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God Protects and Provides - The Book of Exodus · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. But the children of Israel walked upon
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  Speaker 1: dry land in the midst of the sea, and the
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  Speaker 1: waters were a wall unto them on their right hand
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  Speaker 1: and on their left. Exodus 14.29 Dear God, as I
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  Speaker 1: greet my new day, I thank you that, like the
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  Speaker 1: cloud by day and the pillar of fire at night
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  Speaker 1: in Exodus, you are guiding and leading me into my
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  Speaker 1: promised land. As I move forward, I will not succumb
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  Speaker 1: to the spirit of fear, for I know that you
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  Speaker 1: did not bring me this far to become a slave
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  Speaker 1: to fear. When I feel overwhelmed, I will remain silent
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  Speaker 1: and hold fast to the promise that you will fight
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  Speaker 1: for me in the face of adversity. So let my
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  Speaker 1: faith represent the staff of Moses as I place it
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  Speaker 1: in the sea of adversity. I will stand firm because
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  Speaker 1: I know you will part the sea. and allow me
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  Speaker 1: to walk through on dry ground. I will not worry
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  Speaker 1: about the haters in my life, for I know that
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  Speaker 1: you will silence them, that I can continue to take
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  Speaker 1: the ground that you have promised me, my promised land.
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  Speaker 1: I declare that no weapon formed against me shall prosper,
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  Speaker 1: because I am yours and you are mine. Thank you
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  Speaker 1: for being my champion, now and forevermore. I declare that
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  Speaker 1: I am closer to my promise than I realize. Thank
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  Speaker 1: you that you satisfy my needs in abundance and with nourishment.
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  Speaker 1: I will be grateful for my daily bread because I
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  Speaker 1: know that you are the God that protects and provides.
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  Speaker 1: And I know this full well. In Jesus' name.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks for making prayer a priority in your life. To
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  Speaker 1: hear the Bible come to life, stay tuned for The
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  Speaker 1: Bible in a Year. Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: God protects and provides. In our last story, we learned
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  Speaker 2: about how far God would go to set His people free.
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  Speaker 2: As Pharaoh's heart grew harder and more cruel, God's resolve
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  Speaker 2: to redeem his people remained steadfast. God's people were freed
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  Speaker 2: from 430 years of slavery and oppression.
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  Speaker 3: In this story, we will learn.
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  Speaker 2: About Israel's journey through redemption and how the path to
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  Speaker 2: the promised land is not straight and narrow. As inspired
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  Speaker 2: by the book of Exodus.
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  Speaker 4: Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of The
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  Speaker 4: Bible in a Year. In our previous episode, we saw
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  Speaker 4: that God brought one final devastating plague upon Egypt. This
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  Speaker 4: was a terrible judgment. Pharaoh is now broken. He has
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  Speaker 4: lost his own son because of his own hard heart.
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  Speaker 4: And so now he finally lets the children of Israel go.
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  Speaker 4: Great rejoicing rose up among the Israelites as they left Egypt.
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  Speaker 4: and left behind the shackles of slavery after 430 years
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  Speaker 4: of oppression. But as we're going to see in today's story,
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  Speaker 4: their joy would meet abrupt roadblocks and obstacles in the
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  Speaker 4: form of the Red Sea, in the form of grumbling
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  Speaker 4: and dissension. Listen to the words of the Israelites as
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  Speaker 4: they feared death and forgot the power of their God
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  Speaker 4: who just brought them out of Egypt. Once again, we'll
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  Speaker 4: see how God remains faithful and true as He has promised.
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  Speaker 4: and show the world his great unmatched power as he
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  Speaker 4: rescues his people. Let's listen now to today's story.
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  Speaker 3: They would never forget that day.
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  Speaker 2: The angel of the Lord passed through Egypt like a
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  Speaker 2: thief in the night, and in an instant his people
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  Speaker 2: were free. God told Moses to remember and celebrate that
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  Speaker 2: day for generations.
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  Speaker 3: Thus the Passover feast was established, a day.
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  Speaker 2: To celebrate the God's mighty hand breaking the shackles that
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  Speaker 2: once bound.
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  Speaker 3: All of Israel.
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  Speaker 2: So Israel fled to the wilderness. A roar of applause
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  Speaker 2: and laughter could be heard from miles away as thousands
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  Speaker 2: of Hebrews left their torturous home in pursuit of a
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  Speaker 2: new beginning. They ventured forth towards the Red Sea, avoiding
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  Speaker 2: the land of the Philistines, lest they fall into battle and.
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  Speaker 3: Have to retreat back to Egypt.
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  Speaker 2: Although Moses was in front of them, God was their leader.
