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Judah's Remnant - The Book of Jeremiah · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. Yet a small number that escape the
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  Speaker 1: sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into
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  Speaker 1: the land of Judah, and all the remnant of Judah
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  Speaker 1: that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn
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  Speaker 1: there shall know whose words shall stand, mine or theirs.
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  Speaker 1: Jeremiah 44.28 Dear God, as you continue to elevate me
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  Speaker 1: to places of influence and leadership, Unlike those in today's reading,
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  Speaker 1: I confess that my desire is to be in the
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  Speaker 1: complete and unwavering plan of the Lord. I confess that
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  Speaker 1: when I am given a word of warning or correction,
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  Speaker 1: I will not allow pride and ego to respond in me.
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  Speaker 1: I will not run in the direction of what you
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  Speaker 1: freed me from in previous years. Instead, I will plant
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  Speaker 1: my feet firmly on the words of your prophets and
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  Speaker 1: watch my life flourish and grow because I learned to
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  Speaker 1: move and act at the sound of your voice. I
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  Speaker 1: decree and declare, that I am no longer a slave
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  Speaker 1: to my past, but a servant to my future. In Jesus' name.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for making prayer a priority in your day.
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  Speaker 2: In our last story, Jeremiah witnessed the downfall of Judah.
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  Speaker 2: King Nebuchadnezzar used the Chaldean army to lay waste to
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  Speaker 2: all of Jerusalem. Hundreds of thousands of people were taken captive,
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  Speaker 2: and the remaining rulers of Judah were beheaded and trampled. Jeremiah, however,
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  Speaker 2: was spared from the Babylonians. He was given a choice
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  Speaker 2: to go to Babylon and live comfortably or remain with
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  Speaker 2: his peoples. Now we see the remaining Judeans trying to
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  Speaker 2: rebuild their city. However, even in the tragedy of loss
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  Speaker 2: and tyranny, there still remains greedy people hungry for power.
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  Speaker 2: Inspired by the book of Jeremiah.
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  Speaker 4: Hello, this is Jack Graham with today's episode of The
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  Speaker 4: Bible in a Year. In our last episode, we heard
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  Speaker 4: of the demise of Zedekiah, who resisted God's will and
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  Speaker 4: the Babylonian army to the bitter end. We saw the
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  Speaker 4: contrast between his attitude and arrogance and that of the
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  Speaker 4: great prophet Jeremiah, who obeyed God's will and even sacrificed
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  Speaker 4: his own comforts for the safety and the sake of others. Today,
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  Speaker 4: we'll hear how the remnant of Judah, who remained after
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  Speaker 4: the Babylonian conquest, will attempt to rebuild a broken city.
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  Speaker 4: God will bless the efforts of those who sought to
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  Speaker 4: live peacefully with their oppressors, But yet we'll see how
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  Speaker 4: the desire for power and control still overshadows the attempts
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  Speaker 4: to put the city back together again. Let's listen now
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  Speaker 4: to God's Word.
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  Speaker 2: Judah had been captured. King Nebuchadnezzar demolished Jerusalem's defenses and
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  Speaker 2: reduced the holy temple into a pile of rubble. The
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  Speaker 2: wealthiest and most educated of Judah were carted off to Babylon.
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  Speaker 2: There they were forced to contribute to the Babylonian economy.
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  Speaker 2: Jeremiah remained in Judah at Mitzpah along with the poorest
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  Speaker 2: of the country who were left to remain. There they
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  Speaker 2: were governed by a man by the name of Gedaliah.
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  Speaker 2: He swore to the remnant, saying, We must not be
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  Speaker 2: afraid to serve the Chaldeans and Babylonians. I will represent
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  Speaker 2: us to them and plead for their favor day and night.
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  Speaker 2: Gedaliah led the remaining Hebrews as they worked the fields,
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  Speaker 2: rebuilt homes, and stored up food for themselves. Each few
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  Speaker 2: weeks a tribute would be required of them, and Gedaliah
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  Speaker 2: would deal with their oppressors peacefully. Gedaliah desired for the
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  Speaker 2: remaining survivors of the Babylonian conquest to survive. Not only
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  Speaker 2: did they survive, but the Lord blessed their hand, and
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  Speaker 2: their crops grew in great abundance. However, there were some
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  Speaker 2: who were determined to fight against the Chaldeans. Ishmael, a
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  Speaker 2: man of royal blood, hated that Gedaliah would submit to
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  Speaker 2: Babylon with such ease. So he conspired against him to
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  Speaker 2: assassinate him. Gedaliah slept in his home soundly after a
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  Speaker 2: hard day at work. A shadow moved across the room
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  Speaker 2: towards his bed. As the shadow grew larger over his bed,
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  Speaker 2: Gedaliah drew his sword and caught the figure off guard.
