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Zipporah and Aaron - The Book of Exodus · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the
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  Speaker 1: foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet,
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  Speaker 1: and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.
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  Speaker 1: Exodus 4.25 Dear Heavenly Father, as you bring me into
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  Speaker 1: my new season of alignment and destiny, I thank you
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  Speaker 1: that even though I may battle fear in my heart
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  Speaker 1: like Moses, I know that you are with me. Thank
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  Speaker 1: you for using my abilities to change the lives of
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  Speaker 1: those around me and to help set them free from
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  Speaker 1: the chains that stop them from living in their purpose.
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  Speaker 1: As Aaron was with Moses, I thank you, God, that
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  Speaker 1: you are sending the right people to surround me, to
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  Speaker 1: support the calling that you have for my life. From
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  Speaker 1: this moment on, I choose to take action and move
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  Speaker 1: in the direction that you've called me to move into
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  Speaker 1: without hesitation. I will not wait for others to act
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  Speaker 1: like a Zipporah in my life to do what you've
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  Speaker 1: called me to do. On the contrary, I will move
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  Speaker 1: with intentional obedience and with the urgency to fulfill my
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  Speaker 1: role in your glorious plan for my future. Thank you, God,
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  Speaker 1: for choosing me to be a beacon of hope and
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  Speaker 1: a light in the lives of those in need of
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  Speaker 1: encouragement and love. I decree and declare that I am
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  Speaker 1: a vessel ready to be used by you, God. Thank
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  Speaker 1: you for creating me to be a lifeline for the
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  Speaker 1: destinies of others. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for
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  Speaker 1: praying with me today. Continue listening for an incredible Bible
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  Speaker 1: story brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: Zipporah and Aaron. In our last story, we learned about
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  Speaker 2: how Moses encountered God through a flame emanating from a bush.
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  Speaker 2: The voice of God spoke to Moses in a wonderfully
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  Speaker 2: beautiful way. God called him to lead his people out
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  Speaker 2: of Egypt, for he had heard their cries. Moses also
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  Speaker 2: asked God for his name, and God said, I am
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  Speaker 2: who I am. In this story, we will learn how
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  Speaker 2: Moses was protected by Zipporah and how Moses' brother Aaron
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  Speaker 2: is called by God to meet and lead with his brother,
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  Speaker 2: as inspired by the book of Exodus.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible
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  Speaker 3: in a Year podcast. In our previous episode, we learned
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  Speaker 3: that the exile of Moses was interrupted after 40 years
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  Speaker 3: by God speaking through a burning bush. God's presence appeared.
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  Speaker 3: and told him that he was needed, called to go
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  Speaker 3: back to Egypt and to deliver the people. And despite Moses'
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  Speaker 3: many protests and excuses, God did not give up on him.
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  Speaker 3: He empowered and reassured the man that he, the God
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  Speaker 3: of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the great I Am, would
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  Speaker 3: go with him. Today we'll hear how Moses returns to
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  Speaker 3: Egypt and how God called his brother Aaron to join
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  Speaker 3: Moses and lead the people alongside of him. We will
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  Speaker 3: also hear how Moses' wife, Zipporah, will act swiftly to
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  Speaker 3: demonstrate obedience and commitment to God. This is a story
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  Speaker 3: about how God goes before his children and always fulfills
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  Speaker 3: his purpose for their lives. Let's listen now to the
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  Speaker 3: reading from Exodus.
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  Speaker 2: Moses had heard the call of God, excited, scared, and anxious.
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  Speaker 2: He went to tell his family of what had taken place.
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  Speaker 2: He told them of his encounter with the burning bush,
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  Speaker 2: the signs God had given him, and his call to
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  Speaker 2: go set free the slaves of Egypt. He turned to
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  Speaker 2: his father-in-law Jethro and said, Please let me go back
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  Speaker 2: to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they still live.
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  Speaker 2: Jethro allowed him to leave in peace. God beckoned Moses
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  Speaker 2: to leave, for all those who once sought his life
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  Speaker 2: were dead. So Moses took his wife, sons, and staff.
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  Speaker 2: Moses ventured back to the land he once fled, and
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  Speaker 2: he battled fear within his heart, yet he knew God
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  Speaker 2: was with him. They journeyed through scorching heat and freezing nights. Dunes, hills,
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  Speaker 2: and wilderness surrounded them. When Moses was alone and his
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  Speaker 2: family resting at a short distance, God spoke to him
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  Speaker 2: once again. When you return to Egypt, see that you
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  Speaker 2: show Pharaoh every miracle I have given you, yet do
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  Speaker 2: not be dismayed if he rejects you. for I have
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  Speaker 2: hardened his heart. He will not let my people go.
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  Speaker 2: Moses listened intently, breathing deeply so that he could tune
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  Speaker 2: into and understand what God was telling him. He continued saying,
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  Speaker 2: Tell Pharaoh that Israel is my firstborn son, and if
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  Speaker 2: he refuses to allow my firstborn son to come home
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  Speaker 2: to me, he will lose his. For God had already
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  Speaker 2: seen the hideous crimes Egypt had performed against the Hebrew children,
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  Speaker 2: One evening, a cloud of uneasiness crept upon Moses and
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  Speaker 2: his family. The anger of God was thick in the
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  Speaker 2: air and you could cut the tension with a knife.
