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Micah, The Levite, and the Tribe of Dan · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: And the priest said unto them, Go in peace. Before
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  Speaker 1: the Lord is your way, wherein ye go? Judges 18.6
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  Speaker 1: Heavenly Father, as I observe my life, I will make
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  Speaker 1: sure that small compromises won't erode my sense of what's
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  Speaker 1: right and wrong. I will not take what does not
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  Speaker 1: belong to me, no matter how appealing it may be
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  Speaker 1: for my life. Help me to discern what is for
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  Speaker 1: me and what needs to exit my life. I denounce
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  Speaker 1: the shackles of faithlessness that the enemy tries to tether
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  Speaker 1: around me. I will fortify my faith by making sure
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  Speaker 1: I keep my heart and my eyes fixed on you, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: my rock and my fortress. I declare that any false
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  Speaker 1: idols that I have set up in my life, either
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  Speaker 1: knowing or unknowing, are being demolished and torn from my
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  Speaker 1: life today. Holy Spirit, show me where I am spiritually
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  Speaker 1: settling instead of boldly seizing the promise and personal growth
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  Speaker 1: you've destined for me to have. Through Micah's life, I
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  Speaker 1: can see how compromise destroys the very thing you are
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  Speaker 1: trying to keep when you misalign yourself with wrong thinking
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  Speaker 1: and unfruitful relationships. However, today, that will not be my story.
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  Speaker 1: That is not a chapter in my book of becoming.
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  Speaker 1: I declare that I am idol-free. I declare that my
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  Speaker 1: heart is more focused than ever before. And I declare
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  Speaker 1: that your face is all I will pursue. It is
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  Speaker 1: not the time to shrink or settle. It's time for
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  Speaker 1: me to take ground. In Jesus' name.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for making prayer a priority in your day.
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  Speaker 1: To learn more about the Bible, stay tuned for today's story.
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  Speaker 1: Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: Micah, the Levite, and the tribe of Dan. In our
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  Speaker 2: last story, we learned about Samson's weakness for Delilah. leading
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  Speaker 2: him to reveal the secret to taking away his strength.
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  Speaker 2: Samson was bound and captured by the Philistines, and they
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  Speaker 2: gouged out his eyes. Samson, with one final push with
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  Speaker 2: the strength of God, toppled the Philistine temple and killed 3,000.
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  Speaker 2: In this story, we learn about the dark ages of Israel,
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  Speaker 2: where everybody did what was right in their own eyes.
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  Speaker 2: We follow the life of Micah, a man struggling to
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  Speaker 2: find peace. In the tribe of Dan, a tribe struggling
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  Speaker 2: to find home, inspired by the book of Judges.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: in a Year podcast. But before we begin, I want
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: to let you know about a unique e-book that's yours
• 3:15
  Speaker 3: to download absolutely free today. It's called Breaking Free from Stress.
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: And my prayer is that it will help you conquer
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: the daily tasks and pressures and burdens that bring stress
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: in your life. Download your free copy of Breaking Free
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: from Stress today by visiting jackgram.org slash stress. That's jackgram.org
• 3:37
  Speaker 3: slash stress. In yesterday's episode, we heard the tragic but
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  Speaker 3: redemptive conclusion of Samson's life story. His failure wasn't final
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  Speaker 3: and God gave him another chance to finish well in victory.
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  Speaker 3: His sin and his pride got the better of him.
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  Speaker 3: He was captured and tortured and mocked. But in the end,
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  Speaker 3: Samson made things right with God and gave himself in
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  Speaker 3: a sacrifice to destroy 3,000 Philistine idol worshipers in their
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  Speaker 3: pagan temple. Today we'll hear as Israel once again descends
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  Speaker 3: into darkness, given over to their own desires and moral
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  Speaker 3: relativism where each person did whatever was right in their
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  Speaker 3: own eyes. We'll hear the story of Micah and his
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  Speaker 3: moral and spiritual confusion. And we'll learn about the tribe
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  Speaker 3: of Dan, their search for a home and how one
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  Speaker 3: man's actions led to a whole community of idolaters. It
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  Speaker 3: is a story about how something small can grow into
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  Speaker 3: a fire that consumes and destroys everything in its path.
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  Speaker 3: And it is once again a story of God's patience
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  Speaker 3: and undying love for his children. So let's listen now
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  Speaker 3: to today's reading.
