Latest / Bible in a Year with Jack Graham / The Lord Gives Water and Victories - The Book of Exodus
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock
- 0:03Speaker 1: in Horeb, and thou shalt smite the rock, and there
- 0:07Speaker 1: shall come water out of it, that the people may drink.
- 0:12Speaker 1: And Moses did so in the sight of the elders
- 0:14Speaker 1: of Israel. Exodus 17.6 Dear Heavenly Father, as I look
- 0:21Speaker 1: back on my life, I will not become like the
- 0:24Speaker 1: children of Israel and live with entitlement, forgetting all you
- 0:28Speaker 1: have done for me. I will be mindful of the
- 0:32Speaker 1: many blessings you have brought and are continuing to bring
- 0:35Speaker 1: into my life. When fear and doubt try to drive
- 0:40Speaker 1: me out of my promised position and land, I will
- 0:44Speaker 1: no longer look at myself as a slave to limited thinking,
- 0:48Speaker 1: but as a warrior hungry to keep my freedom. I
- 0:52Speaker 1: will not back down when the enemy tries to attack
- 0:55Speaker 1: my peace. Instead, I will lift my hands like Moses
- 0:59Speaker 1: in worship. and fight like Joshua to keep the freedom
- 1:04Speaker 1: that you've blessed me with. I declare that a new
- 1:08Speaker 1: dawn is rising over my mind. I declare that courage
- 1:12Speaker 1: and hope is rising up within me. I am an overcomer,
- 1:18Speaker 1: and I am powerful beyond measure. Thank you, Lord, that
- 1:22Speaker 1: your promises always come with the ability for me to
- 1:25Speaker 1: overcome any and every thought that is contrary to the
- 1:29Speaker 1: marvelous vision you've shown me about my life. I am
- 1:33Speaker 1: a fighter and an overcomer because you are the God
- 1:38Speaker 1: that refreshes me like water and brings me victory over
- 1:43Speaker 1: the challenges in my life. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank
- 1:50Speaker 1: you for praying with me today. Continue listening for an
- 1:54Speaker 1: incredible Bible story brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
- 2:07Speaker 2: The Lord gives water and victories. In our last story,
- 2:12Speaker 2: we learned about the protecting power of God. Pharaoh had
- 2:16Speaker 2: pursued the Israelites to recapture them, but God parted the
- 2:20Speaker 2: seas so they could run to freedom. God defeated Pharaoh
- 2:24Speaker 2: once and for all. We also learned about the providing
- 2:28Speaker 2: power of God and how he gave Israel water and
- 2:31Speaker 2: food when they were wandering in the wilderness. In this story,
- 2:35Speaker 2: we will learn about God's continued provision and how the
- 2:39Speaker 2: Israelite slaves are forced to become warriors as well, as
- 2:44Speaker 2: inspired by the book of Exodus.
- 2:49Speaker 3: We're so glad you joined us on the Bible in
- 2:51Speaker 3: a Year podcast today. The Bible in a Year podcast
- 2:54Speaker 3: is an outreach of PowerPoint Ministries and can only come
- 2:58Speaker 3: to you each week through the support of listeners just
- 3:00Speaker 3: like you. Your support today is so important. that we
- 3:04Speaker 3: want to thank you for your gift by giving you
- 3:06Speaker 3: a copy of my book called The Jesus Book. It
- 3:09Speaker 3: is a powerful guide that shows how every book of
- 3:11Speaker 3: the Bible points to Jesus and how his living word,
- 3:15Speaker 3: the truth of God's word, will transform your life. So
- 3:19Speaker 3: to get a copy of The Jesus Book, simply go
- 3:22Speaker 3: to jackgraham.org slash Jesus. That's jackgraham.org slash Jesus. And thank
- 3:29Speaker 3: you for your support. In our last episode, we saw
- 3:33Speaker 3: God lead the Israelites to safety, delivering them from Pharaoh's
- 3:36Speaker 3: hand and out of bondage into freedom. And they crossed
- 3:41Speaker 3: the parted waters of the Red Sea. What a miracle.
- 3:44Speaker 3: We also witnessed the Israelites complaining and grumbling like impatient
- 3:49Speaker 3: children who quickly forgot about God's care for them. Through
- 3:53Speaker 3: it all, God continued to provide and promised that as
- 3:56Speaker 3: long as they followed him and trusted him, things would
- 3:59Speaker 3: go well. Today, We will see how God provides once again,
- 4:04Speaker 3: even as complaints continue. Listen to Moses' exasperated response to
- 4:09Speaker 3: the people, calling them out for their forgetful, unfaithful hearts.