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  Speaker 2: The Lord met Moses there and confronted him. As if
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  Speaker 2: in a nightmare, the Lord sought to put Moses to death. Moses' wife, Zipporah,
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  Speaker 2: wasted no time. She rushed to her sons with a
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  Speaker 2: flint in her hand and cut off their foreskins. There
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  Speaker 2: they were circumcised. For Moses and Zipporah both knew that
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  Speaker 2: they had not fully committed to God unless their family
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  Speaker 2: also was Hebrew. Zipporah, with her son's bloody four skins
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  Speaker 2: in her hand, threw them at Moses' feet and said,
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  Speaker 2: Surely you are a groom of blood to me. And
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  Speaker 2: she left him alone. Now the family that was going
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  Speaker 2: to set the Hebrews free had fully committed themselves to
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  Speaker 2: be Hebrew. And Moses' sons were given to the Lord.
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  Speaker 2: Miles away in the alleys of Egypt, God spoke to Aaron, Moses' brother.
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  Speaker 2: He said, Go into the wilderness to meet with your
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  Speaker 2: brother Moses. Aaron arose and looked towards the mountains beyond
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  Speaker 2: the city. There he met with Moses. The two embraced,
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  Speaker 2: having not seen each other in over forty years. Moses
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  Speaker 2: told Aaron of his mission and how they were both
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  Speaker 2: sent by God to free the Israelite people. Aaron, having
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  Speaker 2: connections with all the elders... gathered them into one place.
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  Speaker 2: Aaron acted as Moses' mouthpiece, just as God had said.
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  Speaker 2: The people were enamored by his words, captivated by the
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  Speaker 2: idea of being set free. All their prayers, all their
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  Speaker 2: cries to the Lord had been heard. God had bent
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  Speaker 2: his ear to them and seen their affliction. They worshipped
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  Speaker 2: God that night and fell on their faces before him.
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  Speaker 2: These prayers were the rumblings of true deliverance.
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  Speaker 3: After much questioning, doubting, and pleading with God to let
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  Speaker 3: him off the hook, Moses finally accepts God's call to
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  Speaker 3: return to Egypt and lead the Israelites out of slavery.
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  Speaker 3: He's still afraid, but the Almighty God is with him.
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  Speaker 3: And throughout this story, we're going to see how God
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  Speaker 3: goes before Moses preparing the way and how he journeys
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  Speaker 3: with Moses, guiding him to the place that he has
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  Speaker 3: called him. Moses gathers his family, and they say their
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  Speaker 3: goodbyes to Zipporah's father, Jethro. Jethro blesses them and sends
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  Speaker 3: them away in peace, knowing that God has called his son-in-law, Moses,
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  Speaker 3: for something very special. On the way to Egypt, God
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  Speaker 3: tells Moses of his plan to deal with Pharaoh. Moses
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  Speaker 3: will show him the signs and wonders that God has
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  Speaker 3: given him the power to perform. But God says these
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  Speaker 3: will prove ineffective as he will harden the heart of Pharaoh.
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  Speaker 3: Pharaoh's unwillingness to release Israel will ultimately cost him dearly.
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  Speaker 3: Listen to what God says in Exodus 4, 22 to 24.
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  Speaker 3: Then you will say to Pharaoh, thus says the Lord,
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  Speaker 3: Israel is my son, my firstborn. So I said to you,
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  Speaker 3: let my son go that he may serve me. But
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  Speaker 3: you have refused to let him go. Behold, I will
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  Speaker 3: kill your son, your firstborn. God shows his heart as
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  Speaker 3: a father to the nation of Israel and his wrath
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  Speaker 3: against those who resist him. He is a father who
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  Speaker 3: will stop at nothing to rescue and redeem his beloved children.
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  Speaker 3: One day God will show us just how far he
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  Speaker 3: would go, just how loving his great heart, his loving
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  Speaker 3: heart is, in that he would send his own son
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  Speaker 3: Jesus to die so that we could have eternal life.
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  Speaker 3: But before he hardens Pharaoh's heart, God must first deal
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  Speaker 3: with Moses' own heart. So God confronts Moses with his
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  Speaker 3: failure to circumcise his son as a sign of God's
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  Speaker 3: covenant with the Hebrew people. And in a truly dramatic,
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  Speaker 3: stunning scene, Zipporah performs the operation herself. Zipporah knew that
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  Speaker 3: if Moses was to lead the children of Israel out
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  Speaker 3: of captivity, his own heart needed to be 100% committed
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  Speaker 3: to God and obedient to God. And circumcising his son
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  Speaker 3: was a sign of disobedience. When God calls us to himself,
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  Speaker 3: he does not accept half-hearted surrender. We must fully commit
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  Speaker 3: ourselves to follow the Lord. But then he speaks to Moses'
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  Speaker 3: brother Aaron, sending him into the wilderness to meet Moses
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  Speaker 3: and to return with him to their people. And together
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  Speaker 3: they bring words of great hope to the enslaved Hebrew people.
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  Speaker 3: The great I Am, the one true God, has heard
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  Speaker 3: the cries of his people and have come to reign.
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  Speaker 2: Them.
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  Speaker 3: But the Pharaoh won't let them go easily, and the
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  Speaker 3: next time we're going to go with Moses to the
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  Speaker 3: very palace of the most powerful man on earth and
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  Speaker 3: see what Pharaoh says. Dear God, thank you for always
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  Speaker 3: going before us and beside us and that you live
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  Speaker 3: within us through Jesus Christ. Just as you prepared the
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  Speaker 3: way through Moses, we can trust that you will prepare
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  Speaker 3: the way for us. Lord, search our hearts and may
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  Speaker 3: we always be fully and completely obedient to you. May
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  Speaker 3: we surrender quickly to know and to do your will
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  Speaker 3: and to always do it with a grateful heart. Thank
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  Speaker 3: you for your long-suffering patience with us. In Christ's 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 the Pray.com
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  Speaker 3: make a big difference in someone's life in Jesus' name.
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  Speaker 3: be sure to visit JackGraham.org. God bless you. This episode
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