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The Legacy of Kings - The Book of 1 Kings · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. Whereupon the princes of Israel and the
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  Speaker 1: king humbled themselves, and they said, The Lord is righteous.
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  Speaker 1: 2 Chronicles 12.6 Dear God, in this moment, I will
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  Speaker 1: not allow my legacy to be remembered through a negative lens,
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  Speaker 1: like the two kings in today's story. As much as
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  Speaker 1: it remains with me, I will leave a legacy worthy
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  Speaker 1: of telling my future generations about. I will use whatever
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  Speaker 1: influence you've given me to influence those around me to
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  Speaker 1: honor and to love you, Lord, with their whole hearts.
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  Speaker 1: In this moment, I declare that my life will serve
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  Speaker 1: as a lamp to point people to the marvelous path
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  Speaker 1: of abundant peace and provision you provide for your children.
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  Speaker 1: who live in accordance to your ways. Even when I
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  Speaker 1: make a mistake, I will be swift to correct and
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  Speaker 1: redirect my steps. Thank you for never leaving me, and
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  Speaker 1: for always giving me another chance to become the best
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  Speaker 1: version of myself. You are good, and your mercy endures forever.
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  Speaker 1: My soul knows this very well. In Jesus' name, 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 The Legacy of Kings.
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  Speaker 2: The Legacy of Kings In our last story, we learned
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  Speaker 2: about the man of God's disobedience towards the Lord. He
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  Speaker 2: was tricked into eating among the wicked city and ultimately
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  Speaker 2: devoured by a lion. Meanwhile, the country of Israel was
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  Speaker 2: descending into wickedness under the leadership of Jeroboam. In this story,
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  Speaker 2: we behold the two kings Jeroboam of Israel and Rehoboam
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  Speaker 2: of Judah and the fates of both men, as well
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  Speaker 2: as their legacies, inspired by the book Our First Kings.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, this is Jack Graham with today's episode of the
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  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year. In our previous reading, we heard
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  Speaker 3: about the man of God who went to Jeroboam to
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  Speaker 3: deliver a word of condemnation from God for this king
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  Speaker 3: who had turned to idol worship and abandoned God's truth.
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  Speaker 3: On his trip home, he had believed the word of
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  Speaker 3: a prophet who had lied to him about God, and
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  Speaker 3: then he disobeyed the Lord's commands. This disobedience cost this
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  Speaker 3: man his life. As we'll hear in today's passage, the
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  Speaker 3: two kings in the divided kingdom of Israel will suffer
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  Speaker 3: the consequences of their own sins. We'll once more be
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  Speaker 3: reminded that the only path to true success in life
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  Speaker 3: is by believing God's commands and obeying Him. Let's listen
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  Speaker 3: now to God's Word.
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  Speaker 2: It was late into the night. The clouds were thick
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  Speaker 2: in the sky and blocking the stars from shining down
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  Speaker 2: on Israel. The land was asleep, except King Jeroboam, who
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  Speaker 2: was sitting at the bedside of his son, Abijah. The
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  Speaker 2: boy quivered in his sleep. The sheets were damp from
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  Speaker 2: his sweat, and he trembled from his fever. Jeroboam stroked
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  Speaker 2: his son's hair and patted his forehead with a damp cloth.
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  Speaker 2: He could not stand to see the suffering of his son.
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  Speaker 2: His wife was beside him, holding her son's hand. Jeroboam
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  Speaker 2: looked at her and said, We have no clue what
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  Speaker 2: is wrong with him or if he will make it.
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  Speaker 2: You should disguise yourself and leave the city towards Shiloh.
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  Speaker 2: There is a prophet named Ahijah. He is the one
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  Speaker 2: who told me I would be king long ago. Go
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  Speaker 2: and ask him about our son's future. So the king's
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  Speaker 2: wife departed towards Shiloh. She rode into the night shrouded
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  Speaker 2: under a cloak to hide her identity. She came to
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  Speaker 2: Shiloh where he dwelled. There was a small home in
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  Speaker 2: the hills where he lived. The queen entered the home
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  Speaker 2: to find the prophet old and decrepit in his bed.