- 4:14Speaker 3: Then listen to what God commands Moses to do. We'll
- 4:18Speaker 3: also hear a new chapter in their story. Their wandering
- 4:21Speaker 3: will stop as they set up a camp in enemy territory,
- 4:24Speaker 3: and God will call them to battle. Let's listen now
- 4:27Speaker 3: to this reading.
- 4:29Speaker 2: The sweet joys of freedom from slavery lasted only a moment.
- 4:34Speaker 2: Now they wandered in the heat of day and slept
- 4:37Speaker 2: in the cold of night. Their lips were parched and
- 4:40Speaker 2: their feet were tired. Israel camped at Rephidim, and there
- 4:44Speaker 2: was no water for them to drink. Already forgetting the
- 4:48Speaker 2: past provision of God, the people quarreled and complained. Give
- 4:52Speaker 2: us water, they demanded to Moses. Growing more and more
- 4:56Speaker 2: annoyed with their childish complaining, Moses replied, Why do you
- 5:01Speaker 2: argue with me as if God has not already been faithful?
- 5:04Speaker 2: But the people continued to grumble. Thirsty and tired, they
- 5:09Speaker 2: cornered Moses and said to him, Why did you bring
- 5:12Speaker 2: us out of Egypt just to kill us and our
- 5:14Speaker 2: children with thirst? They grew more and more violent, angry,
- 5:19Speaker 2: and entitled towards Moses. Moses rubbed his forehead, also thirsty
- 5:25Speaker 2: and tired. He turned to God and said, What am
- 5:28Speaker 2: I going to do with these people? Lord, they are
- 5:31Speaker 2: getting ready to stone me. God spoke to Moses with
- 5:35Speaker 2: a patient and loving voice. Depart from the people with
- 5:39Speaker 2: some of the elders. Make sure to take your staff
- 5:42Speaker 2: with you. So Moses did as God commanded and departed
- 5:46Speaker 2: to the rock of Horeb. Strike the rock and water
- 5:50Speaker 2: shall come out of it for the people to drink,
- 5:53Speaker 2: God said. And Moses did so in front of all
- 5:56Speaker 2: the elders of Israel. He took his staff and broke
- 5:59Speaker 2: the rock, and water flowed endlessly from it. God commanded
- 6:04Speaker 2: the elders to watch so they might see his provision
- 6:07Speaker 2: with their own eyes. They would need to see God
- 6:10Speaker 2: at work and trust him, for greater problems than thirst
- 6:14Speaker 2: were approaching. In the land of Rephidim, where Israel camped,
- 6:18Speaker 2: was the kingdom of Amalek. Desiring to drive them out
- 6:22Speaker 2: of the land, the Amalekites attacked Israel frequently. Men, women,
- 6:27Speaker 2: and children were killed and taken. This was a new
- 6:30Speaker 2: threat Israel had not expected. Israel, once slaves, had to
- 6:35Speaker 2: become warriors. Moses called Joshua, a young man who had
- 6:40Speaker 2: shown great promise and leadership. Choose men to go out
- 6:44Speaker 2: and fight with Amalek, Moses commanded. Tomorrow I will stand
- 6:48Speaker 2: on the top of the hill with the staff of God.
- 6:51Speaker 2: Joshua left to go gather men able and willing to battle.
- 6:55Speaker 2: They armed themselves with spears and swords they had taken
- 6:58Speaker 2: from Egypt, along with any staffs, hammers, or farming tools
- 7:02Speaker 2: they had with them. Israel was not yet a polished nation.
- 7:07Speaker 2: They had no commanders, no armor, and no battle strategy. Instead,
- 7:12Speaker 2: they had a group of men hardened from years of slavery,
- 7:15Speaker 2: desperate to keep their freedom. They had faithful leaders who
- 7:19Speaker 2: loved them, and they had a God who was able
- 7:22Speaker 2: to call fire from heaven and part seas to free them.
