Hello, and welcome
to His Words are Life.
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I'm Kelly Mowrer, and today
we're going to continue with the
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story of Elijah in
the book of first Kings.
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But before we start, let's pray
together. Dear God, thank you so
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much for the word that
we are going to read today.
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Please, may your Holy Spirit
come and bring us a deeper
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understanding of you love, and
the encouragement and strength
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you gave to Elijah. Give us
a portion of that, too. please.
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We need to be strengthened
to serve you better.
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And we love you so much.
Thank you for loving us. Amen.
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When we were last
together we were reading about
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the big show
down on Mount Carmel
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between Elijah and the prophets
of Baal. And Elijah had called
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all of Israel together
and he said to them, How long
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are you going to keep going
back and forth between 2 camps?
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If Baal is God then follow him;
but if the Lord God follow him.
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And the people didn't answer. So
Elijah proposed the test. And he
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and the prophets of Baal each
built an altar, and the prophets
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of Baal called all day and
there was no answering fire.
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But when Elijah called
to the Lord God of Heaven,
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the fire came and consumed
the altar and the sacrifice,
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and even the stones, and the
trench of water around the altar
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and the people said, The Lord
is God, and then Elijah gathered
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together the prophets
of Baal and slew them.
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He prayed for rain and the
3 year drought came to an end
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and Ahab returned to Jezebel and
told her all that had happened.
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And Jezebel was furious and she
said, I am going to do the same
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thing to Elijah that he
did to my prophets of Baal.
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And it's interesting in this
story: all throughout, the Lord
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is directing Elijah's to action.
He tells Elijah to go to Ahab
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in the first place and he
sends him to the brook Cherith
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and he sends him back to Ahab.
But at this point in the story,
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when Jezebel vows to kill
Elijah, Elijah doesn't receive
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a word from the Lord. He up and
runs. And he is afraid for his
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life, and he runs out into
the wilderness. And that's where
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we're going to pick
up the story right now.
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We're in 1st Kings, chapter
19, verse 5, and this is the
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King James Version. And as
he lay and slept under a juniper
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tree, behold, then an angel
touched him, and said unto him,
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Arise and eat. And he looked,
and, behold, there was a cake
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baken on the coals, and a
cruse of water at his head.
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And he did eat and
drink, and laid him down again.
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And the angel of the Lord
came again the second time,
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and touched him,
and said, Arise and eat;
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because the journey is too
great for thee. And he arose,
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and did eat and drink, and went
in the strength of that meat
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forty days and forty nights
unto Horeb the mount of God.
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And he came thither unto a cave
and lodged there; and behold,
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the word of the Lord came
to him, and he said unto him,
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What doest thou here, Elijah?
And he said, I have been very
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jealous for the
Lord God of hosts:
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for the children of Israel have
forsaken thy covenant, thrown
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down thine altars, and slain
thy prophets with the sword;
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and I, even I only, am
left; and they seek my life,
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to take it away. And he
said, Go forth, and stand
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upon the mount before the Lord.
And, behold, the Lord passed by,
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and a great and strong
wind rent the mountains,
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and brake in pieces
the rocks before the Lord;
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but the Lord was not in
the wind: and after the wind
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an earthquake; but the
Lord was not in the earthquake:
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and after the earthquake a fire;
but the Lord was not in the fire
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and after the fire
a still small voice.
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And it was so, when Elijah
heard it that he wrapped his
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face in his mantle, and went
out, and stood in the entering
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in of the cave. And, behold,
there came a voice unto him,
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and said, What
doest thou here, Elijah?
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And he said, I have been
very jealous for the Lord God
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of hosts: because the
children of Israel have forsaken
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thy covenant, thrown down
thine altars, and slain thy
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prophets with the sword;
and I, even I only, am left;
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and they seek my
life, to take it away.
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And the Lord said unto
him, Go return on thy way to the
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wilderness of
Damascus: and when thou comest,
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anoint Hazael to be king
over Syria: and Jehu the son
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of Nimshi shalt thou
anoint to be king over Israel:
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And Elisha the son of Shaphat
of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint
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to be prophet in thy
room. And it shall come to pass,
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that him that escapeth the
sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay;
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and him that escapeth from the
sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.
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Yet I have left me 7,000 in
Israel, all the knees which have
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not bowed unto Baal, and every
mouth which hath not kissed him.
