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Speaker 1: Let us pray. And when he was come in, he

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Speaker 1: did not eat and drink, and he said, go see

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Speaker 1: now this cursed woman, and bury her, for she is

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Speaker 1: a king's daughter Second Kings nine thirty four. As the

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Speaker 1: anointing of the Lord moves through me, I will not

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Speaker 1: stop until I pray and dismantle the works of the

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Speaker 1: enemy around me. I will not relent until I remove

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Speaker 1: any and all false gods and idols in my life.

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Speaker 1: Thy decree and declare that I will honor you with

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Speaker 1: my whole heart. Unlike yea who I will not walk

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Speaker 1: away from you or your presence. I will not settle

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Speaker 1: for a lukewarm relationship with you and your heart. Heavenly Father,

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Speaker 1: when I am weary of doing well, I will refresh

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Speaker 1: my soul by remembering all that you've done for me,

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Speaker 1: and by resting in your presence. Keep me through your

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Speaker 1: unfailing love, cover me with your outstretched arm, because I

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Speaker 1: know that it is only through your power that I

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Speaker 1: will be able to experience good success. Then, Jesus name Amen,

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Speaker 1: thank you for praying with me to day. Continue listening

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Speaker 1: for an incredible Bible story brought to you by Bible

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Speaker 1: in a year dot Com the end of a witch's story.

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Speaker 1: In our last story, Alisha anointed jee Who as the

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Speaker 1: next king of Israel, je who embraced his role as

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Speaker 1: God's cleansing instrument, jee who killed King Joddah, then King Eyoziah,

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Speaker 1: and began his mission to rid Israel of King Ahab

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Speaker 1: and Queen Jezebel's evil influence. Now we learn of Jeho's

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Speaker 1: time as king. He is used by God to heal

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Speaker 1: Israel of all the sickness and evil it has been

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Speaker 1: plagued with under Jezebel and Ahab. Jeeho would fight for

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Speaker 1: the freedom of Israel, but would the evil be too

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Speaker 1: much for his human heart. Inspired by the Book of

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Speaker 1: Second Kings, Hello, This is pastor Jack Graham with today's

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Speaker 1: episode of the Bible in a Year podcast. In yesterday's

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Speaker 1: scripture passage, we saw how God anointed a new king.

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Speaker 1: His name was Jehu, and this new king ruled Israel

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Speaker 1: with righteousness. Jehu would avenge the blood of the prophets

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Speaker 1: put to death by Jezebel and would wipe out Ahab,

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Speaker 1: the wicked king's family. Beginning with Israel's King Joram. God's

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Speaker 1: desire was all for his people to turn to him

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Speaker 1: rather than the idols they worshiped, and Jehu would be

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Speaker 1: God's tool to accomplish these purposes. Today we'll hear how

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Speaker 1: the evil, wicked Queen Jezebel finally faces the consequences of

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Speaker 1: her evil and will learn how God began to use

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Speaker 1: Jehu to fight to free Israel from her bondage. But

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Speaker 1: even as God uses Jehu, evil is still present, threatening

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Speaker 1: to infect the new King's heart. So lest listen to

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Speaker 1: the word of God today. The west wind howled furiously.

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Speaker 1: Gray clouds rolled in like waves on a shore. The

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Speaker 1: sky was eerily dark. As the witch Queen Jezebel loomed

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Speaker 1: over her window. It was open for cold wind to

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Speaker 1: blow in. She stood up straight, as if challenging the

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Speaker 1: storm to draw closer. She had heard of the king's demise.

