Joshua was responsible for ushering people into the promise land, toppling walls and armies to retrieve God’s blessing. Yet there is a greater commander than Joshua, who toppled greater walls, and leads us into a greater blessing.
Today's Bible verse is Ephesians 2:13-14, from the King James Version.
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Speaker 1: Let us pray but now in Christ Jesus, you who
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Speaker 1: once were far off, are made near in the blood
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Speaker 1: of Christ. For he is our peace who made both
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Speaker 1: one and broke down the middle wall of separation. Ephesians
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Speaker 1: two thirteen through fourteen. Dear Heavenly Father, we are humbled
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Speaker 1: and grateful that you saw fit to break down the
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Speaker 1: walls of division and bring unity where there was once estrangement.
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Speaker 1: We pray, o God, that you continually remind us of
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Speaker 1: this beautiful truth, the harmony you desire among your children.
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Speaker 1: May we extend the same grace, love, and mercy to
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Speaker 1: others that you have generously poured upon us. May we
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Speaker 1: bridge the gaps and foster unity in our homes, communities,
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Speaker 1: and nations, reflecting the peace Christ brought us by breaking
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Speaker 1: down the wall of hostile May Your's spirit guide us
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Speaker 1: in all we do and all we say, reminding us
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Speaker 1: that we are no longer strangers and aliens, but members
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Speaker 1: of your household, knit together by your love. In Jesus's name, Amen,
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Speaker 1: Thank you for praying with me today. Stay tuned now
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Speaker 1: for another episode of Stories of the Messiah with Rabbi Schneider.
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Speaker 2: Knight was approaching Joshua positioned himself atop a nearby hill
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Speaker 2: and rested in thoughtful silence. He peered intently at the
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Speaker 2: great city of Jericho below. His gaze traveled across its
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Speaker 2: formidable walls, estimating their height and width. He imagined the
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Speaker 2: forces of Israel storming those barricades and shuddered. He saw
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Speaker 2: nothing but doom. Assaulting the walls would mean feeding his
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Speaker 2: soldiers to the enemy's arrows. Entering through the main gate
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Speaker 2: was akin to marching willingly into a trap, and climbing
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Speaker 2: over was unthinkable. Avoiding the city wasn't an option either.
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Speaker 2: The walls of Jericho had to crumble if they were
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Speaker 2: to inherit the land promised by God. Joshua descended the hill,
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Speaker 2: with the sun's last light casting long shadows behind him.
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Speaker 2: The night soon became alive, speckled with the shimmering brilliance
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Speaker 2: of stars. Then Joshua spotted a figure, a man standing
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Speaker 2: proudly a few yards ahead with a sword drawn. Joshua's
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Speaker 2: hand instinctively moved towards his sword as he approached, asking
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Speaker 2: with a cautious voice, are you friend or foe? The man,
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Speaker 2: seemingly aloof to Joshua's question replied, neither, I am the
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Speaker 2: commander of the Lord's armies. The words struck Joshua, sending
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Speaker 2: him sprawling on to his face in reverence. His voice
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Speaker 2: was a whisper as he he asked, what does the
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Speaker 2: Lord command move your sandals?
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Speaker 1: Joshua, you stand on holy.
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Speaker 2: Ground, and so Joshua did. Old tales sprang up in
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Speaker 2: his mind, recollections of Moses's encounter with God on sacred ground.
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Speaker 2: At this moment, he understood God himself was standing before him.
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Speaker 2: Joshua listened carefully, his heart pounding in anticipation of his strategy.
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Speaker 2: Yet what he heard next was beyond anything he would
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Speaker 2: have imagined. God had an unorthodox plan for liberation, a
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Speaker 2: plan most would consider foolish. Joshua listened to every word,
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Speaker 2: ready to topple the walls that kept Israel from their promise.
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Speaker 3: Hello and welcome to another episode of the Jesus Podcast.
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Speaker 3: I'm Ethan from pray dot Com, here to guide you
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Speaker 3: through some of the most iconic stories ever told. If
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Speaker 3: this podcast has blessed you thus far, please take a
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Speaker 3: make sure others discover these life changing stories, and be
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Speaker 3: the Bible come to life and make prayer a priority
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Speaker 3: in your daily walk with God. We've been traversing the
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Speaker 3: peaks and valleys of the Bible's most famous characters. These
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Speaker 3: people's lives were marked with tragedy, triumph, faith, and failure.
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Speaker 3: These heroes ultimately point us toward the greatest hero of all, Jesus.
