4: I am the Lion, the serpent, the King. If any
Speaker 4: oppose my degree, they shall feel the sponge of my
Speaker 4: burning fury.
Speaker 1: The cruel pharaoh enslave that rouses. The first had passed
Speaker 1: the Israelite scars told the tale of his legacy, a
Speaker 1: legacy of brutality, conquest, and oppression. His son Setti took
Speaker 1: his place. Both drank from the same well of hatred
Speaker 1: and pride as their forbears.
Speaker 5: Gosh will weep with the wails of mothers as I
Speaker 5: tear their sons from their breasts.
Speaker 3: Take every son under the.
Speaker 6: Age of two, and cast them into denial.
Speaker 3: The crocodiles will feast on their flesh, and the waters
Speaker 3: will turn crimson, as a seal of My power over them.
Speaker 5: Remember your promises, Oh God, most time, remember your chosen people.
Speaker 7: From the depths of despair. The voices of the oppress
Speaker 7: touched the heavens, awakening ancient promises. Once again, shallo my
Speaker 7: friends from here in the Holy Land, Welcome to the
Speaker 7: Chosen People. I'm ya l Extein with the International Fellowship
Speaker 7: of Christians and Jews. The children of Israel groaned under
Speaker 7: the weight of oppression, Their lives reduced to a relentless
Speaker 7: grind of misery. Their cries, borne from the depths of despair,
Speaker 7: echoed across the arid sands of Egypt. Pharaoh's heart was
Speaker 7: hard and his hand was heavy, and as he sought
Speaker 7: to crush the spirit of the Hebrew slaves, years turned
Speaker 7: to decades, and hope became a distant memory. But even
Speaker 7: in the darkness, cries of the Chosen People ascended, rising
Speaker 7: to the heavens. Could it be that God had turned
Speaker 7: his ear towards their suffering. Let's find out in this
Speaker 7: dramatic story inspired by Exodus two twenty three to twenty five.
Speaker 1: The sun sank low over the dunes, rusting a blood
Speaker 1: red hue across the sprawling sands of Egypt. In the distance,
Speaker 1: the great pyramids stood as silent sentinels against the fading sky,
Speaker 1: their shadowed faces watching over the living and the dead alike.
Speaker 1: The River Nile, that dark artery of life winding its
Speaker 1: way through the kingdom, ran Crimson under the dying light,
Speaker 1: like a wound stretched across the earth. It was on
Speaker 1: this day that Pharaoh Seti, Lord of the Two Lands,
Speaker 1: God King of the Nile, would be laid to rest.
Speaker 1: In his stone sepulcher beneath the sands. His body was
Speaker 1: carried by the hands of priests and mourners, already embalmed
Speaker 1: in layers of linen soaked in murh and natron. Rameses
Speaker 1: stood at the head of the funeral procession, his gaze
Speaker 1: fixed on the horizon, where ra bled into the world beyond.
Speaker 1: His Robes of Carnelian and gold flowed around him like
Speaker 1: a burning flame, and the ureus of the cobra coiled
Speaker 1: at his brow. The priests chanted hymns in the sacred tongue,
Speaker 1: their voices rising and falling like the whispering winds that
Speaker 1: swept across the desert. The air was thick with incense,
Speaker 1: the cloying smell of frankencense and sandalwood mingling with the
Speaker 1: musk of the embalming spices that still clung to his
Speaker 1: father's shrouded corpse. Cetti's body lay upon a bier of
Speaker 1: cedar and ivory, borne aloft on the shoulders of his
Speaker 1: chosen servants, who would be sacrificed and buried with him.
Speaker 1: His face, shrouded in the golden death mask, looked as
Speaker 1: though he were merely asleep. His lips were set in
Speaker 1: a serene, knowing smile that Rameses had come to despise.
Speaker 1: As a boy, Rameses hated his father. He hated his cold,
Speaker 1: distant voice, and the way he refused to look him
Speaker 1: in the eye. But as a man, Rameses had turned
Speaker 1: his hatred into ambition. He wanted to be greater than Seti.
