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Gideon the Trivial Judge - The Book of Judges · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. Behold, I will put a fleece of
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  Speaker 1: wool in the floor, and if the dew be on
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  Speaker 1: the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the
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  Speaker 1: earth beside, then I shall know that thou wilt save
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  Speaker 1: Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said. Judges 6.37 Lord,
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  Speaker 1: today I will be aware of the subtle signs of
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  Speaker 1: disobedience that rob me of my peace and safety. No
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  Speaker 1: matter how small the sin seems, I will remove it
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  Speaker 1: from my life. Like Gideon, I will work as the
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  Speaker 1: Lord's servant and remove the idols from around me. I
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  Speaker 1: declare that the Spirit of God will rise up within
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  Speaker 1: me as I stand for what is right. I will
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  Speaker 1: not be intimidated by those who move in deceit, for
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  Speaker 1: I know that the commander of the Lord's army is
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  Speaker 1: with me. Rise up, Lord. and surround me with men
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  Speaker 1: and women who have the same drive and passion to
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  Speaker 1: win and to take victory for your namesake. I choose
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  Speaker 1: to thank you in advance that you have already prepared
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  Speaker 1: your army of kingdom-minded influencers to move forward with boldness
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  Speaker 1: and take back what is rightfully ours. I am a
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  Speaker 1: person of valor. I am a warrior, and your hand
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  Speaker 1: of protection will see me through to complete victory. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for praying with us today. Continue your time
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  Speaker 1: with God by listening to today's Bible story. Brought to
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  Speaker 1: you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: Gideon, the Trivial Judge In our last story, we learned
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  Speaker 2: how Jabin and his general, Sisera, oppressed Israel for over
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  Speaker 2: 20 years. The Lord sent Deborah, a mighty and wise woman.
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  Speaker 2: He also sent Barak, the commander of Israel's armies. They
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  Speaker 2: fought valiantly against Sisera and his 900 chariots. Sisera fled
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  Speaker 2: and was in the tent of a woman named Jael
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  Speaker 2: and killed in his sleep with a tent peg through
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  Speaker 2: his skull. In this story, We learn about the oppression
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  Speaker 2: of Midian against Israel. God calls an unlikely judge, Gideon,
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  Speaker 2: to gather an army, as inspired by the book of Judges.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the
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  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. In our last episode, we
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  Speaker 3: heard how God worked through the faith and wisdom of Deborah,
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  Speaker 3: the deliverer. and the courage of Barak to free the
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  Speaker 3: Israelites from Canaanite oppression. We also saw how God used
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  Speaker 3: a foreign woman by the name of Jael to defeat
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  Speaker 3: the Canaanite general, Caesarea. It's a story of how God
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  Speaker 3: can work and does work through unlikely unknown people to
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  Speaker 3: bring about His will and how even the most insurmountable
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  Speaker 3: obstacles can be overcome when we trust in God for
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  Speaker 3: the result. Today, We're going to hear about another judge
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  Speaker 3: or deliverer that God raises up to free his people,
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  Speaker 3: a man who wouldn't have made anyone's list of who's who.
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  Speaker 3: He was not a great candidate to lead Israel into battle.
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  Speaker 3: His name is Gideon. And through the story of Gideon,
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  Speaker 3: we'll once again see how God can use even the small,
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  Speaker 3: the weak, and insignificant to accomplish great and mighty things.
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  Speaker 3: So let's listen now to today's reading.
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  Speaker 2: Israel lived in peace. They worked the fertile land, built
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  Speaker 2: new homes for their children, and worshipped God. However, compromise
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  Speaker 2: began to creep into the house of Israel. A few
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  Speaker 2: idols were brought into the temple, and slowly the people
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  Speaker 2: began to stray away from God. It was not deliberate,
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  Speaker 2: but gradual and unassuming. Soon Israel found themselves caught in
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  Speaker 2: another cycle of total depravity. They did only what they
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  Speaker 2: thought good for themselves, not for one another. They became
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  Speaker 2: selfish and self-pleasing, and turned from God and His law.
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  Speaker 2: If history has informed anything, it is that turning away
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  Speaker 2: from God is the first step towards destruction. An evil
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  Speaker 2: was lurking in the caves above Israel, like a dragon
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  Speaker 2: hidden in darkness. The Midianites were dwelling secretly in dens
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  Speaker 2: carved in the mountains, evil laughs and battle cries echoed
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  Speaker 2: through the canyons, and campfires lit up the mountain range.
