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Speaker 1: Let us pray, and it shall come to pass. As

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Speaker 1: soon as the souls of the feet of the priests

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Speaker 1: that bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of

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Speaker 1: all the Earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan,

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Speaker 1: that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off

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Speaker 1: from the waters that come down from above, and they

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Speaker 1: shall stand upon a heap Joshua three thirteen, Dear God,

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Speaker 1: as the sun greets my face, to day, I realize

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Speaker 1: that hope fills the sky like Joshua and the children

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Speaker 1: of Israel, I declare that to day is the day

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Speaker 1: I will cross over into my promised land. Regardless of

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Speaker 1: the obstacles in front of me. I can feel the

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Speaker 1: spirit of God with me. As I place your presence

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Speaker 1: before me. Lord, the mighty waters of obstacles must part

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Speaker 1: and make way for me to cross over into my

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Speaker 1: promised land. As my feet touched the grounds of my promise,

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Speaker 1: I will set up touchstones that remind me of all

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Speaker 1: the miracles you have done on my behalf. My war

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Speaker 1: cry of victory will be heard all over the world

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Speaker 1: as you elevate my life to be a symbol of

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Speaker 1: your love and power to those who believe. I declare

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Speaker 1: that I am strong and courageous by decree that I

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Speaker 1: am unmoved, as I prepare to fight and take what

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Speaker 1: belongs to me and my family. The time is now.

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Speaker 1: My moment of expansion and victory has come in Jesus 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.

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Speaker 2: Com Crossing the Jordan. In our last story, we learned

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Speaker 2: about Joshua's spies infiltrating the city of Jericho. The spies

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Speaker 2: were eventually discovered, but then saved by a prostitute named Rahab.

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Speaker 2: She informed the spies of Israel that all of Jericho

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Speaker 2: was terrified of Israel and that they all knew the

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Speaker 2: Lord would give Israel the land filled with hope. The

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Speaker 2: spies returned with good news. Now we learn about the

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Speaker 2: people of Israel venturing forward into new beginnings. God's mighty

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Speaker 2: hand would be shown once again, inspired by the Book

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Speaker 2: of Joshua.

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Speaker 3: Hi, I'm pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the

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Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. In our previous episode, God

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Speaker 3: reaffirmed his promise and presence to Joshua and charged him

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Speaker 3: to be courageous. Joshua prepared the people to cross over

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Speaker 3: into the Promised Land, but first he sent spies to

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Speaker 3: scout the city of Jericho. There we met a prostitute

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Speaker 3: by the name of Rehab, who told the men that

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Speaker 3: the whole city was terrified of Israel, and more importantly,

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Speaker 3: of their God. She also protected the spies from Jericho's king,

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Speaker 3: and as a result, gained grace in God's eyes, favor

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Speaker 3: that would reverberate through the millennia through her own bloodline. Today,

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Speaker 3: will join the Israelites as they prepare to brave the

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Speaker 3: raging river Jordan before them. It is a crossing that

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Speaker 3: would be impossible were it not for the Most High God,

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Speaker 3: who goes with his people, and in this reading we'll

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Speaker 3: see his power reveal once again to the wonder of Israel.

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Speaker 3: Let's listen now to today's story.

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Speaker 2: Hope filled the skies as the sun rose above the

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Speaker 2: mountain range. A newness of life and vitality could be

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Speaker 2: felt among the camp. Smiles and laughter could be heard

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Speaker 2: from miles. Home had become a distant thought to the

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Speaker 2: people of Israel. They had grown up wandering the wilderness.

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Speaker 2: Their parents were the ones who came out of Egypt

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Speaker 2: and experienced the mighty acts of God. Now they were

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Speaker 2: the ones to inherit all the Lord had promised them.

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Speaker 2: Joshua led the people out of shitting and they traveled

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Speaker 2: to the coast of the Jordan River. The river was

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Speaker 2: raging before them. Deep rushing waters boomed and shook the earth.

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Speaker 2: The Jordan was truly treacherous, yet Joshua and the leaders

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Speaker 2: of Israel looked at it with smiles on their faces.

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Speaker 2: They faced the rapids with a quiet confidence. If Israel

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Speaker 2: knew anything, it was that the water was no obstacle

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Speaker 2: for God. After three days, Joshua and the officers of

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Speaker 2: Israel led the people down to the water to camp.

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Speaker 2: They scanned the river and spoke amongst themselves, as if

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Speaker 2: analyzing where they would build a bridge. Instead, they turned

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Speaker 2: to the people and commanded, the Ark of the Covenant

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Speaker 2: shall go before us. Wherever it goes, you shall go also,

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Speaker 2: but keep your distance and do not come near it.