Speaker 1: He wanted his reign to be the greatest offering the
Speaker 1: gods had ever seen. A low murmur rippled through the
Speaker 1: gathered nobles, courtiers, and soldiers. They stood in clusters, their
Speaker 1: eyes shifting from the deceased pharaoh to his son. Knowing
Speaker 1: that Egypt would soon belong to Rameses, the priests raised
Speaker 1: their voices, calling upon Anubis, the jackal headed guide of souls,
Speaker 1: to shepherds Seti to the after life. The acolytes lid
Speaker 1: torches and waved them in solemn circles, casting eerie, dancing
Speaker 1: shadows on the sandstone walls of the tomb, which gaped
Speaker 1: open like the moor of some great beast. The gods
Speaker 1: were watching to night, all of them. Rameses stepped forward,
Speaker 1: his footsteps heavy upon the stone. He had no need
Speaker 1: for his father's smile. He had his father's strength, his
Speaker 1: father's cruelty. His own eyes were cold and hard, like
Speaker 1: chips of flint. The Hebrews, he thought, were a tool,
Speaker 1: a means to an end, if his father had thrown
Speaker 1: their children into the river. But Rameses found this short sighted.
Speaker 1: He wanted to use them to build up his greatness.
Speaker 1: Rameses would turn their men into the mortar, for his monuments.
Speaker 1: Egypt would be built upon their bones. The bier halted
Speaker 1: at the mouth of the tomb, where the high priest
Speaker 1: Nebbermann awaited, his face painted in the black and gold
Speaker 1: of the after life. The slithery man raised his.
Speaker 3: Arms, Oh, sexy far of Egypt, who sits at the
Speaker 3: right hand of the guards. His car shall churn beyond
Speaker 3: the field of rams, his bars shall soar among the stars.
Speaker 3: Let his enemies tremble, for he has crossed the river
Speaker 3: to return life.
Speaker 1: Ramses almost scoffed eternal life. What use was eternity to
Speaker 1: a man who had spent his days scheming in the
Speaker 1: shadows of his own palace. He stepped forward again, this
Speaker 1: time alone, and placed his hand upon the bier, his
Speaker 1: fingers tracing the intricate carvings of falcons and lotus blossoms.
Speaker 6: Further.
Speaker 2: You built this kingdom with blood and ire, but it
Speaker 2: is I who shall make it the more dat.
Speaker 1: The priests moved forward, then, guiding the beer into the
Speaker 1: darkness of the tomb. Torches sputtered as they passed, their
Speaker 1: light flickering like souls caught between worlds. Ramses watched as
Speaker 1: his father disappeared into the belly of the earth. The
Speaker 1: granite doors of the tomb were pulled shut, ceiling with
Speaker 1: a deep, resonant boom. It was done. Pharaoh SETTI was
Speaker 1: no more. Ramses stepped out of the darkness and into
Speaker 1: the fading light of dusk. A gust of winds swept
Speaker 1: over the procession, sending a chill through the air, and
Speaker 1: the torches hissed and spat. Ramses turned to face his people.
Speaker 1: His gaze swept over the crowd, from the nobles in
Speaker 1: their silks and jewels to the slaves in their rags,
Speaker 1: and he saw in their eyes what he had always seen. Fear,
Speaker 1: fear of change, fear of death, fear of him. And
Speaker 1: he would use that fear, shape it, mold it into
Speaker 1: something greater than his father had ever dreamed. He raised
Speaker 1: his hands, and silence fell like a curtain over the crowd.
Speaker 8: Behold, You're no father. Behold Answis, son of set him,
Speaker 8: the unit of all.
Speaker 3: Shaws and mother gods, to lead you into a news,
Speaker 3: an age of power.
Speaker 8: Oh Lord at hate, when Egypt shall be the envy
Speaker 8: of the world, where the laws of us cities wirive
Speaker 8: high Heaven. Hello, all of will tramp on me for us.
Speaker 1: The crowd erupted into a roar of cheers. Ramsay stood
Speaker 1: amidst all, his face a mask of stung, his heart,
Speaker 1: beating with the rhythm of the drums, began to pound
Speaker 1: in celebration. He had taken the first step, and there
Speaker 1: would be no turning back. The priests began to chant again,
Speaker 1: invoking the names of the gods, and the people fell
Speaker 1: to their knees, bowing before their new pharaoh. Ramses looked
Speaker 1: out over them and smiled, not with the serene smile
Speaker 1: of his father, but with the sharp, hungry grin of
Speaker 1: a lion who had tasted blood. Yet at the edges
Speaker 1: of the great procession, hidden among the rocks and scrub
Speaker 1: two figures watched with eyes that did not see a
Speaker 1: new age of glory, but one of suffering. They were
Speaker 1: Aaron and Miriam, children born of Jokabed and Amram, the
Speaker 1: unknown siblings of the since exiled Prince Moses. Aaron's eyes
Speaker 1: were like flints in the dying light. He watched as
Speaker 1: the nobles raided before their new pharaoh, bowing and scraping
Speaker 1: like dogs waiting for scraps. Miriam clutched her tattered shawl
Speaker 1: around her thin shoulders, her lips moving silently in prayer,
Speaker 1: or perhaps in a curse. It was hard to tell.
