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Speaker 1: Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor,

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Speaker 1: And if the dew be on the fleece only, and

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Speaker 1: it be dry upon all the earth beside, then I

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Speaker 1: shall know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand,

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Speaker 1: as thou hast said Judges six thirty seven. Lord, to day,

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Speaker 1: I will be aware of the subtle signs of disobedience

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Speaker 1: that rob me of my peace and safety. No matter

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Speaker 1: how small the sin seems, I will remove it from

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Speaker 1: my life. By Gideon, I will work as the Lord's

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Speaker 1: servant and remove the idols from around me. I declare

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Speaker 1: that the spirit of God will rise up within me.

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Speaker 1: As I stand for what is right. Thou will not

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Speaker 1: be intimidated by those who move in deceit, for I

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Speaker 1: know that the commander of the Lord's army is with me.

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Speaker 1: Rise up, Lord, and surround me with men and women

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Speaker 1: who have the same drive and passion to win and

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Speaker 1: to take victory. For your namesake, I choose to thank

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Speaker 1: you in advance that you have already prepared your army

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Speaker 1: of kingdom minded influencers to move forward with boldness and

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Speaker 1: take back what is rightfully ours. I am a person

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Speaker 1: a valor. I am a warrior, and your hand of

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Speaker 1: protection will see me through to complete victory in Jesus's name. Amen,

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Speaker 1: thank you for praying with us today. Continue your time

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Speaker 1: with God by listening to today's Bible story, brought to

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Speaker 1: you by Bible in a Year dot Com.

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Speaker 2: Click the link of the description to grow closer to God.

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Speaker 2: There you'll find daily prayers, Bible plans, sleep stories, and

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Speaker 2: so much more, all on the prey dot com app.

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Speaker 2: Click the link of the description to get started.

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Speaker 3: Gideon the Trivial Judge. In our last story, we learned

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Speaker 3: how Jabin and his general Siserah oppressed Israel for over

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Speaker 3: twenty years. The Lord sent Deborah, a mighty and wise woman.

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Speaker 3: He also sent for Rok, the commander of Israel's armies.

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Speaker 3: They fought valiantly against Ceceah and his nine hundred chariots.

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Speaker 3: So Sarah fled and was in the tent of a

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Speaker 3: woman named Jail and killed in his sleep with a

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Speaker 3: tent peg through his skulk. In this story, we learn

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Speaker 3: about the oppression of Midian against Israel. God calls an

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Speaker 3: unlikely judge, Gideon, to gather an army as inspired by

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Speaker 3: the Book of Judges.

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Speaker 4: I'm so glad you've joined us on the Bible in

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Speaker 4: a Year podcast today. But before we get to today's episode,

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Speaker 4: I want you to know that I would absolutely love

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Speaker 4: to send you my daily devotional that will give you

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Speaker 4: fresh encouragement every single morning and day from the moment

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Speaker 4: we wake up to the moment our head finally hits

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Speaker 4: the pillow. There are thousands of things demanding our attention,

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Speaker 4: but it's in the midst of all this crush and

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Speaker 4: hustle and bustle that you and I need peace and

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Speaker 4: truth in God's Word. That's why I want to help

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Speaker 4: you spend time each day growing in God's life giving,

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Speaker 4: life changing Word by sending you my free daily email devotional,

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Speaker 4: PowerPoint Today. So visit Jagraham dot org to sign up

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Speaker 4: for your PowerPoint Today devotional. That's Jagraham dot org Jack

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Speaker 4: Graham dot org. In our last episode, we heard how

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Speaker 4: God worked through the faith and wisdom of Deborah the

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Speaker 4: Deliverer and the courage of Barak to free the Israelites

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Speaker 4: from Canaanite oppression. We also saw how God used a

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Speaker 4: foreign woman by the name of Jail to defeat the

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Speaker 4: Canaanite general Cesera. It's a story of how God can

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Speaker 4: work and does work through unlikely, unknown people to bring

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Speaker 4: about his will, and how even the most insurmountable obstacles

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Speaker 4: can be overcome when we trust in God for the result. Today,

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Speaker 4: we're going to hear about another judge or deliverer that

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Speaker 4: God raises up to free his people. A man who

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Speaker 4: wouldn't have made anyone's list of who's who. He was

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Speaker 4: not a great candidate to lead Israel into battle. His

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Speaker 4: name is Gideon. And through the story of Gideon, we'll

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Speaker 4: once again see how God can use even the small,

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Speaker 4: the weak, and insignificant to accomplish great and mighty things.

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Speaker 4: So let's listen now to today's reading.

