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God Gives His People Jericho - The Book of Joshua · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. So the people shouted when the priests
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  Speaker 1: blew with the trumpets. And it came to pass, when
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  Speaker 1: the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the
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  Speaker 1: people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell
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  Speaker 1: down flat. So that the people went up into the city,
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  Speaker 1: every man straight before him, and they took the city.
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  Speaker 1: Joshua 6.20 Dear Lord, today's reading has encouraged me to
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  Speaker 1: view each challenge in my life as a Jericho moment.
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  Speaker 1: When the enemy piles bad news and scare tactics in
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  Speaker 1: front of me, like the wall of that great city,
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  Speaker 1: instead of despair, I will equip myself with praise and worship.
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  Speaker 1: Even when the strategy doesn't make sense, I will remain
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  Speaker 1: obedient to your plan because I know that you've never
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  Speaker 1: lost a battle. I will not rely on what worked
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  Speaker 1: in the past to conquer the wall in front of me,
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  Speaker 1: but instead, I will leave my life open to the
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  Speaker 1: marvelous possibilities and new methods you will use to get
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  Speaker 1: me through the wall set up by the enemy. With
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  Speaker 1: this truth, I will march forward into my future. I
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  Speaker 1: will prepare my voice to give the shout of victory
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  Speaker 1: in advance because I am an unconditional praiser. Thank you, God,
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  Speaker 1: that my life has the reputation of one who walks
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  Speaker 1: with you. Look out, devil. I'm coming, and you can't
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  Speaker 1: stop what God is doing in my life. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks for making prayer a priority in your life. To
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  Speaker 1: hear the Bible come to life, stay tuned for The
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  Speaker 1: Bible in a Year. Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: God gives His people Jericho. In our last story, we
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  Speaker 2: learned about Joshua leading God's people through the Jordan River.
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  Speaker 2: God parted the Jordan and split the waters so Israel
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  Speaker 2: could walk through towards the Promised Land. Now Israel finds
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  Speaker 2: themselves in the face of Jericho, a great city with
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  Speaker 2: vast walls. It is time to learn of God using
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  Speaker 2: unconventional tactics to take over a city. Inspired by the
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  Speaker 2: book of Joshua.
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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. In yesterday's episode, God led his people
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  Speaker 3: across the Jordan River. As the Levite priests carried the
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  Speaker 3: Ark of the Covenant into the mighty river, when their
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  Speaker 3: feet touched the water, the river split in two, and
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  Speaker 3: the people walked across on dry ground into the promised land.
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  Speaker 3: They set up a monument to God's faithfulness on the
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  Speaker 3: other side and worshiped God for all that He had done.
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  Speaker 3: Today we will hear once again how God shows His
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  Speaker 3: might and power, His miracle-working power, in a way that
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  Speaker 3: no one could really have expected. Joshua The commander, the
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  Speaker 3: general of the Lord's army will meet someone who will
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  Speaker 3: show him that only God can give him victory in Jericho.
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  Speaker 3: So let's listen now to today's reading.
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  Speaker 2: Joshua sat quietly gazing at the city below. Night was
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  Speaker 2: drawing closer and he had climbed a nearby hill to
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  Speaker 2: get a better vantage point. He studied the walls surrounding
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  Speaker 2: the colossal city. He measured them and imagined his army
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  Speaker 2: attempting to breach it.
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  Speaker 3: Impossible.
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  Speaker 2: They would pick them apart one by one if they
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  Speaker 2: attempted to storm the city walls. If they entered through
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  Speaker 2: the main gate, it would be a funnel straight into
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  Speaker 2: the enemy's sword. Could they climb it? No. Could they
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  Speaker 2: avoid it? Not if they wanted to keep the land.
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  Speaker 2: If the people of Israel were going to have the
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  Speaker 2: promised land, the walls of Jericho had to be taken down.
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  Speaker 2: Joshua made his way down the hill with the sun
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  Speaker 2: setting behind him. Night had draped itself over the horizon
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  Speaker 2: like a warm blanket, and the stars began to sprinkle
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  Speaker 2: the sky. Joshua looked up and saw a man standing
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  Speaker 2: a few yards in front of him. The man was
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  Speaker 2: standing upright with his sword drawn in his hand. Joshua
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  Speaker 2: peered at the man, inching slower towards him with his
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  Speaker 2: hand ready to draw his sword.' Are you for us?'