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Speaker 3: We've learned how Jesus is the greater Adam, Cain, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Isaac, Joseph,
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Speaker 3: and Moses. Now we're about to journey to the edge
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Speaker 3: of the Promised Land. After forty years in the wilderness.
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Speaker 3: The former slaves of Israel are ready to enter the
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Speaker 3: land God promised them, but there's an obstacle in their way. Jerre.
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Speaker 3: Their intimidating and fortified walls represent the barriers in our
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Speaker 3: lives that keep us from God's promises. Their leader and commander, Joshua,
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Speaker 3: will use unorthodox methods to defeat Jericho. His story of
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Speaker 3: bravery and conviction will point us toward an even greater
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Speaker 3: hero who went to great lengths to topple barriers between
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Speaker 3: God and us. Let's immerse ourselves now in a cinematic
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Speaker 3: retelling of Joshua chapter six, I'll then be here to
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Speaker 3: unpack this story for you and connect it to the Gospel.
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Speaker 2: Dawn had broken, yet the sunlight was shrouded by the
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Speaker 2: formidable silhouette of Jericho's walls. The citizens of Jericho were
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Speaker 2: fortified inside, poised to fight off Israel, dead to attack.
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Speaker 2: Leading his people, Joshua advanced towards the sun eclipse city.
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Speaker 2: The Ark of the Covenant preceded them, escorted by seven priests,
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Speaker 2: each bearing a rams horn. God had given Joshua an
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Speaker 2: unorthodox plaid. He commanded them to march silently around the
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Speaker 2: city wall seven times, with the Ark of the Covenant
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Speaker 2: before them. The only sound was the haunting melody of
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Speaker 2: the priest's horns, a spiritual battle cry. In the quiet,
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Speaker 2: Jericho's people watched from above, puzzled yet relieved at the
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Speaker 2: absence of attack. For six days, Israel's army marched a
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Speaker 2: lap around the city. Their silence was as unsettling as
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Speaker 2: it was ominous. No battle cries rang out, no shield
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Speaker 2: clashing or bellicose roars. Their swords remained sheathed. But God
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Speaker 2: was not idle. On the seventh day, the men rose,
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Speaker 2: with the sun filling their lungs with the cool embrace
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Speaker 2: of dawn. The remainder of Israel watched as they readied
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Speaker 2: themselves once more. With armour strapped and spears grasped, they
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Speaker 2: advanced upon Jericho. This time, seven laps were made around
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Speaker 2: the city walls. A billowing cloud of dust trailed behind
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Speaker 2: their synchronized march, the priest's horns echoing a symphony of
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Speaker 2: imminent war. God was preparing his advance. As the seventh
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Speaker 2: lap was completed, Joshua halted his soldiers as one mirrored him.
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Speaker 2: The silence was deafening. Turning to his men, Joshua's voice
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Speaker 2: resounded like a thunderclap. Shout, shout, for the Lord has
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Speaker 2: delivered this city into your hands. Today Jericho shall fall
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Speaker 2: at a testament to God's might. Shout, and they did.
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Speaker 2: A seismic roar erupted from the Israelites' ranks, their battle
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Speaker 2: cries and trumpet blasts, sending shock waves through the earth.
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Speaker 2: Their battle cries sounded like worship songs. As the haunting
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Speaker 2: cries filled the air, the formidable stones of Jericho's walls
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Speaker 2: began quivering, and cracking. The city's strong defenses crumbled to
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Speaker 2: the rhythm of the roars and shook as the mighty
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Speaker 2: walls surrendered to God's command. As the walls crumbled, terror
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Speaker 2: echoed through the city. Amid the chaos, Joshua perched atop
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Speaker 2: a fallen stone, sword raised, ordering his men take the city,
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Speaker 2: but refrain from acts that will tarnish your souls. Like
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Speaker 2: a relentless tide, they surged into the city, Swords clashed,
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Speaker 2: and soldiers fell. The gruesome melody of war echoed for miles,
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Speaker 2: punctuated by the cries of the panic city. Blood stained
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Speaker 2: streets bore testament to the harsh realities of war. Hours later,
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Speaker 2: the eerie silence declared the end. Joshua drew a breath
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Speaker 2: of victory. Jericho lay in ruins before them. God delivered
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Speaker 2: the land, bringing his people closer to the promised land.
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Speaker 2: God would break down any barrier that.
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Speaker 1: Kept his people from him.
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Speaker 2: He would topple any wall that separated them from the
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Speaker 2: love and promises of God.
