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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: So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets.
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  Speaker 1: And it came to pass, when the people heard the
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  Speaker 1: sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a
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  Speaker 1: great shout, that the wall fell down flat. So that
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  Speaker 1: the people went up into the city, every man straight
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  Speaker 1: before him, and they took the city. Dear Lord, today's
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  Speaker 1: reading has encouraged me to view each challenge in my
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  Speaker 1: life as a Jericho moment. When the enemy piles bad
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  Speaker 1: news and scare tactics in front of me, like the
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  Speaker 1: wall of that great city, instead of despair, I will
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  Speaker 1: equip myself with praise and worship. Even when the strategy
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  Speaker 1: doesn't make sense, I will remain obedient to your plan,
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  Speaker 1: because I know that you've never lost a battle. I
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  Speaker 1: will not rely on what worked in the past to
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  Speaker 1: conquer the wall in front of me, But instead, I
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  Speaker 1: will leave my life open to the marvelous possibilities and
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  Speaker 1: new methods you will use to get me through the
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  Speaker 1: wall set up by the enemy. With this truth, I
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  Speaker 1: will march forward into my future. I will prepare my
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  Speaker 1: voice to give the shout of victory in advance because
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  Speaker 1: I am an unconditional praiser. Thank you, God, that my
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  Speaker 1: life has the reputation of one who walks with you.
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  Speaker 1: Look out, devil. I'm coming, and you can't stop what
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  Speaker 1: 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.
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  Speaker 2: God gives his people Jericho.
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  Speaker 3: In our last story, we learned about Joshua leading God's
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  Speaker 3: people through the Jordan River. God parted the Jordan and
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  Speaker 3: split the waters so Israel could walk through towards the
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  Speaker 3: Promised Land. Now Israel finds themselves in the face of Jericho,
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  Speaker 3: a great city with vast walls. It is time to
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  Speaker 3: learn of God using unconventional tactics to take over a city.
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  Speaker 2: Inspired by the book of Joshua.
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  Speaker 4: Hello, I'm Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible
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  Speaker 4: in a Year. In yesterday's episode, God led his people
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  Speaker 4: across the Jordan River. As the Levite priests carried the
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  Speaker 4: Ark of the Covenant into the mighty river, when their
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  Speaker 4: feet touched the water, the river split in two, and
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  Speaker 4: the people walked across on dry ground into the promised land.
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  Speaker 4: They set up a monument to God's faithfulness on the
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  Speaker 4: other side and worshiped God for all that He had done.
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  Speaker 4: Today we will hear once again how God shows His
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  Speaker 4: might and power, His miracle-working power, in a way that
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  Speaker 4: no one could really have expected. Joshua The commander, the
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  Speaker 4: general of the Lord's army, will meet someone who will
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  Speaker 4: show him that only God can give him victory in Jericho.
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  Speaker 4: So let's listen now to today's reading.
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  Speaker 3: Joshua sat quietly gazing at the city below. Night was
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  Speaker 3: drawing closer and he had climbed a nearby hill to
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  Speaker 3: get a better vantage point. He studied the walls surrounding
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  Speaker 3: the colossal city.
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  Speaker 2: He measured them and imagined his army attempting to breach it. Impossible.
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  Speaker 3: They would pick them apart one by one if they
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  Speaker 3: attempted to storm the city walls. If they entered through
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  Speaker 3: the main gate, it would be a funnel straight into
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  Speaker 3: the enemy's sword.
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  Speaker 2: Could they climb it?
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  Speaker 3: No. Could they avoid it? Not if they wanted to
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  Speaker 3: keep the land. If the people of Israel were going
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  Speaker 3: to have the promised land, the walls of Jericho had
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  Speaker 3: to be taken down. Joshua made his way down the
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  Speaker 3: hill with the sun setting behind him. Night had draped
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  Speaker 3: itself over the horizon like a warm blanket, and the
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  Speaker 3: stars began to sprinkle the sky. Joshua looked up and
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  Speaker 3: saw a man standing a few yards in front of him.
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  Speaker 3: The man was standing upright with his sword drawn in
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  Speaker 3: his hand. Joshua peered at the man, inching slower towards
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  Speaker 3: him with his hand ready to.
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  Speaker 2: Draw his sword.' Are you for us?' Joshua asked.
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  Speaker 3: Or are you for our enemies?' The man looked at Joshua,
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  Speaker 3: seemingly uninterested in his specific question.
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  Speaker 2: No, the man answered.
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  Speaker 3: I am the commander of the Lord's armies, and I
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  Speaker 3: have come. As the words left the man's mouth, Joshua
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  Speaker 3: fell on his face. Joshua could barely speak with his
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  Speaker 3: face so close to the ground.
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  Speaker 2: What does the Lord say?
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  Speaker 3: Joshua said, words muffled by the dirt. Take off your sandals, Joshua.