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  Speaker 2: Joshua asked.' Or are you for our enemies?' The man
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  Speaker 2: looked at Joshua, seemingly uninterested in his specific question. No,
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  Speaker 2: the man answered. I am the commander of the Lord's armies,
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  Speaker 2: and I have come. As the words left the man's mouth,
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  Speaker 2: Joshua fell on his face. Joshua could barely speak with
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  Speaker 2: his face so close to the ground. What does the
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  Speaker 2: Lord say? Joshua said, words muffled by the dirt. Take
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  Speaker 2: off your sandals, Joshua. for the place where you stand
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  Speaker 2: is holy ground. So Joshua did. Stories of old rushed
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  Speaker 2: into Joshua's mind. He was reminded of how Moses' journey
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  Speaker 2: once began, standing among God on holy ground. Joshua knew
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  Speaker 2: that God stood before him as a victorious commander. Joshua
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  Speaker 2: listened intently to what the battle strategy was. He would
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  Speaker 2: have never predicted what would come next. After receiving instruction,
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  Speaker 2: Joshua gathered his men to strategize. The morning had come,
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  Speaker 2: and the walls of Jericho blocked the early sun from
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  Speaker 2: shining across the valley. The walls were elevated and locked
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  Speaker 2: from the outside and the inside. Ever since the Israelites
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  Speaker 2: crossed the Jordan River, Jericho shut its gates so none
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  Speaker 2: could come or go. Joshua led his people towards the city.
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  Speaker 2: As one mass, the armies of Israel marched forth with
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  Speaker 2: the Ark of the Covenant before them. Leading the way
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  Speaker 2: were seven priests with seven ram's horns. As God had instructed,
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  Speaker 2: the army marched around the city walls silently. No man
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  Speaker 2: said a word. With intensity and purpose, they looked forward
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  Speaker 2: towards the Ark of the Covenant. The priests blew their
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  Speaker 2: horns continually, and the beautiful trumpeting sounds echoed throughout the valley.
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  Speaker 2: The people of Jericho watched, confused and relieved that there
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  Speaker 2: was no attack. For six days the armies of Israel
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  Speaker 2: marched once around the city. They said nothing. There were
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  Speaker 2: no battle cries, no swords banging against their shields, or
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  Speaker 2: violent shouts of war. Neither swords nor spears were drawn,
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  Speaker 2: but God was on the move. The men arose early
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  Speaker 2: in the morning on the seventh day. The cool dawn
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  Speaker 2: air filled the soldiers' lungs. The rest of Israel watched
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  Speaker 2: as they prepared to leave again. They strapped their armor
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  Speaker 2: to their chests, held their spears firmly, and marched forth
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  Speaker 2: to Jericho. This time the armies of Israel marched around
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  Speaker 2: the city seven times. By the fourth time, the eastern
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  Speaker 2: sun was risen firmly in the middle of the skies.
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  Speaker 2: It beat down mercilessly. Beads of sweat dripped from the
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  Speaker 2: furrowed brows of Israelite soldiers. A cloud of dust followed
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  Speaker 2: them as they marched as one. The priests continued their trumpeting,
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  Speaker 2: signaling war. As the men finished marching across the city
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  Speaker 2: a seventh time, Joshua stopped, and the army stopped with him,
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  Speaker 2: remaining silent. He turned to his troops. With a passionate voice,
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  Speaker 2: Joshua cried out, Shout! Shout, for the Lord has given
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  Speaker 2: you this city. Today the city of Jericho will fall
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  Speaker 2: as an offering to God. Shout! So the people shouted.
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  Speaker 2: A thunderous roar boomed from the army of Israel. Cries
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  Speaker 2: of war and trumpets echoed and shook the earth. One
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  Speaker 2: by one the stones of the wall began to shift
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  Speaker 2: in their place. The walls of Jericho began to split.
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  Speaker 2: Cracks and clanging pierced the ears of everyone in the
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  Speaker 2: city as the walls began to crumble. The battle cries
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  Speaker 2: of Israel continued like the roar of a lion. The
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  Speaker 2: great walls of Jericho bowed before the might of God.
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  Speaker 2: The earth trembled as the wall fell to the ground.
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  Speaker 2: Screams of terror could be heard from the city. The
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  Speaker 2: broken walls stood before them, and Joshua, standing on one
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  Speaker 2: of the large stones, shouted to his men with sword
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  Speaker 2: raised high, Take this city! Yet Rahab the prostitute shall
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  Speaker 2: live and do nothing that will make your hearts stumble.
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  Speaker 2: The men stormed the city like a tsunami. Swords and
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  Speaker 2: shields clashed as the Jericho soldiers ran towards them. The
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  Speaker 2: sounds of war could be heard from miles away. and
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  Speaker 2: panicked screams littered the city. Flesh was torn from bone,
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  Speaker 2: and men tumbled on the floor wrestling. The ugliness of
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  Speaker 2: war and the blood of Jericho's soldiers painted the streets.
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  Speaker 2: Hours had passed, and screams were replaced with silence. Joshua
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  Speaker 2: drew a deep breath. They had won their first city.
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  Speaker 2: Jericho lay there crumbled and broken before them. Joshua looked
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  Speaker 2: to heaven inside deeply. smiled then continued forward to gather
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  Speaker 2: his people again God had given them the land the
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  Speaker 2: promises of God had never seemed closer. Yet, there were
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  Speaker 2: more battles to be won, more blood to be shed,
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  Speaker 2: and more heartache to experience. The reputation of Joshua would
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  Speaker 2: glide across the land like a hurricane, and the reputation
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  Speaker 2: of God crumbling the walls of Jericho would shatter the
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  Speaker 2: hearts of all those who would come against Israel.
