375: Steve McGeorge – Exhortation: The Gibeonites (2 Sam. 21)

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Welcome to Good Christophian
Talks.

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this.
Week’s talk.

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Hello and welcome back.
This is Brother Chris For this

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week.
We’re listening to an excitation

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that was given in August of 2025
at the Tea Tree Gully Ecclesia

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by Brother Steve Mcgeorge.
And the title of his excitation

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is The Gibeonites.
Now this excitation is one of

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the Bible classes or studies
that I personally really enjoy

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as it explores the story of the
Gibeonites and then follows the

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journey of those people
throughout Scripture.

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Now we may know the initial
story of the Gibbeonites, how

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they were deceptive to the
children of Israel and convince

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them to make a vow.
But what happens next to the

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story is what kind of gets
interesting and brother Steve

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does a great job at looking at
that.

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God uses what starts as human
deception combined with mistakes

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by the children of Israel in
turns it into the Gibbeonites

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being the Nethanim and being
this group of people who were

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key and continuing to serve and
preserve the children of Israel

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in their time in Babylon until
they return with Ezra and

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Nehemiah to establish Jerusalem
and start to try to rebuild the

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Temple.
Brother Steve does a fantastic

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job following the thread of the
story of the Gibbonites from

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their first introduction and all
the way to the time of Ezra and

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Nehemiah, and I found it to be
really interesting.

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So I hope that you are
encouraged and excited as you

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look at the story of the
Gibbonites and the lessons that

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you can find from these people.
So I will turn it over now to

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our brother Steve Mcgeorge for
his exhortation entitled The

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Gibby Nights.
Our readings today in Second

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Samuel 21 is a most intriguing
chapter.

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It contains some some unique and
on the surface, what seems to be

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very strange features indeed.
But this chapter, brothers and

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sisters, is going to bring us to
these emblems on the table this

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morning because everything in
the first half of this chapter

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up to verse 14 is leading us to
what God has done for us through

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our Lord Jesus Christ.
You see, we are the Gibeonites

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in this story, or should I say,
we need to make the Gibeonite

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story our story too.
Because this story, brothers and

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sisters, has everything to do
with atonement from sin.

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Sin, our greatest enemy, our
most formidable foe, but not

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because we have the power to
deliver ourselves in any way.

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We’re we’re just humble
servants, simple workers like

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these Gibbon eyes, hewers of
wood and drawers of water.

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No power or authority to do
anything, but completely reliant

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on our Master, our King, the
Lord Jesus Christ.

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The greater than David in this
story, who we know performed the

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work of atonement for us, hence
we’re here this morning to

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remember that.
So it’s very relevant to what

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we’re here this morning to do.
So first one, we’re told that

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there was a famine in the land
and it had been there for three

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years in a row.
And maybe the first year you

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might think, well, OK, but then
the second year you start to

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question it.
By the third year, something’s

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going on and David makes
enquiries and he finds out that

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it’s because of something Saul
had done to the Gibeonites, a

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group of people called the
Gibeonites.

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Well, who are the Gibbeonites?
Well, verse 2 gives a hint.

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You’ll see in verse 2.
Now the Gibeonites just partway

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in were not of the children of
Israel, but of the remnant of

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the Amorites, and the children
of Israel had sworn unto them.

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So they were not Israelites.
They were not from the people of

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Israel.
They were Amorite.

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So that’s the collective name of
of the Canaanites.

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They were the ones who were in
the land before they came in to

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drive out the Canaanites.
But they had at some point with

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Israel, made a covenant many
years ago, and the covenant was

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binding and it still stood.
But here Saul breaks this

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covenant.
So I think it’s important for us

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to go and find out what we know
about this covenant because

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Saul’s breaking it here in this
chapter.

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And he breaks it says in his
zeal at the end of verse 2 to

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the children of he thought he
was doing something good.

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Actually, this misguided zeal.
He thought he was doing

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something to please the children
of Israel and Judah.

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And he had a complete
misunderstanding of what

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covenants were all about.
So what is this covenant and who

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are these Gibeonites?
Well, we find this covenant,

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brothers and sisters recorded
back in Joshua Chapter 9.

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So let’s go back there and just
investigate a few things in in

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Joshua Chapter 9, because I want
to show you how that what

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occurred here is a is a
remarkable story about the

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Gibeonites, but it’s so relevant
to our story in second of Samuel

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because we’re going to see a
major change take place, a

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change that is 180° turn around.
So Joshua Chapter 9, the early

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stages of the conquest of the
land.

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They’ve taken Jericho and
they’ve they’ve taken AI and of

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course things aren’t looking
good for for the Canaanites.

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It says in Chapter 9 and verse
one.

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And it came to pass when all the
kings which were on this side,

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Jordan in the hills, in the
valleys on the coast by the

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great sea over against Lebanon,
the Hittite, the Amorite, the

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Canaanite, the Perizzite, the
Hivite and the Jebusite.

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So notice there’s six mentioned
there that collectively go up to

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make all of the Amorites.
The iniquity of the Amorites was

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now full.
Abraham was told when the

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iniquity of the Amorites were
full, that would be the time to

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drive them out.
And here they are.

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They’re all mentioned here,
although one group is missing.

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Chapter 3, verse 10 mentions 7
of them.

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The Girgashites are missing.
Maybe that’s the area of of

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Jericho and AI.
We don’t know.

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But now there’s down to six and
they have a conference.

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A conference was called because
because they’d heard in verse 3

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and when the inhabitants of
Gibeon heard what Joshua had

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done unto Jericho and to AI,
they did work widely.

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So the the men of Gibeon, but
all of them had heard of what

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had been done at the end of
verse one, they, the Six

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Nations, they heard thereof what
had been done.

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And so a conference was called
and they gathered themselves

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together in verse 2 to fight
with Joshua and with Israel with

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1 accord.
And it’s pretty risky because

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remember, Jericho had been
straightly shut up.

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No one was going out or coming
in.

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They dare not move around too
much because they were scared.

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And yet desperate times call for
desperate measures.

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And so they had this conference
and they come to an agreement.

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They came with 1 accord, you’ll
see in the margin one mouth.

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So there’s this verbal agreement
amongst them.

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A pact, so to speak was made.
But notice in verse three, there

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was one group who weren’t quite
as confident as as the others,

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and they called the inhabitants
of Gibeon.

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When the inhabitants of Gibeon
heard what Joshua had done onto

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Jericho and AI, they did work
wildly and went and made as if

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they had been ambassadors.
So if you were to map out where

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Gibeon is in relation to Jericho
and AI, you’ll see that they are

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next in line.
And so they weren’t quite as

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confident as all the others
who’d come to this this

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conference.
And so they make their own plans

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and they decide that they need
to do something different to the

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pack that was made back in verse
2.

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Now notice down in verse 7 that
they’re also called the Hivites.

