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Speaker 1: Let us pray, and she said, the glory is departed

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Speaker 1: from Israel, for the ark of God is taken first

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Speaker 1: Samuel four twenty two. Lord, through the power of this text,

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Speaker 1: I can see the message that you are speaking to me.

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Speaker 1: I will not allow myself to become complaisant and smug

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Speaker 1: in the calling that you entrusted me with. When your

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Speaker 1: hand of provisions sweeps over into my life, I will

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Speaker 1: make sure to mind my duties and stay committed and

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Speaker 1: faithful to the task you have called me to accomplish.

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Speaker 1: I will remain alert in my life and in my calling,

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Speaker 1: so that the spirit of familiarity that Hofni and Phineas

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Speaker 1: had for your ark and your presence won't rest on me.

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Speaker 1: I confess that your presence is my priority. In the

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Speaker 1: midst of battles and circumstances, I will not abandon your presence.

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Speaker 1: I will not allow the enemy to separate me from

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Speaker 1: you and your covering. When you are with me, no

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Speaker 1: opposition can stand against me, because where you are, victory

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Speaker 1: is today. I will cherish and protect my walk with you, Lord,

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Speaker 1: because I know that with you by my side, I

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Speaker 1: am covered on all sides. In Jesus's name, Amen. Listening

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Speaker 1: to these daily prayers strengthens your relationship with God. Continue

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Speaker 1: hearing from the Lord by listening to today's Bible in

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

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Speaker 1: dot com.

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Speaker 2: The Philistines defeat Israel. In our last story, we learned

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Speaker 2: about the rise of Samuel. In contrast to Eli's sons,

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Speaker 2: Samuel was attentive to the voice of God. He served

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Speaker 2: the Lord and his people selflessly, and was chosen by

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Speaker 2: God to guide Israel in a period of darkness and uncertainty.

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Speaker 2: In this story, we learn about the Philistines re emerging

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Speaker 2: as a threat to Israel. They take Israel's most prized possession,

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Speaker 2: the Ark of the Covenant. The Philistines quickly learned that

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Speaker 2: even though the Israelites are weak, their God is not

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Speaker 2: to be trifled with. Inspired by the Book of First Samuel.

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

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Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. In our last reading, we

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Speaker 3: heard the story of how Hannah prayed for a child

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Speaker 3: and promised God to give her son back to him

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Speaker 3: to serve God his whole life. God granted Hannah's request

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Speaker 3: as she gave birth to Samuel. When Samuel was old enough,

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Speaker 3: Hannah took him to Eli the priest to raise him

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Speaker 3: in the temple as a servant of the Lord. Samuel

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Speaker 3: grew up knowing God and serving him unlike Eli's own son,

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Speaker 3: And when he was still young, God spoke to Samuel,

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Speaker 3: telling him that a new priesthood would be established. Samuel

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Speaker 3: was to be God's chosen man to lead Israel in

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Speaker 3: a whole new era. Today, we'll see a familiar foe

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Speaker 3: rising up against Israel. The Philistines are once again a thorn,

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Speaker 3: a terrible pain in the side of Israel. Israel will

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Speaker 3: call upon God's presence, taking the Ark of the Covenant

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Speaker 3: into battle, but it will be carried by Eli's sons,

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Speaker 3: and we'll see how God's judgment against these two wicked

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Speaker 3: men would cost the entire nation dearly and lead to

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Speaker 3: the loss of their most sacred symbol. Let's listen now

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Speaker 3: to today's reading.

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Speaker 2: The guidance of Samuel comforted the children of Israel. His

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Speaker 2: wisdom and closeness to God brought them great relief, for

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Speaker 2: they had been far from God for too long. His

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Speaker 2: words brought life, and the light of God's love was

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Speaker 2: slowly replacing the shadows that hovered over their hearts. Yet

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Speaker 2: a darkness was still present on the outskirts of Israel.

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Speaker 2: Miles away. The horde of Philistines lurked in the shadows

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Speaker 2: like a pack of wolves. They waited patiently for the

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Speaker 2: perfect moment to strike the sheep of Israel. The Philistines

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Speaker 2: approached the wilderness outside Israel and postured themselves in provocation.

