Latest / Bible in a Year with Jack Graham / A Fallen King and Falling Fire

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A Fallen King and Falling Fire · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: And the angel of the Lord said unto Elijah, Go
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  Speaker 1: down with him, be not afraid of him. And he
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  Speaker 1: arose and went down with him unto the king. 2
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  Speaker 1: Kings 1.15 As I humbly come before you, God, I
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  Speaker 1: will fix my attention and set my gaze to your
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  Speaker 1: command to trust and rely on you. When I fall
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  Speaker 1: and make a mistake, Let the broken state of my
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  Speaker 1: heart and spirit look to you to be my physician
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  Speaker 1: and healer. No longer will I look to others to
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  Speaker 1: heal the areas in my life that only you can restore.
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  Speaker 1: No longer will I put my trust in man-made traditions
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  Speaker 1: and outcomes, but instead I will pray to you, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: and wait in faith as you move on my behalf.
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  Speaker 1: I declare that pride and ego will not have a
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  Speaker 1: seat at the table of my heart. I will not
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  Speaker 1: let Ahaziah's behavior become my reality. So, as I stand
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  Speaker 1: in integrity and deliver the message you desire for me
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  Speaker 1: to give to the world, I can stand confident, knowing
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  Speaker 1: that when others rise up against me, I will be
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  Speaker 1: like Elijah. You will send a fire of justice to
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  Speaker 1: speak on my behalf. and protect what you've placed inside
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  Speaker 1: of me. In Jesus' name, amen. Thanks for making prayer
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  Speaker 1: a priority in your life. To hear the Bible come
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: to life, stay tuned for The Bible in a Year,
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  Speaker 1: brought to you by Bibleinayear.com.
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  Speaker 2: A fallen king and falling fire. In our last story,
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  Speaker 2: we witnessed the faithful rule of King Jehoshaphat and Judah.
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  Speaker 2: His desire to seek God and his peace fueled many
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  Speaker 2: victories for Judah. Under his leadership, God provided a hedge
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  Speaker 2: of protection and prosperity over them. Now we learn about
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  Speaker 2: King Ahaziah's fall from God, literally and spiritually. And we
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  Speaker 2: witness the return of Elijah to once again bring difficult
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  Speaker 2: truths to a corrupt king, inspired by the book of
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  Speaker 2: 2 Kings.
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  Speaker 3: We're so glad you joined us on the Bible in
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: a Year podcast today. The Bible in a Year podcast
• 2:40
  Speaker 3: is an outreach of PowerPoint Ministries and can only come
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: to you each week through the support of listeners just
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: like you. Your support today is so important. that we
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: want to thank you for your gift by giving you
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: a copy of my book called The Jesus Book. It
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: is a powerful guide that shows how every book of
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: the Bible points to Jesus and how his living word,
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: the truth of God's word, will transform your life. So
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: to get a copy of The Jesus Book, simply go
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: to jackgram.org slash Jesus. That's jackgram.org slash Jesus. And thank
• 3:15
  Speaker 3: you for your support. In our last episode, we heard
• 3:19
  Speaker 3: about the rule of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, who
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  Speaker 3: guided his people back to God and established justice and
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  Speaker 3: worship of the Lord throughout the southern kingdom. He was
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  Speaker 3: much like his ancestor David, earnestly seeking the Lord and
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  Speaker 3: being open to correction by God's prophet. Today, we'll return
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  Speaker 3: north to a kingdom in shambles after the death of Ahab.
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  Speaker 3: Israel's new king, Ahaziah, will suffer a great fall, and
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  Speaker 3: in his moment of despair, his cries will reveal where
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  Speaker 3: his trust really is. We'll also see the return of Elijah,
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  Speaker 3: who will speak God's heavy judgment upon a dishonorable king. So,
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  Speaker 3: let's listen to God's word today.