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They’ve got two names.
They’re called the Gibeonites in

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verse 3 and down in verse 7.
And the men of Israel said unto

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the Hivites in verse 7, I just
want you to tuck that away.

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Just remember that the Hivites,
OK, they’ve got two names,

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Gibbonites and and Hivites.
It says in verse 4, they did

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work wily.
This word wily means trickery

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and strategy.
So, so they’re pretty crafty.

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They were making up a plan, and
they decided that that was their

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best option because force didn’t
seem to be working, so they had

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to use something else.
And they’d seen Joshua use a bit

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of strategy to try and take the
men of AI.

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Remember the ambush?
They drew them out, and then

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other men of Joshua went behind
the city and set it on fire.

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So there’s a bit of strategy
there.

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So maybe that’s the method that
we can use.

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And they decided to meet cunning
with cunning.

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Who’s someone else that was
crafty and wily?

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I think you’ve got an echo there
of the serpent in the Garden of

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Eden.
It was more subtle than any

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other creature in the garden.
And the word subtle means

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crafty.
It’s not exactly the same word,

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but it’s the same idea.
And I think it’s important,

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brothers and sisters, to
understand that in this story,

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in Joshua 9, the Gibeanites are
actually a representation of

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sin.
They are the serpent in this

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story.
They’re the ones that are going

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to use the strategy and try and
scheme and try and win over

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Joshua and, and the elders of,
of Israel.

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It becomes a story about how sin
deceives and can catch us out.

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And that’s what’s going to
happen to Joshua here in this

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story.
And, and the men of Israel,

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they’re going to be caught out
by sin.

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Sin is exceedingly deceptive,
brothers and sisters, it tries

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to create stories to get into
your life at every possible

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moment because it’s desperate to
survive.

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And the Gibeonites here are
clearly desperate to survive.

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And so they come and concoct
this story.

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And, and you’ll see in verse
four that they, we get mentioned

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there of the things that they
carried.

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They took old sacks upon their
asses, wine bottles old and rent

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and bound up.
And then in verse 5, the things

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that they wore, all their
clothes, their shoes clouted

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upon their feet, clouted.
The word means patched.

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They had all these clothing to
make it look like it was old and

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patched and clouted and old
garments upon them, and all

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their bread of their provisions
was dry and mouldy.

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So they went to Joshua in verse
6 unto the camp at Gilgo, and

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said unto him, and to the men of
Israel, We become from a far

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country now, therefore make year
lead with us.

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So these Gibbonites had done
their homework, hadn’t they?

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They’re done and researched out.
And however, they knew, they

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knew Deuteronomy chapter 20,
verse 10 to 18, They understood

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principles that got it outlined
through Moses in the book of

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Deuteronomy.
And they were well prepared

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because in January 20, we won’t
turn there for the sake of time.

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This morning, brothers and
sisters, it was clearly

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instructed to the men and
children of Israel that the

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nations within Canaan were to be
utterly wiped out.

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But any nation that was afar off
who came and wanted to make a

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league, and they were peaceable,
they could make a league, they

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could make a covenant.
Well, of course, these

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Gibeonites were as close as
could be.

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They were the next ones in in in
tow.

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And so they had to try and make
a speech.

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They had to make a story that
that demonstrated that they were

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actually nowhere near this
place.

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They were as far away as can be.
But they had just heard about

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this wonderful God and the
people of Israel, that they

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wanted to come and make a
league, make a covenant, that

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that was their only hope of
salvation, their only hope of

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being saved.
Make ye a league with us.

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Now in verse 7, the men of
Israel show a bit of suspicion

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at first, don’t they?
They sort of say, hang on a

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minute, maybe you do dwell among
us.

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Peradventure you do dwell among
us.

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How shall we make a league with
you?

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Maybe you are close by.
How do we know?

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00:13:24,120 –> 00:13:28,680
Like we can see all your stuff,
but how do we actually know?

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00:13:30,360 –> 00:13:33,480
Well, in verse eight, look at
the strategy.

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00:13:33,520 –> 00:13:35,920
It builds, doesn’t it?
The story builds.

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00:13:35,920 –> 00:13:39,320
They said unto Joshua, we are
thy servants.

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00:13:40,440 –> 00:13:46,320
Now this was a faint sense of
humility, wasn’t it?

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00:13:47,320 –> 00:13:49,080
And and they used it as a
tactic.

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00:13:50,440 –> 00:13:53,440
You know, we’re we’re so used to
people putting us down and

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00:13:53,440 –> 00:13:56,960
telling us off.
All right, that when someone

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00:13:56,960 –> 00:13:58,720
come and says, oh, you know
what, you’re pretty good.

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00:13:58,720 –> 00:14:00,160
We’re the servants in this
story.

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00:14:00,360 –> 00:14:03,160
You’re the ones that are good,
that that we get caught off

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00:14:03,160 –> 00:14:04,920
guard.
We, it disarms us.

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00:14:05,320 –> 00:14:08,120
It’s a very nice feeling.
And so that’s what they’re doing

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00:14:08,120 –> 00:14:10,320
here.
They’re disarming the men of

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00:14:10,320 –> 00:14:13,120
Israel with this feigned
humility.

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00:14:14,680 –> 00:14:17,240
Joshua’s not totally convinced.
Have a look at verse 8.

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00:14:17,240 –> 00:14:20,320
Joshua said unto them, Who are
you and where do you come from?

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00:14:20,600 –> 00:14:24,880
He pushes a little bit more.
All right, well in verse 9 to

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00:14:24,880 –> 00:14:28,400
verse 13, brothers and sisters.
Now the Gibeonites go into all

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00:14:28,400 –> 00:14:31,400
the small details.
They’re so well prepared.

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00:14:31,680 –> 00:14:34,400
They give explanations for every
part of their story.

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00:14:35,000 –> 00:14:37,040
They repeat that they’re from a
distant country.

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00:14:37,440 –> 00:14:39,200
They repeat that they are
servants.

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00:14:39,560 –> 00:14:42,960
They explain their motive for
travelling so far.

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00:14:43,800 –> 00:14:47,440
They talk about the name of
Yahweh, their God and his fame.

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00:14:48,120 –> 00:14:51,440
They talk about the fame of God.
That was that goes all the way

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00:14:51,440 –> 00:14:55,520
back to the time when they left
Egypt in verse 9.

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00:14:55,680 –> 00:14:58,240
We have heard of the fame of him
and all that he did in Egypt,

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00:14:58,480 –> 00:15:01,560
but we’ve also heard more
recently of what he did to the 2

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00:15:01,560 –> 00:15:03,320
kings of the Amorite in verse
10.

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00:15:03,320 –> 00:15:08,480
Cyhon and Ogg notice they don’t
mention what Joshua had done to

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00:15:08,480 –> 00:15:11,720
Jericho and AI either that that
would be a little bit handing

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00:15:11,720 –> 00:15:14,280
your putting your cards on the
table too much.