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Speaker 3: Israel lived in peace. They worked the fertile land, built

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Speaker 3: new homes for their children, and worship to God. However,

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Speaker 3: compromise began to creep into the House of Israel. A

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Speaker 3: few idols were brought into the temple, and slowly the

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Speaker 3: people began to stray away from God. It was not deliberate,

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Speaker 3: but gradual and unassuming. Soon Israel found themselves caught in

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Speaker 3: another cycle of total depravity. They did only what they

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Speaker 3: thought good for themselves, not for one another. They became

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Speaker 3: selfish and self pleasing and turned from God and his law.

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Speaker 3: If history has informed anything, it is that turning away

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Speaker 3: from God is the first step towards destruction. And evil

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Speaker 3: was lurking in the caves above Israel like a dragon

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Speaker 3: hidden in darkness. The Midianites were dwelling secretly in dens

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Speaker 3: carved in the mountains. Evil laughs and battle cries echoed

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Speaker 3: through the canyons, and camp fires lit up the mountain range.

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Speaker 3: The evil hoarde descended upon Israel like a swarm. Whenever

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Speaker 3: Israel planted crops, the Median Knights and the people of

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Speaker 3: the East would rise against them to devour everything in sight.

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Speaker 3: Like pirates. They would pillage, rape, and burn Israel into dust.

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Speaker 3: For seven years, Israel desperately worked to provide their families

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Speaker 3: with safety and food, only to have them stripped away

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Speaker 3: in a storm of midian Nite evil. They would hide

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Speaker 3: their live stock and food in their tents, but the

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Speaker 3: Median Knites were like locusts, eating up all of it.

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Speaker 3: The people of Israel cried out to the god they

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Speaker 3: had abandoned, once again, out of desperation not love. They

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Speaker 3: called upon the God that parted seas to save them.

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Speaker 3: One morning, an angel of the Lord sat under the

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Speaker 3: shade of a terebinth tree. A few yards away, Gideon

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Speaker 3: was beating out wheat and storing it in a wine

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Speaker 3: press to hide from the Midianites. Gideon were smaller in frame, paranoid,

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Speaker 3: and constantly looking over his shoulder. He belonged to the

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Speaker 3: weakest tribe in Israel, and he was the weakest brother

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Speaker 3: of his family. The Lord watched Gideon work frantically, shaking

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Speaker 3: in fear and fumbling about his work. The Angel of

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Speaker 3: the Lord spoke to him from under the tree, saying,

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Speaker 3: God is with you, mighty man of valor. Gideon left

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Speaker 3: in the air out of fear, then saw it was

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Speaker 3: not an enemy. Gideon walked closer and said, if the

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Speaker 3: Lord is with us, then why are we living like this?

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Speaker 3: God has forsaken us and given us to Midian like

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Speaker 3: a treat to a dog. Gideon spoke boldly, for he

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Speaker 3: was skilled in the art of whining and complaining. The

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Speaker 3: Lord smiled and said to him, there is might in you.

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Speaker 3: Take it and save Israel from Midian I am sending you.

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Speaker 3: Gideon laughed. How could I save Israel? He asked, My

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Speaker 3: clan is the weakest in this realm, and I am

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Speaker 3: the runt of my father's house. No, you have the

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Speaker 3: wrong guy. Gideon continued to laugh and began walking away.

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Speaker 3: God said, I shall be with you, Gideon, and you

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Speaker 3: shall strike Midian down as a single man. Gideon turned

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Speaker 3: back to him and said, if you truly are the Lord,

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Speaker 3: and I am truly called to be this hero of yours,

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Speaker 3: then show me a sign. Gideon asked the Lord to

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Speaker 3: stay while he went back into his house to prepare

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Speaker 3: an offering. He prepared meat and cakes. He put the

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Speaker 3: meat in baskets and its broth in a pot, and

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Speaker 3: rushed it back to the Lord. Gideon placed the offering

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Speaker 3: on a rock next to him. Pour the broth over

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Speaker 3: the offering. God said so. Gideon made all of the

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Speaker 3: meat and cakes sopping wet, dripping completely with broth. Then

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Speaker 3: the Angel of the Lord reached out the tip of

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Speaker 3: his staff and lightly touched the offering. Immediately, like a

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Speaker 3: match to oil, the offering was consumed by flames. Gideon

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Speaker 3: started at the fire in amazement, then turned back to

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Speaker 3: the Lord, but he had vanished in an instant. At

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Speaker 3: that moment, Gideon had perceived that it really was an

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Speaker 3: angel of the Lord. He was speaking to, and fear

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Speaker 3: came over him. That night, the Lord spoke to Gideon

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Speaker 3: in the quiet in your town, there are many idols.

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Speaker 3: You must remove them immediately, God whispered. Gideon, too frightened

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Speaker 3: of his father and older brothers to do it in

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Speaker 3: the daytime, snuck into the temple. At night, Gideon was

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Speaker 3: beating with sweat and constantly looking over his shoulder. He

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Speaker 3: tied a rope around the altar of Veil. It was

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Speaker 3: a massive statue looming over Gideon in the darkness. His

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Speaker 3: torch illuminated the f of Bail staring down at him.