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So he departed thence, and
found Elisha the son of Shaphat,
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who was plowing with
12 yoke of oxen before him
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and he was the 12th: and
Elijah passed by him, and cast
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his mantle upon him. And he left
the oxen, and ran after Elijah,
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and said, Let me, I pray thee,
kiss my father and my mother,
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and then I will folllow thee.
And he said unto him, Go back
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again: for what have I done to
thee? And he returned back from
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him, and took a yoke of
oxen, and slew them, and boiled
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their flesh with the instruments
of the oxen, and gave unto the
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people, and they did eat. Then
he arose and went after Elijah,
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and ministered unto him.
We're continuing in the book of
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first Kings chapter 20, and
this is the King James Version.
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And Benhadad the king of Syria
gathered all his host together:
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and there were thirty and
two kings with him, and horses,
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and chariots: and he went up
and besieged Samaria, and warred
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against it. And he
sent messengers to Ahab
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king of Israel into the
city, and said unto him,
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thus saith Benhadad, Thy
silver and thy gold is mine;
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thy wives also and thy children,
even the goodliest, are mine.
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And the king of Israel answered
and said, My lord, O king,
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according to thy saying, I
am thine, and all that I have.
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And the messengers came again,
and said, Thus speaketh Benhadad
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saying, Although I have sent
unto thee, saying, Thou shalt
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deliver me thy silver, and
thy gold, and thy wives, and thy
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children: yet I will send
my servants unto thee tomorrow
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about this time, and
they shall search thine house,
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and the houses of thy servants;
and it shall be, that whatsoever
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is pleasant in thine eyes,
they shall put it in their hand,
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and take it away. Then the king
of Israel called all the elders
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of the land and said, Mark, I
pray you, and see how this man
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seeketh mischief: for he sent
unto me for my wives, and for my
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children, and for my silver, and
for my gold; and I denied him
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not. And all the elders and
all the people said unto him,
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Hearken not unto him, nor
consent. Wherefore he said unto
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the messengers of Benhadad, Tell
my lord the king, All that thou
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didst send for to to thy
servant at the first I will do:
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but this thing I may not
do. And the messengers departed,
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and brought him word again.
And Benhadad sent unto him,
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and said, The gods do so unto
me and more also, if the dust
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of Samaria shall suffice for
the handfuls for all the people
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that follow me. And the king
of Israel answered and said,
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Tell him, let not him that
girdeth on his harness boast
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himself as he that putteth
it off. And it came to pass,
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when Benhadad heard this
message, as he was drinking,
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he and the kings in the
pavilions, that he said unto
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his servants, Set yourselves in
array. And they set themselves
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in array against the city. And,
behold, there came a prophet
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unto Ahab king of Israel,
saying, Thus saith the Lord,
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Hast thou seen all this
great multitude? behold, I will
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deliver it into thine hand
this day; and thou shalt know
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that I am the Lord. And
Ahab said, By whom? And he said,
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Thus saith the Lord, Even by the
young men of the princes of the
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provinces. Then he said,
Who shall order the battle?
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And he answered, Thou? Then
he numbered the young men of the
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princes of the provinces, and
they were two hundred and thirty
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two: and after them he numbered
all the people, even all the
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children of Israel, being 7,000.
And they went out at noon.
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But Benhadad was drinking
himself drunk in the pavilions,
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he and the kings, the thirty
and two kings that helped him.
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And the young men of
the princes of the provinces
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went out first; and Benhadad
sent out, and they told him,
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saying, There are men come
out of Samaria. And he said,
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Whether they be come out
for peace, take them alive;
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or whether they be come
out for war, take them alive.
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So these young men of the
princes of the provinces came
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out of the city, and the
army which followed them.
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And they slew every one
his man: and the Syrians fled;
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and Israel pursued them:
and Benhadad the king of Syria
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escaped on an horse with the
horsemen. And the king of Israel
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went out, and smote the
horses and chariots, and slew
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the Syrians with a great
slaughter. And the prophet came
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to the king of Israel, and said
unto him, Go, strengthen thyself
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and mark, and see what thou
doest: for at the return of the
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year the king of Syria
will come up against thee.