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  Speaker 2: By day, a pillar of smoke could be seen in
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  Speaker 2: the distance.
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  Speaker 3: To guide them.
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  Speaker 2: At night, a pillar of fire lit up the horizon
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  Speaker 2: as the sun, and it did not depart from the people.
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  Speaker 2: After a few days of travel, the Israelites came to
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  Speaker 2: the coast of the Red Sea to camp. The waters
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  Speaker 2: were vast, and the sea crashed on the shore like thunder.
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  Speaker 2: God pulled Moses in close and spoke to him, saying,
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  Speaker 2: Pharaoh will pursue you, but I will get glory from
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  Speaker 2: Pharaoh and all his people. All of Egypt shall know
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  Speaker 2: that I am the Lord. I am the protector of
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  Speaker 2: my people, and nobody will harm you. Moses gulped as
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  Speaker 2: he looked upon the vastness of the Red Sea. If
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  Speaker 2: Pharaoh really was going to pursue them, they were trapped.
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  Speaker 2: Miles away, Pharaoh soaked in his own anger. He, his servants,
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  Speaker 2: and all his people had suffered a loss unlike any
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  Speaker 2: nation before them, and now they were unable to rebuild
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  Speaker 2: because their 600,000 slaves had all departed at once. He
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  Speaker 2: would be written in history as the king who was defeated.
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  Speaker 3: By the god of slaves.
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  Speaker 2: Pharaoh's mind raced, and his counsel shared in his anger.
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  Speaker 3: How could I have let this happen? he whispered to himself.
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  Speaker 2: His eyes glared forward towards the doors Moses had once
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  Speaker 2: stepped through. He arose from his throne and called for
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  Speaker 2: his chariot. Six hundred chariots rode into the wilderness like
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  Speaker 2: a hurricane. They ran through the night violently, leaving a
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  Speaker 2: cloud of dust and sand behind them. Pharaoh would not
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  Speaker 2: be made a fool of. Like lightning they rode, ready
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  Speaker 2: to capture back their slaves and kill any who opposed them.
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  Speaker 2: In his mind and heart, Pharaoh was going through his
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  Speaker 2: own battle with God, and his heart grew even harder
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  Speaker 2: than before. They ascended the hills that descended on the
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  Speaker 2: other side to the shore, and Pharaoh with his army
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  Speaker 2: sought to overtake the Hebrews. Pharaoh was fast approaching, and
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  Speaker 2: the people of Israel could see his army in the distance.
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  Speaker 2: Fear caused a panic among the people. and a roar
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  Speaker 2: of terror fell upon the entire group.
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  Speaker 3: They cried out to God and.
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  Speaker 2: Turned to Moses in a frightened frenzy.' We have no
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  Speaker 2: graves in Egypt. Is that why you took us out
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  Speaker 2: here to die in the wilderness?' they said.' Didn' t we
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  Speaker 2: ask you to just leave us alone to be slaves?
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  Speaker 2: Now we are going to die here!' They were panicking,
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  Speaker 2: and fear was beginning to consume them like fire to paper.
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  Speaker 2: Moses stood up for everyone to see. God had gotten
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  Speaker 2: them this far and he was not about to succumb
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  Speaker 2: to the slavery of fear. Fear not, Moses shouted. The
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  Speaker 2: salvation of the Lord will work for you this day,
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  Speaker 2: Moses spoke, as if a general in an army. He
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  Speaker 2: pointed towards the fast-approaching Egyptian horde and shouted, These Egyptians
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  Speaker 2: you see today will never be seen again. The Lord
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  Speaker 2: will fight for you. Be silent and watch his glory unfold.
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  Speaker 2: As Moses was still speaking, God spoke to him, saying,
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  Speaker 2: Why do you cry to me? Go and tell people
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  Speaker 2: to move forward. Lift up your staff and stretch out
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  Speaker 2: your hand towards the sea. After speaking to Moses, the
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  Speaker 2: angel of God descended violently in the distance, and the
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  Speaker 2: pillar of smoke that guided Israel.
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  Speaker 3: Rushed towards the army.
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  Speaker 2: The cloud shrouded them in darkness and came between the
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  Speaker 2: armies of Egypt and.
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  Speaker 3: The captives of Israel. As the night drew close, the
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  Speaker 3: cloud lit up with fire. Moses did as God commanded.