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Speaker 2: Israel accepted their challenge and marched as one army against

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Speaker 2: the Philistine menace. Israel camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines

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Speaker 2: camped a little ways away at Aphek. Like tidal waves

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Speaker 2: against a lost ship, the Philistines crashed upon the armies

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Speaker 2: of Israel. The battle spread in many directions, and Israel

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Speaker 2: was tossed to and fro. Four thousand Israelite soldiers were crushed, staffed,

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Speaker 2: and strangled under the hot Middle Eastern sun. Israel ran

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Speaker 2: for their lives, retreating back to a safe place to stratagize.

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Speaker 2: The Israelite elders writhed, dumbfounded that they would be defeated

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Speaker 2: so easily. Why has God done this? They shouted. Then

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Speaker 2: the elders remembered the stories of old how Joshua brought

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Speaker 2: forth the Ark of the Covenant before the Jordan River

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Speaker 2: and the walls of Jericho. They smiled and spoke again, saying,

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Speaker 2: we must bring forth the Ark of the Covenant. If

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Speaker 2: God is before us, we shall have power over our enemies.

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Speaker 2: The elder's intentions were pure and their ideas were sound,

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Speaker 2: yet they overlooked the most important detail of all. The

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Speaker 2: sons of Eli were in charge of the ark. The

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Speaker 2: two wicked priests, half Nigh in Phineas were the overseers

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Speaker 2: of the Ark of the Covenant, and God had vowed

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Speaker 2: to destroy them for their wickedness. Ram's horns sounded in

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Speaker 2: the distance. The beaten up soldiers of Israel poked their

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Speaker 2: heads out of their tents. In the distance, the Ark

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Speaker 2: of the Covenant was being brought into the camp. Chills

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Speaker 2: of hope crawled up their spines. A new song was

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Speaker 2: sung that day among the children of Israel. They sang

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Speaker 2: and shouted to God, knowing that he would deliver them

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Speaker 2: as he had hundreds of times before. Half Nigh and

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Speaker 2: Phineas puffed their chests up with pride as they heard

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Speaker 2: the cheers of the soldiers. They craved the attention, even

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Speaker 2: though the worship was directed towards God. They soaked up

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Speaker 2: the praises of his people. As soon as the Ark arrived,

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Speaker 2: Israel's shouts resounded like an earthquake across the land. The

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Speaker 2: Philistines could hear their battle cries and quivered with fear.

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Speaker 2: They had caught word that the Ark of the Covenant

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Speaker 2: had made its way into camp. The Philistines were no fools.

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Speaker 2: They knew what God had done to the Egyptians. They

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Speaker 2: had been told stories of their gods splitting seas and

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Speaker 2: crushing armies. They understood, perhaps more than Israel, what it

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Speaker 2: truly meant to fear God. Their God will strike us

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Speaker 2: down by fire or plague. Some of them shouted, we

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Speaker 2: have never faced a threat like this. We are doomed.

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Speaker 2: More of them, exclaimed One commander of the Philistine army

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Speaker 2: stood tall among them and shouted, take heart, oh Philistines,

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Speaker 2: do you wish to become slaves to the Hebrews as

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Speaker 2: they have been to us. He raised his spear high

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Speaker 2: in the air and shouted, be men and fight. The

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Speaker 2: Philistine horde erupted in screams of war and bloodthirst. Without hesitation,

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Speaker 2: they descended upon Israel like a tempest, the Philistines showed

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Speaker 2: no mercy. They tore men apart, limb from limb. Complete

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Speaker 2: chaos ensued across the Israelite army in camp. Every man

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Speaker 2: retreated to protect himself, and mighty warriors begged for mercy

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Speaker 2: under the sword of the Philistines. Half Nigh and Phineas

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Speaker 2: were in their tent eating when the Philistines attacked. It

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Speaker 2: was their responsibility to protect the Ark of the Covenant. However,

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Speaker 2: when the Philistines stormed the camp, the two priests gathered

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Speaker 2: their belongings and abandoned the Ark. They ran for their lives,

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Speaker 2: leaving the people behind them. Their lungs heaved as they