Speaker 1: The years of toil had aged them both beyond their time.
Speaker 6: Did you see his eyes? They're as cold as stones?
Speaker 6: Said he was cruel, But this one, this one is ambitious.
Speaker 6: He will not be satisfied with what his father beat.
Speaker 6: You want more, you want everything.
Speaker 1: Aaron spat into the dust, a gesture of contempt but
Speaker 1: also of fear. Miriam's dark eyes were fixed on Ramsayes,
Speaker 1: who now stood at the head of the procession. The
Speaker 1: Hebrews had suffered under Cetti's rule, but there had been
Speaker 1: moments of peace, moments when the whip was lowered and
Speaker 1: the labour east. Ramses, though there was a hunger in him,
Speaker 1: a lust for power that went beyond the throne.
Speaker 5: Our burden will grow heavier.
Speaker 3: I feel it in my bones.
Speaker 5: He will use us until we break, and then he
Speaker 5: will grind our bones to dust to make more pitch.
Speaker 5: He is not a man who will be content with
Speaker 5: mere servitude. He will bleed us dry.
Speaker 2: What do we do.
Speaker 6: We can't fight him, we can't flee.
Speaker 3: Where do we turn?
Speaker 1: Miriam took a deep breath, her shoulders heaving with the
Speaker 1: weight of years.
Speaker 5: We turned to the god of our fathers, to the
Speaker 5: God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the god who promised
Speaker 5: us a land of our own. We've been here too long.
Speaker 5: Perhaps it is time we remember who we are and
Speaker 5: who we were meant to be.
Speaker 6: And we must tell others. Tonight. Will gather in the
Speaker 6: hills of Goshen. We'll pray, we'll cry out, and perhaps
Speaker 6: the god who spared Isaac will spare us two.
Speaker 1: As they turned away from the procession's fading light, Aaron
Speaker 1: felt a flicker of something deep within him, something like
Speaker 1: hope tempered with the hard edge of desperation. The burden
Speaker 1: was coming. He knew it as surely as he knew
Speaker 1: the sun would rise in the desert sky. The days
Speaker 1: that followed Ramsay's ascent to the throne were like a
Speaker 1: lash upon the backs of the Hebrews. The sun beat
Speaker 1: down upon them with a cruel intensity, and the taskmasters,
Speaker 1: drunk on their new Pharaoh's ambition, drove the slaves harder
Speaker 1: than ever before. The whips cracked like thunder, and the
Speaker 1: cries of the afflicted fol the air. The hands of
Speaker 1: the heaps bled war from the endless toil. Each night,
Speaker 1: as the sun dipped below the horizon and the stars
Speaker 1: blinked awake, they would gather in the hills of Goshen,
Speaker 1: old men and young mothers with babes in arms, all
Speaker 1: drawn by a need for deliverance. Aaron would stand among them,
Speaker 1: his voice rising above the low murmies, his words like
Speaker 1: a forge hammer upon an anvil.
Speaker 6: Look at what they do to us, Look at how
Speaker 6: they grind us into dust, how they treat us like
Speaker 6: beasts of burden.
Speaker 4: But we are not beasts.
Speaker 8: We are the.
Speaker 6: Children of Israel, the children of Promise. We must pray
Speaker 6: like those who remember who they are.
Speaker 3: What's the use there? And God Most High has forgotten us?
Speaker 3: Maybe he's fallen asleep after all.
Speaker 5: These years let us shout to wake him. Do you
Speaker 5: not remember the stories of our fathers. Do you remember Abraham,
Speaker 5: Isaac and Jacob, the God who led our father Abraham
Speaker 5: out of earth to the promised land. We must remember
Speaker 5: our birthright.
Speaker 1: And they would pray each night, their voices rising like
Speaker 1: a storm wind over the sands. Some called out with
Speaker 1: words of ancient songs. Others wept silent tears, but all
Speaker 1: of them felt the weight of their cries filling the heavens.
Speaker 6: Oh, God of our fathers, hear us, See the suffering
Speaker 6: of your chosen people. See how we are crushed beneath
Speaker 6: the heel of Pharaoh. Send us a deliverer, lift us
Speaker 6: out of this bondage.
