Latest / The Bible Explained with Jenn Kokal / Exodus 22:18-27 (From Creation) - Widows, Orphans, Beastiality, and Sorcery!

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Exodus 22:18-27 (From Creation) - Widows, Orphans, Beastiality, and Sorcery! · The Bible Explained with Jenn Kokal

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Speaker 1: Hey, faithful listener, thanks for tuning in to the P
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Speaker 1: forty Ministries Daily podcast. This podcast is dedicated to helping
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Speaker 1: you grow spiritually so you can grow personally. Let's grow
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Speaker 1: together by building a consistent Bible reading routine. This is Jen,
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Speaker 1: your host, and today we will be discussing the Book
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Speaker 1: of Exodus. Happy Friday, friends and faithful listeners. You've tuned
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Speaker 1: into the P forty Ministries podcast. And Hi. I am Jen,
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Speaker 1: the host of the P forty Ministries podcast, and I
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Speaker 1: appreciate you guys tuning in to hang out with me
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Speaker 1: and to share a cup of coffee with me as
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Speaker 1: we discuss the Bible today. So today we will be
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Speaker 1: talking about Exodus chapter twenty two Versus eighteen through twenty seven. Now,
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Speaker 1: depending on whatever version you have, it might be a
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Speaker 1: little bit different, but I will be reading out of
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Speaker 1: the we B version of the Bible this morning, but
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Speaker 1: please feel free to read out of your version and
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Speaker 1: we will definitely get to the core issues that God
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Speaker 1: is talking about here in Exodus chapter twenty two. You
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Speaker 1: shall not allow a sorceress to live. Whoever has sex
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Speaker 1: with an animal shall surely be put to death. He
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Speaker 1: who sacrifices to any God except to Yahweh only shall
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Speaker 1: be utterly destroyed. You shall not wrong an alien or
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Speaker 1: oppress him, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
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Speaker 1: You shall not take advantage of any widow or fatherless child.
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Speaker 1: If you take advantage of them at all, and they
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Speaker 1: cry at all to me, I will surely hear their cry,
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Speaker 1: and my wrath will grow hot, and I will kill
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Speaker 1: you with the sword, and your wives shall be widows
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Speaker 1: and your children fatherless. If you lend money to any
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Speaker 1: of my people with you who is poor, you shall
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Speaker 1: not be to him as a creditor. You shall not
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Speaker 1: charge him interest. If you take your neighbor's garment as collateral,
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Speaker 1: you shall restore to him before the sun goes down,
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Speaker 1: for that is his only covering. It is his garment
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Speaker 1: for his skin. What would he sleep with? It will
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Speaker 1: happen when he cries to me, that I will hear,
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Speaker 1: for I am gracious. So God is still talking to
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Speaker 1: Moses here on the mountain about what he should be
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Speaker 1: relaying back to the people. So these were all rules
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Speaker 1: for the Israelite people. So it says in verse eighteen,
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Speaker 1: God is talking about people who practice sorcery, specifically women. Now,
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Speaker 1: later on God talks about men who practice sorcery, but
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Speaker 1: right now this is specifically talking about women who are sorceresses.
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Speaker 1: So it says here that you shall not allow women
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Speaker 1: who practices sorcery to live. Now, in ancient times, a
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Speaker 1: sorcerer or a sorceress would be a person who typically
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Speaker 1: was associated with strong drugs, or they were people who
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Speaker 1: were mediums. They would talk to the dead and perform
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Speaker 1: all sorts of different magical things. Now, we do know
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Speaker 1: from several stories in the Bible that demons do have
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Speaker 1: an amount of power that they can give to humans.