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  Speaker 2: The evil horde descended upon Israel like a swarm. Whenever
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  Speaker 2: Israel planted crops, the Midianites and the people of the
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  Speaker 2: east would rise against them to devour everything in sight.
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  Speaker 2: Like pirates, they would pillage, rape, and burn Israel into dust.
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  Speaker 2: For seven years, Israel desperately worked to provide their families
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  Speaker 2: with safety and food, only to have them stripped away
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  Speaker 2: in a storm of Midianite evil. They would hide their
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  Speaker 2: livestock and food in their tents, but the Midianites were
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  Speaker 2: like locusts, eating up all of it. The people of
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  Speaker 2: Israel cried out to the God they had abandoned. Once again,
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  Speaker 2: out of desperation, not love, They called upon the God
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  Speaker 2: that parted seas to save them. One morning, an angel
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  Speaker 2: of the Lord sat under the shade of a terebinth tree.
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  Speaker 2: A few yards away, Gideon was beating out wheat and
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  Speaker 2: storing it in a winepress to hide from the Midianites.
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  Speaker 2: Gideon was smaller in frame, paranoid, and constantly looking over
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  Speaker 2: his shoulder. He belonged to the weakest tribe in Israel,
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  Speaker 2: and he was the weakest brother of his family. The
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  Speaker 2: Lord watched Gideon work frantically, shaking in fear and fumbling
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  Speaker 2: about his work. The angel of the Lord spoke to
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  Speaker 2: him from under the tree, saying, God is with you,
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  Speaker 2: mighty man of valor. Gideon leapt in the air out
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  Speaker 2: of fear, then saw it was not an enemy. Gideon
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  Speaker 2: walked closer and said, If the Lord is with us,
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  Speaker 2: then why are we living like this? God has forsaken
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  Speaker 2: us and given us to Midian like a treat to
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  Speaker 2: a dog. Gideon spoke boldly, for he was skilled in
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  Speaker 2: the art of whining and complaining. The Lord smiled and
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  Speaker 2: said to him, There is might in you. Take it
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  Speaker 2: and save Israel from Midian. I am sending you. Gideon laughed.
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  Speaker 2: How could I save Israel? he asked. My clan is
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  Speaker 2: the weakest in this region, and I am the runt
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  Speaker 2: of my father's house. No, you have the wrong guy.
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  Speaker 2: Gideon continued to laugh and began walking away. God said,
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  Speaker 2: I shall be with you, Gideon, and you shall strike
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  Speaker 2: Midian down as a single man. Gideon turned back to
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  Speaker 2: him and said, If you truly are the Lord, and
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  Speaker 2: I am truly called to be this hero of yours,
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  Speaker 2: then show me a sign. Gideon asked the Lord to
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  Speaker 2: stay while he went back into his house to prepare
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  Speaker 2: an offering. He prepared meat and cakes. He put the
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  Speaker 2: meat in baskets and its broth in a pot and
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  Speaker 2: rushed it back to the Lord. Gideon placed the offering
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  Speaker 2: on a rock next to him. Pour the broth over
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  Speaker 2: the offering, God said. So Gideon made all of the
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  Speaker 2: meat and cakes sopping wet, dripping completely with broth. Then
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  Speaker 2: the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of
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  Speaker 2: his staff and lightly touched the offering. Immediately, like a
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  Speaker 2: match to oil, the offering was consumed by flames. Gideon
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  Speaker 2: started at the fire in amazement, then turned back to
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  Speaker 2: the Lord, but he had vanished in an instant. At
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  Speaker 2: that moment, Gideon had perceived that it really was an
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  Speaker 2: angel of the Lord he was speaking to, and fear
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  Speaker 2: came over him. That night the Lord spoke to Gideon
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  Speaker 2: in the quiet. In your town there are many idols.
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  Speaker 2: You must remove them immediately, God whispered. Gideon, too frightened
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  Speaker 2: of his father and older brothers to do it in
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  Speaker 2: the daytime, snuck into the temple at night. Gideon was
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  Speaker 2: beating with sweat and constantly looking over his shoulder. He
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  Speaker 2: tied a rope around the altar of Baal. It was
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  Speaker 2: a massive statue looming over Gideon in the darkness. His
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  Speaker 2: torch illuminated the face of Baal staring down at him.
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  Speaker 2: Gideon cringed and tied the other end of the rope
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  Speaker 2: to his father's bull and slapped it. It ripped the
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  Speaker 2: altar of Baal from its foundation and came crashing down,
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  Speaker 2: shattering into a thousand pieces. Gideon also cut down other
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  Speaker 2: idols that dwelled in the house. Then Gideon took another
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  Speaker 2: one of his father's bulls and offered it to the Lord.