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  Speaker 2: It was not Ishmael, but his friend Johanan. Gedaliah put
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  Speaker 2: down his sword and took a deep breath. Both men
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  Speaker 2: were silent for a moment. Let me defend you, Johanan
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  Speaker 2: whispered to his friend. If you die, all the Judeans
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  Speaker 2: will be scattered. Let me go and assassinate him before
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  Speaker 2: he does so to you. Gedaliah was old friends with Ishmael.
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  Speaker 2: He could not believe he would do such a thing. No,
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  Speaker 2: he replied. We cannot be killing one another. Too many
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  Speaker 2: have been lost. Weeks later, Gedaliah traveled to each village
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  Speaker 2: to check up on the people. As he was walking,
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  Speaker 2: Ishmael and a group of his men ambushed him. There
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  Speaker 2: was no time to react. Gedaliah was struck down with
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  Speaker 2: one swipe of Ishmael's blade. Over the next week, Ishmael
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  Speaker 2: began a tirade of killing. He slaughtered priests and servants
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  Speaker 2: that were loyal to Gedaliah. All those he did not kill,
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  Speaker 2: he took captive, and Ishmael assumed governance of the Judean remnant. However,
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  Speaker 2: Johanan would not allow his friend's death to go unpunished.
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  Speaker 2: He rallied the leaders of the remaining forces and marched
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  Speaker 2: against Ishmael. There, at the Pool of Gibeon, Johanan led
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  Speaker 2: a rescue mission to save Ishmael's captives. Johanan fought with
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  Speaker 2: the rage of a man who had just lost his friend.
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  Speaker 2: He wept as he swung his sword. Eventually, he backed
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  Speaker 2: Ishmael into a corner and the captives were released. However,
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  Speaker 2: Ishmael and eight of his men escaped to the Ammonites.
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  Speaker 2: Johanan knew that punishment awaited the remnant, since Gedaliah had
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  Speaker 2: been killed. So he gathered the remaining women and children
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  Speaker 2: and fled to Egypt to seek refuge. As Johanan and
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  Speaker 2: his people were making plans to leave, Jeremiah stopped them.
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  Speaker 2: He stood before the people and begged them not to go.
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  Speaker 2: He knew that only slavery awaited them in Egypt. The
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  Speaker 2: Lord has blessed our work here thus far. Our crops
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  Speaker 2: are steady, and our relationship with Babylon is mending. Do
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  Speaker 2: not leave, Jeremiah implored. But the people were still unsteady.
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  Speaker 2: They began to clamor and grumble. Jeremiah lifted his voice
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  Speaker 2: for all to hear and said, If you leave, famine
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  Speaker 2: and sword will follow you. The Lord desires for this
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  Speaker 2: remnant to build Jerusalem back to its former glory. Fear not,
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  Speaker 2: for there are great things ahead. As Jeremiah was speaking,
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  Speaker 2: Johanan's fist blew through his jaw. He fell to the floor. Disoriented,
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  Speaker 2: he looked to see Johanan's angry and worried face. You
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  Speaker 2: are a liar, Johanan spat. You are a tool of
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  Speaker 2: the Chaldeans and Babylonians, nothing more. So Johanan bound Jeremiah
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  Speaker 2: up and took him and the rest of the people
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  Speaker 2: out of Judah towards Egypt. Little did they know that
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  Speaker 2: the Lord had set in motion plans for Nebuchadnezzar to
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  Speaker 2: overtake Egypt as well. There would be no escaping God's will.
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  Speaker 4: In today's reading, Judah has been decimated by Babylonian forces.
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  Speaker 4: Most of the Judeans who were left alive were taken
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  Speaker 4: to Babylon as captives. The wealthiest were to integrate into
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  Speaker 4: Babylonian society and contribute to the nation's economy. But there
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  Speaker 4: was a remnant, the poorest population of Judah, left in
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  Speaker 4: their land to rebuild. And Jeremiah, the great prophet of God,
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  Speaker 4: remained as well. The Babylonians allowed a Judean to rule
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  Speaker 4: the people and ensure that they served Babylon and paid
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  Speaker 4: tribute when it was required. This duty was given to
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  Speaker 4: a man named Gedaliah. He was wise and wanted to
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  Speaker 4: see Judah rebuild and experience relative peace despite their terrible condition.