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Speaker 1: She had been told of Jehu's anointing and how he

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Speaker 1: sent an arrow through her son's back. Now she waited

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Speaker 1: for him. Her eyes were painted dark, and her hair

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Speaker 1: was fixed for a pagan ritual. She mumbled to herself silently,

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Speaker 1: her gaze fixed on the dark horizon. Thunder boomed in

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Speaker 1: the distance as Jeho rode towards the palace gates. He

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Speaker 1: halted his horse when he saw Jezebel's dark eyes staring

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Speaker 1: down at him through the palace window. Age had given

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Speaker 1: her dark hair streaks of gray, but she maintained a

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Speaker 1: sense of authority in strange power. Do you come in peace,

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Speaker 1: king slayer, you murderous bastard, she shouted. Jeeho looked closely

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Speaker 1: through the opening where Jezebel stood. He could see two

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Speaker 1: or three slaves behind her, cowering in fear. Are any

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Speaker 1: of you on my side? Jeeho shouted to them. If

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Speaker 1: it is true freedom you desire, throw her down. Before

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Speaker 1: Jezebel could even turn around, the three eunuch slaves burst

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Speaker 1: towards the window, shoving Jezebel out her window. Her which

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Speaker 1: like screams, were drown out by the distant thunnel as

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Speaker 1: she fell to her death. Her body fell beside the stables,

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Speaker 1: Her blood covered the walls and the horses. Jehu rode

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Speaker 1: towards her and crushed her body under the hoofs of

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Speaker 1: his horse. For minutes, Jeeho made his horse trample her body.

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Speaker 1: The sound of cracking bone and squishing flesh filled jee

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Speaker 1: Who's ears. He paid no attention to it. He and

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Speaker 1: many others had suffered miserably under Jezebel's wicked rituals. She

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Speaker 1: had killed many people and stolen the innocence of Israel.

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Speaker 1: All of Jehu's righteous rage that had been pent up

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Speaker 1: for dozens of years unleashed on her lifeless corpse. As

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Speaker 1: the thunder boomed, Jehu's horse delivered each blow with violent force. Finally,

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Speaker 1: Jehu was finished. Panting heavily, Jehu gestured for his men

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Speaker 1: to bury her. However, all that was left of her

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Speaker 1: body to bury was her skull, feet, and hands. The

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Speaker 1: old prophecy of Elijah concerning Jezebel echoed in Ji who's

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Speaker 1: mind in the land of Jezreel, dogs will eat Jezebel's body.

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Speaker 1: Her remains will be scattered like fertilizer, so that no

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Speaker 1: one will remember her. A reckoning was required of Ahab's

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Speaker 1: entire lineage because of the darkness he brought upon God's people. Jie,

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Speaker 1: whose mission was not yet complete because of Ahab's lewdness,

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Speaker 1: he had sired seventy sons, all of them resided in

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Speaker 1: the capital of Israel, Samaria, so Ji, who sent messages

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Speaker 1: to the elders of Samaria, saying I know the king's

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Speaker 1: sons are with you. Also with you are horses, chariots, fortifications,

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Speaker 1: and weapons. Choose from among Ahab's sons a king, and

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Speaker 1: I will face him in battle. The elders were dismayed

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Speaker 1: at Ji, Who's fears shot up their spines. They knew Ji,

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Speaker 1: who had slain two kings himself, Ahab's weak sons could

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Speaker 1: not face him, let alone rule a kingdom. So they

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Speaker 1: sent a response to Ji, who saying, we and ahab

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Speaker 1: sons are no match for you. What can we do

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Speaker 1: to serve you? Ji who thought for a moment he

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Speaker 1: considered the cost of sparing the lives of Ahab's sons. However,

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Speaker 1: he knew that the line must be eradicated. Too much

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Speaker 1: generational wickedness flowed through their veins. Israel had been sent

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Speaker 1: into a dark tunnel of despair because of that family.

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Speaker 1: There was only one way to cleanse Israel of its sickness, Ji,

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Speaker 1: who sent a letter in return, saying, if you are

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Speaker 1: truly on the side of freedom, take the lives of

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Speaker 1: your master's sons by this time tomorrow bring me their heads.