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00:15:14,480 –> 00:15:18,240
They leave that bit out.
And so verse 11, they say,

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00:15:18,240 –> 00:15:21,160
wherefore our elders and all the
inhabitants of our country spake

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00:15:21,160 –> 00:15:23,880
to us, saying, take vittles with
you for the journey.

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00:15:23,880 –> 00:15:26,640
Go meet them and say we are your
servants, therefore make a

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00:15:26,640 –> 00:15:29,560
league with us.
And so we took this new bread

255
00:15:29,560 –> 00:15:33,080
out of the oven in verse 12, so
hot, but now it’s dry and moldy

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00:15:33,080 –> 00:15:35,920
because the journey was so far.
We took these bottles of wine

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00:15:35,920 –> 00:15:38,320
which were new.
Behold, they be rent.

258
00:15:38,320 –> 00:15:42,240
Verse 13 And these are our
garments, our shoes, by reason

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00:15:42,240 –> 00:15:45,680
of the very long journey.
And of course the children of

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00:15:45,680 –> 00:15:48,200
Israel had gone all through the
wilderness for 40 years and

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00:15:48,200 –> 00:15:53,600
their clothes had never rented
or needed patches and they had

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00:15:53,600 –> 00:15:55,480
food on that journey all the
way.

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00:15:55,480 –> 00:15:57,880
So they would have known that it
was a credible thing.

264
00:15:57,880 –> 00:16:00,280
God had provided for them in a
remarkable way.

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00:16:00,480 –> 00:16:03,200
But if you didn’t have God on
your side, then things would get

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00:16:03,200 –> 00:16:06,800
pretty mouldy even after a few
days, let alone the length of

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00:16:06,800 –> 00:16:09,320
this journey, the very long
journey.

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00:16:09,840 –> 00:16:13,320
It says at the end of verse 13.
So you’ll notice that verse 6

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00:16:13,320 –> 00:16:18,120
they say we’ve come from a far
country, verse 9 from a very far

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00:16:18,120 –> 00:16:21,160
country, Verse 13, it’s a very
long journey.

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00:16:21,800 –> 00:16:26,080
So they put this story together
and they explain everything.

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00:16:29,400 –> 00:16:33,360
This is Sin, brothers and
sisters scheming, isn’t it?

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00:16:37,240 –> 00:16:41,800
Sin tries, brothers and sisters,
to find a way into your life at

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00:16:41,840 –> 00:16:44,840
every moment because it’s
desperate to survive.

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00:16:46,160 –> 00:16:51,400
So never, never give up on
endeavouring to uncover Sin’s

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00:16:51,400 –> 00:16:54,320
schemes.
That’s what Joshua didn’t do.

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00:16:54,320 –> 00:16:58,520
In this story, Sin builds the
most elaborate reasons to enter

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00:16:58,520 –> 00:17:01,840
your life.
He wants to disarm you, so you

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00:17:01,840 –> 00:17:06,319
need to be extra vigilant.
It’s extremely desperate to

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00:17:06,319 –> 00:17:10,240
survive and it’s ultimate aim is
to make a covenant with you, to

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00:17:10,240 –> 00:17:13,640
be at peace with you, a covenant
of peace.

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00:17:14,599 –> 00:17:19,079
Because then the fight’s over.
Sin has survived, sin has won.

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00:17:21,560 –> 00:17:25,960
Well, verse 14, it says, and the
men, and that’s the men of

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00:17:25,960 –> 00:17:31,640
Israel, the elders of Israel
took of their vittles, took the

285
00:17:31,640 –> 00:17:36,760
Gibeonite’s vittles, all that
food and drink and ask not

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00:17:36,760 –> 00:17:41,480
counsel at the mouth of Yahweh.
Now you’ll see in the margin for

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00:17:41,480 –> 00:17:45,880
the phrase and the men took of
their vittles, they received the

288
00:17:45,880 –> 00:17:50,000
men by reason of their vittles.
In other words, they said

289
00:17:50,080 –> 00:17:51,440
there’s the evidence.
That’s enough.

290
00:17:51,720 –> 00:17:56,600
We’ve seen enough evidence the
multi bread and the and the rent

291
00:17:56,640 –> 00:18:00,240
wine and the patch clothing that
that’s the evidence we need.

292
00:18:00,600 –> 00:18:05,200
And and they sat down and had a
fellowship meal with them on the

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00:18:05,200 –> 00:18:11,200
basis of what they’d seen.
And Joshua verse 15 made peace

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00:18:11,200 –> 00:18:15,480
with them and made a lead with
them and let them live.

295
00:18:15,880 –> 00:18:18,280
And the congregate, the Prince
of the congregate, swear unto

296
00:18:18,280 –> 00:18:23,600
them four times in that verse.
Sins One, they’ve made this

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00:18:24,080 –> 00:18:26,400
covenant.
It’s incredible, brothers and

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00:18:26,400 –> 00:18:29,000
sisters, what sin was able to do
in this story.

299
00:18:29,000 –> 00:18:33,480
And, and this is the Gibeonites
being representative here of

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00:18:33,720 –> 00:18:39,040
sin.
Well, brothers and sisters,

301
00:18:41,280 –> 00:18:46,680
that’s not how to overcome sin,
is it?

302
00:18:47,480 –> 00:18:55,760
We know that that word took of
their vittles.

303
00:18:55,960 –> 00:18:59,360
The idea there of, of, of
vittles, the Hebrew word means

304
00:18:59,360 –> 00:19:03,760
that which is core, that which
is haunted food provision.

305
00:19:05,360 –> 00:19:09,920
So Joshua and the men of Israel
accepted them on the basis of

306
00:19:09,920 –> 00:19:14,120
what they had seen and heard
these gibeonites tell them.

307
00:19:15,240 –> 00:19:20,040
They accepted them on the basis
of this fellowship meal.

308
00:19:20,040 –> 00:19:21,640
OK, it’s a bit mouldy, all
right.

309
00:19:22,400 –> 00:19:25,960
And you know, if, if we’d had
this bread prepared a few days

310
00:19:25,960 –> 00:19:28,920
ago and left on the table and we
came, it would be a bit crusty,

311
00:19:29,000 –> 00:19:32,400
wouldn’t it?
And the wine might have had some

312
00:19:32,440 –> 00:19:35,440
flies try and fly around it in
that in that time.

313
00:19:36,600 –> 00:19:41,440
But they, they accepted their
food as a premise to make a

314
00:19:41,440 –> 00:19:44,160
covenant.
And, and they might have

315
00:19:44,160 –> 00:19:47,800
thought, you know, when we were
in the wilderness, the Moabites

316
00:19:47,800 –> 00:19:53,040
came, OK, and the Ammonites came
and they never met us with bread

317
00:19:53,040 –> 00:19:55,480
or water.
Not once did they bring us bread

318
00:19:55,480 –> 00:19:57,520
or water.
And yet here they are bringing

319
00:19:57,520 –> 00:20:01,640
the best they could.
And so they were won over.