- 7:26Speaker 2: So Joshua gathered his men, and they marched to fight
- 7:30Speaker 2: the Amalekites. They marched forward, afraid and untested in battle,
- 7:35Speaker 2: but hearts filled with confidence in God. Their marching turned
- 7:39Speaker 2: to running, as they clashed swords and clubs with the
- 7:43Speaker 2: armies of Amalek. Screams from battle could be heard in
- 7:47Speaker 2: the distance. On the hill overlooking the battle stood Moses,
- 7:51Speaker 2: Moses held up his staff as he had done when
- 7:54Speaker 2: God parted the Red Sea. His hands were held high,
- 7:58Speaker 2: the universal symbol of victory. Moses' old bones grew tired.
- 8:04Speaker 2: While his arms were up, Israel would begin to prevail
- 8:07Speaker 2: over the Amalekites. When his arms waned or rested, the
- 8:11Speaker 2: Amalekites would begin to overtake Israel. Moses' arms grew weary
- 8:16Speaker 2: and his shoulders trembled. Sweat beat down his brow, and
- 8:21Speaker 2: his eyes were fixed on his people below. Aaron and
- 8:24Speaker 2: Hur came up the hill with Moses and held up
- 8:27Speaker 2: his arms under him. Moses would not leave, and the
- 8:31Speaker 2: sun began to set over the battle. Joshua swiped his
- 8:35Speaker 2: sword through the crowded battlefield, drenched in the blood of
- 8:39Speaker 2: his enemies. His movements were like a dance as he
- 8:42Speaker 2: cut the flesh of the Amalekites. Roars of righteous anger
- 8:46Speaker 2: bellowed from his throat. Occasionally, Joshua would catch a glimpse
- 8:51Speaker 2: of Moses with his arms stretched out over the battlefield.
- 8:54Speaker 2: The strength of the Lord filled Joshua and all the
- 8:57Speaker 2: warriors with him. As the sun departed over the horizon,
- 9:01Speaker 2: God gave Israel their first victory. Blood and dust covered
- 9:07Speaker 2: the men of God. Weary smiles laced their faces and
- 9:11Speaker 2: tired laughter could be heard for miles. Moses gazed at
- 9:16Speaker 2: his men from a distance, hearing the voice of the
- 9:18Speaker 2: Lord in his ear. Write this as a memorial in
- 9:22Speaker 2: a book and recite it to Joshua continually, God said.
- 9:27Speaker 2: And Moses built an altar to the Lord there. God
- 9:31Speaker 2: had freed Israel from slavery, parted seas to protect them,
- 9:35Speaker 2: and provided sustenance for them to survive. Now God had
- 9:40Speaker 2: given them a new work. They unified and protected one
- 9:44Speaker 2: another They bled for each other and put their lives
- 9:47Speaker 2: on the line to save the ones they loved. The
- 9:50Speaker 2: beautiful beginnings of a mighty nation was unfolding before their eyes.
- 9:59Speaker 3: God has faithfully provided passage and provision for his people,
- 10:03Speaker 3: but their hearts are so easily filled with faithlessness and
- 10:07Speaker 3: fear and dissatisfaction. Scarce water at camp drives them to
- 10:12Speaker 3: complain again. The grumbling spreads like a virus, toxic, through
- 10:16Speaker 3: the camp as they go to Moses once again and complain.
- 10:20Speaker 3: Why isn't God coming through? Why is God not taking
- 10:24Speaker 3: care of us? So Moses is exasperated with his people.
- 10:28Speaker 3: He is angry, angered that they seem to be so
- 10:31Speaker 3: easily forgetting what God has done. So he rebukes the
- 10:35Speaker 3: people sternly. Why do you act like God is not faithful?
- 10:39Speaker 3: God speaks to Moses and has him call elders to
- 10:42Speaker 3: witness as God commands Moses to strike a stone with
- 10:45Speaker 3: his staff. Water freely pours from this place where water
- 10:49Speaker 3: shouldn't be. A miracle in the desert. Water in the desert.
- 10:53Speaker 3: Something that only God could do. The elders and the
- 10:56Speaker 3: people needed to see this with their own eyes because
- 10:58Speaker 3: they were about to face conflict in a whole new way.