Speaker 1: The people would cry out after him, voices mingling in
Speaker 1: a desperate chorus that echoed through the head. And as
Speaker 1: they prayed, the stars seemed to shine brighter, as if
Speaker 1: the heavens themselves were bending low to listen. But there
Speaker 1: was no answer, not yet, only the stillness of the
Speaker 1: desert night, and the distant, endless hiss of the nile
Speaker 1: flowed like the blood of a great wound. One night,
Speaker 1: after the prayers had ended, and the people began to
Speaker 1: drift back to their hovels. Miriam turned to Aaron, her
Speaker 1: face drawn with worry.
Speaker 5: How long, brother, how long must we cry out before
Speaker 5: God hears us? I fear for our people. I fear
Speaker 5: we are near the breaking point.
Speaker 6: A I don't know, Miriam, to be honest, I know
Speaker 6: very little about the God of our ancestors. I remember
Speaker 6: remnants of stories passed down. But who is he? When
Speaker 6: was the last time he spoke to us and moved
Speaker 6: for us? I don't even know. How can we honestly
Speaker 6: pray to him without without even knowing his name.
Speaker 1: In the weeks that followed, the burdens only grew heavier.
Speaker 1: The taskmasters seemed to delight in their cruelty and ramses.
Speaker 1: From his palace of marble and gold, decreed more monuments,
Speaker 1: more temples, more blood and sweat from the Hebrew's backs.
Speaker 1: The cries of the slaves grew more desperate, and every
Speaker 1: night in the hills their prayers rose like a whale,
Speaker 1: A plea, a demand. Songs for deliverance fell upon the
Speaker 1: dust and pitch they worked in. Desperately, they sang to
Speaker 1: their God, appealing the promises he made their ancestors. The
Speaker 1: stars above seemed fixed in their indifference, and the Nile
Speaker 1: flowed on, dark and unyielding. And yet in the hearts
Speaker 1: of Aaron and Miriam, a flicker of hope remained, For
Speaker 1: they knew that somewhere beyond the veil of the scene
Speaker 1: and the unseen, beyond the power of pharaohs and the
Speaker 1: gods of Egypt, there was a God who listened, a
Speaker 1: God who remembered. And somewhere in the desert, the sands
Speaker 1: began to shift.
Speaker 7: One day, my son came home from school with a
Speaker 7: storm of complaints. His teacher was boring, there was no
Speaker 7: time to finish his class work, Recess wasn't any fun.
Speaker 7: I could see right through his words that there was
Speaker 7: something deeper going on. There was a silent cry beneath
Speaker 7: all of that noise, something that was bothering him that
Speaker 7: wasn't just connected to his teacher. As his mother, I
Speaker 7: heard his words, but I saw what was behind them.
Speaker 7: I knew that there was something else. I called him
Speaker 7: over and I wrapped him in a hug. I felt
Speaker 7: his tension immediately ease. Our eyes met tell me, I
Speaker 7: said softly, and the damn broke. He started crying, and
Speaker 7: his trouble spilled out not about school, but about his
Speaker 7: hidden hurts. What he needed was me, his mom, to
Speaker 7: be there for him no matter what. What he needed
Speaker 7: from me was to realize it's not just about the
Speaker 7: things that make sense, schoolwork being overwhelming, his teacher being mean.
Speaker 7: What he needed from me his mom was an understanding
Speaker 7: of the heart and understanding that he's going through pain
Speaker 7: and not needing any words. That I was there for
Speaker 7: him to comfort him no matter what. God is the
Speaker 7: same way with us. We cry out to him, naming
Speaker 7: our surface troubles. We list our pains and our complaints,
Speaker 7: But you know what God.
Speaker 5: Sees behind them.
Speaker 7: He seems beyond them. He knows our true needs. He
Speaker 7: knows our hearts. In today's episode, the Israelites were suffering
Speaker 7: under Egyptian slaves, and their cries rose to heaven in
Speaker 7: Exodus two twenty five. The English Standard version says God
Speaker 7: saw the people of Israel, and God knew, but the
Speaker 7: Bible doesn't specify what God knew, just that he knew.
Speaker 7: I personally love that. It's like a mother who perceives
Speaker 7: her child's hidden hurts. God understood the depth of his
Speaker 7: people's pain. He knew it was time to act. He
Speaker 7: knew it was time to honor his covenant with Abraham,
Speaker 7: Isaac and Jacob. God knew the Israelites needed redemption, a
Speaker 7: closer bond with him. When you pray, my friends, remember
Speaker 7: this that God hears the words that you speak, but
Speaker 7: he also perceives the silent cries of your soul. God
Speaker 7: knows exactly what we need, even when we don't. The
Speaker 7: reason that I used the English Standard version for this
Speaker 7: passage is that it's the most literal translation. Let me
Speaker 7: read you verse twenty five again. Quote God saw the
Speaker 7: people of Israel, and God knew end quote. The end
Speaker 7: of the second verse is very strange. It says and
Speaker 7: God knew, but it doesn't finish that sentence God knew what?