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  Speaker 2: The troubled king Ahab had fallen. As arrows flew and
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  Speaker 2: pierced his flesh on the battlefield, the tides of power
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  Speaker 2: in the north began to turn. Israel was kingless for
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  Speaker 2: a short while, and the land of Moab tossed and
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  Speaker 2: turned with unrest. Moab had been under the rule and
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  Speaker 2: protection of Israel since King David. However, once Ahab was killed,
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  Speaker 2: the land that settled on the coast of the Dead
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  Speaker 2: Sea saw an opportunity to rebel. So... The new king
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  Speaker 2: of Israel, Ahaziah, took over during a time of incredible
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  Speaker 2: strain and unrest. One evening, Ahaziah was pacing in the
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  Speaker 2: upper room above his palace in Samaria. The warm summer
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  Speaker 2: breeze only made him more anxious. His nervous stomping rumbled
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  Speaker 2: the floor below him. He paced to and fro on
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  Speaker 2: his balcony, worrying over his kingdom. Lost in thought, Ahaziah
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  Speaker 2: paid no attention to the latticework slowly cracking beneath his feet.
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  Speaker 2: All of the sudden, his troubled thoughts were interrupted by
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  Speaker 2: the floor giving way from underneath him. The king fell
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  Speaker 2: more than a dozen feet through the floor of the
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  Speaker 2: upper room, slamming onto the palace floor below. The fall
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  Speaker 2: took all the breath.
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  Speaker 1: Out of him.
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  Speaker 2: His ears were ringing from the impact to his head. Slowly,
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  Speaker 2: He began to feel the sting of several broken bones
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  Speaker 2: coursing through his body. King Ahaziah laid there motionless for
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  Speaker 2: what seemed like days. The pain was intense, and his
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  Speaker 2: already muddied mind began to panic. It took everything in
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  Speaker 2: him to scream to his servants for help. After several
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  Speaker 2: cries for help echoing through the silent chambers, he finally
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  Speaker 2: found aid. His servants tended to his broken bones and
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  Speaker 2: fractured skull. His lungs were beginning to recover more of
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  Speaker 2: the air they once lost. However, the injuries to his
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  Speaker 2: body and head seemed beyond repair. Ahaziah sat in despair.
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  Speaker 2: He had only been king a few weeks, and he
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  Speaker 2: feared he would never recover. His paranoid mind began to
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  Speaker 2: wander into dark places. He wanted answers to questions not
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  Speaker 2: worth asking. He desired for hope in his dark and
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  Speaker 2: painful state. So, in a moment of weakness, Ahaziah sent
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  Speaker 2: his messengers to find priests in the temple of Baalzebub,
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  Speaker 2: the god of Ekron. He sent them to ask if
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  Speaker 2: he would ever recover. In so doing, Ahaziah revealed where
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  Speaker 2: his hope truly was. His heart was attached to the
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  Speaker 2: Philistine god of plagues and flies. His request revealed how
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  Speaker 2: far his heart was from the true god of Israel.
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  Speaker 2: Elijah was walking the fields of Tishbe, enjoying the peace
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  Speaker 2: of a mild summer day. The wind blew slightly from
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  Speaker 2: the west. Elijah had enjoyed peace since Ahab's death. No
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  Speaker 2: longer pursued by a witch queen and her puppet king,
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  Speaker 2: Elijah could now fully set his mind on the things
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  Speaker 2: of God. In a moment of prayer, the Lord spoke
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  Speaker 2: to Elijah, saying,' Go and confront the messengers from the king,'
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  Speaker 2: They are on their way to Beelzebub to ask Ekron
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  Speaker 2: for wisdom. Elijah was disturbed at the news. Not only
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  Speaker 2: did this reveal the wicked state of King Ahaziah's heart,
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  Speaker 2: but it also showed that Philistine influence had crept into
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  Speaker 2: his council. King Ahaziah's mind and heart were compromised. God
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  Speaker 2: spoke clearly again, saying, Go and tell them that he
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  Speaker 2: will never leave his bed. He will surely die where
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  Speaker 2: he lies. Elijah knew not to waste any time when
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  Speaker 2: it came to matters of God. So he left where
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  Speaker 2: he was and ran to intercept the king's messengers. He
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  Speaker 2: found them almost at the temple and told them of
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  Speaker 2: all God had said. Disturbed and afraid, the messengers turned
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  Speaker 2: around and ventured back to the palace. King Ahaziah was
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  Speaker 2: alone in his chambers. Just within sight, past the entrance
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  Speaker 2: to his door, he could see the hole in the ceiling.
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  Speaker 3: Where he fell.
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  Speaker 2: It tormented him, and he longed for a day where
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  Speaker 2: he could walk again to be rid of the view.