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  Speaker 2: The state of Israel was descending into madness. All tradition, devotion,
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  Speaker 2: and prayer was diluted by the worship of false gods.
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  Speaker 2: All sense of right and wrong was eroded by years
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  Speaker 2: of small compromise, and the Israelites found themselves in an
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  Speaker 2: apathetic daze. It was truly a different form of captivity.
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  Speaker 2: Instead of being chained by an opposing nation, they were
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  Speaker 2: shackled by their own faithlessness. During that time, there was
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  Speaker 2: a man who lived in the hill country of Ephraim
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  Speaker 2: named Micah. Micah was a confused but honest man. One
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  Speaker 2: day he stole 1,100 pieces of silver from his mother.
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  Speaker 2: When his mother cursed the silver because it was stolen,
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  Speaker 2: Micah quickly returned it. When Micah returned the silver to
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  Speaker 2: his mother, she melted it down and made a carved image.
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  Speaker 2: I dedicate this to the Lord and to my son.
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  Speaker 2: she said. So Micah erected a shrine for his carved
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  Speaker 2: image and placed it there with other household gods. There,
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  Speaker 2: on the hills of Israel, Micah began to build his
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  Speaker 2: own little temple for false gods to mingle with the
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  Speaker 2: God of Israel. Micah, impressed with his exploits, appointed his
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  Speaker 2: son as priest over his household. Micah's debased practice revealed
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  Speaker 2: a sickness that plagued the hearts of Israel. Micah paid
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  Speaker 2: no attention to God's law to not create any false gods. Instead,
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  Speaker 2: he nodded in approval at the wonderful work he had done.
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  Speaker 2: Little did he know, he was creating a temple of straw,
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  Speaker 2: waiting to be blown away by the wind. A young
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  Speaker 2: man was passing through the hill country near Micah. He
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  Speaker 2: was a Levite from the family of Judah. Levites had
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  Speaker 2: a home for themselves, serving God and the people of God.
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  Speaker 2: But this man wanted to forge his own way, and
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  Speaker 2: do what was right in his own eyes. Micah spotted
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  Speaker 2: the young man from afar and brought him near. Where
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  Speaker 2: do you come from?
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  Speaker 3: Micah asked.
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  Speaker 2: I am a Levite of Bethlehem. I have come from
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  Speaker 2: far to find my own place and forge my own path,
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  Speaker 2: the young man responded. Come in and stay with me
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  Speaker 2: a while, Micah said. I am in need of a
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  Speaker 2: priest over my shrine. I will pay you ten pieces
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  Speaker 2: of silver a year and provide you with a home
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  Speaker 2: and food. The Levite agreed, and the two of them
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  Speaker 2: worshipped their idols as well as the God of Israel.
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  Speaker 2: Micah was convinced that having a Levite in his home
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  Speaker 2: would bring him blessings from God, for in his mind,
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  Speaker 2: title was all that mattered. He would be terribly mistaken.
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  Speaker 2: There was no king and no judge to rule over Israel.
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  Speaker 2: Each man and woman wrote their own laws and lived
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  Speaker 2: by their own desires. The tribe of Dan, instead of
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  Speaker 2: bravely seizing the land God had intended for them, shrunk
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  Speaker 2: away and lived without a home. So they wandered in
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  Speaker 2: search of an inheritance. One day the tribe of Dan
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  Speaker 2: sent out spies to scour the country in search for
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  Speaker 2: land to conquer. On their travels they stumbled upon the
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  Speaker 2: house of Micah. When they saw that there was a
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  Speaker 2: Levite among them, the men were curious. Who brought you here,
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  Speaker 2: they asked. What is your business here? Micah has hired
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  Speaker 2: me as his priest, so I dwell here, he said.
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  Speaker 2: The Danites perked up with curiosity. Levites were rare, and
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  Speaker 2: the chosen priests of God. The people of Israel craved
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  Speaker 2: any sort of favor from God they could get, for
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  Speaker 2: their interaction with him was few and far between. Please,
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  Speaker 2: ask God if we will succeed in finding land for ourselves,
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  Speaker 2: the Danites requested. Go in peace, the Levites said. The
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  Speaker 2: Lord will watch over you. So the Danites left with confidence.
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  Speaker 2: The men traveled far and came to the land of
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  Speaker 2: Laish that was inhabited by the Sidonians. The Sidonians were
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  Speaker 2: a quiet people. They kept to themselves and tended to
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  Speaker 2: the fields around them. Children played in the grass while
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  Speaker 2: their mothers and fathers farmed and tended to their herds.