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Speaker 3: Gideon cringed and tied the other end of the rope

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Speaker 3: to his father's bull and slapped it. It ripped the

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Speaker 3: altar of Bail from its foundation and came crashing down,

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Speaker 3: shattering into a thousand pieces. Gideon also cut down other

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Speaker 3: idols that dwelled in the house. Then Gideon took another

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Speaker 3: one of his father's bulls and offered it to the Lord.

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Speaker 3: The men in town rose early in the morning and

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Speaker 3: saw that the altar was shattered. Who has done this?

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Speaker 3: They shouted. The men teemed with anger. Who did this?

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Speaker 3: They shouted again. The people began to gather around the

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Speaker 3: sight of the broken idol. They searched around and spoke

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Speaker 3: to every person except one, Gideon. He has done this,

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Speaker 3: they said, with their jaws clenched. The men knocked on

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Speaker 3: the door of Gideon's father, Joe Ash. They burst through

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Speaker 3: the door and said, where is your son? He shall

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Speaker 3: die for what he has done. Ash panicked. He wanted

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Speaker 3: to protect his son, but did not want to invoke

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Speaker 3: the wrath of the city on himself. So do you

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Speaker 3: fight all of Beal's battles, Joash said, fumbling around his words.

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Speaker 3: If he is a god, wouldn't he want to deal

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Speaker 3: with Gideon himself. The men listened and stormed off. Meanwhile,

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Speaker 3: the Midian Nite horde crossed the Jordan River and camped

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Speaker 3: in a valley nearby. The Amalekites, along with some mysterious

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Speaker 3: people from the East, joined forces with them and camped there.

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Speaker 3: Their presence was felt by the people of Israel. Fear

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Speaker 3: and hysteria ensued. Yet something happened to Gideon. A small

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Speaker 3: spark lit up within him. Something he had never felt

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Speaker 3: before flickered inside him. The spirit of God clothed Gideon

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Speaker 3: like a suit of armor. Gideon's once cowardly demeanor shifted slightly.

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Speaker 3: In a moment of bravery, Gideon called for the armies

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Speaker 3: of Israel with the authority of a true judge called

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Speaker 3: by God. He sounded the trumpet of war, and it

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Speaker 3: echoed across the cities of Israel. Gideon sent messengers throughout

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Speaker 3: the land to gather an army. The spirit of God

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Speaker 3: flew like an eagle across the country, igniting a fire

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Speaker 3: of hope in the hearts of Israel. Men of war

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Speaker 3: gathered to Gideon. The tribes of Manassa, Ashah, Zebulin, and

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Speaker 3: Naftali picked up their swords and marched. Soon a vast

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Speaker 3: army of thirty two thousand men stood at attention before Gideon,

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Speaker 3: and he stood amazed by God. The battle was near,

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Speaker 3: and the men were ready to follow Gideon to death

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Speaker 3: and glory. Gideon retreated to a secret place to speak

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Speaker 3: with God alone. The same self doubt that Moses once

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Speaker 3: had crippled the heart of Gideon. How can it be me,

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Speaker 3: he whispered in prayer. Lord, if you will truly save

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Speaker 3: Israel by my hand, show me a sign. So Gideon

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Speaker 3: brought out a fleece of wool and set it on

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Speaker 3: the floor. Gideon said, if you make this flee sweat

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Speaker 3: on the dry ground, I will know it is you

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Speaker 3: and you have sent me. God did not enjoy being tested,

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Speaker 3: but he wanted Gideon's heart to be comforted, so he

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Speaker 3: made the fleece sweat and kept the ground dry. Gideon

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Speaker 3: spoke again, saying, do not be angry with me, but

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Speaker 3: could you now make the fleece dry and the ground wet.

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Speaker 3: So God did as Gideon asked. This was a small

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Speaker 3: reassurance that Gideon was supported by the God of all creation.

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Speaker 3: Gideon rose to his feet, pulled his shoulders back, and

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Speaker 3: marched towards his army.

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Speaker 4: Forty years had passed since God delivered his people from

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Speaker 4: the Canaanites. Under the leadership of Deborah and Barrah. Life

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Speaker 4: was good. There was peace and prosperity, but eventually the

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Speaker 4: people once again turned to other gods and brought God's

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Speaker 4: judgment upon themselves. The peace that they had enjoyed for

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Speaker 4: so long crumbled. Midianites, Amlekites, and people from the East

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Speaker 4: began to loot their crops and livestock, leaving Israel in

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Speaker 4: a desperate situation. These foreign enemies had placed their own

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Speaker 4: gods in the temple, they had replaced Yahweh with idols. These,

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Speaker 4: of course, were just man made sculptures whose only power

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Speaker 4: was to destroy the people's relationship with the only true God.