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  Speaker 2: The men in town rose early in the morning and
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  Speaker 2: saw that the altar was shattered. Who has done this?
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  Speaker 2: they shouted. The men teemed with anger. Who did this?
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  Speaker 2: they shouted again. The people began to gather around the
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  Speaker 2: site of the broken idol. They searched around and spoke
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  Speaker 2: to every person except one, Gideon. He has done this,
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  Speaker 2: they said with their jaws clenched. The men knocked on
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  Speaker 2: the door of Gideon's father, Joash. They burst through the
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  Speaker 2: door and said, Where is your son? He shall die
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  Speaker 2: for what he has done. Joash panicked. He wanted to
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  Speaker 2: protect his son, but did not want to invoke the
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  Speaker 2: wrath of the city on himself. So do you fight
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  Speaker 2: all of Baal's battles? Joash said, fumbling around his words.
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  Speaker 2: If he is a god, wouldn't he want to deal
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  Speaker 2: with Gideon himself? The men listened and stormed off. Meanwhile,
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  Speaker 2: the Midianite horde crossed the Jordan River and camped in
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  Speaker 2: a valley nearby. The Amalekites, along with some mysterious people
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  Speaker 2: from the east, joined forces with them and camped there.
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  Speaker 2: Their presence was felt by the people of Israel. Fear
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  Speaker 2: and hysteria ensued, yet something happened to Gideon. A small
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  Speaker 2: spark lit up within him. Something he had never felt
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  Speaker 2: before flickered inside him. The Spirit of God clothed Gideon
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  Speaker 2: like a suit of armor. Gideon's once cowardly demeanor shifted slightly.
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  Speaker 2: In a moment of bravery, Gideon called for the armies
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  Speaker 2: of Israel with the authority of a true judge called
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  Speaker 2: by God. He sounded the trumpet of war and it
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  Speaker 2: echoed across the cities of Israel. Gideon sent messengers throughout
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  Speaker 2: the land to gather an army. The Spirit of God
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  Speaker 2: flew like an eagle across the country, igniting a fire
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  Speaker 2: of hope the hearts of Israel. Men of war gathered
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  Speaker 2: to Gideon. The tribes of Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali
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  Speaker 2: picked up their swords and marched. Soon a vast army
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  Speaker 2: of 32,000 men stood at attention before Gideon, and he
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  Speaker 2: stood amazed by God. The battle was near, and the
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  Speaker 2: men were ready to follow Gideon to death and glory.
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  Speaker 2: Gideon retreated to a secret place to speak with God alone.
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  Speaker 2: The same self-doubt that Moses once had crippled the heart
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  Speaker 2: of Gideon. How can it be me? he whispered in prayer. Lord,
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  Speaker 2: if you will truly save Israel by my hand, show
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  Speaker 2: me a sign. So Gideon brought out a fleece of
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  Speaker 2: wool and set it on the floor. Gideon said, If
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  Speaker 2: you make this fleece wet on the dry ground, I
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  Speaker 2: will know it is you, and you have sent me.
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  Speaker 2: God did not enjoy being tested, but he wanted Gideon's
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  Speaker 2: heart to be comforting. So he made the fleece wet
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  Speaker 2: and kept the ground dry. Gideon spoke again, saying, Do
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  Speaker 2: not be angry with me, but could you now make
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  Speaker 2: the fleece dry and the ground wet? So God did
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  Speaker 2: as Gideon asked. This was a small reassurance that Gideon
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  Speaker 2: was supported by the God of all creation. Gideon rose
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  Speaker 2: to his feet, pulled his shoulders back, and marched towards
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  Speaker 2: his army.
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  Speaker 3: Forty years had passed since God delivered his people from
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  Speaker 3: the Canaanites under the leadership of Deborah and Barak. Life
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  Speaker 3: was good. There was peace and prosperity. But eventually, the
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  Speaker 3: people once again turned to other gods and brought God's
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  Speaker 3: judgment upon themselves. The peace that they had enjoyed for
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  Speaker 3: so long crumbled. Midianites, Amalekites, and people from the east
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  Speaker 3: began to loot their crops and livestock, leaving Israel in
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  Speaker 3: a desperate situation. These foreign enemies had placed their own
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  Speaker 3: gods in the temple. They had replaced Yahweh with idols. These,
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  Speaker 3: of course, were just man-made sculptures whose only power was
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  Speaker 3: to destroy the people's relationship with the only true God.