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  Speaker 2: The king looked to his left out the window, feeling
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  Speaker 2: an intense pain in his chest. He coughed and covered
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  Speaker 2: his mouth with the cloth in his hand. He looked
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  Speaker 2: down at the cloth.
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  Speaker 3: Blood.
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  Speaker 2: A grave sign for the king. He sighed deeply and
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  Speaker 2: closed his eyes. Then, a sudden echo of footsteps could
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  Speaker 2: be heard from the halls. His messengers had returned. They
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  Speaker 2: bowed before his bed. They had just left that morning,
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  Speaker 2: so the king was confused at their arrival. Why have
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  Speaker 2: you returned so soon? the king asked. A man intercepted
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  Speaker 2: us and told us that he had a message from God.
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  Speaker 2: Ahaziah's eyes widened. He had seen King Ahab's war with
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  Speaker 2: the god of their forefathers. As a child, he witnessed
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  Speaker 2: his father's constant turmoil with the god of David. At
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  Speaker 2: one time, he considered following the god of David. but
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  Speaker 2: decided not to, for the Philistine gods offered him more
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  Speaker 2: room for sin and lewdness. He knew that no good
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  Speaker 2: news awaited him. The servants delivered the message from God, saying,
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  Speaker 2: Is there no God in Israel? Why have you sent
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  Speaker 2: messengers to Beelzebub? Your request reveals much. You shall never
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  Speaker 2: leave your bed. You shall die on the bed you
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  Speaker 2: are lying on. What sort of man was he? What
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  Speaker 2: did he look like? the king whispered. for he had
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  Speaker 2: an idea of who it was. His father's sworn enemy.
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  Speaker 1: Was still alive.
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  Speaker 2: They replied he was a hairy man who wore a
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  Speaker 2: leather belt to hold his robes together. Ahaziah sat up
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  Speaker 2: in his bed. His lungs began to strain, and his
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  Speaker 2: chest swelled up with coughing. Blood spattered all over his sheets,
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  Speaker 2: and his chin was dripping with blood and saliva. Elijah,
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  Speaker 2: he yelled as blood flung across the room. Take my army,
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  Speaker 2: captain with fifty soldiers. Go and arrest him. The king's
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  Speaker 2: coughing filled the room, and his servants came in the
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  Speaker 2: room to attend to him while the messengers sent word
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  Speaker 2: for his captain. Elijah was sitting on top of a
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  Speaker 2: grassy hill overlooking the city below when the captain and
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  Speaker 2: his fifty men approached. He remained sitting as the captain
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  Speaker 2: drew his sword and pointed it at Elijah. Man of God,
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  Speaker 2: the king has commanded for you to come with us.
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  Speaker 2: Elijah looked at all the men closely. HE OBSERVED THEIR
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  Speaker 2: ANGRY SCOWLS AND VIOLENT EYES. HE CLOSED HIS EYES AND
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  Speaker 2: GAVE A BRIEF SIGH. HE OPENED HIS EYES AND LOOKED
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  Speaker 2: TO THE SKIES. THE SUN WAS STILL HIGH IN THE AIR. HOWEVER,
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  Speaker 2: THE CLOUDS WERE SHIFTING SLIGHTLY, AND IT LOOKED LIKE A
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  Speaker 2: STORM WAS POSSIBLY APPROACHING. ELIJAH REPLIED NONCHALANTLY, IF I AM
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  Speaker 2: TRULY A MAN OF GOD, PERHAPS FIRE SHOULD COME DOWN
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  Speaker 2: FROM HEAVEN TO DESTROY YOUR SMALL ARMY. As Elijah said this,
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  Speaker 2: a flash from the sky pierced downwards and sent all
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  Speaker 2: fifty men flying through the air. Immediately they were consumed
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  Speaker 2: with flames. They were dead almost instantly. Word reached the
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  Speaker 2: king of this incident, so he sent fifty more men
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  Speaker 2: to pursue and arrest Elijah. The other captain pointed his
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  Speaker 2: spear at Elijah and said, Man of God, you must
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  Speaker 2: come with us. It was a foolish mistake. For Elijah
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  Speaker 2: gave the same reply he did before, and fire from
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  Speaker 2: heaven consumed him and his men. The king heard of
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  Speaker 2: this and was insistent on sending another group of fifty
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  Speaker 2: men to pursue Elijah. Only this time, the captain fell
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  Speaker 2: at Elijah's feet and said, Please, O man of God,
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  Speaker 2: spare us. We are following orders, but do not want
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  Speaker 2: to be consumed like the others. Elijah smiled at the
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  Speaker 2: men for their humility. At the very least, they had
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  Speaker 2: learned their lesson unlike their kings. Elijah could hear the
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  Speaker 2: slight whisper of God comforting him. He said, Do not
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  Speaker 2: fear the king. Go down to him. So Elijah sat
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  Speaker 2: up and willingly walked down with the soldiers to the palace.