320
00:20:02,280 –> 00:20:05,120
They accept the Gibbonites on
the basis of what they heard and

321
00:20:05,120 –> 00:20:11,280
and what they saw.
Paul says, brothers and sisters,

322
00:20:11,280 –> 00:20:13,480
in First Corinthians chapter 10,
which is quite pertinent for

323
00:20:13,480 –> 00:20:16,840
what we’re doing this morning,
that you cannot fellowship the

324
00:20:16,840 –> 00:20:20,120
table of the Lord and the table
of devils.

325
00:20:20,240 –> 00:20:23,200
You can’t do it.
And yet here they are.

326
00:20:23,200 –> 00:20:25,640
Joshua and the men of Israel are
doing that.

327
00:20:30,320 –> 00:20:36,040
This word make a league in verse
15 is actually the Greek, the

328
00:20:36,040 –> 00:20:39,800
Hebrew word beareth.
It is the word for covenant.

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00:20:40,360 –> 00:20:45,640
It’s the word to cut a covenant,
a binding covenant that’s made

330
00:20:45,840 –> 00:20:48,960
it cannot be revoked.
It cannot be destroyed.

331
00:20:50,920 –> 00:20:53,520
And so sins one brothers and
sisters.

332
00:20:54,120 –> 00:20:57,000
And it says in verse 16.
And it came to pass at the end

333
00:20:57,000 –> 00:21:00,480
of three days, after they had
made a league with them, that

334
00:21:00,480 –> 00:21:02,120
they heard that they were their
neighbors.

335
00:21:02,360 –> 00:21:05,680
They March up three days later
and they come face to face with

336
00:21:05,680 –> 00:21:08,920
all those ambassadors that
they’d just spoken to, with

337
00:21:08,920 –> 00:21:11,120
these smug smiles on their
faces.

338
00:21:12,360 –> 00:21:16,840
Three days later it was revealed
that deception was revealed and

339
00:21:16,840 –> 00:21:24,200
it was seen that sin had won.
We don’t meet here this morning,

340
00:21:24,200 –> 00:21:27,800
brothers and sisters, on the
basis of victory over sin like

341
00:21:27,800 –> 00:21:30,840
that, that that’s not a victory
over sin at all.

342
00:21:32,200 –> 00:21:36,120
Sin won on that occasion.
We meet this morning, brothers

343
00:21:36,120 –> 00:21:40,240
and sisters, to remember our
Lord Jesus Christ who was never

344
00:21:40,240 –> 00:21:43,800
deceived by sin, never disarmed.
He knew what was in man.

345
00:21:45,960 –> 00:21:49,120
He will not judge.
Isaiah 11 says after the sight

346
00:21:49,120 –> 00:21:51,960
of his eyes or the hearing of
his ears.

347
00:21:53,000 –> 00:21:57,440
He’s very different to Joshua in
this story and in the case of

348
00:21:57,440 –> 00:21:59,400
the Lord Jesus Christ.
What we’re remembering this

349
00:21:59,400 –> 00:22:02,320
morning, brothers and sisters,
is that after three days with

350
00:22:02,320 –> 00:22:05,080
him, it was revealed that sin
had lost.

351
00:22:06,200 –> 00:22:08,640
It looked like sin had won.
Christ was on the cross.

352
00:22:08,640 –> 00:22:11,560
He was buried in a tomb.
But after three days it was

353
00:22:11,560 –> 00:22:15,400
quite evident that the
resurrection took place and sin

354
00:22:15,400 –> 00:22:18,560
had actually lost.
And we meet here this morning to

355
00:22:18,560 –> 00:22:23,680
meet him on the basis of his
vittles, his bread and wine, not

356
00:22:23,680 –> 00:22:29,960
the Gideonite’s bread and wine.
His bread and wine are non

357
00:22:30,000 –> 00:22:34,880
corrupting brothers and sisters.
They don’t corrupt and

358
00:22:34,880 –> 00:22:39,000
fellowship with him is on the
basis of a binding covenant, the

359
00:22:39,080 –> 00:22:42,160
Abrahamic covenant.
It’s quite a different story

360
00:22:42,160 –> 00:22:44,200
what we’re remembering this
morning, but our Lord Jesus

361
00:22:44,200 –> 00:22:47,560
Christ to what Joshua and the
elders did back here in Joshua

362
00:22:47,560 –> 00:22:51,120
Chapter 9.
In fact, here in Joshua Chapter

363
00:22:51,120 –> 00:22:57,360
9, brothers and sisters, it’s
really a repeat of Genesis 3.

364
00:22:57,720 –> 00:23:01,640
We’ve already hinted at that
with the idea of the Gibeonites

365
00:23:01,640 –> 00:23:09,800
working wily, didn’t we?
But in Genesis 3, the serpent

366
00:23:09,960 –> 00:23:15,160
clearly told lies.
Eve was beguiled, and the

367
00:23:15,160 –> 00:23:18,640
serpent was cursed.
Well, we’ve just seen how the

368
00:23:18,640 –> 00:23:22,800
Gibeonites told lies.
The Israelites were beguiled.

369
00:23:23,480 –> 00:23:27,560
And now if you come across to
verse 18 down to verse 20, we

370
00:23:27,560 –> 00:23:32,960
find that the Gibeonites are
cursed and the children of

371
00:23:32,960 –> 00:23:35,320
Israel smote them not because
the Princess of the congregation

372
00:23:35,320 –> 00:23:38,320
is sworn unto them by Yahweh,
God of Israel.

373
00:23:38,760 –> 00:23:41,120
And all the congregation
murmured against the Princess.

374
00:23:44,080 –> 00:23:46,200
We can’t kill them.
We made a binding covenant.

375
00:23:46,200 –> 00:23:52,320
We cannot touch them and the
children of Israel were really

376
00:23:52,320 –> 00:23:56,600
upset by that and they sort of
came to their elders.

377
00:23:57,160 –> 00:24:00,440
They were rankled by this and
they said, well, isn’t this the

378
00:24:00,440 –> 00:24:02,240
case for extenuating
circumstances?

379
00:24:02,240 –> 00:24:04,640
I mean, it wasn’t a covenant
made on the right premises in

380
00:24:04,640 –> 00:24:06,640
the 1st place.
Surely it’s not a true covenant.

381
00:24:06,920 –> 00:24:08,880
Well, no, it was.
It was made in Yahweh’s name.

382
00:24:11,240 –> 00:24:13,480
Is, is this one of those
occasions where where we can

383
00:24:13,480 –> 00:24:16,440
break the Constitution to keep
the constitution, so to speak?

