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Water Flows from the Rock - The Book of Numbers · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And Moses lifted up his hand, and
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  Speaker 1: with his rod he smote the rock twice, and the
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  Speaker 1: water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their
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  Speaker 1: breasts also. Numbers 20.11 Dear Lord, when I am weary
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  Speaker 1: on my journey to greatness, help me to stay mindful
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  Speaker 1: that I do not move outside of your command. when
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  Speaker 1: the weight and the pressure of those around me closes in,
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  Speaker 1: I will not be moved by the external pressures of others.
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  Speaker 1: But instead, I will be moved by my internal principles
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  Speaker 1: of obedience to you. I will not allow anger and
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  Speaker 1: frustration to cause me to step out of my alignment,
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  Speaker 1: to step out of alignment with my character. Protect me, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: from doing anything that would hinder me from stepping into
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  Speaker 1: my promised land. As I learn from Moses in Numbers 20, 21,
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  Speaker 1: I will intentionally set my life story before me as
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  Speaker 1: I lead and guide others. It will serve as a
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  Speaker 1: reminder that I'm my truest self and most effective when
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  Speaker 1: I live according to your plan. Thank you for giving
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  Speaker 1: me stories and examples. so that I can ensure my
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  Speaker 1: life is a success. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you
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  Speaker 1: for praying with us today. Continue your time with God
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  Speaker 1: by listening to today's Bible story, brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: Water flows from the rock. In our last story, we
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  Speaker 2: learned about Korah's plot to overthrow Moses. Korah openly challenged
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  Speaker 2: Moses in front of all the people, claiming he was
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  Speaker 2: a dictator and thief of glory. God's rage against Korah boiled,
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  Speaker 2: for Moses was his chosen leader over the people. Korah
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  Speaker 2: and all those who followed him were swallowed up by
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  Speaker 2: the earth. and cast into the fiery depths of Sheol.
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  Speaker 2: In this story, we learn about the weariness of Moses
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  Speaker 2: and how his past struggles with anger resurface, as inspired
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  Speaker 2: by the book of Numbers.
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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 our last story, we learned of
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  Speaker 3: the rebellion by Korah against Moses and Aaron. We saw
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  Speaker 3: how God punished Korah and other leaders for their attempt
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  Speaker 3: to overthrow his servants. We also saw how the people
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  Speaker 3: turned on Moses and God dealt swiftly with them. Moses
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  Speaker 3: again came to their defense and because of him, the
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  Speaker 3: Lord spared many lives. But just as we've seen before,
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  Speaker 3: Moses was not perfect. He has dealt with anger before
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  Speaker 3: and today his weariness with the people will trigger that
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  Speaker 3: anger to devastating personal consequences for Moses. We'll also hear
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  Speaker 3: how their journey of wandering in the desert is not
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  Speaker 3: an easy one. It is a far cry from the
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  Speaker 3: rest they could have enjoyed in the promised land, if
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  Speaker 3: only they had trusted God. Let's listen now to today's reading.
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  Speaker 2: The days were long and hot. The scorching sun set
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  Speaker 2: its gaze upon the Israelite camp, and all those under
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  Speaker 2: it grew weary and unpleasant. Water became scarce, and the
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  Speaker 2: people grew irritable, once again like children, The people rose
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  Speaker 2: against Moses and Aaron. To die in Egypt would have
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  Speaker 2: been a kinder death, they yelled. Why have you brought
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  Speaker 2: us out here into the wilderness to die? There is
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  Speaker 2: no water, no figs, no pomegranates, and no grain. The
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  Speaker 2: people scowled like hungry dogs. Moses and Aaron sought guidance
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  Speaker 2: from God once again. They too were weary and beaten
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  Speaker 2: from the sun. Even more, they were plagued with the
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  Speaker 2: constant complaining of the children of Israel. God said to them,
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  Speaker 2: Take your staff and speak gently to the rocks before
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  Speaker 2: the people. Make them watch as I provide them water.