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  Speaker 2: People watched curiously as Moses walked towards the waters. Silence
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  Speaker 2: fell upon the crowd as Moses inhaled deeply and looked
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  Speaker 2: to the sky. He remembered the words of God on
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  Speaker 2: Mount Sinai. Take this staff, and with it you will
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  Speaker 2: do my wonders, God had once told him. Moving his
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  Speaker 2: gaze towards the sea, Moses outstretched his arms with the
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  Speaker 2: staff in his right hand. A cold wind blew violently
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  Speaker 2: from the east around him, and the seas began to
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  Speaker 2: rush to and fro. The wind howled at night, and
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  Speaker 2: the waters danced as the seas began to split in half. Moses'
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  Speaker 2: hands were lifted in the air and all of Israel
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  Speaker 2: stood in awe of the wonders of their Lord. All
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  Speaker 2: of Israel went into the midst of the sea and
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  Speaker 2: walked through on dry ground. The waters surrounded them like
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  Speaker 2: two walls on the right and the left. Thousands of
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  Speaker 2: God's redeemed people stumbled through the alleyways of the divided seas,
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  Speaker 2: and Pharaoh's army began descending to capture them. Pharaoh's army,
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  Speaker 2: chariots and horsemen pursued them into the split seas as
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  Speaker 2: they closed the gap between them and Israel God's pillar
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  Speaker 2: of fire and cloud threw them into a panic their
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  Speaker 2: horses fell and their chariots crumbled the army looked up
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  Speaker 2: and the waters began to sway back and forth above
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  Speaker 2: them The waters fell like a crumbling wall, and the
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  Speaker 2: Egyptians were swallowed up by the raging waters. Not one
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  Speaker 2: of them remained, and Pharaoh's hardened heart dissolved in the
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  Speaker 2: darkness of the deep sea. The people of Israel looked
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  Speaker 2: upon the seas on the other side, safe, not one
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  Speaker 2: of them being harmed. Egyptian bodies began to wash up
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  Speaker 2: on the shore. The Lord had been their champion once again.
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  Speaker 2: and saved them from the hand of the Egyptians. A reverent, thankful,
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  Speaker 2: and healthy fear of God came upon them, and they
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  Speaker 2: truly believed he was their redeemer and leader. They sang, danced,
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  Speaker 2: and celebrated God and Moses. Then they departed into.
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  Speaker 3: The wilderness, hopeful for greater things.
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  Speaker 2: Three days had passed, and the heat of the eastern
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  Speaker 2: sun beat down on the men, women, and children of Israel.
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  Speaker 2: They groaned under the sun, for they had ran out
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  Speaker 2: of drinking water. When they had come to Marah, there
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  Speaker 2: was a vast reservoir big enough to satisfy the entire group.
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  Speaker 3: However, the water was bitter and poisonous.
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  Speaker 2: What shall we drink, they mumbled to Moses, like children
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  Speaker 2: looking to their father. Moses turned to the Lord, also
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  Speaker 2: thirsty and feeling helpless to satisfy the people's needs. God
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  Speaker 2: showed Moses a dead tree to be thrown into the water.
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  Speaker 2: The sap from the log drew the mineral content down
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  Speaker 2: to the bottom of the pools, leaving good water for
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  Speaker 2: the people to drink. God had saved them from slavery
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  Speaker 2: and now satisfied their needs. Not long after, the Israelites
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  Speaker 2: ran out of food to eat. Hungry and growing more
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  Speaker 2: and more angry, they grumbled again to Moses, saying, At
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  Speaker 2: least in Egypt we had food. God heard their complaints,
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  Speaker 2: and instead of resenting them, He provided for them. God
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  Speaker 2: spoke to Moses, telling him that he was going to
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  Speaker 2: provide them food, but the food would come with instructions.
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  Speaker 2: For God did not want his people to be gluttonous
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  Speaker 2: and entitled to blessings. He knew that if he provided
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  Speaker 2: them food without any parameters, they would grow fat and lazy.
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  Speaker 2: I will send bread down from heaven. I will provide
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  Speaker 2: enough for everyone to eat, but they shall only take
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  Speaker 2: what is needed and no more. If they take too much,
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  Speaker 2: the food will spoil. And on the sixth day I
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  Speaker 2: will provide a double portion to be saved for the Sabbath.
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  Speaker 2: Moses told the people, although he was annoyed at their
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  Speaker 2: constant complaining. So the people waited. At twilight, a flock
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  Speaker 2: of quail came towards their camp. And at night they
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  Speaker 2: feasted on meat. They slept well fed and happy. In
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  Speaker 2: the morning they awoke to a flake-like substance laced on
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  Speaker 2: the ground like frost. It was thin and unknown to
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  Speaker 2: the people of Israel.
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  Speaker 3: What is it? they asked.
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  Speaker 2: So they named it manna, which means what? As God instructed,
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  Speaker 2: most people gathered only what they needed.
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  Speaker 3: While others took more and watched it spoil.
