Speaker 1: Previously on the chosen people.
Speaker 2: I will have monuments built to my glory long after
Speaker 2: your unnamed god has forgotten.
Speaker 1: And Pharaoh sat alone in the pitch black, simmering in
Speaker 1: his hatred, his pride refusing to bend. He wanted vengeance,
Speaker 1: wanted blood, but he would not have the chance. The
Speaker 1: Lord would strike him down soon enough, for Pharaoh was
Speaker 1: the last god left to fall.
Speaker 3: Pharaoh has refused.
Speaker 2: The Lord will be sending a final plague.
Speaker 4: The whole assembly shall kill their lambs at twilight. Then
Speaker 4: they shall take some of the blood and put it
Speaker 4: on the two doorposts and the lintel of their houses.
Speaker 4: The blood of the Lamb will cover your household for
Speaker 4: the raft to come.
Speaker 1: A shadow passed through the streets of Egypt, unseen yet felt.
Speaker 1: It moved with purpose, slipping through doors that were left unmarked,
Speaker 1: where no Lamb's blood clung to the lintel. Beyond the
Speaker 1: palace walls, the whales began to rise, one by one,
Speaker 1: like the growing roar of the sea in a storm.
Speaker 1: In every house untouched by the blood of the lamb,
Speaker 1: the first born were found cold in their beds, From
Speaker 1: the eldest son of the lowliest farmer to the first
Speaker 1: born calf in the fields.
Speaker 2: Go go and take your people, leave this land, take
Speaker 2: your flocks, your herds, your children, and be gone. Frenzies,
Speaker 2: What Moses, you're sorry for my loss? Are you? Said,
Speaker 2: with the death of a generation.
Speaker 1: Without a word, he turned and departed, leaving Pharaoh in
Speaker 1: the silence of his broken kingdom, a king brought to
Speaker 1: his knees not by armies, but by a plague of
Speaker 1: death sent by a god he could neither see nor challenge.
Speaker 4: By breveren, Remember tonight, this day shall be a memorial
Speaker 4: for us. We will repeat this feast throughout the generations.
Speaker 4: It shall be a day of remembrance. Hundreds even thousands
Speaker 4: of years from now, our children will remember the deliverance
Speaker 4: spot and one by the God of all creation.
Speaker 5: As the cries of Egypt filled the night, footsteps began
Speaker 5: the journey to freedom, a journey that would define a
Speaker 5: people for eternity. Clome friends from here in the Holy
Speaker 5: Land of Israel. I'mya l Eckstein with the International Fellowship
Speaker 5: of Christians and Jews. Welcome to the Chosen People. Today's
Speaker 5: storiesn't just history, it's our very essence as the Chosen People.
Speaker 5: It's a tale of our exodus from Egypt.
Speaker 1: The dawn was accompanied by a frenetic energy, a mixture
Speaker 1: of excitement and fear that electrified the air like a
Speaker 1: brewing storm. Every Egyptian, from the lowliest servant to the
Speaker 1: generals of Pharaoh's court, urgently demanded that the Israelites leave immediately.
Speaker 1: Their very presence had become a scourge on the land
Speaker 1: of Egypt, a cursed mark upon its soil. No longer
Speaker 1: were they merely slaves. Now they were harveyinges of death.
Speaker 1: The torment of the night's slaughter still hung in the air.
Speaker 1: The first borns of Egypt had fallen, and the specter
Speaker 1: of the final plague haunted the streets. Mourning wailed from
Speaker 1: every household. Even the most hardened soldiers shuddered with fear.
Speaker 1: The Israelites, once a people oppressed and invisible, now moved
Speaker 1: through the streets like an unstoppable tide. Every step they
Speaker 1: took was laden with the weight of four hundred and
Speaker 1: thirty years of suffering. Their chains, invisible though they might
Speaker 1: have been, were now broken by the hand of the Almighty.
Speaker 4: I order a pheroh every Israelite, she departs from this
Speaker 4: land and go into the wilderness.