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  Speaker 2: Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly of people together and
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  Speaker 2: walked towards the rocks. Their grumblings echoed in Moses' ear
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  Speaker 2: like a constant trip. They mocked him more, complaining the
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  Speaker 2: whole way. Their gripes were endless. Moses had a continued
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  Speaker 2: battle with his internal rage. He grew up as a
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  Speaker 2: part of two worlds, never truly accepted by either. His
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  Speaker 2: righteous anger once caused him to kill an Egyptian and
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  Speaker 2: flee to the wilderness. When he had finally found peace
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  Speaker 2: with his new family, God called him to free hundreds
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  Speaker 2: of thousands of people and lead them into the desert.
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  Speaker 2: There was no more room for patience in his heart.
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  Speaker 2: He was growing mad with the constant bombardment of grievances.
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  Speaker 2: The group was behind him murmuring to one another. Finally,
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  Speaker 2: in madness, he turned around to the people and yelled,
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  Speaker 2: Hear me, you insolent children! You want water so bad?
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  Speaker 2: And immediately Moses struck the rock with his staff, beating
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  Speaker 2: it twice, and water came spilling out for everyone to drink.
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  Speaker 2: It was an unsatisfying outburst. The people ignored Moses' pain.
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  Speaker 2: and went straight to the water to drink. They passed
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  Speaker 2: him smiling and cheering. Not one of them said thank you,
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  Speaker 2: but the Lord took notice. You did not believe me,
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  Speaker 2: God said. I told you to speak gently to the rock,
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  Speaker 2: but you struck it violently. Your anger will keep you
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  Speaker 2: from seeing the promised land. And just like that, Moses
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  Speaker 2: was forbidden from living long enough to see his dreams realized.
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  Speaker 2: Israel continued to journey forward in search of fertile lands
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  Speaker 2: to settle close to Canaan. To travel forward, they needed
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  Speaker 2: to pass through the land Edom, descendants of Esau. So
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  Speaker 2: Moses sent messengers to their king, saying, You have heard
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  Speaker 2: of our hardship coming from Egypt. We have come out
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  Speaker 2: of the grips of slavery alive. Please allow us to
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  Speaker 2: pass through your land and drink your water. We will
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  Speaker 2: depart peacefully. The king answered, HEARING THE MESSAGE FROM MOSES, REPLIED,
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  Speaker 2: IF YOU TAKE ONE STEP INTO MY LAND, I WILL
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  Speaker 2: PUT A SWORD THROUGH YOU. THEY BEGGED HIM, OFFERING TO
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  Speaker 2: PAY FOR ENTRY AND PASS ON FOOT. THE KING SPAT
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  Speaker 2: ONTO THE GROUND AND POINTED HIS SPEARS AT THE MESSENGERS.
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  Speaker 2: YOU SHALL DO NO SUCH THING. AND HE GATHERED HIS
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  Speaker 2: MEN AND RODE TOWARDS ISRAEL WITH FORCE. THEY GALLOPED TOWARDS
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  Speaker 2: THE OUTSKIRTS OF THEIR CITY AND MADE THEIR CLAIM OF
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  Speaker 2: OWNERSHIP OVER THE LAND. They were great and mighty in numbers,
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  Speaker 2: so the people of Israel fled from them. The detour
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  Speaker 2: added weeks to their journey. The people of Israel dragged
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  Speaker 2: their feet through sand and stone towards Mount Hor, which
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  Speaker 2: overlooked the promised land. God spoke to Moses and Aaron,
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  Speaker 2: Gather Aaron's people, for this is where his journey ends.
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  Speaker 2: So they took Aaron to the peak of Mount Hor
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  Speaker 2: to overlook the land flowing with milk and honey. Moses
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  Speaker 2: took Eleazar, Aaron's son, with them. Eleazar carried his father
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  Speaker 2: up the mountain, for Aaron was old and on the
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  Speaker 2: brink of death. Moses stripped Aaron of his priestly clothes
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  Speaker 2: and put them on Eleazar. The three of them sat
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  Speaker 2: there for a while, watching the sun set over the land.
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  Speaker 2: Everything shimmered like gold under the descending sunlight. There, beside
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  Speaker 2: his brother and son, Aaron breathed his last breath. The
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  Speaker 2: people of Israel mourned his death for 30 days after.