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  Speaker 3: for the place where you stand is holy ground. So
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  Speaker 3: Joshua did. Stories of old rushed into Joshua's mind. He
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  Speaker 3: was reminded of how Moses' journey once began, standing among
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  Speaker 3: God on holy ground. Joshua knew that God stood before
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  Speaker 3: him as a victorious commander. Joshua listened intently to what
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  Speaker 3: the battle strategy was. He would have never predicted what
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  Speaker 3: would come next. After receiving instruction, Joshua gathered his men
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  Speaker 3: to strategize. The morning had come, and the walls of
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  Speaker 3: Jericho blocked the early sun from shining across the valley.
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  Speaker 3: The walls were elevated and locked.
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  Speaker 2: From the outside and the inside.
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  Speaker 3: Ever since the Israelites crossed the Jordan River, Jericho shut
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  Speaker 3: its gates so none could come or go. Joshua led
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  Speaker 3: his people towards the city. As one mass, the armies
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  Speaker 3: of Israel marched forth with the Ark of the Covenant
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  Speaker 3: before them. Leading the way were seven priests with seven
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  Speaker 3: ram's horns. As God had instructed, the army marched around
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  Speaker 3: the city walls silently.
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  Speaker 2: No man said a word.
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  Speaker 3: With intensity and purpose, they looked forward towards the Ark
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  Speaker 3: of the Covenant. The priests blew their horns continually, and
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  Speaker 3: the beautiful trumpeting sounds.
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  Speaker 2: Echoed throughout the valley.
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  Speaker 3: The people of Jericho watched, confused and relieved that there
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  Speaker 3: was no attack. For six days the armies of Israel
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  Speaker 3: marched once around the city.
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  Speaker 2: They said nothing.
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  Speaker 3: There were no battle cries, no swords banging against their shields,
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  Speaker 3: or violent shouts of war. Neither swords nor spears were drawn.
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  Speaker 2: But God was on the move.
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  Speaker 3: The men arose early in the morning on the seventh day.
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  Speaker 3: The cool dawn air filled the soldiers' lungs. The rest
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  Speaker 3: of Israel watched as they prepared to leave again. They
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  Speaker 3: strapped their armor to their chests, held their spears firmly.
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  Speaker 2: And marched forth to Jericho.
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  Speaker 3: This time the armies of Israel marched around the city
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  Speaker 3: seven times. By the fourth time, the eastern sun was
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  Speaker 3: risen firmly in the.
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  Speaker 2: Middle of the sky. It beat down mercilessly.
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  Speaker 3: Beads of sweat dripped from the furrowed brows of Israelite soldiers.
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  Speaker 3: A cloud of dust followed them as they marched as one.
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  Speaker 3: The priests continued their trumpeting, signaling war. As the men
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  Speaker 3: finished marching across the city a seventh time, Joshua stopped,
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  Speaker 3: and the army stopped with him, remaining silent.
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  Speaker 2: He turned to his troops.
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  Speaker 3: With a passionate voice, Joshua cried out,' Shout! Shout, for
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  Speaker 3: the Lord has given you this city!' Today the city
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  Speaker 3: of Jericho will fall as an offering to God.
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  Speaker 2: Shout! So the people shouted.
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  Speaker 3: A thunderous roar boomed from the army of Israel. Cries
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  Speaker 3: of war and trumpets echoed and shook the earth. One
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  Speaker 3: by one the stones of the wall began to shift
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  Speaker 3: in their place.
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  Speaker 2: The walls of Jericho began to split.
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  Speaker 3: Cracks and clanging pierced the ears of everyone in the
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  Speaker 3: city as the walls began to crumble. The battle cries
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  Speaker 3: of Israel continued like the roar of a lion. The
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  Speaker 3: great walls of Jericho bowed before the might of God.
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  Speaker 3: 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.
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  Speaker 3: The broken walls stood before them. And Joshua, standing on
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  Speaker 3: one of the large stones, shouted to his men with
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  Speaker 3: sword raised high, Take this city! Yet Rahab the prostitute
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  Speaker 3: shall live and do nothing that will make your hearts stumble.
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  Speaker 3: The men stormed the city like a tsunami. Swords and
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  Speaker 3: shields clashed as the Jericho soldiers ran towards them. The
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  Speaker 3: sounds of war could be heard from miles away, and
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  Speaker 3: panicked screams littered the city. FLESH WAS TORN FROM BONE
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  Speaker 3: AND MEN TUMBLED ON THE FLOOR WRESTLING. THE UGLINESS OF
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  Speaker 3: WAR AND THE BLOOD OF JERICHO'S SOLDIERS.
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  Speaker 2: PAINTED THE STREETS.
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  Speaker 3: HOURS HAD PASSED AND SCREAMS WERE REPLACED WITH SILENCE. JOSHUA
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  Speaker 3: DREW A DEEP BREATH. THEY HAD WON THEIR FIRST CITY.
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  Speaker 3: JERICHO LAY THERE CRUMBLED AND BROKEN BEFORE THEM. JOSHUA LOOKED
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  Speaker 3: TO HEAVEN AND SIGHED DEEPLY.
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  Speaker 2: HE SMILED.