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Speaker 1: The elders did as Ji, who asked the men that

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Speaker 1: they had raised since birth were slain for their father's sins.

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Speaker 1: Their heads were brought to Jiho and then put on

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Speaker 1: display in front of the gates for all to see.

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Speaker 1: It was a truly awful sight. No one relished in

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Speaker 1: the deaths of these men, not even Jiho. It was

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Speaker 1: the cost of evil. In the morning Ji who cleared

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Speaker 1: the heads and gathered the people of Israel. He spoke

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Speaker 1: with boldness. However, he knew that the people were vulnerable.

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Speaker 1: Right now, he must be reassuring. None of this is

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Speaker 1: your fault, Jihu said, I am the one who killed

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Speaker 1: the king. You have been victims of a wicked regime.

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Speaker 1: This carnage is but a cleansing of that wickedness. Rest

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Speaker 1: assured that this fulfills the words of God through Elijah.

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Speaker 1: He prophesied that Ahab's descendants would be cut off from

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Speaker 1: the blessings of Israel. The killing had taken its toll

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Speaker 1: on Jihu, but it was not over yet. More relatives,

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Speaker 1: close friends, and advisers had to perish before the stench

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Speaker 1: of Ahab and Jezebel was wiped clean. Even visitors from

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Speaker 1: Judah who came to see the sons of Ahab were

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Speaker 1: taken and killed, more blood, more killing. Jihu's soul was

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Speaker 1: beginning to feel the weight of it all. He clung

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Speaker 1: to God, he clung to the healing of Israel. Soon,

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Speaker 1: Jihu met a traveler by the name of Jehonadab. He

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Speaker 1: was the founder of the Rikabites, followers of God dedicated

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Speaker 1: to the pure worship of their Lord. Both Jehu and

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Speaker 1: Jehonadab detested the pompousness of nobility and riches. Jehu found

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Speaker 1: great comfort in his friend Jehoonnadab. The two of them

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Speaker 1: were friends for a long while, dreaming about a better Israel,

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Speaker 1: in Israel, where men and women lived freely to worship

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Speaker 1: their God and create a culture of flourishing. Yet, even

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Speaker 1: though Ahab's line had been eradicated, there was still a

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Speaker 1: lingering sickness in Israel. They were still the temples of Bail.

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Speaker 1: The false prophets of the false gods still spread their

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Speaker 1: poisonous doctrine to innocent men and women. They fed lies

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Speaker 1: of prosperity whilst sucking the souls of those that came

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Speaker 1: for help. Ji who would have one final push to

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Speaker 1: free Israel, Ji who gathered some of the prophets of

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Speaker 1: Bail for a feast. He gathered them and told them

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Speaker 1: to invite every man and woman of Bail. They knew

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Speaker 1: to a large gathering there ji who would sacrifice to

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Speaker 1: Bail to pay homage as king. So the prophets gathered

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Speaker 1: every worshiper of Bail. They were given special robes to

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Speaker 1: identify themselves as loyal followers to the false God. Then,

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Speaker 1: while all the followers of Beil were in one place,

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Speaker 1: Jihu and his men unsheathed their swords and began to

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Speaker 1: kill every last one of them. The screams were tormented,

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Speaker 1: Blood filled the room up to JIW's ankles. Tears streamed

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Speaker 1: down his face, but his mind was resolute. With one

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Speaker 1: final wave of strength, Giho and his men toppled the

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Speaker 1: statue of Bail, dragging it into the wilderness and set

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Speaker 1: it on fire. The large temple of Bail was dismantled

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Speaker 1: and destroyed. In its place, je who constructed a public

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Speaker 1: toilet for all of Israel to use. It would serve

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Speaker 1: as a continual reminder that no honor would be given

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Speaker 1: to a false god. The lord promised to bless ye

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Speaker 1: who in his descendants for years to come. Jehu then

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Speaker 1: reigned as king over Israel for twenty eight years. It