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  Speaker 2: Ahijah could not see in his old age, but he
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  Speaker 2: was still attuned to the Lord's spirit and wisdom. Jeroboam's
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  Speaker 2: wife will come to you pretending to be someone else,
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  Speaker 2: the Lord told him. Tell her only what I tell you.
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  Speaker 2: So when he heard the footsteps of the queen, he
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  Speaker 2: called out, Come on in, dear wife of Jeroboam. Why
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  Speaker 2: do you hide your identity? She was shocked to hear
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  Speaker 2: him call out to her, and paralyzed by his insight
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  Speaker 2: despite his blindness. I have disturbing news, he told her.
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  Speaker 2: The Lord has spoken to your husband, saying, I have
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  Speaker 2: given you all you have asked for. I ripped the
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  Speaker 2: kingdom away from the line of David and gave it
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  Speaker 2: to you. But you are nothing like my servant David.
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  Speaker 2: You have done more evil than all kings who have
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  Speaker 2: lived before you. Since you have turned your back to me,
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  Speaker 2: I shall bring disaster to your lineage. Your family will
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  Speaker 2: die in the city streets and be remembered no more.
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  Speaker 2: A few small tears fell from Jeroboam's wife. Her hands
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  Speaker 2: began to shake as she listened to the old prophet
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  Speaker 2: speak curses over her family. Ahijah got up from his
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  Speaker 2: bed and held her hands. When you return home, your
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  Speaker 2: son shall be dead. All of Israel shall mourn for him.
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  Speaker 2: for he is the only good thing to come out
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  Speaker 2: of Jeroboam's life. He then released her hands. The queen
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  Speaker 2: stood up and began to leave. As her back was
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  Speaker 2: turned to the prophet, he spoke one last thing. This
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  Speaker 2: would prove to be the most disturbing news of all.
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  Speaker 2: The Lord will raise up a new king to destroy
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  Speaker 2: your husband. He will shake Israel to its core and
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  Speaker 2: it shall be whipped about like a log and rapids.
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  Speaker 2: They will be uprooted and scattered beyond the Euphrates River.
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  Speaker 2: Israel will feel abandoned because of Jeroboam. Without a word,
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  Speaker 2: she fled back to the city. The child had died,
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  Speaker 2: just as Ahijah had predicted, and the rest of Jeroboam's
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  Speaker 2: kingship was marked with war. His reign was 22 years,
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  Speaker 2: and most of his time was plagued with dysfunction, idol worship,
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  Speaker 2: and needless conflict. Once he passed, his son Nadab took
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  Speaker 2: over as king.
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  Speaker 3: We begin today's scripture in the palace of King Jeroboam.
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  Speaker 3: He refused to turn from his wicked ways, and his
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  Speaker 3: son Abijah now lay sick in his bed. The king
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  Speaker 3: is desperate for answers, but there are none. He then
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  Speaker 3: remembered a name he had long since forgotten, Ahijah, the
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  Speaker 3: prophet who had spoken God's word to him concerning the
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  Speaker 3: division of Israel and that the northern tribes would make
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  Speaker 3: him king. It's the same prophet who warned Jeroboam to
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  Speaker 3: keep God's commands and follow him, something else that he
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  Speaker 3: had forgotten long ago. So he sends his wife to
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  Speaker 3: Ahijah and tells her to disguise herself and inquire of
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  Speaker 3: their son's future. She does what the king asked and
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  Speaker 3: enters the prophet's home. His eyes are weak, but his
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  Speaker 3: spirit is still strong, and he senses God speaking to him,
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  Speaker 3: telling him who this woman is, and to tell her
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  Speaker 3: only what God says. Ahijah beckons her to come near,
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  Speaker 3: identifying her as the king's wife. He then delivers bad news.
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  Speaker 3: God gave Jeroboam all he had asked for, but he
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  Speaker 3: turned his back on God. He became a more wicked
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  Speaker 3: king than Israel had ever known. And for this, his
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  Speaker 3: family would come to destruction. The sick son would be
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  Speaker 3: dead when the woman got back home and Jeroboam's rule
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  Speaker 3: would come to an end and the people would be scattered.
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  Speaker 3: Jeroboam's sins would cause all of Israel to feel abandoned.