384
00:24:18,880 –> 00:24:21,720
And the children of Israel came
to their Princess, but the

385
00:24:21,720 –> 00:24:24,160
Princess says no in verse 19.
We can’t.

386
00:24:24,320 –> 00:24:27,200
We have sworn unto them by
Yahweh, God of Israel.

387
00:24:27,200 –> 00:24:29,320
Now, therefore we may not touch
them.

388
00:24:29,400 –> 00:24:33,280
And you need to remember that we
may not touch them because

389
00:24:33,280 –> 00:24:36,360
that’s exactly what Saul does in
Second Samuel 21.

390
00:24:36,800 –> 00:24:41,160
But this is what we’ll do.
We will let them live because of

391
00:24:41,160 –> 00:24:42,840
the oath which we swear, swear
unto them.

392
00:24:44,480 –> 00:24:47,440
And verse 21, we’ll let them be
hewers of wood and drawers of

393
00:24:47,440 –> 00:24:52,240
water unto all the congregation.
So they put a curse on them.

394
00:24:52,600 –> 00:24:54,160
They’re going to become our
servants.

395
00:24:54,160 –> 00:24:56,040
They’re going to get all our
water and all our wood.

396
00:24:58,520 –> 00:25:08,200
Well, in verse 23, Joshua
changes it slightly and, and,

397
00:25:08,200 –> 00:25:10,920
and here, brothers and sisters,
there’s going to be a remarkable

398
00:25:10,920 –> 00:25:13,080
thing that happens because of
this change.

399
00:25:14,520 –> 00:25:17,760
Now therefore ye are cursed.
So there’s the curse on the

400
00:25:17,760 –> 00:25:21,040
Gibeonites, and there shall none
of you be freed from being

401
00:25:21,040 –> 00:25:25,440
bondsman and from being hearers
of wood and drawers of water for

402
00:25:25,440 –> 00:25:29,080
the House of my God.
So here were the children of

403
00:25:29,080 –> 00:25:31,160
Israel thinking, oh, we’re going
to have personal servants that

404
00:25:31,160 –> 00:25:33,200
are going to bring our water and
bring our wood and come to our

405
00:25:33,200 –> 00:25:36,960
door and, you know, have it
ready for us every morning.

406
00:25:37,360 –> 00:25:41,000
And Joshua changes it.
Yes, they’ll still do that, but

407
00:25:41,000 –> 00:25:44,800
they’re also going to be hills
of wood and drawers of water for

408
00:25:44,800 –> 00:25:47,880
the House of my God.
They’re going to come right up

409
00:25:47,880 –> 00:25:50,920
close to the Tabernacle.
They’re going to rub shoulder to

410
00:25:50,920 –> 00:25:54,280
shoulder with the Levites.
They’re going to be integrated

411
00:25:54,400 –> 00:26:00,040
into Tabernacle service.
You know what happens, brothers

412
00:26:00,040 –> 00:26:04,080
and sisters, is that actually
has a major effect on these

413
00:26:04,080 –> 00:26:13,080
Gibeonites because if you think
about Genesis 3, it says we, we

414
00:26:13,080 –> 00:26:16,720
said the serpent told lies, Eve
was beguiled, and so the serpent

415
00:26:16,720 –> 00:26:20,200
was cursed.
But we also know that Adam and

416
00:26:20,200 –> 00:26:22,480
Eve ended up being cursed as
well, don’t we?

417
00:26:26,200 –> 00:26:29,320
Well, if that’s going to be a
full reenactment here in Joshua

418
00:26:29,320 –> 00:26:33,440
Chapter 9, where the Gibeonites
told lies, the Israelites were

419
00:26:33,440 –> 00:26:37,200
beguiled and the Gibeonites were
cursed, The full enactment of

420
00:26:37,200 –> 00:26:39,600
Genesis 3 would have been that
the whole of Israel would have

421
00:26:39,600 –> 00:26:41,840
end up being cursed as well
because the Gibeonites would

422
00:26:41,840 –> 00:26:43,960
have rubbed off onto the
Israelites.

423
00:26:44,360 –> 00:26:47,480
And that was the reason in in
January 20 why you were to kill

424
00:26:47,800 –> 00:26:51,480
all the inhabitants of the land
in in case their lifestyle

425
00:26:51,480 –> 00:26:54,760
rubbed off unto you.
And there was a very great

426
00:26:54,760 –> 00:26:58,320
threat of that happening.
So what Joshua does is he brings

427
00:26:58,320 –> 00:27:01,280
them right up close to the
teachers of the nation, to the

428
00:27:01,280 –> 00:27:06,680
Levites in order to try and see
if the Levites lifestyle could

429
00:27:06,680 –> 00:27:10,400
rub off onto the Gibbeanites
rather than the Gibbeanites

430
00:27:10,400 –> 00:27:13,000
lifestyle rub off onto the
Levites.

431
00:27:13,920 –> 00:27:17,000
And it worked, It was amazing,
it worked.

432
00:27:17,960 –> 00:27:21,800
Now remember I told you to keep
the word Hivites in your mind.

433
00:27:22,360 –> 00:27:25,400
I’ve just mentioned Levites and
here are these Gibbeanites or

434
00:27:25,400 –> 00:27:27,440
Hivites.
They’re working shoulder to

435
00:27:27,440 –> 00:27:29,640
shoulder right alongside each
other.

436
00:27:30,400 –> 00:27:32,840
Do you know the first time where
Levites and Hivites came

437
00:27:32,840 –> 00:27:35,920
together, brothers and sisters?
It’s remarkable.

438
00:27:36,560 –> 00:27:38,640
Come back to Genesis 34.
We’re not going to spend any

439
00:27:38,640 –> 00:27:40,880
time in Genesis 34.
I just want you to show you

440
00:27:40,880 –> 00:27:44,800
this.
Genesis 34 is the first story in

441
00:27:44,800 –> 00:27:48,440
the Bible that has anything to
do with Levi and anything to do

442
00:27:48,440 –> 00:27:52,640
with Hivites doing stuff.
Obviously, Levi’s been mentioned

443
00:27:52,640 –> 00:27:54,520
before and the Hivites were
mentioned.

444
00:27:54,880 –> 00:27:58,880
Hivite was the son of Canaan,
the son of Ham, the son of Noah,

445
00:27:59,360 –> 00:28:02,360
and Levi was the son of Leah
from Jacob.

446
00:28:03,080 –> 00:28:05,480
But here’s the first time
they’re actually engaged in a

447
00:28:05,480 –> 00:28:08,960
story and they’re on opposite
sides.

448
00:28:09,080 –> 00:28:13,440
They hate each other.
You’ll see that verse one says.

449
00:28:13,440 –> 00:28:16,400
And Dinah, the daughter of Leah,
which she bear unto Jacob, went

450
00:28:16,400 –> 00:28:17,800
out to see the daughters of the
land.