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Speaker 1: So what God is saying here is that a sorceress
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Speaker 1: is somebody who is communicating with these demons. And to
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Speaker 1: God this was an abomination because demons were evil and
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Speaker 1: their liars. And if a sorceress has these kinds of
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Speaker 1: dark powers, that means that she is allowing these demons inside,
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Speaker 1: that they are probably possessing her, and that she has
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Speaker 1: these kind of dark powers through these demonic influences, because
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Speaker 1: we do know that that can happen. We see we
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Speaker 1: see in the Bible people with extraordinary strength that you know,
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Speaker 1: had demonic influences around them, and Jesus of course, drove
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Speaker 1: out those kinds of demons. And there's actually a story
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Speaker 1: and acts of a young girl that was possessed by
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Speaker 1: a demon who was accurately able to tell fortunes. She
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Speaker 1: was a fortune teller and her masters, because she was
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Speaker 1: a slave, her masters were making tons and tons of
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Speaker 1: money off of this poor girl who was possessed by
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Speaker 1: this demon. Now, when Paul drives this demon out of
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Speaker 1: the girl, she's no longer able to tell fortunes, and
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Speaker 1: the masters end up losing money, and then they hate
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Speaker 1: Paul and they try to kill Paul because of the
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Speaker 1: money that they lost through this young girl. So we
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Speaker 1: know that, yes, there are instances in the Bible where
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Speaker 1: demonic influence can allow people to do supernatural things like
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Speaker 1: tell fortunes, or have supernatural strength, or communicate with the dead,
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Speaker 1: or whoever, who knows what else. But God is saying
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Speaker 1: here that these things are contrary to him. They are evil.
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Speaker 1: But on top of this there also dark and they
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Speaker 1: influence other people. So God is saying that this is
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Speaker 1: an abomination because people were meant to trust in God,
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Speaker 1: not their fortunes being told, not communicating with the dead,
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Speaker 1: but trusts that God knew their future and was going
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Speaker 1: to take care of them no matter what. And you know,
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Speaker 1: in the case of a loved one passing away, that
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Speaker 1: God had them and knew the entire situation. You know,
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Speaker 1: the person at that point wouldn't need to communicate with
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Speaker 1: their loved one after their loved one is gone. So
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Speaker 1: God is saying that this is an abomination for these
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Speaker 1: women to practice sorcery. God was considering this a capital
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Speaker 1: crime because not only was it something that you know,
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Speaker 1: that person was doing to injure themselves, but they were
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Speaker 1: you know, people would go and seek these people out
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Speaker 1: and not trust in God. So it was seeping out
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Speaker 1: into the congregation. So it wasn't just an isolated incident.
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Speaker 1: If a sorceress was in the community, that power that
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Speaker 1: she had would be seeping out into all of the
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Speaker 1: community as people went to her to get their fortunes read.
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Speaker 1: And then on top of that, they wouldn't trust God anymore.
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Speaker 1: They would trust this human, this fortune teller, this demon
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Speaker 1: that was inside of her, rather than trusting in God.
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Speaker 1: So what God is teaching to his people here is
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Speaker 1: that they need to be trusting in God and God
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Speaker 1: alone and not seeking out demonic influences and trusting in
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Speaker 1: demons but rather trusting in God. So then it says
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Speaker 1: here in verse nineteen, whoever lies with an animal must
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Speaker 1: be put to death. Now this is best reality. And
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Speaker 1: in America this is actually illegal, but in other countries
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Speaker 1: around the world it's actually not illegal. Now, back in
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Speaker 1: the days of ancient Israel, be reality was actually a
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Speaker 1: very very common practice. In fact, the Canaanites had a
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Speaker 1: religious aspect around baste reality. It was part of their religion. So, yes,
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Speaker 1: having sex with animals was extremely common back in these days.
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Speaker 1: So best reality is something here that God is saying
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Speaker 1: is absolutely wrong. The act of best reality, I should say.
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Speaker 1: So it says here that whoever lies with an animal
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Speaker 1: must be put to death. So the act of best
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Speaker 1: reality is absolutely a sin. Because first and foremost, let's
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Speaker 1: think about this here, an animal is not created in
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Speaker 1: God's image, which means that a person should not be,
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Speaker 1: you know, having sex with an animal because they are
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Speaker 1: not created in God's image. It goes against what God's
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Speaker 1: original plan was right from the beginning, and we've learned
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Speaker 1: about God's original plan, which was Adam and Eve in
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Speaker 1: the garden, and for those two to be fruitful and
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Speaker 1: multiplies what the Bible sets. In other words, they were
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Speaker 1: supposed to have kids, human kids obviously, because God created
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Speaker 1: too humans in his image for them to have kids.