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  Speaker 3: Israel worshipped false deities, and these deities failed them. For
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  Speaker 3: seven years, the Midianites pillaged and plundered until God's children
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  Speaker 3: cried out to the God that they had forgotten. God
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  Speaker 3: heard their cries and sent a prophet to remind them
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  Speaker 3: of who he was, what he had done, and how
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  Speaker 3: they had disobeyed him. God could have stopped right there
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  Speaker 3: and just sent judgment as the price of their disobedience.
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  Speaker 3: But God in his grace, God in his great mercy,
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  Speaker 3: came once again to rescue his children and he sent
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  Speaker 3: an angel to a man by the name of Gideon.
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  Speaker 3: Gideon's first response was to question the angel and to
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  Speaker 3: ask why God had abandoned his people. His words are
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  Speaker 3: reminiscent of Moses' words to God in the desert. Why
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  Speaker 3: did you bring us all this way and leave us
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  Speaker 3: here to die? But God pressed the issue. He tells
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  Speaker 3: Gideon that there is greatness in him. Even though Gideon
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  Speaker 3: was the least of the least of his own tribe,
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  Speaker 3: God said that he had chosen him to save Israel.
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  Speaker 3: Gideon knew that he was not a man of physical
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  Speaker 3: significance or strength. And at first he refuses to do
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  Speaker 3: the job. But God tells Gideon he is his man.
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  Speaker 3: and that God will deliver Israel through him. Gideon is
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  Speaker 3: not convinced, and so he asks for a sign. He
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  Speaker 3: prepared an offering for God, placing meat and bread in
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  Speaker 3: a basket and drenching it in broth. When the angel
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  Speaker 3: touched the offering with his staff, flames erupted and consumed
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  Speaker 3: the offering. So Gideon's doubt is now burned away with
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  Speaker 3: the flames, and now he has a genuine fear. The
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  Speaker 3: fear of God is now burning in his heart. He
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  Speaker 3: realizes that God is speaking to him, and he's terrified.
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  Speaker 3: But God reassures him, tells him not to fear, and
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  Speaker 3: then he commands him to tear down his father's idols.
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  Speaker 3: God knew that if he was going to give Israel
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  Speaker 3: victory and deliver them from their enemies, that he must
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  Speaker 3: clean house. These false gods could no longer stand. Israel
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  Speaker 3: could no longer be tempted to trust in idols. In
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  Speaker 3: the same way, God wants to tear down the idols
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  Speaker 3: of our own heart. the strongholds in our lives that
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  Speaker 3: keep us from living in obedience to him. Our own
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  Speaker 3: disobedience become idols of the heart. There can be no
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  Speaker 3: half measures or half-hearted devotions. God wants all of you.
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  Speaker 3: He wants you to be all in. Let there be
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  Speaker 3: no other gods before our God. Gideon obeys and tears
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  Speaker 3: the idols down. The people become angry with him when
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  Speaker 3: they discover what he's done and want to kill him.
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  Speaker 3: But Gideon's father challenges the people to let their gods
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  Speaker 3: take care of Gideon if they were real. Now Gideon,
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  Speaker 3: who's full of courage, sounds the call to war. And
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  Speaker 3: when he sees that God has indeed called him and
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  Speaker 3: prepared him, he is now surrounded by an army of 32,000.
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  Speaker 3: But doubt creeps in once more and Gideon tests God
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  Speaker 3: with a fleece. God patiently answers Gideon's call for reassurance
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  Speaker 3: and twice proves himself to Gideon. The time for testing
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  Speaker 3: is over. Now is the time for battle. And that's
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  Speaker 3: what we're going to hear about the next time. It's
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  Speaker 3: one of the greatest stories in the Bible. Dear Lord,
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  Speaker 3: thank you for today's word and how it shows us
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  Speaker 3: that you can use us even when we are small
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  Speaker 3: and weak. that you do great things when we surrender
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  Speaker 3: our lives to you. Thank you for this reminder that
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  Speaker 3: you want nothing less than our full devotion to you.
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  Speaker 3: Help us to tear down the other things, the idols
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  Speaker 3: that keep our eyes off you, the gods of this
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  Speaker 3: world that cannot help us at all. We pray in
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  Speaker 3: the powerful and mighty name of Jesus, the God who
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  Speaker 3: can do the impossible, in Jesus' name, amen. Thank you
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  Speaker 3: for listening today to the Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 3: I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church.
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