#48. Numbers 31-34 | And the Rock was Christ

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Welcome to The Dwelling Place

from Entrusted Ministries.

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I'm Stephanie Cock.

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We've been walking through

the Bible chronologically

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focusing on the Lord that has always

intended to be our dwelling place,

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When we seek him first,

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it brings peace and joy

for our homes as well.

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Today's scripture is number

chapter 31 through 34.

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This episode will have some sensitive

content and is best for mom ears alone.

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Previously, the people of Israel

were engaging with the Midianites,

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doing highly immoral acts on the

Baal of P, the Midianites, pagan God.

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Phineas took a definitive stand for

righteousness, but the Lord wants to

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prevent this from happening again.

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He's going to bring justice

upon the mini knights as well.

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Beginning in numbers 31, verse one.

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The Lord spoke to Moses saying, avenge

the people of Israel on the Midianites.

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After afterward, you shall

be gathered to your people.

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So Moses spoke to the people saying,

arm men from among you for the war.

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That they may go against Midn

to execute the Lord's vengeance.

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On Midn, you shall send a thousand from

each of the tribes of Israel to the war.

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So they were provided out of the

thousands of Israel, a thousand from

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each tribe, 12,000 armed for war,

and Moses sent them to the war, a

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thousand from each tribe together with

Phineas, the son of Alza, the priest.

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With the vessels of the sanctuary and

the trumpets for the alarm in his hand,

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they wared against Midian as the Lord

commanded Moses and killed every male,

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they killed the kings of Midian with

the rest of their slain Evie comb Zu.

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Who and Reba the five kings of Midian.

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And they also killed Balum, the son

of bor with the sword and the people

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of Israel took captive, the women of

Midian and their little ones, and they

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took us plunder, all their cattle,

their flocks and all their goods,

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all the cities in the places where

they lived and all their encampments.

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They burned with fire and

took all the spoil and all the

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plunder, both of man and of beast.

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Then they brought the captives and the

plunder and the spoil to Moses and to LEAs

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are the priest and to the congregation of

the people of Israel at the camp on the

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plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.

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Moses and LEAs are the priest and all

the chiefs of the congregation went

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to meet them outside the camp, and

Moses was angry with the officers of

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the army, the commanders of thousands

and the commanders of hundreds.

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Who had come from service in the war.

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Moses said to them, have

you let all the women live?

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Behold these on blum's advice cause the

people of Israel to act tache against

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the Lord in the incident of Peor.

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And so the plague came upon

the congregation of the Lord.

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Now, therefore, kill every male among

the little ones and kill every woman

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who has known man by lying with him.

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But all the young girls who have not

known man by lying with him, keep alive

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In verse 48.

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Then the officers who were over the

thousands of the army, the commanders of

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thousands and the commanders of hundreds,

came near to Moses and said to Moses,

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your servants have counted the men of

war who are under our command, and there

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is not a man missing from among us.

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And we have brought the Lord's offering

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Speaker 3: Israel had

fallen into awful sin.

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It's amazing that the Lord was still going

to allow them to inhabit the promised

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land, but first they were to defeat

those who had led them into temptation.

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We know this was a Holy War because

Phineas and Azar led them in with some

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of the articles of the Tabernacle.

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Interestingly, Moses' wife,

Sapporo was a Midianite, her

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father was the priest of Midian.

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I assume he had already

passed away at this point.

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But I'm impressed by Moses'

commitment to do what was right here.

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We learned that Baam was the one

that incited them to do this evil.

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When we concluded the Oracles the

other day, he kept blessing Israel

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and he spoke of the coming Messiah.

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But here we're let in that he

had a different plan as well.

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I find it amazing that these 320

Virgin women were given to the

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Levites and were able to serve

before the attentive meeting.

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In the midst of so much death,

the Lord redeems and welcomes

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in those that are pure hearted.

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Of the 12,000 men of Israel that went

out to war, not a single life was lost.

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This is supernatural indeed, and

they recognize God's protection

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over them and they offer gold.

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It says to Aone, but the

Hebrew word fer is used

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and that's used 14 times.

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Its scripture, but it never

refers to an atonement for sin.

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The people are just saying, thank you

God so much for your protection over us.

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In chapter 32, the tribes of

Reuben and Gad are thinking, Hey,

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this land that we're in right

now looks pretty great, Moses.

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We have a lot of livestock,

and this land is good for them.

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Can we just stay here?

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Moses is livid.

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He calls them out for their lack

of faith and tells them, are your

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brothers supposed to go off to war

while you just sit here comfortably?

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And we can't tell if it was on

their heart initially or if they

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were just appeasing Moses' anger.

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But they commit to go with their brothers

for the conquest, not resting until

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they've done what was required of them.

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Be watching for the tribe of Reuben

and Gad and the Half Tribe of Manassa

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joined them right after this and see

what happens because instead of them

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being set apart for the Lord and being

united with all the other tribes, they're

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choosing to stay separate on the east

side of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea.