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  Speaker 4: So he resolved to deal peaceably with the Babylonians and
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  Speaker 4: the Chaldeans, making the best of a bad situation. Jeremiah
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  Speaker 4: was there to support him. God blessed the efforts of
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  Speaker 4: those who remained, and the land prospered. It was a
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  Speaker 4: glimmer of hope for Judah, a sign that God was
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  Speaker 4: still with them. But there were those who opposed Gedaliah
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  Speaker 4: and hated the foreign invaders. They didn't want to keep
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  Speaker 4: the peace, but continued to war against Nebuchadnezzar just as
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  Speaker 4: foolishly as Zedekiah had done. One such person was Ishmael,
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  Speaker 4: and he planned to kill Gedaliah and seize power. One
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  Speaker 4: night Gedaliah was surprised in his room by a man
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  Speaker 4: he thought was there to kill him, but he was
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  Speaker 4: ready with his sword. As it turned out, however, it
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  Speaker 4: was a friend by the name of Johanan. Johanan cared
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  Speaker 4: a great deal for Gedaliah and did not want to
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  Speaker 4: see him fall to Ishmael. So he suggested they strike first,
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  Speaker 4: killing Ishmael before he could get to Gedaliah. Here we
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  Speaker 4: have two men, Gedaliah and Johanan, who both want the
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  Speaker 4: same thing, but have different approaches. Johanan is quick to
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  Speaker 4: turn the violence to defeat opposition from within. But Gedaliah
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  Speaker 4: wisely knows that if they begin war with each other,
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  Speaker 4: killing those who oppose them, Judah would be far worse off,
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  Speaker 4: so he lets Ishmael live. It was an honorable choice,
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  Speaker 4: but it didn't work out, as one day Gedaliah was
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  Speaker 4: ambushed and killed by Ishmael. Now Judah was under the
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  Speaker 4: leadership of a very cruel man who quickly went about
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  Speaker 4: killing those who opposed him, including priests and servants who
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  Speaker 4: had shown loyalty to Gedaliah. Johanan will not stand for this,
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  Speaker 4: and once more he responds in anger with more violence.
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  Speaker 4: He attacks Ishmael's men and nearly defeated him, but Ishmael
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  Speaker 4: escaped at the last moment. Knowing there would be retribution
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  Speaker 4: for his attempt, Johanan gathers women, children, and all those
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  Speaker 4: not following Ishmael, making plans to flee to Egypt. It's
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  Speaker 4: an understandable impulse, but Johanan wants to know it is
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  Speaker 4: the right one, so he inquired of Jeremiah. The prophet
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  Speaker 4: goes to the Lord for guidance, and we hear God's
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  Speaker 4: response in Jeremiah 42, Verses 11 and 12. Do not
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  Speaker 4: fear the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid.
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  Speaker 4: Do not fear him, declares the Lord, for I am
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  Speaker 4: with you to save you and deliver you from his hand.
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  Speaker 4: I will grant you mercy, that he may have mercy
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  Speaker 4: on you and let you remain in your own land.
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  Speaker 4: So what was the answer? Don't go to Egypt. God says,
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  Speaker 4: trust me, your life will go from bad to worse
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  Speaker 4: if you run away. Johanan had a choice. just like
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  Speaker 4: so many to whom Jeremiah had spoken before. Trust God
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  Speaker 4: and do His will, or take matters into your own hand.
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  Speaker 4: Johanan chose the latter, and once more, Jeremiah suffers beatings
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  Speaker 4: and imprisonment from those who refuse to listen to God's word.
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  Speaker 4: The people fled to Egypt, not knowing that soon that
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  Speaker 4: land too would fall to Babylon. If only, if only,
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  Speaker 4: they had obeyed God and trusted Him, life would have
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  Speaker 4: been so much different. It's so important that we learn
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  Speaker 4: from mistakes, including the mistakes of others. And we always
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  Speaker 4: must remember and reflect daily on the fact that God
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  Speaker 4: can be trusted, that his word is sovereign and secure
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  Speaker 4: and supernatural, and that our future is secure because we
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  Speaker 4: live with the promises of God. And it is always
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  Speaker 4: right to run to the will of God and never
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  Speaker 4: away from the will of God. Dear God, we always
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  Speaker 4: thank you for the scripture, which teaches us how to
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  Speaker 4: live our lives. We know that even when things seem lost,
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  Speaker 4: you are faithful and you preserve a remnant of people
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  Speaker 4: for your glory. Help us always to listen to your counsel,
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  Speaker 4: wise counsel that comes from you, to seek peace rather
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  Speaker 4: than war, and that we would trust you for your
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  Speaker 4: provision for our every need. In Christ's name, amen. Thank
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  Speaker 4: you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 4: We are so glad that you have joined us. I'm
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  Speaker 4: Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. You can download the
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  Speaker 4: Pray.com app and join millions of people who are listening
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  Speaker 4: daily to the Bible in a year. I want to
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  Speaker 4: encourage you to make prayer and Bible study a priority
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  Speaker 4: in your life, that you would seek first the kingdom
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  Speaker 4: of God and His righteousness. If you enjoy this broadcast,
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  Speaker 4: let me encourage you to share it with others, people
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  Speaker 4: that you love, people that you know, people in your church.
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  Speaker 4: because we believe the Word of God makes an eternal
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  Speaker 4: difference in people's lives. If you want more resources as
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  Speaker 4: to how you can live the Christian life, be sure
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  Speaker 4: to visit jackgram.org. That's jackgram.org. God bless you.