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Plague by Plague - The Book of Exodus · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. For I will at this time send
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  Speaker 1: all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants,
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  Speaker 1: and upon thy people, that thou mayest know that there
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  Speaker 1: is none like me in all the earth. Exodus 9.14
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  Speaker 1: Dear Heavenly Father, as I look back on Exodus 7.8
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  Speaker 1: and 9.35, I thank you, God, that you provide miracles
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  Speaker 1: for me to walk in, that validate your hand and
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  Speaker 1: calling on my life. When others doubt me, I will
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  Speaker 1: continue on my course and remain confident in the truth
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  Speaker 1: that you are with me, and you are with me
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  Speaker 1: everywhere I go. I will praise you in advance, and
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  Speaker 1: thank you because, like the children of Israel, you won't
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  Speaker 1: stop until my freedom has been won. Thank you, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: for your divine protection around my life. Even when others
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  Speaker 1: seem to be experiencing setbacks and devastation, because I rely
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  Speaker 1: on you, and I will be unscathed by the threats
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  Speaker 1: and plans of the enemy. I confess that my life
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  Speaker 1: is in your hands, and as long as I live
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  Speaker 1: in obedience to your instructions, you will cause me to
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  Speaker 1: flourish in areas others say I will experience lack. I
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  Speaker 1: give you all the glory and honor for keeping me safe,
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  Speaker 1: and for showing off in my life, family, and business,
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  Speaker 1: and different endeavors. I will no longer doubt that your
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  Speaker 1: hand is upon me, because my life is living proof.
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  Speaker 1: I decree and declare that the best is yet to come.
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  Speaker 1: In Jesus' name.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Listening to these daily prayers strengthens your relationship with God.
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  Speaker 1: Continue hearing from the Lord by listening to today's Bible
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  Speaker 1: in a Year. Brought to you.
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  Speaker 2: Plague by Plague In our last story, we learned about
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  Speaker 2: Moses and Aaron entering the courts of Pharaoh. They asked
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  Speaker 2: Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go so they
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  Speaker 2: could worship God. But Pharaoh refused and made life more
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  Speaker 2: miserable for the Hebrews. The people hated Pharaoh but resented
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  Speaker 2: Moses for making things worse. Yet God was not finished yet.
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  Speaker 2: In this story, we discover the resolve of God to
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  Speaker 2: free his people. Pharaoh's hard heart would be crushed under
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  Speaker 2: the mighty hand of God.
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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 podcast. In our previous episode, we heard
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  Speaker 3: what happened when Moses and Aaron first delivered God's message
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  Speaker 3: to Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. We saw that
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  Speaker 3: it brought only more hurt and horrible trouble to the
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  Speaker 3: people of God and that Moses, in his frustration, went
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  Speaker 3: to God and openly told him what was in his heart.
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  Speaker 3: God's response was one of patience and comfort for Moses
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  Speaker 3: and hope for the people. Today, we join Moses and
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  Speaker 3: Aaron as they return to Pharaoh to give him God's
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  Speaker 3: message again. He must let the people go or else.
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  Speaker 3: God's resolve to rescue his people would not be denied.
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  Speaker 3: Let's listen now to today's reading.
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  Speaker 2: Darkness hovered over the heart of Pharaoh. His eyes portrayed
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  Speaker 2: a soul hardened by God himself. God knew he would
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  Speaker 2: ask for signs to prove his deity. So he gave
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  Speaker 2: Aaron and Moses miracles. They entered again into the courts
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  Speaker 2: of Pharaoh. His countenance was dark and his voice was deep.
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  Speaker 2: They did not speak. Instead, Aaron cast down his staff
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  Speaker 2: at the feet of Pharaoh. The staff bounced on the ground,
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  Speaker 2: and slowly the wood began to morph into scales, and
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  Speaker 2: the staff motioned back and forth until it became a serpent.
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  Speaker 2: The serpent slithered and hissed towards Pharaoh. However, he did
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  Speaker 2: not look at the serpent and marvel. Instead, he saw
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  Speaker 2: it as a challenge. Pharaoh called over his wise men
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  Speaker 2: and sorcerers, the magicians of Egypt. With their trickery and
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  Speaker 2: secret arts of deception, they performed the same sign. Each
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  Speaker 2: sorcerer cast down their own serpents, and they surrounded Aaron's.