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  Speaker 2: He stood before the broken king. Ahaziah could barely say
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  Speaker 2: a word, for his body was failing him. Elijah once
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  Speaker 2: again delivered the message of God, and with those words,
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  Speaker 2: King Ahaziah breathed his last and died. Ahaziah had no
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  Speaker 2: sons to succeed him. His brother, Uram, became the next
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  Speaker 2: king of Israel. Ahaziah's death was not a result of injury. Rather,
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  Speaker 2: it was the result of a generational sickness in the
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  Speaker 2: kings of Israel. Their corrupt and selfish hearts were slowly
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  Speaker 2: killing the integrity of their nation. The passion of King
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  Speaker 2: David had disappeared in the land of Israel. What replaced
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  Speaker 2: it was a lineage of kings determined to seek their
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  Speaker 2: own glory above the children of God. Their imperfection only
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  Speaker 2: made them more vulnerable to attack and corruption. One day
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  Speaker 2: there would be a king to humbly enter the kingdom
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  Speaker 2: of Israel. A king that would not be self-serving or evil.
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  Speaker 2: He would be a king that would enter in humbly,
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  Speaker 2: lying in a manger. He would come to serve the
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  Speaker 2: people and lay down his.
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  Speaker 3: Life for them.
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  Speaker 2: He would bring peace, love, and truth to a people
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  Speaker 2: far off and lost. Yet for now, the ups and
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  Speaker 2: downs of kings continue.
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  Speaker 3: We begin today's passage in the aftermath of King Ahab's death.
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  Speaker 3: With the king dead, Moab rebelled against Israel. It was
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  Speaker 3: a time of great turmoil in the northern kingdom, which
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  Speaker 3: is no big surprise given the corruption and the wicked
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  Speaker 3: rule of Ahab and the wicked queen Jezebel. It is
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  Speaker 3: also no great surprise that Ahaziah, the new king, son
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  Speaker 3: of Ahab and Jezebel, would follow in his parents' footsteps
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  Speaker 3: and seek out idols, pagan gods and deities. One morning,
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  Speaker 3: King Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his bedroom and
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  Speaker 3: plummeted to the hard floor below. He was seriously injured
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  Speaker 3: and became sick, confined to his bed. But rather than
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  Speaker 3: call out to God for help, what did he do?
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  Speaker 3: He turned to false gods, just as his parents had
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  Speaker 3: done throughout their lives. Ahaziah sent messengers to seek answers
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  Speaker 3: from Beelzebub, the Philistine god of plagues. He wanted to
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  Speaker 3: know if he would recover from his injuries. What Ahaziah
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  Speaker 3: failed to recognize was that his real sickness was not
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  Speaker 3: in his broken body, but in his broken soul. But
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  Speaker 3: God saw the king and was grieved because of his unfaithfulness.
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  Speaker 3: So God sent an angel to give his prophet Elijah
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  Speaker 3: a message to Ahaziah. Because the king had turned to
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  Speaker 3: a foreign god, acting as though there was no god
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  Speaker 3: in Israel, he would never leave the confinement of his bed,
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  Speaker 3: but would die there. Elijah set off to find the
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  Speaker 3: messengers who were headed to Ekron to seek out Beelzebub.
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  Speaker 3: He told them all the angel had said. And they
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  Speaker 3: returned to Ahaziah with bad news. Bad news from the
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  Speaker 3: strange man on the road, When Ahaziah asked what the
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  Speaker 3: man looked like, the description confirmed what surely he already knew. Elijah,
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  Speaker 3: the same man who had troubled his father Ahab, was
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  Speaker 3: at it again. God's man was being God's man. Ahaziah
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  Speaker 3: sent a captain with 50 men to bring Elijah in.