Speaker 1: His voice was harsh, but there was something deeper in it,
Speaker 1: a quiver at the edges.
Speaker 4: Get out, leave now, or face the tip of our spears.
Speaker 1: The threat was as empty as the Egyptian's hearts. They
Speaker 1: wanted no more blood, no more death. The spear points
Speaker 1: glittered beneath the pale light of dawn, but there was
Speaker 1: no will behind them. The streets of ghosh And hummed
Speaker 1: with frantic urgency, a current of hope laced with the
Speaker 1: sharp sting of fear. Like cattles set loose from their pens,
Speaker 1: the Israelites scattered through the narrow streets, gathering what little
Speaker 1: they could carry. Miriam and Aaron moved through the throngs
Speaker 1: of people with determination. The time has come.
Speaker 4: Quickly, gather your belongings before the Egyptians come after us.
Speaker 1: She pressed forward, hands gripping the door frames of every
Speaker 1: house she passed. Miriam's heart thundered in her chest. She
Speaker 1: had waited for this day her entire life, Yet now
Speaker 1: that it had arrived, the enormity of it left her trembling.
Speaker 1: This was no simple departure. It was an exodus, the
Speaker 1: tearing of one people from another, like flesh from bone.
Speaker 4: There is no time to waste. Everyone leave at once,
Speaker 4: Bring only what you can carry.
Speaker 1: His eyes darted from face to face, seeing the disbelief
Speaker 1: in their eyes. Some were too stunned to move, frozen
Speaker 1: by the suddenness of it all.
Speaker 2: What about food, Oh, we have no time to bake
Speaker 2: bread for our provisions.
Speaker 4: No, there's no time. Take the door before it's levened.
Speaker 5: You can pack your leaving balls, but there's no time
Speaker 5: to wait for the bread to rise.
Speaker 1: The urgency in her voice carried the weight of prophecy.
Speaker 1: This was the moment they had been waiting for. The
Speaker 1: people moved like a river through the streets, gathering their
Speaker 1: belongings with shaking hands. Sheep bleated nervously, sensing the tension
Speaker 1: in the air. Children clung to their mothers, their wide
Speaker 1: eyes reflect the uncertainty of the moment. The elderly, who
Speaker 1: had known nothing but the cruel yoke of Egyptian oppression,
Speaker 1: looked back at their homes, their wrinkled faces edged with
Speaker 1: a mixture of hope and sorrow. This was all they
Speaker 1: had ever known, and now they were leaving it behind forever.
Speaker 1: In a final act of desperation. The Egyptians came not
Speaker 1: with swords, but with offerings. Gold, silver, and precious jewels
Speaker 1: were thrust into the hands of the departing Israelites. It
Speaker 1: was a strange sight, the conquerors of Egypt leaving not
Speaker 1: as rebels but as victors, laden with the spoils of
Speaker 1: the land. The Lord had delivered his people by bringing
Speaker 1: Egypt to its knees. The great throng, over a million strong,
Speaker 1: surged out of Gashen. Six hundred thousand men and their wives,
Speaker 1: children and herds poured forth like a flood from a
Speaker 1: broken dam. The cattle and sheep shuffled their feet, their
Speaker 1: bleating drowned out by the cries of the children, who
Speaker 1: held tightly to their mother's skirts. The elderly, their backs
Speaker 1: bent from decades of labor, moved with slow, deliberate steps,
Speaker 1: casting one final glance at the land of their bondage.
Speaker 1: Their exodus was one of triumph and desperation, driven by
Speaker 1: the hand of God and the fear of Egypt's sword.
Speaker 1: On a jagged hill, overlooking the multitude, Moses stood alone,
Speaker 1: his staff rested firmly in his hand. The wind tugged
Speaker 1: at his robes, whipping them around him. Like a banner.