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  Speaker 2: The Danites saw that the land was rich and the
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  Speaker 2: Sidonian people were weak. Like a wolf licking its chops
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  Speaker 2: at a helpless lamb, the Danites planned their attack. Six
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  Speaker 2: hundred men from the tribe of Dan rose against the
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  Speaker 2: Sidonians with weapons of war and hatred. They marched towards
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  Speaker 2: the hill country and passed by the home of Micah
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  Speaker 2: once again. The five men that spoke to the Levite
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  Speaker 2: approached the home with their weapons while Micah was gone.
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  Speaker 2: They burst through the door and took Micah's shrine, his
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  Speaker 2: carved image, and his household gods. Then they turned to
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  Speaker 2: the Levite. He cowered in the corner, afraid of what
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  Speaker 2: they might do to him. The five men approached him
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  Speaker 2: with their swords in hand. Slowly one of them brought
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  Speaker 2: his sword to the Levite's chest and said, Tell me,
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  Speaker 2: what is better, a sly grin arose from his face,
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  Speaker 2: to be a priest to one man or to a
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  Speaker 2: whole tribe? It took a moment for the Levite to
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  Speaker 2: understand what the man was saying, but when he did,
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  Speaker 2: his frowning was replaced by a smile. The men embraced
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  Speaker 2: and laughed. The Levite packed his things and left with
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  Speaker 2: the six hundred men, leaving Micah's home ransacked and emptied
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  Speaker 2: of all its gods. Micah discovered that his possessions had
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  Speaker 2: been taken, so he gathered surrounding men to ambush the
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  Speaker 2: tribe of Dan. They ran towards the six hundred men,
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  Speaker 2: sending the children out in front of them so Dan
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  Speaker 2: would not attack first. Using children as a human shield,
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  Speaker 2: Micah spoke with a booming voice filled with anger. How
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  Speaker 2: dare you take what is mine? What is wrong with
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  Speaker 2: you that you would take my gods and my priest?
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  Speaker 2: he shouted. The men of Dan turned around and stared
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  Speaker 2: at Micah and his small army of children and villagers.
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  Speaker 2: They posed no threat to them. Shut up, they yelled.
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  Speaker 2: Turn around or you will lose your life along with
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  Speaker 2: the lives of your household. The people of Dan turned
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  Speaker 2: their backs to him and walked away. Micah, now cooling
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  Speaker 2: down from his rage, realized that he was no match
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  Speaker 2: for them. Ashamed and stripped of his false sense of holiness,
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  Speaker 2: Micah wandered back to his broken home, alone. The sun
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  Speaker 2: was setting and the people of Dan looked upon the
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  Speaker 2: land of Laish. The city was quiet. A subtle whistle
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  Speaker 2: of the wind blew through the valley. A tribe of
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  Speaker 2: Dan descended down the hills into the valley. They passed
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  Speaker 2: each home quickly and struck down each member of the
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  Speaker 2: city with the edge of the sword. Not a scream
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  Speaker 2: could be heard, for their swords swung swiftly and in
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  Speaker 2: total surprise. After the men had struck down every soul
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  Speaker 2: with their blades, they set the city on fire for
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  Speaker 2: good measure. The flames illuminated the skies. Dan rebuilt the
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  Speaker 2: city and inhabited it. They named the city Dan, and
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  Speaker 2: their families thrived in their new home. They set up
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  Speaker 2: the carved images they stole from Micah and set them
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  Speaker 2: in the house of God. What began as small idolatry
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  Speaker 2: for Micah turned into the idolatry of an entire tribe
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  Speaker 2: of Israel. The entirety of Dan knelt down to the
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  Speaker 2: silver image that was formed by Micah's mother. And their
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  Speaker 2: descent into more madness continued. God looked upon them, still
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  Speaker 2: loving and still patient. He remained waiting for a moment
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  Speaker 2: to deliver his people once again.
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  Speaker 3: We begin today's reading with Micah, a young man in Ephraim.
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  Speaker 3: And right out of the gate, our protagonist admits to theft.
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  Speaker 3: He seems to be convicted by his own conscience when
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  Speaker 3: he hears his mother curse the silver that was stolen.