Speaker 7: What exactly did God know? Doesn't it sound like this
Speaker 7: verse is a little bit unfinished well. Jewish tradition has
Speaker 7: many teachings on this very verse, but one interpretation that
Speaker 7: I clink to very closely is this. Everyone in Egypt
Speaker 7: saw the degradation of the enslaved chosen people on the outside.
Speaker 7: They heard their groans from the backbreaking work, they saw
Speaker 7: their blood flowing from the lashes of their taskmasters. But
Speaker 7: only God knew what was going on in the minds
Speaker 7: and the spirits of the Israelites, the destruction of their
Speaker 7: self image, their loss of hope of redemption, and is
Speaker 7: because God knew that that He decided now is the
Speaker 7: time for redemption from enslavement. Now that I see that
Speaker 7: they are starting to lose their hope, their self image,
Speaker 7: the faith that they will one day be redeemed, Now
Speaker 7: that that's being taken, now I need to redeem them
Speaker 7: this instant, this explanation has taught me so much. The
Speaker 7: Jewish people have been subjugated to persecution for millennia. Sometimes
Speaker 7: our spirits have been almost completely broken, but then we
Speaker 7: remember these three words, and God knew, and knowing that
Speaker 7: God knows our pain and is with us even right
Speaker 7: now here in the Holy lanthorn apart by war, as
Speaker 7: our enemies try so hard to break our spirits even now,
Speaker 7: I know that God will never let that happen. God
Speaker 7: knows our heart, God knows our spirit. God knows that
Speaker 7: we need redemption, and so in our hard times we
Speaker 7: can all hear those three words and God knew, and
Speaker 7: we can draw great hope from them that God knows
Speaker 7: exactly what we need. Does God hear us. Does he
Speaker 7: remember his promises? Does he care? My friends? I can
Speaker 7: tell you the resounding answer to these ancient Hebrew questions
Speaker 7: is a triumphant Yes. God hears the groaning of his
Speaker 7: chosen people. He is not a distant deity removed from
Speaker 7: the pain of his creation.
Speaker 5: His ears are.
Speaker 7: Attuned to the laments of the oppressed. This is a
Speaker 7: profound reassurance in our moments of deepest despair. We are
Speaker 7: not alone. Elohim, the God of our ancestors, is still
Speaker 7: with us. God remembers his covenant. The sacred promises made
Speaker 7: to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob are not forgotten. They
Speaker 7: are etched into the divine consciousness and enduring through generations.
Speaker 7: This assurance of divine fidelity gives us hope. God God
Speaker 7: is not capricious. He is steadfast honoring his word across
Speaker 7: the ages. Forever. God sees and cares. He is moved
Speaker 7: by the plight of his people. This is the God
Speaker 7: who is deeply involved in the human story, who sees
Speaker 7: our suffering and responds with compassion. This truth is a
Speaker 7: source of immense comfort and strength. As we reflect on
Speaker 7: Exodus two, we are reminded of God's unending faithfulness, He hears,
Speaker 7: he remembers, he sees, and he cares. In this we
Speaker 7: find our hope and our triumph. The God of Israel's
Speaker 7: a god who acts, who intervenes, who redeems. And in
Speaker 7: this truth, my friends, our hearts find rest.
Speaker 1: You can listen to the Chosen People with the Isle
Speaker 1: Exstein ad free by downloading and subscribing to the praton
Speaker 1: Co app today. This prey dog com production is only
Speaker 1: made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Gattina,
Speaker 1: Max Bard, Zach Shellabarger and Ben Gammon are the executive
Speaker 1: producers of the Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, edited by
Speaker 1: Alberto Avilla, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by
Speaker 1: Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold,
Speaker 1: Sylvia Zaradoc and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore.
Speaker 1: Music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by Bree Rosalie and
Speaker 1: Aaron Salvato. Special thanks to Bishop Paul Lanier, Robin van Ettin,
Speaker 1: Kayleb Burrows, Jocelyn Fuller and the team at International Fellowship
Speaker 1: of Christians and Jews. You can hear more Prey dot
Speaker 1: com productions on the Prey dot Com app, available on
Speaker 1: the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. If you
Speaker 1: enjoyed The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, please rate and
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