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  Speaker 2: So began the providing relationship between God and his people.
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  Speaker 2: The days would be long. And the weeks would be longer.
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  Speaker 2: Yet God continued to take care of his children.
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  Speaker 4: Picture the scene. 600,000 slaves are marching in the wilderness.
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  Speaker 4: Moses ahead of them. God leading the way. A great
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  Speaker 4: pillar of clouds by day and burning fire in the
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  Speaker 4: sky at night was present. So far we've seen in
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  Speaker 4: the Bible that when there is fire in the sky,
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  Speaker 4: it usually meant judgment. It signified God's wrath and punishment.
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  Speaker 4: But now this fire in the sky has a very
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  Speaker 4: different meaning, a meaning that will carry throughout the Bible,
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  Speaker 4: God's presence with his people, a meaning that we will
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  Speaker 4: see throughout the Bible, which is God's presence with his people.
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  Speaker 4: They traveled the way of the Red Sea, but when
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  Speaker 4: they came to his bank, they couldn't pass. So they
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  Speaker 4: set up camp just as God instructed them. Back in Egypt,
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  Speaker 4: Pharaoh realized his desperate situation and regretted releasing the slaves.
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  Speaker 4: So he gathered his troops and gave pursuit. He lashes
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  Speaker 4: out in one final attempt to subvert the will of God,
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  Speaker 4: the power of God, but he is defeated. With Pharaoh
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  Speaker 4: bearing down, the Israelites tremble with fear. They despaired, thinking
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  Speaker 4: that somehow God's awesome power was not now enough. They
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  Speaker 4: go to Moses to voice their complaint and their fears.
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  Speaker 4: We might be quick to judge their quick turn to
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  Speaker 4: fear and distrust, but how often do we in the
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  Speaker 4: face of trouble give up and go back to our
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  Speaker 4: old ways of thinking, to our old ways of being
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  Speaker 4: trapped and oppressed without freedom, not remembering that God has
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  Speaker 4: rescued us, that he has saved us. In those times,
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  Speaker 4: we must remember God's mighty power and his grace and
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  Speaker 4: all that he has already done, that he has taken
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  Speaker 4: care of us in the past and he will be
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  Speaker 4: faithful in the future. Moses spoke to his people and
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  Speaker 4: told them not to fear, but to watch what God
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  Speaker 4: is about to do, to stand still and to see
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  Speaker 4: the power of God. God instructs Moses to lead the
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  Speaker 4: people right into the waters, lifting up his staff. God
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  Speaker 4: will then miraculously divide the waters. As the people of
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  Speaker 4: God obey, they crawl safely on dry ground through walls
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  Speaker 4: of rushing, powerful water. When Pharaoh's army rushed into the
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  Speaker 4: divided sea, the columns of water tumbled onto their heads,
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  Speaker 4: wiping them out right before the eyes of the Hebrew people.
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  Speaker 4: It was a supernatural display of God's power. Was that
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  Speaker 4: enough to convince the Israelites not to despair when trouble
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  Speaker 4: came again? Well, unfortunately not. Just a few days later,
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  Speaker 4: they started to grumble again, complain again, begging for water.
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  Speaker 4: And they were saying to Moses and really saying to God,
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  Speaker 4: What have you done for me lately? God faithfully provided
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  Speaker 4: water from a tree and quenched their thirst, showing them
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  Speaker 4: he would satisfy their every need, every step of the
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  Speaker 4: way on their journey. When they grew hungry, they again complained,
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  Speaker 4: and God provided food with manna from the skies, a
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  Speaker 4: supernatural bread that God would provide to meet their physical needs.
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  Speaker 4: They only needed to trust God and to feed on
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  Speaker 4: his faithfulness. Even as they grumble and complain and fail
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  Speaker 4: to obey, God is as always faithful. And he leads
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  Speaker 4: his people through the wilderness to a land of promise
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  Speaker 4: that he is preparing for them. Dear God, we thank
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  Speaker 4: you for what we've seen and heard in the scriptures today.
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  Speaker 4: And we thank you that we can rest in your
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  Speaker 4: faithfulness to us, to feed us and to supply our
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  Speaker 4: every need according to your riches and glory in Jesus Christ.
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  Speaker 4: Help us always to trust in you and not complain. Lord,
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  Speaker 4: fill us with gratitude for the many blessings that you
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  Speaker 4: pour down upon us each day. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 4: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 4: I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com
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  Speaker 4: app and make prayer a priority in your life. If
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  Speaker 4: someone's life. And if you want more resources on how
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  Speaker 4: to tap into God's power for successful Christian living, be
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  Speaker 4: sure to visit jackgraham.org. God bless.