451
00:28:17,960 –> 00:28:23,680
And when Shechem the son of
Hamor the Hivite, Prince of the

452
00:28:23,680 –> 00:28:26,600
country.
So here’s the Hivites, and we

453
00:28:26,600 –> 00:28:34,720
know what happens in this story.
Come over to verse 25.

454
00:28:35,960 –> 00:28:39,400
And it came to pass on the third
day when they were saw that two

455
00:28:39,400 –> 00:28:44,280
of the sons of Jacob,
particularly Simeon and Levi,

456
00:28:44,280 –> 00:28:47,960
Dinah’s brethren, took each man
a sword and came upon the city

457
00:28:47,960 –> 00:28:52,040
and slew all the males.
So they didn’t have a very good

458
00:28:52,040 –> 00:28:54,240
start, did they?
The Levites and the Hivites,

459
00:28:54,240 –> 00:28:56,920
they were on opposite sides.
They hated each other.

460
00:28:58,520 –> 00:29:01,320
Haymore and Shechem thought that
they liked each other, but found

461
00:29:01,320 –> 00:29:05,920
out that Simeon and Levi had no
plans of binding together and

462
00:29:05,920 –> 00:29:08,560
making a covenant.
They put them to the sword.

463
00:29:09,640 –> 00:29:13,680
Well, now brothers and sisters,
these Levites who’ve now changed

464
00:29:14,040 –> 00:29:17,080
Levi’s family change and they’re
now the teachers of the nation

465
00:29:18,800 –> 00:29:22,240
and the Gibeonites, brothers and
sisters come together and they

466
00:29:22,240 –> 00:29:26,040
rub shoulder to shoulder and the
effect is amazing.

467
00:29:27,160 –> 00:29:29,880
Come over to second Samuel now
and 21 now.

468
00:29:29,880 –> 00:29:35,360
Now you can see why it was such
a big thing, why God brought

469
00:29:35,360 –> 00:29:40,520
this famine.
Because Saul has touched the

470
00:29:40,520 –> 00:29:47,080
Gibbonites, he’s killed the
Gibbonites, and these Gibbonites

471
00:29:47,800 –> 00:29:50,680
were seen as as second class
citizens.

472
00:29:56,520 –> 00:30:00,080
And, and this, this famine is
clearly a punishment from Yahweh

473
00:30:00,240 –> 00:30:03,040
because of what Saul is doing.
He’s breaking the covenant.

474
00:30:05,520 –> 00:30:09,880
And, and such was the sin in the
eyes of Yahweh that the entire

475
00:30:09,880 –> 00:30:11,440
nation is being held
accountable.

476
00:30:12,160 –> 00:30:14,840
Everyone is under this curse,
under this punishment.

477
00:30:15,120 –> 00:30:18,240
It was a national sin.
And so according to Deuteronomy

478
00:30:18,240 –> 00:30:21,720
11, he had shut up heaven,
closed the windows of heaven.

479
00:30:23,880 –> 00:30:26,440
Now, why did Saul think he could
get away with this?

480
00:30:27,160 –> 00:30:29,520
Well, we don’t really know.
Maybe he thought the covenant

481
00:30:29,520 –> 00:30:31,200
was so old it was no longer
binding.

482
00:30:31,920 –> 00:30:35,680
You know, you know, Saul, Saul,
the one who didn’t kill all the

483
00:30:35,720 –> 00:30:40,040
Amalekites God had commanded him
to do that, suddenly doesn’t

484
00:30:40,720 –> 00:30:43,040
goes and kills the Gibeonites,
which which always said you

485
00:30:43,040 –> 00:30:45,400
can’t do.
So Saul was always getting it

486
00:30:45,400 –> 00:30:51,520
wrong.
Saul never got it right, and

487
00:30:51,520 –> 00:30:54,600
this misguided zeal, may, you
know, maybe he’s a little bit

488
00:30:54,600 –> 00:30:58,000
like Simeon and Levi here, this
misguided zeal, maybe he’s

489
00:30:58,000 –> 00:31:00,000
trying to finish what Joshua had
started.

490
00:31:00,160 –> 00:31:02,600
He got so far through Joshua and
thought, ah, I’ve got to get rid

491
00:31:02,600 –> 00:31:06,080
of the gibbonites in the same
way that he tried to get rid of

492
00:31:06,080 –> 00:31:09,640
all the sorcerers and all the
witches, etcetera, all those of

493
00:31:09,640 –> 00:31:12,280
the land, all the Canaanites.
Maybe that’s what he was

494
00:31:12,280 –> 00:31:16,960
thinking.
Remember he had all the priests

495
00:31:17,320 –> 00:31:25,040
killed at Nob and it seems that
from then he moved the

496
00:31:25,040 –> 00:31:28,760
Tabernacle from Nob and he moved
it to Gibeon where the

497
00:31:28,800 –> 00:31:31,440
Gibeonites are.
So to make a pathway to clear

498
00:31:31,440 –> 00:31:34,000
the pathway to let the
Tabernacle go there, maybe he

499
00:31:34,000 –> 00:31:35,800
cleared out the Gibeonites on
that occasion.

500
00:31:36,600 –> 00:31:38,880
He, he purged them to clear the
way.

501
00:31:41,280 –> 00:31:45,120
He, he was sole of Gibeah.
He, he was in that location.

502
00:31:45,120 –> 00:31:47,320
Maybe he just got rid of them
because they were too close for

503
00:31:47,320 –> 00:31:55,720
his liking, we don’t know.
But as I read by 1 commentator,

504
00:31:57,320 –> 00:32:01,360
he was a psychotic, paranoid,
self-serving narcissist.

505
00:32:01,360 –> 00:32:03,920
Was so you could never.
He was unpredictable, you didn’t

506
00:32:03,920 –> 00:32:06,680
know what he was thinking.
It doesn’t matter the reason.

507
00:32:06,720 –> 00:32:10,560
The fact is a covenant had been
broken and that covenant had

508
00:32:10,560 –> 00:32:15,400
been sworn in Yahweh’s name.
And for Yahweh the passage of

509
00:32:15,400 –> 00:32:19,040
time does not weaken a covenant.
He’s a covenant keeper.

510
00:32:21,320 –> 00:32:25,760
So So what happens?
Well these Gibeonites are

511
00:32:25,760 –> 00:32:28,360
mentioned by Yahweh in verse
one.

512
00:32:28,600 –> 00:32:33,400
It’s because of what Saul and
his the, the idea of bloody

513
00:32:33,400 –> 00:32:38,880
house is actually blood guilt.
OK, It’s it, it actually should

514
00:32:38,880 –> 00:32:42,960
be for the House of blood guilt,
Saul and his house.