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And the servants of the
king of Syria said unto him,
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Their gods are gods of
the hills; therefore they were
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stronger than we; but let us
fight against them in the plain,
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and surely we shall be stronger
than they. And do this thing,
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Take the kings away, every
man out of his place and put
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captains in their rooms, and
number thee an army, like the
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army that thou hast lost,
horse for horse, and chariot
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for chariot, and we will fight
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against them in the plain,
and surely we shall be stronger
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than they. And he hearkened
unto their voice, and did so.
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And it came to pass at
the return of the year,
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that Benhadad numbered the
Syrians, and went up to Aphek,
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to fight against Israel. And the
children of Israel were numbered
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and were all present, and went
against them: and the children
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of Israel pitched before them
like two little flocks of kids;
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but the Syrians filled the
country. And there came a man
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of God, and spake unto the king
of Israel, and spake unto the
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king of Israel, and said,
Thus saith the Lord, Because the
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Syrians have said, The Lord is
God of the hills, but he is not
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God of the valleys, therefore
will I deliver all this great
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multitude into thine hand,
and ye shall know that I am
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the Lord. And they pitched one
over against the other 7 days.
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And so it was, that in the
7th day, the battle was joined:
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and the children of Israel
slew of the Syrians an hundred
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thousand footmen in one
day. But the rest fled to Aphek,
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into the city, and there a
wall fell upon twenty and seven
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thousand of the men that
were left. And Benhadad fled,
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and came into the city, into an
inner chamber. And his servants
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said unto him, Behold now, we
have heard that the kings of the
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house of Israel are merciful
kings: let us, I pray thee,
00:12:20.89\00:12:24.15
put sackcloth on our loins,
and ropes upon our heads, and
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go out to the king of Israel:
peradventure he will save thy
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life. So they girded sackcloth
on their loins, and put ropes
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on their heads, and came to
the king of Israel, and said,
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Thy servant Benhadad
saith, I pray thee, let me live.
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And he said, Is he yet
alive? he is my brother.
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Now the men did diligently
observe whether any thing
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would come from him, and did
hastily catch it: and they said,
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Thy brother Benhadad.
Then he said, Go ye, bring him.
00:12:51.99\00:12:57.09
Then Benhadad came forth to him;
and he caused him to come into
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the chariot. And Benhadad said
unto him, The cities, which my
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father took from thy father,
I will restore; and thou shalt
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make streets for thee in
Damascus, as my father made
00:13:07.61\00:13:10.02
in Samaria. Then said Ahab,
I will send thee away with this
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covenant. So he made a covenant
with him, and sent him away.
00:13:14.38\00:13:18.41
And a certain man of the sons
of the prophets said unto his
00:13:18.44\00:13:22.65
neighbor in the word of the
Lord, Smite me, I pray thee.
00:13:22.68\00:13:26.20
and the man refused to smite
him. Then said he unto him,
00:13:26.23\00:13:30.75
Because thou hast not obeyed
the voice of the Lord, behold,
00:13:30.78\00:13:34.42
as soon as thou art departed
from me, a lion shall slay thee.
00:13:34.45\00:13:37.78
And as soon as he was departed
from him, a lion found him,
00:13:37.81\00:13:41.66
and slew him. Then he
found another man, and said,
00:13:41.69\00:13:44.64
Smite me, I pray thee. And the
man smote him so that in smiting
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him he wounded him. So the
prophet departed, and waited
00:13:49.17\00:13:52.72
for the king by the way,
and disguised himself with ashes
00:13:52.75\00:13:56.57
upon his face. And as the king
passed by, he cried unto the
00:13:56.60\00:14:00.05
king and he said, Thy servant
went out into the midst of the
00:14:00.08\00:14:02.90
battle and behold, a man turned
aside, and brought a man unto
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me and said, Keep this man:
if by any means he be missing,
00:14:05.90\00:14:09.00
then shall thy life be for his
life, or else thou shalt pay a
00:14:09.03\00:14:12.17
talent of silver. And as thy
servant was busy here and there,
00:14:12.20\00:14:15.92
he was gone. And the
king of Israel said unto him,
00:14:15.95\00:14:17.84
So shall thy judgment
be; thyself hast decided it.
00:14:17.87\00:14:21.98
And he hasted, and took
the ashes away from his face;
00:14:22.01\00:14:25.02
and the king of Israel discerned
him that he was of the prophets.
00:14:25.05\00:14:28.95
Thank you for joining with me
today to read the word of God.
00:14:28.98\00:14:32.31
Please join me
again next time. Goodbye.
00:14:32.34\00:14:34.50