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And it's going to put them in closer

proximity to some other pegging cultures.

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I wonder if part of Moses'

anger was due to the fact that

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he knew he was about to die.

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When I think about my impatient or

irritable responses with my kids, most

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of the time it has nothing to do with my

kids, but something else that upset me.

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I assume Moses' anger here

was much more righteous.

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But I know that when I fall short

as a mom, I'm called to humble

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myself before my kids and repent.

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Moses also warns them.

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Be sure your sin will find you out.

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If they don't follow through with

this commitment, he's telling

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them that God will punish them.

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this speaks to the

faithfulness of the Lord.

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He knows our sin isn't good for us,

and often it's the most loving thing he

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can do to let us get caught in our sin.

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Think about the times in scripture

we've already read through where someone

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sins and he pursues them right away.

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Adam and even the garden, even

Cain, after murdering his brother.

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This is a verse we can pray that when

our kids are falling into sin or into

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temptation, that the Lord would reveal it

and that we would be ready with a gracious

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and appropriate response that would

deter them from continuing on that path.

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One of the teachings in Entrusted

that has stood with me the most is

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when Betsy says, never be shocked by

your kid's sin, because if you are,

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they're going to hide it from you.

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Often when my kids have been engaging

in something that they shouldn't

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be, I tell them, the Lord is so

good to let this come to light.

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Can you thank him?

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trying to help them see the

faithfulness of God in a moment, they'd

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probably rather hide under a rock.

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Chapter 33 is a recap of those years

in the wilderness, and then chapter

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34, God tells what the borders of

the PROMIS land are going to be.

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The Nation of Israel today is

about the same size as the state

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of New Jersey, and the current

population of New Jersey is 9.5

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million while Israel is 10.2

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million.

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At the time the Israelites

were coming in, it was two to

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two and a half million people.

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This tells us there was plenty of room

to roam and enjoy the land and to expand.

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In chapter three, chapter 33, verse 50,

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And the Lord spoke to Moses in the

plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho

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Saying, speak to the people of Israel

and say to them, when you pass over

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the Jordan into the land of Canaan,

then you shall drive out all the

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inhabitants of the land from before you

and destroy all their figured stones,

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and destroy all their metal images

and demolish all their high places.

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And you shall take possession of

the land and settle in it for I have

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given the land to you to possess it.

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And in verse 55, but if you do not drive

out the inhabitants of the land from

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before you, then those of them whom you

let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes

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and thorns in your sides, and they shall

trouble you in the land where you dwell.

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And I will do to you as

I thought to do to them.

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Speaker 4: Since chapter 33 gave us

this recap, I wanted to point us to a

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convicting but powerful overview that

reminds us to learn from their example.

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I.

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In one Corinthians 10 verses one through

13, Paul writes, for I do not want

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you to be unaware, brothers, that our

fathers were all under the cloud and

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all passed through the sea and all

were baptized into Moses in the cloud

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and in the sea, and all ate the same

spiritual food and all drank the same

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spiritual drink for they drank from

the spiritual rock that followed them.

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And the rock was Christ.

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Nevertheless, with most of them,

God was not pleased for they

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were overthrown in the wilderness.

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Now, these things took place as

examples for us that we might not

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desire evil as they did, do not

be idolaters as some of them were.

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As it is written, the people sat down

to eat and drink and rose up to play.

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We must not indulge in sexual

immorality as some of them did.

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And 23,000 fell in a single day.

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We must not put Christ to the test as

some of them did and were destroyed by

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serpents nor grumble as some of them

did and were destroyed by the destroyer.

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Now, these things happened to

them as an example, but they were

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written down for our instruction on

whom the end of the ages has come.

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Therefore, let anyone who thinks that

he stands take heed lest he fall.

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No temptation has overtaken you.

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That is not common to man.

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God is faithful and he will not let

you be tempted beyond your ability.

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But with the temptation, he will

also provide the way of escape that

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you may be able to endure it.

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And the rock was Christ.

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Jesus was present then?

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He also came as Emmanuel God

with us, and he is still the God

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that longs to dwell with you.

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Let's pray.

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Lord, as I read about this military

campaign, I'm called to lift up those

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that serve in the military and for

their wives and their children that

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give so sacrificially, so that they may

fight for our freedom and protection.

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I pray for a covering of

protection around those that serve.

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And that they would feel your nearness.

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Thank you, Lord, that you are a rock

that we can cling to, that you provide

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for us and you provide a way out.

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When we are tempted, may we

be quick to throw off sin.

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We pray that our kids would grow

in reverence of you turning

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away from sin when they have

an opportunity to disobey you.

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But when they do sin, as we know,

they will empower us through your

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Holy Spirit to be gracious and

forgiving to them, knowing that we

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also have needed much forgiveness.

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Help us to model your character.

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Well,

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in the name.

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Of Jesus Christ, the rock we pray.

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Amen.