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Speaker 2: ran with their fattened bodies, for they continually gorged themselves

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Speaker 2: on the temple's food. They were immediately knocked to the

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Speaker 2: ground by two Philistine soldiers. Fumbling around in the dirt,

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Speaker 2: the two brothers had no time to collect their thoughts

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Speaker 2: before an axe was lodged into their skulls by the

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Speaker 2: hand of the Philistines. God fulfilled his promise to rid

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Speaker 2: Israel of their selfish and wicked priests. The Philistines looked

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Speaker 2: upon the abandoned Ark of the Covenant They laughed and

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Speaker 2: drug it back to their camp over the dead bodies

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Speaker 2: of fallen Hebrews. The represented and manifest presence of God

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Speaker 2: was being taken back to the Philistine camp, something they

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Speaker 2: believed to be a victory. Yet God cannot be captured. No,

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Speaker 2: the Philistines would live to regret ever touching a single

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Speaker 2: finger on the sacred relic of God. Unlike Israel, God

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Speaker 2: can fight his own battles. A Benjamite boy ran for

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Speaker 2: his life from the slaughter. Dirt and blod ud caked

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Speaker 2: his face, and his clothes were torn to expose his

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Speaker 2: wounded and bloodied body. Eli sat beside the road a

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Speaker 2: few miles away from battle, listening to the cries of

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Speaker 2: his people. Eli was ninety eight years old and his

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Speaker 2: body trembled constantly. He wept for his fallen brothers and

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Speaker 2: wondered about his son's safety. Eli spotted the Benjamite boy

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Speaker 2: hobbling his way towards the city to warn the people.

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Speaker 2: What is this uproar coming from the battlefield, Eli asked.

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Speaker 2: The Benjamite could barely see straight. Gasping for air, he

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Speaker 2: managed to recount the battle to Eli with great anguish.

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Speaker 2: He said, Israel has fallen to the Philistines. All have

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Speaker 2: fled in different directions. Your sons half Nigh and Phineas

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Speaker 2: have been slain, and the Ark of the Covenant has

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Speaker 2: been stolen. Eli clutched his heart upon hearing the news.

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Speaker 2: His eyes rolled back, and he stumbled backwards and fell

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Speaker 2: by the side of the gate. His neck fell on

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Speaker 2: a curb, and ap Eli not too long after his

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Speaker 2: sons perished. He had judged and ministered over Israel for

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Speaker 2: forty years. Israel had lost over thirty five thousand soldiers,

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Speaker 2: their priests, and the Ark of the Covenant. The hope

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Speaker 2: that once caused them to cheer was replaced with fear

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Speaker 2: and panic. In many ways, they felt as though God

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Speaker 2: was taken captive. Yet God is captive to no army,

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Speaker 2: nor is he confined to a relic. The Philistines would

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Speaker 2: soon learn to not trifle with the God of Israel,

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Speaker 2: and the Hebrews would behold God's sufficiency and power.

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Speaker 3: Will we begin today's reading. Samuel is already a leader

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Speaker 3: in Israel. His closeness with God has established him as

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Speaker 3: a trusted voice for God among the people. Israel has

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Speaker 3: been distant from God now for many years, but now

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Speaker 3: under Samuel's leadership, they are turning back the Lord. Still

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Speaker 3: there is danger lurking enemies intent on defeating God's people,

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Speaker 3: and one of those is a familiar foe, the Philistines.

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Speaker 3: The two clash in battle and Israel is defeated by

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Speaker 3: the Philistines. They run to safety, but only after four

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Speaker 3: thousand Israelite soldiers die. The elders of Israel, of course,

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Speaker 3: are wondering why God allowed this terrible defeat. Then they

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Speaker 3: remembered their stories how God went with Joshua into battle,

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Speaker 3: handing him victory after victory. So in First Samuel four

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Speaker 3: to three they say, let us bring the ark of

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Speaker 3: the Covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, that it

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Speaker 3: may come among us and save us from the power

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Speaker 3: of our enemies. They knew they absolutely needed God in

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Speaker 3: this fight. It, of course, is a reminder for us

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Speaker 3: today that the battle is always the Lord's. We do

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Speaker 3: not face our battles alone. God has promised us victory

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Speaker 3: in our Lord, Jesus Christ, so he is our weapon,

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Speaker 3: is our defender. The elder's hearts were in the right place.