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Speaker 1: would be lovely to think je who rode off into

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Speaker 1: the future with a flourishing spirit, honoring God with his

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Speaker 1: whole heart. Unfortunately, the king who cleansed Israel of so

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Speaker 1: much evil was exposed to his own inner darkness. After

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Speaker 1: the cleansing of Ahab's line and the worshippers of Bail,

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Speaker 1: Jehu's heart grew dark and calloused. He did not pursue

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Speaker 1: God's heart as David once did. Rather, he half heartedly ruled,

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Speaker 1: no vision, no obedience. The kingdom of Israel diminished each

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Speaker 1: year under Jehu's reign. His time as king served as

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Speaker 1: a reminder that finishing well was just as import as

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Speaker 1: starting well. She whose heart grew tired. He denied evil,

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Speaker 1: but he did not cling to what was good. As

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Speaker 1: a result, he was cut off from truly experiencing the

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Speaker 1: glory of God on earth. As we begin today's passage,

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Speaker 1: Jehu still has business to attend to her starters. The

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Speaker 1: most wicked of all, Jezebel, was still alive and her

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Speaker 1: time for judgment had come. Hearing that Jehu is in Jezreel,

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Speaker 1: the queen painted her eyes and dressed like a queen.

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Speaker 1: She knew her time had come, but she would be

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Speaker 1: defiant and whold to her high position to the very end.

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Speaker 1: From her window, high above Jehu, she greeted him with scorn,

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Speaker 1: calling him a killer and a murderer of his master.

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Speaker 1: Jehu did not give thought to her words, but called

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Speaker 1: up to her window to the slaves, asking if anywhere

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Speaker 1: on his side. When two of the three eunuchs looked

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Speaker 1: out the wind to him, he told them to throw

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Speaker 1: her down. The once fearsome queen, who had killed hundreds

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Speaker 1: of God's prophets and led King Ahab in the nation

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Speaker 1: of Israel into utter darkness and idolatry, was summarily executed.

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Speaker 1: As her slaves tossed her from the window. Her body

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Speaker 1: spilled its blood on the ground below and was trampled

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Speaker 1: by Jehu's horses. He called for her body to be

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Speaker 1: given a dignified burial, for she was nobility, But then

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Speaker 1: he was reminded of God's words concerning her, and as

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Speaker 1: his servants went to fetch the body, they found that,

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Speaker 1: just as God had said, she had been carried off

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Speaker 1: by dogs, her flesh consumed, so there was no body

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Speaker 1: to bury. Jezebel would not stand as a pagan martyr.

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Speaker 1: She became fertilizer for the very land she terrorized with

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Speaker 1: her evil. But Ahab's ungodly line still needed to be

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Speaker 1: cut off. Jehu had more work to do. First, he

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Speaker 1: sent word to the elders of Samaria that he would

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Speaker 1: face Ahab's sons in battle. They were to choose one

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Speaker 1: of his sons is king, and he would fight them.

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Speaker 1: But the elders knew Jaho was too powerful, so their

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Speaker 1: allegiance was quick to shift to the new king. They

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Speaker 1: professed loyalty to Jehu and asked what they could do.

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Speaker 1: It would have been tempting for Jaho to rest then,

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Speaker 1: knowing that the line of the king Ahab was no

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Speaker 1: longer in power, But God had called him to wipe

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Speaker 1: out the evil, and letting Ahab's sons live would have

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Speaker 1: been disobedient to God. So he called for the heads

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Speaker 1: of Ahab's sons and displayed them at the city gates.

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Speaker 1: It was a gruesome reminder of the high price of

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Speaker 1: sin and evil and judgment. God's word would not return void,

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Speaker 1: and Jaho continued to wipe out Ahab's family and his

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Speaker 1: friends and priests who supported the king. During his wicked reign.