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  Speaker 3: No doubt the king had in mind to make him
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  Speaker 3: pay for his words. But when they found Elijah, they
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  Speaker 3: called him a man of God and told him to
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  Speaker 3: come quickly because the king had ordered it. But Elijah
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  Speaker 3: answered to a much higher king, the Lord God. So
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  Speaker 3: he replied that if he was indeed a man of God,
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  Speaker 3: then fire would come down from heaven and consume the men.
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  Speaker 3: Just then God sent fire from the skies and wiped
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  Speaker 3: out Ahaziah's men. This sign would deter any reasonable and
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  Speaker 3: wise king, but Ahaziah was far from reasonable or wise.
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  Speaker 3: So he sent a second captain with 50 men, the
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  Speaker 3: same order, the same response from Elijah. and the same outcome,
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  Speaker 3: fire from heaven that consumed the men. Ahaziah sent a
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  Speaker 3: third contingent of men, but this time the captain did
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  Speaker 3: not demand that Elijah come with him. Instead, he humbled
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  Speaker 3: himself before Elijah, saying, as recorded in 2 Kings 1.13,
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  Speaker 3: O man of God, please let my life and the
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  Speaker 3: life of these fifty servants of yours be precious in
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  Speaker 3: your sights. In other words, please don't kill us. Please
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  Speaker 3: don't take us out from the power of your God.
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  Speaker 3: So this man had a different attitude and a different request,
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  Speaker 3: a different response, therefore. God told Elijah to go with
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  Speaker 3: the man and deliver his message personally to Ahaziah. So
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  Speaker 3: Elijah went to the king and again told him that
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  Speaker 3: because he turned to the Philistine God, his very life
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  Speaker 3: would be taken from him in that bed. And just
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  Speaker 3: as the Lord said, Ahaziah died then and there. a
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  Speaker 3: short reign marked by idolatry and foolishness and death. Today's
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  Speaker 3: passage reminds us that our God is the one true
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  Speaker 3: God and that he is a jealous God who deserves
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  Speaker 3: our full focus, attention, adoration, and affection. Let there be
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  Speaker 3: no other gods before him. Like his parents before him,
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  Speaker 3: Ahaziah gave his heart to false gods and it cost
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  Speaker 3: him not only an abundant and peaceful life and a
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  Speaker 3: beautiful reign, Among the people, it cost him everything. It
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  Speaker 3: cost him his life because God will not be mocked.
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  Speaker 3: The Bible says whatever a person sows, he will also reap.
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  Speaker 3: So let's pray. Dear God, thank you for this story
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  Speaker 3: that teaches us that you are a great God, a
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  Speaker 3: glorious God, and you and you only are God. And
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  Speaker 3: we pray that we would never turn to the world
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  Speaker 3: and the idols of this world and the things of
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  Speaker 3: this world to find relief or rescue or comfort in
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  Speaker 3: any false God. We thank you that you are jealous
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  Speaker 3: for us, that you love us because we are yours
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  Speaker 3: and you love us deeply and dearly and you always
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  Speaker 3: want our best. Remind us, God, today that our hearts
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  Speaker 3: are to be completely yours. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank
• 18:48
  Speaker 3: you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
• 18:51
  Speaker 3: And before we go, I wanted to let you know
• 18:53
  Speaker 3: that the Bible in a Year podcast is an outreach
• 18:56
  Speaker 3: of PowerPoint Ministries and can only come to you each
• 19:00
  Speaker 3: week through the support of listeners like you. Your support
• 19:04
  Speaker 3: today is so important that we want to thank you
• 19:07
  Speaker 3: for your gift by giving you a copy of my
• 19:09
  Speaker 3: book called The Jesus Book. This book is a powerful
• 19:13
  Speaker 3: guide that shows how every book in the Bible points
• 19:16
  Speaker 3: to Christ and how you can better read and understand
• 19:19
  Speaker 3: the Bible. And How God's Word Transforms Our Lives. So
• 19:23
  Speaker 3: to get your copy of the Jesus book, simply go
• 19:26
  Speaker 3: to jackgram.org slash Jesus. That's jackgram.org slash Jesus. And thank
• 19:33
  Speaker 3: you for your support.