Speaker 1: His eyes scanned the mass of humanity below. These were
Speaker 1: his people, the children of Israel. For the first time,
Speaker 1: he allowed himself to feel the weight of their eyes
Speaker 1: upon him. Moses, once a man of Pharaoh's house, now
Speaker 1: stood as the chosen deliverer of God's people. Heavy as
Speaker 1: it was, the mantle of leadership sat upon him like
Speaker 1: a second skin. He had not sought this path, but
Speaker 1: it had found him. He had been a shepherd for
Speaker 1: forty years. But it was only now, with his people
Speaker 1: streaming out of Egypt like a river, that he truly
Speaker 1: became a leader, a prophet, a deliverer. With an uncharacteristically
Speaker 1: bold shout, Moses raised his staff to the heavens, His voice,
Speaker 1: booming across the plains.
Speaker 4: Stemmed with, Oh, Children of Israel, Master Freedom.
Speaker 1: The words, simple though they were, ignited something deep within
Speaker 1: the crowd. A cheer rose from the people, a raw,
Speaker 1: primal sound that should the very earth beneath their feet.
Speaker 1: It was a cry born of centuries of oppression, and now,
Speaker 1: at last, deliverance had come. The children of Israel moved
Speaker 1: as well, a tide of humanity surging into the unknown wilderness.
Speaker 1: For days, they traveled their spirits. Buoyed by the knowledge
Speaker 1: that they had left Egypt behind. They journeyed to Succoth,
Speaker 1: the wilderness just beyond Goshen, and there they rested for
Speaker 1: the first time since the dawn of their exodus. The
Speaker 1: campfires flickered beneath the darkening sky, casting long shadows across
Speaker 1: the barren land. Moses walked among the people, his heart
Speaker 1: heavy with the weight of what would come. They had
Speaker 1: escaped the land of their bondage, but freedom was not
Speaker 1: yet entirely theirs. He watched as the people gathered to eat,
Speaker 1: their faces weary but hopeful. None of them had had
Speaker 1: the time to bake their bread before leaving, and now
Speaker 1: they ate the unleavened dough, coarse, flat, and brittle when
Speaker 1: it reached their mouths. But even in this simple, unsatisfying meal,
Speaker 1: Moses saw the hand of the Lord. The bread, its
Speaker 1: flatness and its haste, carried a message. This bread would
Speaker 1: be remembered eaten, not just as food, but as a
Speaker 1: symbol of their deliverance. The Lord was forming them, binding
Speaker 1: them together as a people and a nation set apart
Speaker 1: for his glory. The voice of the Lord returned to Moses.
Speaker 1: He kept his eyes fixed on the people, but his
Speaker 1: heart attentive to the voice of the Lord.
Speaker 3: Be sure the people remember this day that you came
Speaker 3: out from Egypt of the house of slavery. For by
Speaker 3: a strong hand I he brought you out from this place.
Speaker 3: No leavened bread shall be eaten to day. In the
Speaker 3: month of a bib you are going out. And when
Speaker 3: I bring you into the land that I swore to
Speaker 3: your father's, a land flowing with milk and honey, you
Speaker 3: shall keep this service. In this month seven days you
Speaker 3: shall eat unleaven bread, and on the seventh day there
Speaker 3: shall be a feast unto me. Unleaven bread shall be eaten.
Speaker 3: For seven days, no leaven bread shall be seen with you,
Speaker 3: and no leaven shall be found in your territory. You
Speaker 3: shall tell your son on that day. It is because
Speaker 3: of what the Lord did for me when I came
Speaker 3: out from Egypt.
Speaker 1: The words seared themselves into moses heart. This was not
Speaker 1: just the beginning of a journey, but the beginning of
Speaker 1: a covenant. The Lord was not merely liberating slaves. He
Speaker 1: was shaping a people, forming a nation that would carry
Speaker 1: his name for generations to come. This was a moment
Speaker 1: that would echo through the ages. Moses turned and passed
Speaker 1: the Lord's message to Aaron and Miriam. The elders were gathered,
Speaker 1: their faces tense and drawn as they listened to the
Speaker 1: words of the Lord delivered through Moses. Slowly understanding dawned
Speaker 1: upon them. The Lord was forging them into a people,
Speaker 1: consecrating them through this exodus. Aaron, standing tall among the crowd,
Speaker 1: raised his hands and called out to the people, his
Speaker 1: voice full of power.