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  Speaker 3: As today's story begins, Joshua is surveying the challenge that
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  Speaker 3: is ahead of him and the people of God. He
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  Speaker 3: is certain that God would give them all the victory,
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  Speaker 3: but he did not know quite how. Fear has seized
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  Speaker 3: the city and nobody's coming or going in Jericho. They
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  Speaker 3: locked it down tight. Then Joshua meets a very powerful man,
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  Speaker 3: a warrior like himself. And Joshua wants to know, are
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  Speaker 3: you friend or are you foe? Are you with us
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  Speaker 3: or are you against us? That's when he discovers that
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  Speaker 3: this warrior is no ordinary soldier. He is the commander
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  Speaker 3: of the Lord's army. And he's there to help. Joshua
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  Speaker 3: immediately bows in humble adoration because he realized this is
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  Speaker 3: indeed God himself. Just as God instructed Moses when he
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  Speaker 3: appeared to him at the burning bush, This commander tells
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  Speaker 3: Joshua to remove his sandals because he is on holy ground.
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  Speaker 3: Joshua listens closely to God's instructions, and he will follow
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  Speaker 3: them perfectly and obediently. The ark is to go before
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  Speaker 3: the army as they march around the city walls of Jericho.
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  Speaker 3: They were to march in silence. Can you imagine what
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  Speaker 3: the citizens of Jericho must have been thinking? It was perplexing, irritating,
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  Speaker 3: and terrifying. These were God's people. And for six days,
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  Speaker 3: this continued, this silent march around the city. No one screaming,
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  Speaker 3: no one beating their chest or pounding shields, nothing of
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  Speaker 3: horns bellowing through the town, across the landscape. No, just silence,
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  Speaker 3: eerie silence. And on the seventh day, Joshua had the
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  Speaker 3: army circle the city seven times, and they marched, waiting
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  Speaker 3: for instructions. After seven laps, Joshua told the people to
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  Speaker 3: shout in one voice, Shout to the God who had
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  Speaker 3: given them the city. And what happened was truly amazing.
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  Speaker 3: We read about it in Joshua 6, 20. So the
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  Speaker 3: people shouted and the trumpets were blown. As soon as
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  Speaker 3: the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people
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  Speaker 3: shouted a great shout. And the wall fell down flat
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  Speaker 3: so that the people went up into the city, every
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  Speaker 3: man straight before him, and they captured the city. The
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  Speaker 3: trumpets blew, the people shouted, and the walls fell down.
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  Speaker 3: God has shown them his might with waters, with fire,
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  Speaker 3: with the earth opening up to swallow evil men, and
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  Speaker 3: in so many ways through the desert. But now God
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  Speaker 3: in control of all things gives them the city. The
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  Speaker 3: God who's in control of the universe, the God who's
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  Speaker 3: in control of the world, doesn't need anything for walls
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  Speaker 3: to fall down. He just needs us to trust him
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  Speaker 3: and obey him. God can work through the invisible, through
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  Speaker 3: sound waves to bring down entire city walls. The impenetrable
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  Speaker 3: fortress of Jericho fell and was given over to Israel
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  Speaker 3: because of the sound of the voices of God's people.
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  Speaker 3: When we lift our voices in faith before God and
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  Speaker 3: do what He says, He will tear down walls and
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  Speaker 3: give us victories for His kingdom. Not necessarily physical walls,
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  Speaker 3: but spiritual strongholds. And when we lift our voices as
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  Speaker 3: God's people, there is no limit to what God can do.
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  Speaker 3: Today's reading ends with bloodshed and human death and suffering.
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  Speaker 3: It was a necessary cleansing of wickedness from the place
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  Speaker 3: where God's people were entering to keep them from becoming
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  Speaker 3: corrupted and turn away from God. There would be many
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  Speaker 3: more battles for God's people to fight, and God's name
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  Speaker 3: would be made known throughout these victories that he would
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  Speaker 3: give them as long as they remained committed unto him.
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  Speaker 3: Dear God, thank you for this incredible story of the
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  Speaker 3: walls of Jericho and the faith of God's people and
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  Speaker 3: the power of your presence. We are reminded that you're
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  Speaker 3: the God of the invisible as well as the visible,
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  Speaker 3: and that you give us victory against every foe as
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  Speaker 3: we fight spiritual battles. Help us to courageously, boldly lift
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  Speaker 3: our voices and praise your name until the whole world hears.
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  Speaker 1: 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 Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com app
• 14:38
  Speaker 3: and make Bible reading and prayer the priority of your life.
• 14:42
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  Speaker 3: a big difference, an eternal difference in someone else's life.
• 14:52
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  Speaker 3: into God's power for your life, be sure to visit jackgram.org.
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  Speaker 3: God bless you.