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Speaker 1: These passages, of course, are very violent and perhaps difficult

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Speaker 1: to understand for some. So much killing, so much terror

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Speaker 1: and horror, all coming at the direction of God. But

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Speaker 1: we must not forget that our God is a holy God.

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Speaker 1: He is a righteous God and demands righteousness of his people.

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Speaker 1: He will fight fiercely to protect those that he loves.

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Speaker 1: And God loves Israel as he loves his church family.

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Speaker 1: Today he loves us with a fierceness that is unmatched.

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Speaker 1: Back in the day with Israel, these men who had

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Speaker 1: led the nation astray were a threat to God's children,

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Speaker 1: and they had to be dealt with firmly and fairly.

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Speaker 1: Jay Who's cleansing of Israel, continued as he struck down

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Speaker 1: more and more people. But along the way he encountered

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Speaker 1: other righteous men like Jehanna Dab. The men shared a

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Speaker 1: zeal for the Lord, and Johanna Dab rode with Jehu

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Speaker 1: an ally in the fight for the very soul of Israel.

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Speaker 1: The pathway of righteousness can often be a lonely one,

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Speaker 1: and we do well to find those who share our

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Speaker 1: passion to doing the will of God, just as Jehu

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Speaker 1: found this man. Finally, Jayho called together the prophets of Bail.

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Speaker 1: He made them leave, he was turning to their false God.

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Speaker 1: But as they were all assembled, he had every last

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Speaker 1: prophet of Bail put to death. The pagan temple was destroyed,

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Speaker 1: and a public latrine was placed there as a sign

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Speaker 1: that idol worship was despicable and vile and filthy. Jehu

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Speaker 1: fought valiantly for the Lord and accomplished great things for God,

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Speaker 1: But sadly, with time he grew numb and complacent, failing

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Speaker 1: to walk with the Lord. Though he had done much

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Speaker 1: for God, his legacy was sullied by his failure to

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Speaker 1: hold fast to God. It is a striking reminder that

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Speaker 1: we are to run hard the race that is set

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Speaker 1: before us, all the way to the end. We must

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Speaker 1: commit and never quit, and not grow weary in doing good.

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Speaker 1: We must always trust in God and live in the

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Speaker 1: righteousness that He provides us in Christ by the power

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Speaker 1: of His Spirit. Let's pray, Dear God, we thank you

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Speaker 1: for today's reading. As difficult as it is to hear,

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Speaker 1: we know that you are a God of righteousness and justice,

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Speaker 1: that you do judge the wicked, that you are angry

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Speaker 1: according to your word with the wicked every day. So

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Speaker 1: we pray that we will trust you in your judgment

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Speaker 1: of all things. May we be productive all the days

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Speaker 1: of our lives and faithful to You in every season

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Speaker 1: of life, that we would never turn away from letting

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Speaker 1: you have complete control of our lives. We pray this

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Speaker 1: in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you so very much for

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Speaker 1: listening to Today's Bible in a Year podcast. We are

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Speaker 1: so very grateful for the millions of people who have

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Speaker 1: downloaded this podcast. I'm pastor Jack Graham, and when you

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Speaker 1: download the Prey dot com app and make it a

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Speaker 1: priority in your life to listen to God's word, your

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Speaker 1: life truly will be changed. We are hearing reports from

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Speaker 1: so many of the power of God's Word in their lives.

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Speaker 1: So let me encourage you to pass this podcast onto others,

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Speaker 1: to share it with someone you know, someone you care about,

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Speaker 1: because the Word of God truly will change lives. And

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Speaker 1: if you want more resources on how to experience God's

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Speaker 1: power in your life, be sure to visit Jack Graham

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Speaker 1: dot org. We would love to connect with you and

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Speaker 1: for you to connect with us again. That's Jack Graham

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Speaker 1: dot org. God bless you. This episode is sponsored by Medicine,

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Speaker 1: an innovative healthcare solution for Christians to save money without

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Speaker 1: sacrificing quality