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Speaker 3: They wanted God's presence, but there was a huge problem.

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Speaker 3: Eli's sons Hofni and Phidias were in charge of the Ark,

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Speaker 3: and they brought and carried this ark into battle. The

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Speaker 3: mere sight of the ark filled the troops with excitement,

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Speaker 3: and they shouted loudly. When the Philistines discovered the Ark

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Speaker 3: was with Israel, they knew this battle would be different.

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Speaker 3: There was now a divine force with Israel. But they

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Speaker 3: didn't retreat. They only fought more fiercely, determined not to

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Speaker 3: be conquered by the Hebrews, and once again they came

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Speaker 3: out victorious, sending terrified Israeli's scurrying in fear. But Hofni

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Speaker 3: and Phineas, along with thirty thousand soldiers, were killed, just

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Speaker 3: as God had told Samuel Eli's sons were wiped off

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Speaker 3: the face of the earth and punished for their blasphemy.

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Speaker 3: One thing we can always know, God will execute his

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Speaker 3: judgment when necessary. These two men had abused and misused

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Speaker 3: their position. They had disrespected God and refused to change

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Speaker 3: their hearts in repentance, so God dealt forcefully with their sin. Tragically,

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Speaker 3: their sins cost an entire nation, as Israel fell to

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Speaker 3: the Philistines in this battle. Despite the presence of the Ark.

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Speaker 3: Unresolved unrepented of sin always has consequences, and God did

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Speaker 3: not give victory to his people on that day because

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Speaker 3: of the sins of Eli the priest's sons. The Philistines

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Speaker 3: rejoiced in victory, and when they saw the Ark abandoned

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Speaker 3: on the battlefield, they took it as a prize because

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Speaker 3: they wanted a divine presence with them. But God will

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Speaker 3: not be used like that, and when unholy hands tried

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Speaker 3: to weaponize God's power for their own benefit, they will

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Speaker 3: pay a heavy price. The Philistines would soon discover just

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Speaker 3: how high that price would be. When Eli heard of

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Speaker 3: the defeat of Israel and the fate of his sons,

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Speaker 3: he fell out of his seat and broke his neck.

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Speaker 3: God's words to Samuel came true that day to Israel,

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Speaker 3: God's glory had departed from them. The glory had departed

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Speaker 3: the word is Ichabod. But God was not done with

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Speaker 3: his people. And the next time we'll hear how the

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Speaker 3: Ark returns to Israel. Dear God, first of all, we

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Speaker 3: turn from our sins and trust in you. We thank

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Speaker 3: you for the cross where you died for us, and

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Speaker 3: for the resurrection. May we live in the power of

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Speaker 3: Jesus and his resurrection. We know that we never, in Christ,

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Speaker 3: fight our battles alone. May we always look to You

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Speaker 3: and trust in You and experience a closest to You

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Speaker 3: and therefore victory in Jesus. And it is in his

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Speaker 3: name that we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to

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Speaker 3: today's Bible of the Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham of Dallas, Texas,

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Speaker 3: and you can download the prey dot com and make

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Speaker 3: prayer the priority of your life. It is our prayer

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Speaker 3: that you would know Jesus Christ in a personal way.

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Speaker 3: Jesus and knowing him is the key to understanding the Bible.

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Speaker 3: Jesus is on every page in the pathway of Scripture,

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Speaker 3: so I pray that you would know him and look

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Speaker 3: to Him for eternal life. As we see all of

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Speaker 3: these stories, some of them very sordid, we realize just

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Speaker 3: how desperately we all need the Lord. So invite Christ

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Speaker 3: into your life and receive Him as your Lord and savior.

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Speaker 3: I would also encourage you to download thepray dot com

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Speaker 3: app and let others know about this podcast. And if

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Speaker 3: you want more resources on how to know God and

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Speaker 3: experience his presence in your life, be sure to visit

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