- 11:02Speaker 3: As they settle in the camp near the Amalekites, they
- 11:05Speaker 3: find themselves under attack. They're like sitting ducks. Men, women,
- 11:10Speaker 3: and children are killed by Amalekite warriors. These former slaves
- 11:15Speaker 3: knew nothing of battle, but they believed God and gathered
- 11:18Speaker 3: weapons and tools. A young man by the name of
- 11:21Speaker 3: Joshua steps up as a leader. He'll be a leader
- 11:25Speaker 3: for many years to come. Joshua leads them into battle,
- 11:28Speaker 3: and Moses, led by God, watches from a hill with
- 11:31Speaker 3: his staff in his hands. And Moses raises his arms,
- 11:35Speaker 3: calling on the Lord in prayer to win the fight
- 11:37Speaker 3: for the people of God. As long as his hands
- 11:40Speaker 3: are raised, the Israelites prevail in the battle. He may
- 11:46Speaker 3: not actually be engaged on the front lines of the battle,
- 11:49Speaker 3: but Moses is being the man of prayer, the leader
- 11:52Speaker 3: that God has called him to be. Moses is now
- 11:55Speaker 3: a different man. He is no longer that fugitive living
- 11:58Speaker 3: in the desert, but his encounter with God in the
- 12:01Speaker 3: burning bush and to see the hand of God moving
- 12:04Speaker 3: in Pharaoh's palace and through the Red Sea is Moses
- 12:07Speaker 3: is now a man of God, one of the greatest
- 12:09Speaker 3: men who ever lived. He's filled with God's power, and
- 12:13Speaker 3: he prays, and he prays with victory in his heart
- 12:17Speaker 3: and in his hands. But Moses, being an older man,
- 12:22Speaker 3: begins to tire, and his arms begin to sag, and
- 12:26Speaker 3: the Amalekites begin to get the upper hand. But Aaron
- 12:29Speaker 3: and a man named Hur support his arms. It's a
- 12:32Speaker 3: beautiful picture of prayer. Joshua and his army are given
- 12:36Speaker 3: the victory. So untrained, weary slaves emerged victorious over seasoned
- 12:42Speaker 3: Amalekite soldiers. But the people know it was God's protection,
- 12:47Speaker 3: not their own strength. And Moses built an altar to
- 12:51Speaker 3: acknowledge the victory that God gave them. It can be
- 12:55Speaker 3: tempting to take credit for what God does when something
- 12:58Speaker 3: amazing happens in our lives or to forget that God
- 13:01Speaker 3: gives us the victory or even forget to pray and
- 13:03Speaker 3: ask for the victory. But let today's reading be a
- 13:06Speaker 3: reminder that God is the one who gives us victory
- 13:10Speaker 3: over every enemy in our lives. In spiritual warfare, we
- 13:14Speaker 3: have victory in Christ. Though we do not build physical
- 13:18Speaker 3: altars to remember our victories, let us find ways to
- 13:21Speaker 3: show ourselves and others that God goes before us to
- 13:25Speaker 3: fight our battles. It is not our own strength that
- 13:28Speaker 3: brings deliverance, but God's strength, his power working through us.
- 13:33Speaker 3: In fact, our victory is in Jesus. Next time, we'll
- 13:37Speaker 3: hear God reaffirm his covenant and give his people simple
- 13:41Speaker 3: rules for life. Let's pray. Dear God, thank you for
- 13:46Speaker 3: today's scripture, that you miraculously delivered your people in the
- 13:50Speaker 3: face of a seasoned army and in a battle that
- 13:54Speaker 3: apparently they could not win but did win because of
- 13:57Speaker 3: the power of prayer and your power upon the people's lives.
- 14:01Speaker 3: We thank you that in our battles you are fighting
- 14:03Speaker 3: for us and that we fight our battles on our
- 14:06Speaker 3: knees praying. Help us to pray for one another and
- 14:09Speaker 3: hold each other's arms high in victory in the name
- 14:13Speaker 3: of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Thank you for listening
- 14:17Speaker 3: to today's Bible in a Year podcast. And before we go,
- 14:21Speaker 3: I wanted to let you know that the Bible in
- 14:23Speaker 3: a Year podcast is an outreach of PowerPoint Ministries and
- 14:27Speaker 3: can only come to you each week through the support
- 14:29Speaker 3: of listeners like like you. Your support today is so
- 14:34Speaker 3: important that we want to thank you for your gift
- 14:36Speaker 3: by giving you a copy of my book called The
- 14:39Speaker 3: Jesus Book. This book is a powerful guide that shows
- 14:43Speaker 3: how every book in the Bible points to Christ and
- 14:45Speaker 3: how you can better read and understand the Bible and
- 14:49Speaker 3: how God's word transforms our lives. So to get your
- 14:52Speaker 3: copy of The Jesus Book, simply go to jackgram.org slash Jesus.
- 14:58Speaker 3: That's jackgram.org slash Jesus. And thank you for your support.