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  Speaker 3: Today's story finds the Israelites stuck in the wilderness. The
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  Speaker 3: days were long and hot, the sun bearing down upon
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  Speaker 3: their necks. Water was scarce and their thirst consumed their thoughts.
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  Speaker 3: So the people grew tired and weary, exhausted. And as
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  Speaker 3: we've seen so many times already, it's a recipe for complaints.
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  Speaker 3: And that's exactly what the Israelites did. complain and complain
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  Speaker 3: some more. They went to Moses and whined, dusting off
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  Speaker 3: the tired argument that we should have never left Egypt.
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  Speaker 3: I can't even imagine Moses' frustration. Moses and Aaron go
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  Speaker 3: to God, knowing that he could bring water from even
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  Speaker 3: the most unlikely source. God tells Moses to take his
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  Speaker 3: staff and speak gently to the rock. God would bring
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  Speaker 3: water out of the rock for his people. Moses assembles
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  Speaker 3: the people. But I imagine there must have been grumblings
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  Speaker 3: in the crowd. More doubts and fears were being sown.
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  Speaker 3: These troublesome children exasperate Moses. I think most parents listening
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  Speaker 3: right now could say, I've been there. There are days
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  Speaker 3: when frustration just bubbles over and sin rears its ugly head.
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  Speaker 3: That's what happens with Moses. God called him to speak gently.
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  Speaker 3: But on this day, gentleness, which is in the New
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  Speaker 3: Testament a fruit of the Spirit, is far from Moses' mind.
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  Speaker 3: He speaks harshly to the people, calling them rebels, and
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  Speaker 3: he strikes the rock in anger. Water flows freely as
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  Speaker 3: God said it would. The people drink to their fill,
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  Speaker 3: but Moses has committed a grave sin in the sight
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  Speaker 3: of God. He directly disobeyed God's instructions, striking the stone
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  Speaker 3: rather than speaking to it. And worse than that, he
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  Speaker 3: seeks out his own personal glory for the miracle that
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  Speaker 3: takes place. Moses knew that he had no power of
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  Speaker 3: his own. This was all the work of God. But
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  Speaker 3: he points to himself and to Aaron, taking the focus
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  Speaker 3: off the God who provides and placing it upon himself.
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  Speaker 3: It can be tempting to want to take credit for
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  Speaker 3: what God has done, but we always need to remember
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  Speaker 3: where our blessings come from, not from our own hands
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  Speaker 3: or our own works, but all blessings, every blessing flows
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  Speaker 3: from God who provides. For this sin of pride and rebellion,
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  Speaker 3: God tells Moses that he and Aaron will not enter
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  Speaker 3: the promised land. Moses will continue to lead the people,
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  Speaker 3: but he will never set foot in the land he's
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  Speaker 3: dreamed of and desired for so long. In this reading,
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  Speaker 3: we've also heard how the Israelites continued to move, searching
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  Speaker 3: for fertile lands. When they tried to pass through Edom
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  Speaker 3: to make their journey easier and shorter, the king there
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  Speaker 3: denies them entry and the Israelites fled in fear. This
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  Speaker 3: hardship could certainly have been avoided if they had only
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  Speaker 3: believed God and obeyed him and followed him in the
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  Speaker 3: path to the promised land. As we close the story,
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  Speaker 3: Aaron reaches the end of his life. He hadn't been
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  Speaker 3: a perfect servant, but he did serve Moses and God
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  Speaker 3: faithfully for many years. Aaron finally breathed his last, and
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  Speaker 3: though he never entered Canaan, he entered into eternal rest.
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  Speaker 3: Let's pray. Dear God, thank you for this story that
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  Speaker 3: reminds us that you alone are the giver of every
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  Speaker 3: good and perfect gift that comes from above. Help us
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  Speaker 3: in our anger and our fears and frustrations. to rather
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  Speaker 3: exhibit gentleness and kindness by the work of your Spirit
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  Speaker 3: in us. And we pray this in Jesus' name.
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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
• 12:00
  Speaker 3: and make Bible reading and prayer the priority of your life.
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  Speaker 3: If you enjoyed this podcast, share it with someone you love,
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  Speaker 3: a big difference, an eternal difference in someone else's life.
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  Speaker 3: And if you want more resources on how to tap
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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.