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Speaker 1: So the act of sex beyond God's original design with
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Speaker 1: something that is not created in his image to God
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Speaker 1: is a despicable act. Plus, on top of this, can
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Speaker 1: you imagine the stdes that would be spread if people
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Speaker 1: were just constantly going around and doing this. I mean,
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Speaker 1: I can't imagine that that is a very healthy thing
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Speaker 1: for a person to do. Then, on top of this,
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Speaker 1: in my opinion, I truly believe that this is animal
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Speaker 1: abuse because you are subjecting an animal to something that
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Speaker 1: they do not want. It is not in their nature.
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Speaker 1: Animal abuse kind of gets my blood boiling a little bit,
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Speaker 1: So I don't like animal abuse. So personally, I believe
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Speaker 1: that this is also animal abuse, and God is taking
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Speaker 1: that into account as well. So God says here that
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Speaker 1: if a person commits this kind of treachery, that they
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Speaker 1: should be put to death. So then after this he
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Speaker 1: talks about those who sacrifice to any god other than
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Speaker 1: the Lord alone shall be put under a ban for destruction.
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Speaker 1: So God says that somebody who sacrifices to God should
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Speaker 1: be utterly destroyed, is what the we B version of
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Speaker 1: the Bible says. Now, the interesting thing about this here
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Speaker 1: is that, you know, God is telling his people obviously
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Speaker 1: that if a person worships or sacrifices or does something
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Speaker 1: for another God, that obviously they should be destroyed or
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Speaker 1: be killed. But the way the AMP words this, I
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Speaker 1: think is fascinating because if you switch over to the
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Speaker 1: AMP version, God says here that you know, it says
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Speaker 1: that they shall be put under a ban or designated
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Speaker 1: for destruction. And so what I find so fascinating about
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Speaker 1: this is that God knew that his people were going
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Speaker 1: to turn to other gods many many times throughout the future.
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Speaker 1: So God is saying that if the people choose to
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Speaker 1: go after other gods and you know they're fellow countrymen,
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Speaker 1: follow along with them, and they are not, you know, killed,
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Speaker 1: as God says here to do. God says that they
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Speaker 1: are going to be designated for destruction. And I believe
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Speaker 1: that means by him, if the people don't take care
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Speaker 1: of it, then God will take care of it in
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Speaker 1: God's way. And I would rather and I think I
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Speaker 1: would not want to be designated for God's destruction. Oh
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Speaker 1: that cricket is back. The other day, I told you
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Speaker 1: guys that I had a guest speaker on the podcast
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Speaker 1: and it was the cricket that's in my room. Well,
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Speaker 1: the cricket stopped cricketing for like a day, and I
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Speaker 1: thought it was gone, and now it just came back.
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Speaker 1: So if you hear a cricket, I am very sorry
10:46
Speaker 1: about that. So anyway, it says here in verse twenty one,
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Speaker 1: you shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for
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Speaker 1: you were strangers in the land of Egypt. Now that one,
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Speaker 1: I believe is pretty self explanatory. You know, don't mistreat
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Speaker 1: strangers in your country all. Now, of course, we know
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Speaker 1: from Jesus's time period that the Jews did in fact
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Speaker 1: mistreat gentiles, and we know that they didn't follow this
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Speaker 1: law either. And it says here that you shall not
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Speaker 1: harm or oppress any widow or fatherless child. And I
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Speaker 1: believe God is talking specifically to the men here because
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Speaker 1: he uses male pronouns, because it says if you harm
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Speaker 1: or oppress them in any way and they cry to
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Speaker 1: me at all, I will help, and I will most
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Speaker 1: certainly hear their cry, and my wrath will be burned
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Speaker 1: against you. And I will kill you with the sword.
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Speaker 1: So he's talking specifically to the men who mistreat widows
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Speaker 1: and young fatherless children. And then a woman who does
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Speaker 1: not have a husband anymore and she is widowed. God
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Speaker 1: is giving protections to widows and two orphans here. Now,
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Speaker 1: this is something that the ancient world never would have had.