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  Speaker 3: Then continued forward to gather his people again. God had
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  Speaker 3: given them the land. The promises of God had never
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  Speaker 3: seemed closer. Yet there were more battles to be won,
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  Speaker 3: more blood to be shed, and more heartache to experience.
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  Speaker 3: The reputation of Joshua would glide across the land like
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  Speaker 3: a hurricane, and the reputation of God crumbling the walls
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  Speaker 3: of Jericho would shatter the hearts of all those who
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  Speaker 3: would come against Israel.
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  Speaker 4: As today's story begins, Joshua is surveying the challenge that
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  Speaker 4: is ahead of him and the people of God. He
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  Speaker 4: is certain that God would give them all the victory,
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  Speaker 4: but he did not know quite how. Fear has seized
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  Speaker 4: the city and nobody's coming or going in Jericho. They
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  Speaker 4: locked it down tight. Then Joshua meets a very powerful man,
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  Speaker 4: a warrior like himself. And Joshua wants to know, are
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  Speaker 4: you friend or are you foe? Are you with us
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  Speaker 4: or are you against us? That's when he discovers that
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  Speaker 4: this warrior is no ordinary soldier. He is the commander
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  Speaker 4: of the Lord's army. And he's there to help. Joshua
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  Speaker 4: immediately bows in humble adoration because he realized this is
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  Speaker 4: indeed God himself. Just as God instructed Moses when he
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  Speaker 4: appeared to him at the burning bush, this commander tells
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  Speaker 4: Joshua to remove his sandals because he is on holy ground.
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  Speaker 4: Joshua listens closely to God's instructions. and he will follow
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  Speaker 4: them perfectly and obediently. The ark is to go before
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  Speaker 4: the army as they march around the city walls of Jericho.
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  Speaker 4: They were to march in silence. Can you imagine what
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  Speaker 4: the citizens of Jericho must have been thinking? It was perplexing, irritating,
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  Speaker 4: and terrifying. These were God's people. And for six days
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  Speaker 4: this continued, this silent march around the city. No one screaming,
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  Speaker 4: No one beating their chest or pounding shields. Nothing of
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  Speaker 4: horns bellowing through the town, across the landscape. No, just silence.
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  Speaker 4: Eerie silence. And on the seventh day, Joshua had the
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  Speaker 4: army circle the city seven times. And they marched, waiting
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  Speaker 4: for instructions. After seven laps, Joshua told the people to
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  Speaker 4: shout in one voice. Shout to the God who had
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  Speaker 4: given them the city. And what happened was truly amazing.
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  Speaker 4: We read about it in Joshua 6.20. So the people
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  Speaker 4: shouted and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the
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  Speaker 4: people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted
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  Speaker 4: a great shout and the wall fell down flat so
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  Speaker 4: that the people went up into the city, every man
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  Speaker 4: straight before him and they captured the city. The trumpets blew,
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  Speaker 4: the people shouted and the walls fell down. God has
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  Speaker 4: shown them his might with waters, with fire, with the
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  Speaker 4: earth opening up to swallow evil men and in so
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  Speaker 4: many ways through the desert. But now God in control
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  Speaker 4: of all things gives them the city. The God who's
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  Speaker 4: in control of the universe, the God who's in control
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  Speaker 4: of the world doesn't need anything for walls to fall down.
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  Speaker 4: He just needs us to trust him and obey him.
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  Speaker 4: God can work through the invisible, through sound waves to
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  Speaker 4: bring down entire city walls. The impenetrable fortress of Jericho
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  Speaker 4: fell and was given over to Israel because of the
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  Speaker 4: sound of the voices of God's people. When we lift
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  Speaker 4: our voices in faith before God and do what He says,
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  Speaker 4: He will tear down walls and give us victories for
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  Speaker 4: His kingdom. Not necessarily physical walls, but spiritual strongholds. And
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  Speaker 4: when we lift our voices as God's people, there is
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  Speaker 4: no limit to what God can do. Today's reading ends
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  Speaker 4: with bloodshed and human death and suffering. It was a
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  Speaker 4: necessary cleansing of wickedness from the place where God's people
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  Speaker 4: were entering to keep them from becoming corrupted and turn
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  Speaker 4: away from God. There would be many more battles for
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  Speaker 4: God's people to fight, and God's name would be made
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  Speaker 4: known throughout these victories that he would give them as
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  Speaker 4: long as they remained committed unto him. Dear God, thank
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  Speaker 4: you for this incredible story of the walls of Jericho
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  Speaker 4: and the faith of God's people and the power of
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  Speaker 4: your presence. We are reminded that you're the God of
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  Speaker 4: the invisible as well as the visible, and that you
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  Speaker 4: give us victory against every foe as we fight spiritual battles.
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  Speaker 4: Help us to courageously, boldly lift our voices and praise
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  Speaker 4: your name until the whole world hears. Amen. Thank you
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  Speaker 4: for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm
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  Speaker 4: Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com app and
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• 14:39
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  Speaker 4: a big difference, an eternal difference in someone else's life.
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  Speaker 4: God bless you.
• 15:03
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