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Speaker 3: Israel had been in the wilderness for forty years, and
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Speaker 3: now a titanic city with fortified walls stood between them
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Speaker 3: and the promises of God. Joshua, Israel's commander and leader,
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Speaker 3: knew they were outmatched. But God had a plan. You see,
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Speaker 3: no army, wall, or obstacle could ever stand in the
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Speaker 3: way of God. The Lord is faithful to remove any
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Speaker 3: barrier keeping us from him. The Lord gave Joshua unorthodox
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Speaker 3: marching orders. The people of Israel were commanded to march
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Speaker 3: around the wall for seven days. Each time they marched,
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Speaker 3: their swords were sheathed, and the Ark of the Covenant
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Speaker 3: walked out in front, symbolizing that this was God's fight,
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Speaker 3: not theirs. The Ark of the Covenant represented God's presence
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Speaker 3: among his people. Therefore, as the ark led the people
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Speaker 3: in marching, we're reminded that God was the really of Israel,
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Speaker 3: not Joshua. God was the one who would go before
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Speaker 3: the people and defeat the city. His power toppled the
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Speaker 3: walls that stood between Israel and his promises. The story
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Speaker 3: of Joshua and the Walls of Jericho foreshadows something greater
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Speaker 3: accomplished by Jesus. Now let's turn to a retelling of
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Speaker 3: John chapter two, when Jesus passionately removes barriers between God
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Speaker 3: and his people. Then we'll connect these two stories to
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Speaker 3: see the grander picture.
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Speaker 2: The Passover season was upon them, when individuals from across
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Speaker 2: the region would gather near the temple to worship. The
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Speaker 2: city was flooded with millions of individuals who brought with
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Speaker 2: them their families, offerings and prayers to be given to
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Speaker 2: the Lord. It was a magnificent celebration of God's redemption
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Speaker 2: of his people from the bondage of Egypt. It was
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Speaker 2: also a period of profound introspection. The men and women
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Speaker 2: contemplated the vastness of God's love for them, appreciating their
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Speaker 2: status as His chosen people, a holy nation. Amidst the
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Speaker 2: swarm of worshippers, Jesus made his way to the temple,
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Speaker 2: its radiant apex visible from Afar. It was Jesus's deep
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Speaker 2: seated longing that every individual might find God at the heart.
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Speaker 1: Of their existence.
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Speaker 2: Seeing Jews, Greeks, and people of all creeds and cultures
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Speaker 2: united in worship warmed his heart. The heart of God
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Speaker 2: yearned for all to seek His face.
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Speaker 1: Without barrier or hindrance.
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Speaker 2: However, Jesus's countenance shifted as he observed the activity within
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Speaker 2: the temple. The temple courtyard had become a marketplace filled
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Speaker 2: with people's selling offerings and bartering prices that men offered oxen, pigeons, goats,
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Speaker 2: and sheep, asserting at an outrageous expense. Money changes were there,
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Speaker 2: exchanging people's currency for a unique temple currency. Its exchange
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Speaker 2: rate was far too exorbitant for many to afford. Jesus
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Speaker 2: witnessed with horror as the temple was manipulated into a
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Speaker 2: place of enterprise. Foreigners were briskly dismissed if they could
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Speaker 2: not afford the newly instituted temple. Certified sacrifices, walls were
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Speaker 2: created between people in God, walls of greed and vapid
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Speaker 2: religious traditions. Jesus's blood simmered with righteous indignation. The courtyard
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Speaker 2: was sacred, a place for foreigners and gentiles to worship,
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Speaker 2: yet it was exploited by religious leaders to a mass wealth.
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Speaker 2: A quiet, righteous rage stirred within Jesus, so potent that
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Speaker 2: if he willed it, it could rain fire from heaven.
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Speaker 2: He saw the money changes and peddlers bartering near the steps.
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Speaker 2: They were commercializing salvation, commodifying communion with God. Jesus would
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Speaker 2: not stand for it. To his left, he spotted palm
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Speaker 2: fronds scattered on the ground, and nets used to confine
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Speaker 2: animals hanging off the steps. Gathering these materials, Jesus began
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Speaker 2: to weave. He went unnoticed, his deliberate weaving overshadowed by
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Speaker 2: the frenzy of propheteering. When God constituted Israel as a nation,
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Speaker 2: his command was clear. They were to serve as a
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Speaker 2: sanctuary for every nation, a haven for refugees and foreigners.