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Speaker 1: Women had no rights. They were subhuman pretty much in
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Speaker 1: this day and age. And God is giving rights now
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Speaker 1: to this widow who would not have somebody to take
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Speaker 1: care of her. So God is giving rights to this
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Speaker 1: widow and is saying to his people, you better take
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Speaker 1: care of the widows and the children who are fatherless.
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Speaker 1: Take care of them. It doesn't matter if the child
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Speaker 1: is a boy or a girl, it doesn't matter. You're
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Speaker 1: supposed to take care of widows. And one thing that
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Speaker 1: I really like about Dave Ramsey side note here, he
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Speaker 1: always takes care of widows. If you ever listen to
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Speaker 1: the Dave Ramsey Show. He also has a podcast in
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Speaker 1: a radio show and whatever else. But if you ever
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Speaker 1: listen to it and a widow gets on to ask
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Speaker 1: about a finance question, he usually does like a free
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Speaker 1: service for her to help her with her finances, and
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Speaker 1: he will always say I'm a Christian, I take care
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Speaker 1: of widows. So that's something I really appreciate about Dave Ramsey.
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Speaker 1: But God commands it here that we need to be
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Speaker 1: taking care of the widows and making sure that they're
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Speaker 1: not destitute. Because God never plays favorites. He cares just
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Speaker 1: as much for the widow as he does for the
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Speaker 1: family man or whoever else. He cares for everybody. And
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Speaker 1: it says here that if they cry to me at
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Speaker 1: all for the way that you mistreated them, it says
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Speaker 1: that for help, I will most certainly hear their cry,
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Speaker 1: and I will be angry at you, the person who
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Speaker 1: mistreated them, and I will kill you with the sword,
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Speaker 1: and your wives will become widows and your children will
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Speaker 1: become fatherless. Now, I think there was something in the
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Speaker 1: New Testament that Jesus mentioned about the Pharisees mistreating widows.
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Speaker 1: I can't remember. I think that was in Matthew that
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Speaker 1: Jesus talked about the Pharisees mistreating widows. And I mean,
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Speaker 1: God knows all he knew. He knew that those Pharisees
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Speaker 1: were mistreating those widows by taking their money through you know,
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Speaker 1: religious practices or whatever, and he will be angry at
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Speaker 1: the people who mistreat fatherless children or widows because they
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Speaker 1: didn't have somebody to take care of them in this
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Speaker 1: day and age. So it says here then, in verse
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Speaker 1: twenty five, that if you lend money to any one
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Speaker 1: of my people with you who is poor, you shall
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Speaker 1: not act as a creditor or a professional money lender
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Speaker 1: to him, and you shall not charge him interest. This
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Speaker 1: is specifically talking about people who are poor. God is
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Speaker 1: not talking about any other case here, except for a
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Speaker 1: poor person who maybe does not want to sell himself
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Speaker 1: into a servanthood, but maybe is asking for a loan
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Speaker 1: so that he can get back on his feet but
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Speaker 1: not necessarily go into indentured slavery. God says here that
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Speaker 1: if this is the case, and this man is very poor,
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Speaker 1: it says that you shall not act as a creditor
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Speaker 1: or a professional money lender. God is saying, just lend
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Speaker 1: the man the money, don't charge him interest, don't try
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Speaker 1: to profit off of him, don't do anything except lend
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Speaker 1: him the money. Now, of course, this means that the
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Speaker 1: poor man would in fact have to pay the money back,
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Speaker 1: but there is no interest involved with that payment. Whatever
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Speaker 1: you lent that poor person is what the poor person
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Speaker 1: will be paying back without interest, And this is a
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Speaker 1: way to protect the poor people. And you know, I
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Speaker 1: want to mention something else here that this is not
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Speaker 1: a requirement that that person has to lend money to
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Speaker 1: that poor people. It says, if you lend money. So
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Speaker 1: that's another thing that I wanted to mention that God
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Speaker 1: is not commanding people that have more money to give
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Speaker 1: their money to the poor people. God never commands that,
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Speaker 1: but he says, if you do this, this is how
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Speaker 1: it should be done. So I want to mention that
15:48
Speaker 1: because I think a lot of people like to look
15:51
Speaker 1: at this kind of stuff and be like, oh, you know,
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Speaker 1: God loves communism. And I'm not trying to get political
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Speaker 1: here at all. But here's the thing though. It says,
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Speaker 1: if you lend money to any one of my people
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Speaker 1: with you who is poor. So if okay, so anyway,
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Speaker 1: if the person chooses to do this, it says, you
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Speaker 1: shall not charge him interest. And even if you take
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Speaker 1: your poor neighbor's robe as a pledge, so you know,
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Speaker 1: clothing had some value back then. You know, material was
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Speaker 1: probably harder to come by, and God is saying that,
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Speaker 1: you know, if this poor man gives the coat on
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Speaker 1: his back to you as a pledge that he will
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Speaker 1: in fact pay you back. God's saying to the person
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Speaker 1: that's lent the money to him, that you have to
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Speaker 1: return the coat at sunset because this man is so
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Speaker 1: poor that he doesn't even have a coat on his
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Speaker 1: back anymore. And it says that is his only thing
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Speaker 1: that is going to keep him warm through the cold night.