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Speaker 4: Israel worshiped false deities, and these deities failed them. For

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Speaker 4: seven years, the Midianites pillaged and plundered, until God's children

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Speaker 4: cried out to the God that they had forgotten. God

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Speaker 4: heard their cries and sent a prophet to remind them

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Speaker 4: of who he was, what he had done, and how

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Speaker 4: they had disobeyed him. God could have stopped right there

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Speaker 4: and just sent judgment as the price of their disobedience.

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Speaker 4: But God, in his grace, God, in his great mercy,

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Speaker 4: came once again to rescue his children, and he sent

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Speaker 4: an angel to a man by the name of Gideon.

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Speaker 4: Gideon's first response was to question the angel and to

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Speaker 4: ask why God had abandoned his people. His words are

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Speaker 4: reminiscent of Moses words to God in the desert, Why

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Speaker 4: did you bring us all this way and leave us

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Speaker 4: here to die? But God pressed the issue. He tells

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Speaker 4: Gideon that there is greatness in him. Even though Gideon

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Speaker 4: was the least of the least of his own tribe.

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Speaker 4: God said that he had chosen him to save Israel.

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Speaker 4: Gideon knew that he was not a man of physical

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Speaker 4: significance or strength, and at first he refuses to do

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Speaker 4: the job. But God tells Gideon he is his man

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Speaker 4: and that God will deliver Israel through him. Gideon is

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Speaker 4: not convinced, and so he asked for a sign. He

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Speaker 4: prepared an offering for God, placing meat and bread in

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Speaker 4: a basket and drenching it in broth. When the angel

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Speaker 4: touched the offering with his staff, flames erupted and consume

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Speaker 4: the offering. So Gideon's doubt is now burned away with

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Speaker 4: the flames, and now he has a genuine fear. The

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Speaker 4: fear of God is now burning in his heart. He

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Speaker 4: realizes that God is speaking to him and he's terrified,

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Speaker 4: but God reassures him, tells him not to fear, and

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Speaker 4: then he commands him to tear down his father's idols.

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Speaker 4: God knew that if he was going to give Israel

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Speaker 4: victory and deliver them from their enemies, that he must

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Speaker 4: clean house. These false gods could no longer stand, Israel

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Speaker 4: could no longer be tempted to trust in idols. In

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Speaker 4: the same way, God wants to tear down the idols

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Speaker 4: of our own hearts, the strongholds in our lives that

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Speaker 4: keep us from living in obedience to Him. Our own

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Speaker 4: disobedience become idols of the heart. There can be no

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Speaker 4: half measures or half hearted devotions. God wants all of you.

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Speaker 4: He wants you to be all in. Let there be

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Speaker 4: no other gods before our God. Geteon obeys and tears

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Speaker 4: the idols down. The people become I'm angry with him

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Speaker 4: when they discover what he's done and want to kill him.

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Speaker 4: But Gideon's father challenges the people to let their gods

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Speaker 4: take care of Gideon if they were real. Now, Gideon,

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Speaker 4: who's full of courage, sounds the call to war, and

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Speaker 4: when he sees that God has indeed called him and

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Speaker 4: prepared him, he is now surrounded by an army of

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Speaker 4: thirty two thousand, But doubt creeps in once more, and

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Speaker 4: Gideon tests God with the fleece. God patiently answers Gideon's

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Speaker 4: call for reassurance and twice proves himself to Gideon. The

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Speaker 4: time for testing is over. Now is the time for battle.

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Speaker 4: And that's what we're going to hear about the next time.

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Speaker 4: It's one of the greatest stories in the Bible. Dear Lord,

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Speaker 4: thank you for today's word and how it shows us

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Speaker 4: that you can use us even when we are small

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Speaker 4: and weak, that you do great things when we surrender

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Speaker 4: our lives to you. Thank you for this reminder that

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Speaker 4: you want nothing less than our full devotion to you.

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Speaker 4: Help us to tear down the other things, the idols

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Speaker 4: that keep our eyes off you, the gods of this

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Speaker 4: world that cannot help us at all. We pray in

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Speaker 4: the powerful and mighty name of Jesus, the God who

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Speaker 4: can do the impossible. In Jesus' name, Amen. Thank you

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Speaker 4: for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm

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Speaker 4: Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas, and before we go, I

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Speaker 4: want you to know that I would love to send

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Speaker 4: you my daily devotional to give you fresh encouragement every

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Speaker 4: single day. So visit Jaggraham dot org to sign up

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Speaker 4: for your PowerPoint Today devotional. That's Jack Graham dot org.

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Speaker 2: If today's reading moved you, thepray dot Com app is

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Speaker 2: where you can go deeper with daily prayers, Bible plans,

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Speaker 2: and more. Download it free link in the description