Speaker 4: When the Lord brings you into promised land, you shall
Speaker 4: set upon the firstborn from every womb. All the firstborn
Speaker 4: of your animals shall be taken and given to the Lord.
Speaker 4: You shall kill a lamb for every firstborn son in
Speaker 4: the nation, redeem them all, and consecrate them onto the
Speaker 4: God who delivered us.
Speaker 1: As Aaron spoke, the heavens stirred, and a mighty wind
Speaker 1: began to howl across the wilderness. It wasn't a storm
Speaker 1: that was coming, but something far greater. Moses turned toward
Speaker 1: the horizon, where the sky churned with power. The heavens
Speaker 1: were igniting with divine radiance, and its weight pressed down
Speaker 1: upon the earth. The air itself crackled with anticipation. Moses
Speaker 1: looked back at Aaron, who was still speaking with fervor.
Speaker 1: His brother, once a mere spokesman, now stood as a
Speaker 1: leader of men and free. Aaron's voice carried across the camp,
Speaker 1: and the people listened in awe, their hearts stirred by
Speaker 1: his words.
Speaker 4: Years from now, when your children ask why we did this,
Speaker 4: you shall tell them what you've witnessed here. You shall
Speaker 4: tell them of the mighty hand of the Lord and
Speaker 4: how he delivered us from the chains of Egypt.
Speaker 1: The wind picked up, swirling around the people like a
Speaker 1: living thing. Every soul in the camp felt it the
Speaker 1: presence of something greater than themselves, something ancient and powerful.
Speaker 1: Moses felt his heart quickened, each beat pounding in his
Speaker 1: chest as Aaron's words rang through the air.
Speaker 4: When Pharaoh refused to bend our God broke him. The
Speaker 4: Lord killed every first born son in the land of
Speaker 4: Egypt for you. It is for this reason we redeem
Speaker 4: our suns. It is for this reason we were sacrificed
Speaker 4: to the Lord. We are a freed people. We are
Speaker 4: redeemed people. We are the chosen people.
Speaker 1: And as his final words echoed across the camp, the
Speaker 1: skies erupted with thunder, the clouds bellowed like the trumpets
Speaker 1: of war, and lightning split the heavens in a blaze
Speaker 1: of holy fire. From the storm descended a pillar of fire,
Speaker 1: its radiance burning with the glory of the Almighty. The
Speaker 1: Lord had come among them, his presence like a roaring flame,
Speaker 1: ready to guide them into the unknown wilderness. And so
Speaker 1: the children of Israel stood in awe, their hearts swelling
Speaker 1: with the knowledge that they were not alone. The Lord
Speaker 1: had delivered them, and now by this pillar of fire
Speaker 1: he would lead them into their destiny.
Speaker 5: The Exodus never ceases to amaze me. Every time I
Speaker 5: hear it. I'm captivated by the sheer magnitude of what
Speaker 5: our ancestors experienced. Can you imagine the relentless oppression, the
Speaker 5: agonizing weight, and then God steps in with plagues and wonders,
Speaker 5: breaking not just the chains of slavery, but the world's
Speaker 5: mightiest empire. What gets me every time is the faith
Speaker 5: that our people displayed to pack up everything and march
Speaker 5: into the wilderness with nothing but trust in God's promises.
Speaker 5: That kind of bravery sense chills down my spine. It's
Speaker 5: a faith and a determination that define us as a
Speaker 5: people chosen and protected by our career. Later, I feel
Speaker 5: a surge of pride, knowing that we come from such
Speaker 5: resilient stock. What does the Bible have to say about
Speaker 5: this story? While Exodus twelve thirty four tells us that
Speaker 5: on the morning of the Exodus, the people took their
Speaker 5: dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on
Speaker 5: their shoulders in kneading troughs, wrapped in clothing. You see,
Speaker 5: the Israelites were in such a hurry, my friends, to
Speaker 5: leave Egypt, that they took dough that had not yet risen.