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  Speaker 2: Aaron's serpent staff gazed upon the other snakes and launched
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  Speaker 2: itself towards them. In almost an instant, Aaron's serpent swallowed
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  Speaker 2: up the other serpents and came back to Aaron as
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  Speaker 2: a staff. Pharaoh's heart did not budge. Early the next morning,
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  Speaker 2: Pharaoh was lounging near the Nile. The birds were chirping
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  Speaker 2: in the coolness of the morning, and Moses and Aaron
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  Speaker 2: approached Pharaoh with their staffs. Pharaoh, they shouted, God has
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  Speaker 2: said again, let my people go. Pharaoh did not respond.
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  Speaker 2: They spoke again, saying, By this you will know the
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  Speaker 2: power of God. Aaron took his staff and drove it
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  Speaker 2: into the Nile River. A sweeping force came upon the
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  Speaker 2: waters and Pharaoh watched as the entire river turned crimson.
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  Speaker 2: Blood had replaced the water and the fish of the
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  Speaker 2: water turned belly up. Their rivers, canals, ponds and pools
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  Speaker 2: became blood. Even the water in their cups leaked a
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  Speaker 2: deep red. The Nile was once red with the blood
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  Speaker 2: of Hebrew children. and now it ran red by the
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  Speaker 2: justice of God. Pharaoh once again turned to his magicians.
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  Speaker 2: By their secret arts, they were able to turn water red.
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  Speaker 2: Pharaoh was comforted that he could match the signs of God.
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  Speaker 2: He was deceived into thinking he was God's equal. Little
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  Speaker 2: did he know what true power the Lord possessed. His
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  Speaker 2: heart remained hardened. For seven days the Egyptians could not
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  Speaker 2: drink from the Nile. Again Moses went to Pharaoh and said,
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  Speaker 2: God has said, let my people go. But if you
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  Speaker 2: do not, another plague will fall upon your land. Again
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  Speaker 2: Pharaoh refused. The Nile swarmed with frogs and they covered
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  Speaker 2: the entire land. The streets, homes and cups of Egyptians
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  Speaker 2: were inundated with frogs leaping about. The magicians of Egypt
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  Speaker 2: once again explained the signs away with their secret arts.
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  Speaker 2: but the frogs did not cease. Pharaoh could no longer
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  Speaker 2: take it, and he pleaded with Moses and Aaron, Please
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  Speaker 2: plead with the Lord to take the frogs away, Pharaoh said.
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  Speaker 2: I will let your people go tomorrow. So God caused
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  Speaker 2: the frogs to cease coming from the ground, and the
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  Speaker 2: streets stunk with the carcasses of dead frogs. When Pharaoh
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  Speaker 2: saw that there was a respite from the frogs, he
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  Speaker 2: recanted his offer to free the Israelites. His heart grew harder,
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  Speaker 2: and he continued his ongoing battle with God. God stretched
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  Speaker 2: out his hand once again. As Aaron rose his staff
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  Speaker 2: to strike the dust of the earth, the sand became
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  Speaker 2: swarms of gnats. Like a hurricane, the gnats surged the
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  Speaker 2: land of Egypt. People and animals were covered with the
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  Speaker 2: tiny insects, and it became maddening. Pharaoh, growing more panicked,
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  Speaker 2: turned to his magicians once again. but they could not
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  Speaker 2: do what God had just done. This is surely the
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  Speaker 2: finger of God, they said, but Pharaoh's heart was still
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  Speaker 2: like stone. As tyrants have done for generations, he continued
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  Speaker 2: his war against the Creator. One morning, Pharaoh was enjoying
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  Speaker 2: himself by the water. Again, Moses and Aaron rose and
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  Speaker 2: went to him. They spoke to Pharaoh, saying, God has
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  Speaker 2: commanded that you let his people go, or else... There
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  Speaker 2: will be swarms of flies coming upon the land. Predictably,
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  Speaker 2: Pharaoh refused. Swarms of flies surrounded the land of Egypt. However, Goshen,
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  Speaker 2: where the Israelites dwelled, was left unharmed. The swarms of
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  Speaker 2: flies ruined everything, and the Egyptians spiraled into insanity. Pharaoh
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  Speaker 2: called Moses and Aaron to plead with them. Why don't
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  Speaker 2: you go and sacrifice to your God within the land?