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Speaker 1: It says here that it is clothing for his body,
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Speaker 1: and what will he sleep. So God says, even if
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Speaker 1: that poor man wants to give you something, you know,
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Speaker 1: saying that he will in fact pay you back, give
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Speaker 1: the coat back to him by sunset so that he
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Speaker 1: will not freeze to death in the middle of the night.
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Speaker 1: And he says that when he cries to me for help,
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Speaker 1: I will hear him, for I am compassionate and gracious.
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Speaker 1: So God says that you know, even though this man
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Speaker 1: is very poor, God will hear his cries that you know,
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Speaker 1: he needs food, he needs clothing for his family, he
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Speaker 1: needs shelter, he needs money. He needs that money to
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Speaker 1: pay him back. And God is saying that when that
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Speaker 1: man cries out to him, he will hear him because
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Speaker 1: God is compassionate and gracious. So I really really like
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Speaker 1: how God ends this here that he is compassionate and
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Speaker 1: he is gracious, because I mean, just look at how
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Speaker 1: people throughout the Old Testament constantly refused to obey the law,
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Speaker 1: just turned away and away and away. So God is
17:55
Speaker 1: ending right here this this portion which we would consider
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Speaker 1: now to be kind of a tough portion of scripture,
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Speaker 1: and God is saying that, you know, even though he
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Speaker 1: knew that his people were not going to follow these laws,
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Speaker 1: he was still compassionate and gracious. And that's where Jesus
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Speaker 1: comes in, because you know, after many years of the
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Speaker 1: people not obeying the law and falling further away from God,
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Speaker 1: God did something fantastic, and in his grace and in
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Speaker 1: his compassion, he sent Jesus, who willingly came to die
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Speaker 1: for the sins of everybody, so that the law would
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Speaker 1: be fulfilled and that the people you know, you and
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Speaker 1: me right now currently could infect go to Jesus for
18:40
Speaker 1: our forgiveness, you know, rather than sacrificing these animals. So
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Speaker 1: God definitely is compassionate and gracious towards his people, friends
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Speaker 1: of people, listeners. This was Exodus, chapter twenty two, verses
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Speaker 1: eighteen through twenty seven. I definitely hope you enjoyed this
18:58
Speaker 1: portion of scripture and if you, please like it and
19:01
Speaker 1: share it on your social media platforms, and also take
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Speaker 1: a look at the brand new design I have in
19:07
Speaker 1: the shop. Well it's not really a brand new design,
19:09
Speaker 1: but it's an updated design and it is one that
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Speaker 1: I was able to partner with Sunday Cool Teas for
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Speaker 1: even feel it. So definitely go and take a look
19:25
Speaker 1: at that. I will drop a link to that in
19:26
Speaker 1: the bio of this podcast episode. But faithful listeners, thank
19:30
Speaker 1: you for tuning in this morning, and happy listening, and
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Speaker 1: God bless