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  Speaker 3: So he tells his mother that he had stolen it
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  Speaker 3: and gives it back to her. Micah's mother then melts
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  Speaker 3: some of the silver and has it turned into a
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  Speaker 3: graven image, an idol, which she dedicates to God and
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  Speaker 3: her son. Micah, in turn, places the image in a
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  Speaker 3: shrine in his house filled with other religious symbols and
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  Speaker 3: household gods. Clearly, the culture of Israel has gone off
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  Speaker 3: the rails. Micah and his mother give us a picture
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  Speaker 3: of this syncretism, a blending of different religions. the dedication
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  Speaker 3: of things to God that do not worship him and
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  Speaker 3: him alone. It is a picture of the culture all
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  Speaker 3: around them. And we then hear these words in Judges 17, 6.
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  Speaker 3: In those days, there was no king in Israel. Everyone
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  Speaker 3: did what was right in his own eyes. There are
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  Speaker 3: perhaps no more dangerous words for a society than that
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  Speaker 3: last sentence. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
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  Speaker 3: That is a recipe for disaster. This is a recipe
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  Speaker 3: for judgment. That is where Israel finds itself, looking not
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  Speaker 3: to God for governance and guidance or morality, but to
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  Speaker 3: whatever seemed right to every person. It was moral relativism.
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  Speaker 3: With his newly erected shrine, Micah searches for a way
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  Speaker 3: to legitimize his worship. And a traveling Levite seems to
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  Speaker 3: be just the answer. Micah assumes that this man of
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  Speaker 3: a priestly lineage has the right title to bring him
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  Speaker 3: the blessings of God. Together, Micah and his priests engage
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  Speaker 3: in idolatry, clearly violating God's law. But as we've already
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  Speaker 3: seen established, Israel wasn't looking up for guidance or governance.
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  Speaker 3: They were looking around and looking to themselves. We then
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  Speaker 3: meet the tribe of Dan, a tribe living without a
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  Speaker 3: home because they lacked the courage to seize the land
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  Speaker 3: God had given them. They wandered around looking for land
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  Speaker 3: to take as their inheritance. And when they came upon
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  Speaker 3: Micah's household, they met the Levite priests and sought the
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  Speaker 3: Lord's favor from him. The priests told them to go
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  Speaker 3: in peace, that God would watch over them. This filled
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  Speaker 3: them with boldness, and they left in search of land.
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  Speaker 3: They traveled far away and found a land that they
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  Speaker 3: could easily take, and as they marched out toward the conquest,
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  Speaker 3: they passed by Micah's home, entered it, and stole the
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  Speaker 3: carved image of silver and the other gods. and then
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  Speaker 3: they called the Levite priest to join them. He gladly
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  Speaker 3: left for what he thought was greener pastures. When Micah
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  Speaker 3: discovered the theft, he assembled an army to take back
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  Speaker 3: what was his, but his efforts were futile. He was
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  Speaker 3: no match for the Danites, who marched on into the
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  Speaker 3: land they wanted, killed its inhabitants, and burned the city.
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  Speaker 3: They rebuilt the city, built a house of God, but
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  Speaker 3: filled it with other gods, including Micah's silver idol. How
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  Speaker 3: crazy does this seem that these people were fighting over
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  Speaker 3: false gods and carved images? It's a tragedy. God's people
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  Speaker 3: have sinned and strayed so far from him that he
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  Speaker 3: was considered just another among all these false gods. Let's
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  Speaker 3: pray together. Lord, we know the dangers of moral relativism
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  Speaker 3: and any faith that looks to anyone else but you.
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  Speaker 3: We know that we are to guard our hearts, O God,
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  Speaker 3: and not build idols in our hearts or worship anything
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  Speaker 3: or anyone but you. Lord, we thank you for your Son,
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  Speaker 3: Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life.
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  Speaker 3: And we know, according to John 14, 6, that no
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  Speaker 3: one comes to you, O God, the Father, except through Jesus.
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  Speaker 3: And we pray in his name. Amen. Thank you for
• 16:25
  Speaker 3: listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast. Before we go,
• 16:29
  Speaker 3: I want to let you know about a unique e-book
• 16:32
  Speaker 3: that's yours to download absolutely free today. It's called Breaking
• 16:36
  Speaker 3: Free from Stress. And my prayer is that it will
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: help you conquer the daily task and pressures and burdens
• 16:43
  Speaker 3: that bring stress into your life. Download your free copy
• 16:47
  Speaker 3: of Breaking Free from Stress today by visiting jackgram.org slash stress.
• 16:53
  Speaker 3: That's jackgram.org slash stress.