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  Speaker 2: he asked. Moses replied, Because it would not be right
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  Speaker 2: to do so. Your people would see it as an abomination.
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  Speaker 2: Pharaoh conceded and said, Enough of this. Go out into
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  Speaker 2: the land and worship your God, but do not go far.
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  Speaker 2: Just plead to the Lord to make the flies stop.
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  Speaker 2: So the swarms of flies were ceased. Unsurprising to God,
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  Speaker 2: Pharaoh once again went back on his word and did
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  Speaker 2: not allow the Israelites to leave. His hardened heart grew colder,
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  Speaker 2: and he challenged God once again. God did not relent.
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  Speaker 2: His people were suffering, and he would not deal lightly
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  Speaker 2: with tyrant kings. His heavy hand would come upon Pharaoh again.
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  Speaker 2: Moses warned him and said, Let my people go. If
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  Speaker 2: you refuse, your livestock will fall. The next day, all
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  Speaker 2: the Egyptian livestock fell to a Camels, cattle, and sheep
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  Speaker 2: became ill and died. The stench of death was carried
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  Speaker 2: by by the warm wind. The livestock of Israel was
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  Speaker 2: left alive, and Pharaoh's spite only grew. Moses and Aaron
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  Speaker 2: came back to Pharaoh. This time they took handfuls of
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  Speaker 2: soot from the furnace and threw it in the air
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  Speaker 2: before Pharaoh. In an instant the soot became boils breaking
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  Speaker 2: out in sores on every human and beast in Egypt.
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  Speaker 2: Pharaoh's magicians could not even stand in front of Moses
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  Speaker 2: because of the pain from the boils. Pharaoh refused still,
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  Speaker 2: and God pressed in even further. Moses came to Pharaoh
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  Speaker 2: again early in the morning. God spoke through Moses, saying,
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  Speaker 2: Let my people go so they can serve me. I
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  Speaker 2: could have eradicated you and your people from the earth,
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  Speaker 2: but I have not. I have raised you up and
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  Speaker 2: shown you my power, so that the entire earth may
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  Speaker 2: know that I am the one true God. Yet still
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  Speaker 2: you exalt yourself like a god. I will show you
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  Speaker 2: true power. Hide yourself and your servants, for a great
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  Speaker 2: and mighty hailstorm shall pass through Egypt, a storm like
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  Speaker 2: no man has ever seen. Hide your people, for whoever
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  Speaker 2: does not seek shelter will die. And so it was.
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  Speaker 2: Whoever feared the voice of God was protected under the
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  Speaker 2: safety of their homes. Whoever paid no attention perished under
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  Speaker 2: the ice. Soon would come fire. Pharaoh begged Moses and
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  Speaker 2: Aaron to have the storm cease. I have sinned, Pharaoh cried.
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  Speaker 2: The Lord is in the right and I am in
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  Speaker 2: the wrong. Leave and I will not pursue you. Moses
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  Speaker 2: replied to Pharaoh, now confident in God's power, and said,
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  Speaker 2: The thunder and hail will cease, but I know you
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  Speaker 2: have yet to learn the real fear of God. So
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  Speaker 2: they began to leave the city. Pharaoh saw that the
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  Speaker 2: storm had stopped. He looked up to the sky, feeling
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  Speaker 2: a sense of accomplishment that he could manipulate God into
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  Speaker 2: ceasing the storm. He did not let the people go.
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  Speaker 2: God knew this would happen. Pharaoh had yet to truly
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  Speaker 2: learn how far God would go to rescue his children.
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  Speaker 3: When Moses and Aaron first appeared before Pharaoh, they came
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  Speaker 3: in the name of their God and told him to
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  Speaker 3: release the people to worship him in the wilderness. Pharaoh
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  Speaker 3: wasn't impressed by this because he didn't know God. He
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  Speaker 3: was irritated. And when they came back, He was beyond angry.