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Speaker 2: No one willing to seek his face and repentance should
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Speaker 2: be denied his blessing. However, the priests appointed to embody
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Speaker 2: God's hearts succumbed to corruption. Jesus would not tolerate any
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Speaker 2: hindrance to God's loving embrace. The foreigner would not be rejected,
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Speaker 2: nor the poor be burdened with debt for a lack
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Speaker 2: of grand sacrifice. He remembered King David's words, for you
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Speaker 2: will not delight in sacrifice or I would give it.
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Speaker 2: You will not be pleased with burnt offerings. The sacrifices
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Speaker 2: of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart.
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Speaker 2: O God, you will not despise. With these words. Fueling
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Speaker 2: his righteous anger, Jesus stood, brandishing a whip made of
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Speaker 2: cords with a robust shing, he lashed out, hitting the oxen,
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Speaker 2: causing them to stampeded, breaking their enclosures, overturning carts, and
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Speaker 2: instigating panic. Jesus then strode over to the money changes.
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Speaker 2: He lifted and flipped their stone tables with divine strength,
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Speaker 2: sending a tremor through the courtyard. Coins scattered across the ground,
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Speaker 2: causing the money changes to scramble desperately trying to retrieve
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Speaker 2: their last fortune. Standing atop the temple steps, whip in
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Speaker 2: one hand in a crate of doves in the other,
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Speaker 2: Jesus had single handedly dismantled the temple's market place. Raising
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Speaker 2: the crate, he smashed it to the ground, liberating the doves.
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Speaker 2: The pandemonium paused momentarily as the people turned.
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Speaker 1: Their attention to Jesus.
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Speaker 2: Reading heavily, he pointed towards the Pharisees and scribes who
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Speaker 2: watched from afar. This is a place where men and
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Speaker 2: women are men to seek the face of their God.
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Speaker 1: Yet you have made it into a temple of greed.
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Speaker 2: You have defiled my father's house, transforming a place of
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Speaker 2: prayer into a marketplace. Jesus made it his mission to
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Speaker 2: topple any obstacle keeping people from the Lord on the cross,
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Speaker 2: he would make the ultimate sacrifice, breaking down the wall
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Speaker 2: of separation between the people and their creator.
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Speaker 3: Did you feel Jesus's passion in that story? Could you
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Speaker 3: feel his anger toward the corrupt money changers and priests.
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Speaker 3: The outer section of the temple was a sacred place,
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Speaker 3: meant for foreigners to come and worship God. By making
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Speaker 3: the outer courts a place of commerce, the temple officials
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Speaker 3: made a barrier between God and the people who desired
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Speaker 3: to seek him. God, the son whose passion toppled the
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Speaker 3: walls of Jericho long ago, sought to remove those barriers
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Speaker 3: by flipping the tables. God breaking the walls of Jericho
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Speaker 3: and Jesus cleansing the Temple communicate the same thing. God
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Speaker 3: will do whatever it takes to bring you closer to Him.
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Speaker 3: Sin creates a barrier between God and us. Because of
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Speaker 3: the corruption of sin, we can't be close to God.
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Speaker 3: A wall exists between us and the promises God has
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Speaker 3: for us, promises of hope, eternal life, and righteousness. Just
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Speaker 3: as Jesus violently drove out the money changers and overturned
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Speaker 3: the tables, he violently broke down the walls of sin
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Speaker 3: on the cross. Ephesians, chapter two, verse fourteen tells us
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Speaker 3: that those who were far off from Christ have been
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Speaker 3: brought near by his blood. He is our peace, and
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Speaker 3: he has broken down the walls of hostility between us
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Speaker 3: and God. Do you feel far from God to day?
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Speaker 3: Do you feel like barriers of sin, shame, or dysfunction
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Speaker 3: keep you from Him? Take comfort that Jesus went to
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Speaker 3: great lengths to restore you to himself. No sin is
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Speaker 3: too strong, No sin is too big. No sin is
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Speaker 3: too awful or wall too wide for God's unstoppable love.
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Speaker 3: No sin is too strong or wall too wide for
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Speaker 3: God's unstoppable love. Joshua may have led the people of
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Speaker 3: Israel around the walls, but God broke them down. In
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Speaker 3: this way, we can confidently say that Jesus is the
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Speaker 3: greater Joshua, breaking down Sin's barriers. Next time, we explore
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Speaker 3: one of the Bible's most flawed heroes, a man who,
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Speaker 3: despite his monstrous strength, couldn't overcome his flesh. Join us
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Speaker 3: for our next episode of Jesus the Greater to understand
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Speaker 3: how Jesus is the greater Samson
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