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  Speaker 3: And in 1 Kings 14 verse 16, we read God's
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  Speaker 3: final words to Jeroboam's wife. And he will give Israel
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  Speaker 3: up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned
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  Speaker 3: and made Israel to sin. When she returned home, she
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  Speaker 3: found the son dead, just as Ahijah had prophesied, and
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  Speaker 3: all the people mourned the loss of this child. It
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  Speaker 3: was said that the child was the only good thing
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  Speaker 3: to ever come from Jeroboam's life. What a sad commentary
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  Speaker 3: on the worthless legacy of this king who had been
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  Speaker 3: chosen by God. He had held such promise, but his
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  Speaker 3: name is now ruined forever because he chose to follow
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  Speaker 3: after other gods and give his worship to false gods
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  Speaker 3: rather than the one true God and to lead Israel
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  Speaker 3: to sin. His reign was marred by idolatry and conflict
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  Speaker 3: with the southern kingdom ruled by Rehoboam. Rehoboam did not
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  Speaker 3: fare much better. In fact, Judah was even worse off
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  Speaker 3: under his reign. The people turned to idolatry and ritual prostitution.
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  Speaker 3: God's wrath burned against Judah and the king of Egypt
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  Speaker 3: invaded the land, pillaging gold and treasures from God's house
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  Speaker 3: and the king's palace. The richly adorned temple Solomon had
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  Speaker 3: built was a shadow. of its former glory. God was
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  Speaker 3: judging his people for their lack of faith and devotion
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  Speaker 3: to him, but he would not abandon them. Their future
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  Speaker 3: would be marked by much conflict and only a few
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  Speaker 3: kings who followed God and sought his favor. Much of
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  Speaker 3: what would come would be evil kings who turned from
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  Speaker 3: God and with them the people. These evil kings ruled
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  Speaker 3: and the people paid the price. for they all fell
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  Speaker 3: into sin and judgment. There will, however, be glimmers of
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  Speaker 3: a future hope, a time when God would send the
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  Speaker 3: true and one mighty king that would point Israel and
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  Speaker 3: the whole world to God the Father. His name is Jesus.
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  Speaker 3: and the promised Messiah and the Savior of the world.
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  Speaker 3: Dear God, thank you for what we learn in today's reading,
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  Speaker 3: that you are serious about sin and will always judge disobedience.
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  Speaker 3: May we learn your ways and do your will and
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  Speaker 3: walk in holiness before you. May we see that judgment
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  Speaker 3: comes upon all of those who reject you and believe
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  Speaker 3: the lies of Satan. Thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ,
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  Speaker 3: the Savior who came into the world to give his
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  Speaker 3: life on the cross to die and to rise again
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  Speaker 3: so that we could have eternal life, that we can
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  Speaker 3: turn from our idols and our old ways and have
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  Speaker 3: a brand new life. And if you want this brand
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  Speaker 3: new life, why don't where you are right now, bow
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  Speaker 3: your head and pray a prayer like this. Dear God,
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  Speaker 3: I thank you for loving me, for sending your son
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  Speaker 3: into the world to be my Savior. I believe, Jesus,
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  Speaker 3: that you died and rose again and that you're coming
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  Speaker 3: again for me. And I trust you as my Lord
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  Speaker 3: and my Savior. Lord, I give you my heart. I
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  Speaker 3: will follow you by the power of your Spirit all
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  Speaker 3: the days of my life.
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  Speaker 1: Amen.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 3: I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com app
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  Speaker 3: and make prayer and Bible study a priority in your life.
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  Speaker 3: If you enjoyed this podcast, share it with someone you love,
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  Speaker 3: share it with a friend, pass it on because this
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  Speaker 3: podcast can make a huge difference in people's lives. I'm
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  Speaker 3: hearing wonderful stories of the impact of God's Word as
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  Speaker 3: a result of listening to Bible in a Year. And
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  Speaker 3: if you want more biblical resources, resources from God's Word
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  Speaker 3: that will enable you and assist you in your walk
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  Speaker 3: with God, then be sure to visit jackgraham.org. That's jackgraham.org.
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  Speaker 3: God bless you.