Speaker 5: As they left Egypt. What would have been bred turned
Speaker 5: out to be a kind of flat cracker. But what
Speaker 5: was the rush? After the plague of the Firstborn? No one,
Speaker 5: including Pharaoh, wanted to keep the slaves in Egypt, So
Speaker 5: why didn't the Israelites take a little bit more time
Speaker 5: to let the bride rise? Generations later, the prophet Jeremiah
Speaker 5: explained it beautifully as he expressed the love relationship between
Speaker 5: God God in Israel. This is what he said, Go
Speaker 5: and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, this is what
Speaker 5: the Lord says, I remember the devotion of your youth.
Speaker 5: How as a bride. You loved me and followed me
Speaker 5: through the wilderness, through a land not sown. So in
Speaker 5: love with their God were the Chosen People that they
Speaker 5: couldn't wait to follow him into the desert, a dangerous
Speaker 5: place with no vegetation and no water. They went with
Speaker 5: faith and love after their God, who redeems. They were
Speaker 5: in such a rush to follow him that they couldn't
Speaker 5: even wait for the bread to rise, such was their
Speaker 5: desire to follow God and to receive the Torah and
Speaker 5: to come to the Promised Land. The Jewish people quote
Speaker 5: this beautiful verse in our most special prayer on Russias Shanna,
Speaker 5: the Jewish New Year, as we asked God to remember
Speaker 5: that love that we showed for him and for the
Speaker 5: trust that he would lead us through the desert safely.
Speaker 5: And that flat bread, well today we call it MutS,
Speaker 5: and we still eat it on Passover to remind us
Speaker 5: of those thrilling moments of endless love and trust. These
Speaker 5: ancient stories aren't just relics of the past, but living
Speaker 5: teachings that guide us today. The plagues, especially the final one,
Speaker 5: aren't just about punishment, but about God's justice and mercy
Speaker 5: in striking down the Firstborn. God wasn't simply enacting punishment
Speaker 5: on Egypt. He was orchestrating a profound act of redemption.
Speaker 5: This midnight act symbolizes a pivotal moment where darkness meets
Speaker 5: the dawn of deliverance. It's a reminder that our darkest
Speaker 5: moments often perceived the dawn of our liberation. The Firstborn
Speaker 5: plague coming at midnight symbolizes the end of Israel's oppression
Speaker 5: and the beginning of their freedom. Jewish tradition teaches that
Speaker 5: divine justice is always coupled with the possibility of tashuva,
Speaker 5: or repentance. Even as God struck Egypt, he left the
Speaker 5: door open for Pharaoh to repent, illustrating the balance of
Speaker 5: justice and mercy. The Exodus story highlights the tension between
Speaker 5: divine justice and human freedom. But how does the story
Speaker 5: of the Exodus speak to us today. Well, First, it
Speaker 5: teaches us to see our struggles through the lens of
Speaker 5: divine timing our own midnight moments. Those times of our
Speaker 5: deepest darkness often comes just before breakthrough, so when you're
Speaker 5: in the thick of it, remember that the dawn is near. Second,
Speaker 5: we learn to balance justice with mercy in our actions,
Speaker 5: even as we pursue righteousness, Let your compassion even for
Speaker 5: those who wrong us. Finally, this story calls us to
Speaker 5: recognize the sacredness of new beginnings, wherebi Abraham Joshua Heschel
Speaker 5: wrote quote, faith is not clinging to a shrine, but
Speaker 5: an endless pilgrimage of the heart. Our journey with God
Speaker 5: is ongoing, my friends. It's filled with highs and lows,
Speaker 5: light and dark. So carry this story with you and
Speaker 5: find strength and hope in your own midnight moments.
Speaker 1: You can listen to The Chosen People with Isle Eckstein
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Speaker 1: Com app today. This Prey dog comproduction is only made
Speaker 1: possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Katina,
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 Coltefianu. 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
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