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  Speaker 3: His heart was hardened. Of course, God knew that Pharaoh
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  Speaker 3: worshiped many false gods. Those false gods represented themselves, so-called,
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  Speaker 3: with signs and wonders. So God is about to attack
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  Speaker 3: every god of Egypt. He would show Pharaoh and the
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  Speaker 3: whole world that he was not just a god, but
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  Speaker 3: the god, one and only. God turned Aaron's staff into
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  Speaker 3: a snake. But Pharaoh's sorcerers responded in kind, and Pharaoh
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  Speaker 3: was unimpressed and unyielding. Moses and Aaron approached him again
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  Speaker 3: by the Nile and repeated God's command, Let my people go.
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  Speaker 3: Once again, Pharaoh refused, and the river's waters turned to blood,
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  Speaker 3: killing all of its fish. But Pharaoh's magicians again made
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  Speaker 3: him believe somehow that they had power that could match
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  Speaker 3: the Hebrew God. Pharaoh believed the lion would not relent.
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  Speaker 3: He didn't even care that the water in this river,
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  Speaker 3: which brought life and livelihood to his people, could not
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  Speaker 3: be consumed. He turned a deaf ear even to his
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  Speaker 3: own people who were in danger and distress. Next came
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  Speaker 3: the frogs. Then a plague of gnats, insects everywhere. Every
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  Speaker 3: time before God would release a plague, Moses and Aaron
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  Speaker 3: would make the demand of Pharaoh, let my people go.
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  Speaker 3: He was given an opportunity to obey, but he would not.
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  Speaker 3: His heart was as hard as stone. With each plague,
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  Speaker 3: the severity and judgment increased. Flies, sick livestock, boils covering
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  Speaker 3: the people. And every time it seemed that Pharaoh had
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  Speaker 3: had enough and he would let God's people go, he
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  Speaker 3: would then harden his heart again and go back on
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  Speaker 3: his word. Finally, God sent Moses to deliver a message.
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  Speaker 3: If Pharaoh doesn't let Israel go, God will send a
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  Speaker 3: terrible plague that will show everyone that he is truly God.
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  Speaker 3: God tells Pharaoh he's alive only because he's allowed it.
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  Speaker 3: But Pharaoh remained unrelenting. He was at war with God.
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  Speaker 3: And in all of history, no one man has gone
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  Speaker 3: to war with God and won. It would not be
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  Speaker 3: different for Pharaoh. God sent a terrible hailstone raining ice
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  Speaker 3: on the city, killing those who did not heed God's
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  Speaker 3: warning and seek shelter. Fire filled the skies and Lightning
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  Speaker 3: and thunder lit up the heavens. So then Pharaoh admits
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  Speaker 3: his sin and guilt, promising to release his people. But
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  Speaker 3: his heart was so hard that once again he went
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  Speaker 3: back on his word. He lied to God and he
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  Speaker 3: lied to Moses. It was all happening just as God
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  Speaker 3: had said. But even in all of this, we see
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  Speaker 3: how God is merciful and slow to anger. That he
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  Speaker 3: is patient even when people reject him. but his patience
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  Speaker 3: with Pharaoh is running out. And it's a reminder that
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  Speaker 3: God is patient, but he's not a pushover. God is
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  Speaker 3: holy and he does judge sin. And when we harden
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  Speaker 3: our hearts against his grace, there is a price to pay.
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  Speaker 3: The next time we'll hear about the final plagues and
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  Speaker 3: the ultimate price that would be paid for doing battle
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  Speaker 3: with God. Almighty God, thank you for your relentless pursuit
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  Speaker 3: of us, just as you tirelessly pursued the children of Egypt.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you also for what today's lesson is teaching us
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  Speaker 3: about your forbearance and your patience and your grace toward us. Lord,
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  Speaker 3: give us soft hearts, not hard hearts. May we give
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  Speaker 3: our hearts to you unconditionally to know and to do
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  Speaker 3: your will. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for listening
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  Speaker 3: to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Pastor Jack
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  Speaker 3: Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com app And if
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  Speaker 3: you want more resources as to how to discover God's
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  Speaker 3: perfect plan and power for your life, be sure to
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  Speaker 3: visit jackgraham.org.