515
00:32:43,200 –> 00:32:46,920
There was a guilt because of the
blood that was shed hanging on

516
00:32:46,920 –> 00:32:50,320
the House of Saul.
And how do you remove that

517
00:32:50,320 –> 00:32:52,960
guilt?
How do you remove that to make

518
00:32:52,960 –> 00:32:54,320
atonement?
Well, well, that’s what’s going

519
00:32:54,320 –> 00:32:58,280
to come out in this story.
And so Yahweh says it’s because

520
00:32:58,280 –> 00:33:01,280
Saul slew the Gibbyonites.
And so the king gets the

521
00:33:01,280 –> 00:33:05,320
Gibbyonites in verse 2, and he
says to them in verse 3, What

522
00:33:05,320 –> 00:33:08,240
shall I do for you and where?
Where shall I make the

523
00:33:08,240 –> 00:33:11,720
atonement?
Remove this guilt, that ye may

524
00:33:11,720 –> 00:33:22,000
bless the inheritance of Yahweh.
Now, I want you to notice that

525
00:33:22,400 –> 00:33:27,120
the Gibeonites in verse 4 come
up with a solution.

526
00:33:28,160 –> 00:33:31,000
Remember, they’d done their
homework back in Joshua and I.

527
00:33:31,000 –> 00:33:34,680
They knew all the insurance and
outs of how to win over Joshua.

528
00:33:34,680 –> 00:33:37,200
They’d done their research, OK,
and they presented this

529
00:33:37,200 –> 00:33:40,280
concocted story.
Well, here, brothers and

530
00:33:40,280 –> 00:33:44,040
sisters, they’ve also done their
research, but it’s in a

531
00:33:44,040 –> 00:33:48,480
completely different vein.
They’ve done their research

532
00:33:48,480 –> 00:33:54,960
about how atonement works.
And it’s quite remarkable,

533
00:33:54,960 –> 00:33:59,480
brothers and sisters, because in
this story I’m going to suggest

534
00:33:59,480 –> 00:34:04,560
they no longer represent sin.
In this story, the Gideonites

535
00:34:04,560 –> 00:34:10,760
represent those who understand
the basis by which sin is atoned

536
00:34:10,760 –> 00:34:14,159
for.
They understood and recognised

537
00:34:14,159 –> 00:34:17,880
what sin was.
They understood atonement.

538
00:34:18,760 –> 00:34:22,199
They are the ones who share in
the victory over sin.

539
00:34:22,199 –> 00:34:25,719
In this story, they don’t
represent sin.

540
00:34:26,040 –> 00:34:27,800
In this story, who represents
sin in this?

541
00:34:27,880 –> 00:34:32,840
It’s Saul.
King Saul is king sin in this

542
00:34:32,840 –> 00:34:36,880
story.
If you were to go down to verse

543
00:34:36,880 –> 00:34:39,600
5, we’ll go back to verse four
in a moment.

544
00:34:40,920 –> 00:34:46,960
And they answered the king, the
man that consumed us and that

545
00:34:46,960 –> 00:34:51,760
devised against us, that schemed
against us to remove us, to

546
00:34:51,760 –> 00:34:55,679
destroy us.
That man is the one that’s

547
00:34:55,679 –> 00:34:58,400
caused all this guilt.
And that’s what sin does,

548
00:34:58,400 –> 00:35:00,800
doesn’t it?
It seeks to consume us, brothers

549
00:35:00,800 –> 00:35:03,520
and sisters.
It seeks to find out a way to

550
00:35:03,520 –> 00:35:07,840
destroy us.
And Saul did exactly that with

551
00:35:07,840 –> 00:35:10,760
the Gibbonites.
The Gibbonites by this stage of

552
00:35:10,760 –> 00:35:14,880
the story, brothers and sisters,
are faithful men and women who

553
00:35:14,880 –> 00:35:18,000
work diligently in the
Tabernacle service.

554
00:35:19,160 –> 00:35:21,520
They’d rubbed up shoulder to
shoulder of the Levites.

555
00:35:21,680 –> 00:35:23,320
They loved and worshipped
Yahweh.

556
00:35:23,480 –> 00:35:28,000
They’d come to known him and
they loved his representative in

557
00:35:28,000 –> 00:35:31,880
David, King David.
And they understood all the

558
00:35:31,880 –> 00:35:35,200
principles of sacrifice, all the
principles of atonement.

559
00:35:35,200 –> 00:35:37,920
They saw it every day.
They saw the animals come up,

560
00:35:38,280 –> 00:35:39,760
the offerer would bring that
animal.

561
00:35:40,160 –> 00:35:44,320
And they saw how the Levites
taught all the the the offers,

562
00:35:44,480 –> 00:35:46,720
the lessons behind each of those
offerings.

563
00:35:47,960 –> 00:35:49,720
And they were listening to that
every day.

564
00:35:50,800 –> 00:35:54,320
And it made its mark.
And they were changed, men and

565
00:35:54,320 –> 00:35:56,400
women from the story of Joshua,
Chapter 9.

566
00:35:58,200 –> 00:36:01,400
And so note what they asked for
in verse four.

567
00:36:02,880 –> 00:36:07,480
And the Gibbey Nights said unto
David, we will have no silver

568
00:36:07,640 –> 00:36:10,520
nor gold of soul.
It’s not about money, all right.

569
00:36:10,560 –> 00:36:16,080
In those days, you could pay off
blood guiltiness through money.

570
00:36:16,240 –> 00:36:18,440
But it’s not about money.
The principles of the atonement

571
00:36:18,440 –> 00:36:20,720
cannot be worked out using
money.

572
00:36:21,520 –> 00:36:24,160
All right.
You can’t bribe your way.

573
00:36:24,480 –> 00:36:28,840
You can’t pay your penance in
monetary terms.

574
00:36:30,720 –> 00:36:38,160
No, it’s not about money.
We will have no money, nor of of

575
00:36:38,160 –> 00:36:41,800
salt, nor of his house.
Neither for us shalt thou kill

576
00:36:41,840 –> 00:36:48,600
any man in Israel.
Now the margin, I think makes it

577
00:36:49,000 –> 00:36:51,560
easier to understand.
I think this is how it should

578
00:36:51,560 –> 00:36:54,880
be.
You’ll see against the the

579
00:36:54,880 –> 00:36:59,160
number six, it is not silver nor
gold that we have to do with

580
00:36:59,160 –> 00:37:00,880
Seoul or his house.
We don’t want his money.

581
00:37:01,840 –> 00:37:04,400
Neither pertain it to us to
kill.

582
00:37:04,400 –> 00:37:08,160
It’s, it’s not our authority or
power to kill anyone over this,

583
00:37:08,920 –> 00:37:11,960
but that’s what is needed.
A death is needed.

584
00:37:12,080 –> 00:37:17,080
We, we, we see that in verse
verse 5 or, or verse 6-7, men be

585
00:37:17,080 –> 00:37:20,040
killed of the House of Seoul.
So, so death’s involved.