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Speaker 2: How they would cross the river was still a mystery

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Speaker 2: to the people, but they were excited. Nonetheless, Joshua began

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Speaker 2: climbing a rock nearby to speak to the people. He

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Speaker 2: stood up high with the waters at his back so

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Speaker 2: all the people could see him. Joshua was not like Moses.

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Speaker 2: Moses was a shepherd and carried his staff. Joshua was

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Speaker 2: a soldier and his sword never left his side. Josh

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Speaker 2: Sushua's strength as a warrior and leader captured the people's attention.

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Speaker 2: Joshua raised his voice towards the children of Israel. With

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Speaker 2: a booming voice carried by the waters, Joshua yelled, prepare yourselves,

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Speaker 2: for tomorrow you will behold the wonders of God. The

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Speaker 2: people cheered, and Joshua nodded to the priests to go

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Speaker 2: fetch the ark of the Covenant. It was time to

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Speaker 2: put the wilderness behind them. Joshua could feel the spirit

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Speaker 2: of God giving him confidence to lead. God spoke to him, saying,

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Speaker 2: today the people will know that I am with you

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Speaker 2: as I was with Moses. Joshua nodded and led the

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Speaker 2: people to stand at the shoreline of the river. They

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Speaker 2: stood still, watching the waters rage before them. All were silent, waiting,

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Speaker 2: and the only sounds were that of the flowing. Moments passed,

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Speaker 2: and Joshua stood tall once again for all to hear him,

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Speaker 2: and say, here you shall truly know the living God

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Speaker 2: is with us. And as Joshua was speaking, the priests,

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Speaker 2: carrying the ark of the Covenant, came from among the people.

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Speaker 2: They parted to keep their distance and watched as the

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Speaker 2: priests walked towards the banks of the river. Slowly, the

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Speaker 2: priests began to walk into the water. As their feet

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Speaker 2: sank into the river, the waters began to spill apart

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Speaker 2: before them. With each step, the water moved, mist flew

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Speaker 2: into the air as the Jordan bowed before the mighty

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Speaker 2: hand of God. As the red seas once parted, the

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Speaker 2: Jordan divided to make way for freed captives. The people

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Speaker 2: were still silent in awe of the majesty unfolding before them.

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Speaker 2: The wind from the waters blew their hair back and

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Speaker 2: tears filled their eyes. It was the most beautiful moment

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Speaker 2: they had ever seen. The priests walked forward, carrying the

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Speaker 2: written promises of God on their shoulders. The priests strode proudly,

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Speaker 2: and their hearts welled up within them. One by one,

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Speaker 2: the nation of Israel crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land.

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Speaker 2: The priests stood in the midst of the waters on

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Speaker 2: dry ground. The people crossed to the other side safely.

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Speaker 2: God instructed every leader from each of the twelve tribes

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Speaker 2: of Israel to carry a stone from one side to

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Speaker 2: the other. They would build a memorial to him and

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Speaker 2: his faithfulness. So each man did according to what God

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Speaker 2: had said. The priests exited the waters, and the river

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Speaker 2: went back to its place, And there in the midst

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Speaker 2: of all the people, Joshua built a memorial out of

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Speaker 2: the twelve stones. This served as a reminder to all

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Speaker 2: those who would ever question or forget the power of God.

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Speaker 2: They gazed upon it, and God spoke to them through Joshua, saying,

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Speaker 2: when your children ask of these stones, their fathers shall

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Speaker 2: tell them that the Lord dried up the water of

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Speaker 2: the Jordan, as he did the Red Sea. These stones

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Speaker 2: serve as a mausoleum to the entire earth, that the

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Speaker 2: Lord is mighty and to be feared for all eternity.

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Speaker 2: The crowd cheered and worshiped, their hearts filled with gladness.

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Speaker 2: This was truly a victory unlike any other. All was well,

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Speaker 2: Yet the struggle had just begun. Miles away. Word of

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Speaker 2: this miracle spread like wild fire. The people dwelling in

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Speaker 2: the land of Canaan caught word of the mighty acts

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Speaker 2: of God. They trembled and fear gripped their minds and hearts.

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Speaker 2: They knew the inevitable end God would give Israel their land,

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Speaker 2: Yet some would not go quietly. They were preparing for war.

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Speaker 2: All the men of Israel, who were not already circumcised,

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Speaker 2: cut themselves before God. They remembered the Covenant of Abraham

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Speaker 2: and sought to identify themselves as the promised people of God.

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Speaker 2: Though bloody and painful, it was an act of devotion.

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Speaker 2: The people celebrated Passover, and shouts of joy and laughter

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Speaker 2: echoed across the valley, reaching the ears of their enemies.

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Speaker 2: Danger was near and war was coming.

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Speaker 3: We opened today's story where the crowd of people filled

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Speaker 3: with hope and anticipation. This generation of the Israelites has

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Speaker 3: known no other home but the wilderness, no way of

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Speaker 3: life but that of a no man. But now at last,

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Speaker 3: God's promise to his people was coming to fulfillment. They

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Speaker 3: were going to receive their long awaited home, the promised land.

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Speaker 3: So it was moving time. But as they approached the

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Speaker 3: raging river, it was clear to them that there would

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Speaker 3: be no human way to pass through. There was no

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Speaker 3: boat to take them over. There was no way across.

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Speaker 3: Israel had faced impassable waters before. Only this time did

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Speaker 3: you notice what was different. The only rumbling was that

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Speaker 3: of waters rushing by, not a fearful people who turned

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Speaker 3: on their leader and questioned God's ability to save them.

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Speaker 3: They did trust in God, after all. What was a

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Speaker 3: raging river to the one who parted the seas. God

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Speaker 3: tells Joshua that he's about to show the people just

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Speaker 3: how mighty he is. It will give the people confidence

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Speaker 3: not only in God, but in the leader Joshua, whom

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Speaker 3: God had chosen. When Moses faced the Red Sea, God

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Speaker 3: went as a cloud of smoke and pillar of fire.

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Speaker 3: But now the physical symbol of God's presence was the

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Speaker 3: ark of the Covenant. This holiness of symbols was not

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Speaker 3: to be touched. Only the Levite priest could carry it.

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Speaker 3: It was yet another reminder that God was with them,

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Speaker 3: but not fully approachable by the people. One day, this

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Speaker 3: would all change, as God himself came to dwell among

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Speaker 3: men in the person of his son Jesus. That day

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Speaker 3: had not yet come, so the people were told to

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Speaker 3: keep their distance, but to keep a watchful eye. God

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Speaker 3: was about to show them his power. Listen to how

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Speaker 3: Joshua three point seventeen recounts what happens next. Now, the

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Speaker 3: priest bearing the ark of the Covenant of the Lord

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Speaker 3: stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan,

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Speaker 3: and all Israel was passing over on dry ground. Until

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Speaker 3: all the nation finished passing over the Jordan, the people

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Speaker 3: walked right across on dry ground into the promised land,

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Speaker 3: a great miracle. Time and again we see this in

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Speaker 3: God's word. What appears to be impossible to human minds,

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Speaker 3: as a poplished with a word or just a step

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Speaker 3: of faith, when God is on the move. Whatever it

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Speaker 3: is you may be facing today, whatever river that seems uncrossable,

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Speaker 3: or obstacle that seems impassable, if God is calling you

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Speaker 3: to do it, then obey him and take that first

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Speaker 3: step and cross over in the miracle working power of God.

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Speaker 3: As the leaders of each tribe crossed, they carried with

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Speaker 3: him a stone, according to God's command, from one side

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Speaker 3: of the river to the other. And when they were

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Speaker 3: safely on the other side, they built a memorial with

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Speaker 3: these stones. This would be a perpetual reminder for generations

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Speaker 3: to come of God's great might and faithfulness to his people.

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Speaker 3: The Israelites further showed their devotion to their God as

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Speaker 3: the men in camp, who were not yet circumcised, cut

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Speaker 3: off their foreskins in remembrance of the covenant with Abraham.

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Speaker 3: The people then observed passover, remembering God's deliverance of them

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Speaker 3: from Egypt the night when this whole journey began. All

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Speaker 3: seem well, but there were still battles to fight, and

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Speaker 3: we're going to learn about these battles the next time.

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Speaker 3: Dear God, thank you for today's passage, which reminds us

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Speaker 3: that there is no obstacle that you cannot overcome. Help us,

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Speaker 3: Old God to take steps of faith and trust you

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Speaker 3: in going through what you lead us through. In Jesus' name. Amen,

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Speaker 3: thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.

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Speaker 3: I'm pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download Theprey dot

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Speaker 3: com app and make prayer a priority in your life.

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Speaker 3: If you enjoyed this podcast, share it with someone you know,

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Speaker 3: someone you love, because by sharing this podcast, you can

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Speaker 3: make a big difference in someone's life. In Jesus' name,

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Speaker 3: And if you want more resources on how to tap

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Speaker 3: into God's life, God's power, God's strength. For successful Christian living,

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Speaker 3: be sure to visit Jack Graham dot org. God bless

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Speaker 3: you