586
00:37:20,800 –> 00:37:22,960
So it’s not saying it’s not for
us to kill any man.

587
00:37:22,960 –> 00:37:26,960
What it’s saying is that it’s
not within our power to do that.

588
00:37:26,960 –> 00:37:29,040
We don’t have the authority.
We’re just giving eyes.

589
00:37:29,040 –> 00:37:32,040
We’re just humble servants.
We don’t have that authority in

590
00:37:32,040 –> 00:37:39,480
power.
So David says, well, what will I

591
00:37:39,480 –> 00:37:42,720
do for you?
You tell me what to do and I

592
00:37:42,720 –> 00:37:45,800
will do that.
I have the authority, I have the

593
00:37:45,800 –> 00:37:48,640
power to do that.
And the Gibeonites understood

594
00:37:48,640 –> 00:37:49,600
this.
We don’t.

595
00:37:49,840 –> 00:37:58,920
You do Now on the on the surface
that that might seem that

596
00:37:58,920 –> 00:38:05,320
they’ve got this bloodthirsty
revenge, but but clearly David

597
00:38:05,480 –> 00:38:09,200
isn’t of that ilk at all, is he,
Brothers and sisters, we know

598
00:38:09,200 –> 00:38:11,280
that.
Remember when men came to him

599
00:38:11,320 –> 00:38:13,680
and said, oh look, I killed
Saul.

600
00:38:15,600 –> 00:38:18,640
What did David do to the man
that took revenge on Saul?

601
00:38:19,320 –> 00:38:23,160
Thrust him through or, or or the
ones who killed Ishbosheth.

602
00:38:24,920 –> 00:38:27,320
We’ve killed Ishbosheth look
favourably to us.

603
00:38:27,600 –> 00:38:30,240
No, you’ve, you’ve touched
Yahweh’s anointed You’ve you’ve

604
00:38:30,680 –> 00:38:32,800
put your hand in in a, in a
place it shouldn’t be.

605
00:38:32,800 –> 00:38:35,960
He killed those perpetrators.
David would have no time for

606
00:38:35,960 –> 00:38:39,760
just bloodthirsty revenge.
And he can see that the

607
00:38:39,760 –> 00:38:43,200
Gibeonites knew the law.
Just come back to Numbers 35

608
00:38:43,200 –> 00:38:45,600
brothers and sisters.
So the points that they make in

609
00:38:45,600 –> 00:38:48,760
verse 4 come out of Numbers 35.
They’ve done their homework.

610
00:38:48,760 –> 00:38:50,240
They understand these
principles.

611
00:38:51,960 –> 00:38:56,640
Back here in Numbers 35, we are
told what happens when when

612
00:38:56,640 –> 00:39:08,120
someone is murdered, verse 16.
And if he smites him with an

613
00:39:08,120 –> 00:39:11,000
instrument of iron so that he
die, he is a murderer.

614
00:39:11,160 –> 00:39:13,280
The murderer shall surely be put
to death.

615
00:39:13,280 –> 00:39:15,520
And Saul has murdered the
Gibbonites.

616
00:39:15,800 –> 00:39:18,840
He’s broken a a covenant as
well, and he’s murdered these

617
00:39:18,840 –> 00:39:21,720
Gibbonites.
Well, how do you deal with that?

618
00:39:22,880 –> 00:39:28,280
We’ll come down to verse 19.
The revenger of blood himself

619
00:39:28,880 –> 00:39:30,960
shall slay the murderer when he
meteth him.

620
00:39:30,960 –> 00:39:36,680
He shall slay him.
But if he thrust him of hatred

621
00:39:36,680 –> 00:39:39,320
or hurled him by lying of
weight, that he’d die, or in

622
00:39:39,320 –> 00:39:41,160
enmity smite him with his hand,
that he’d die.

623
00:39:41,400 –> 00:39:43,480
He that smote him shall surely
be put to death.

624
00:39:43,480 –> 00:39:45,960
So you can’t do it for revenge,
OK?

625
00:39:46,480 –> 00:39:49,560
For he, for personal revenge,
for he is a murderer.

626
00:39:50,000 –> 00:39:53,040
The revenger of blood shall slay
the murderer when he meteth him,

627
00:39:54,120 –> 00:39:57,080
but if he thrust him suddenly
without enmity, or have cast

628
00:39:57,080 –> 00:39:59,600
upon him anything without lying
of weight, or with any stone,

629
00:39:59,600 –> 00:40:02,320
etcetera, etcetera, then there’s
got to be a judgement made.

630
00:40:03,840 –> 00:40:07,680
Come down to verse 31.
There’s lots of conditions put

631
00:40:07,680 –> 00:40:12,960
here, but look at this one here.
Moreover, you shall take no

632
00:40:13,000 –> 00:40:17,880
satisfaction for the life of a
murderer which is guilty of

633
00:40:17,880 –> 00:40:20,720
death, but he shall be surely
put to death.

634
00:40:21,160 –> 00:40:23,880
And you shall take no
satisfaction for him that is

635
00:40:23,880 –> 00:40:26,400
fled to the city of his refuge,
that he should come again to

636
00:40:26,400 –> 00:40:28,600
dwell in the land until the
death of the priest.

637
00:40:29,280 –> 00:40:30,880
So there was to be no
satisfaction.

638
00:40:30,880 –> 00:40:35,200
In other words, no money taken,
no monetary reward.

639
00:40:35,520 –> 00:40:38,320
You, you can’t do that.
And that’s what the Gibeonites

640
00:40:38,320 –> 00:40:40,040
say.
We, we don’t want any money

641
00:40:40,320 –> 00:40:42,640
involved in this.
There’s no personal satisfaction

642
00:40:42,880 –> 00:40:45,680
in monetary terms.
And in verse 33.

643
00:40:45,680 –> 00:40:49,240
So you shall not pollute the
land wherein you wherein you

644
00:40:49,240 –> 00:40:52,080
are.
For blood it defileth the land.

645
00:40:52,480 –> 00:40:54,680
And the land cannot be cleansed
of the blood that he shed

646
00:40:54,680 –> 00:40:57,280
therein, but by the blood of him
that shed it.

647
00:40:59,080 –> 00:41:03,640
The land cannot be cleansed but
by the blood of him that shed

648
00:41:03,640 –> 00:41:04,840
it.
And who shed it?

649
00:41:05,080 –> 00:41:08,920
It was Saul and his sons.
They were the ones that shed it.

650
00:41:09,200 –> 00:41:11,960
So they are the ones that must
be put to death.

651
00:41:18,400 –> 00:41:20,680
Now what do I say?
Saul and his sons?

652
00:41:21,520 –> 00:41:24,720
Well, look at verse 6.
Come back to Second Samuel 21.

653
00:41:26,120 –> 00:41:27,360
The Gibby Knights have done
their homework.

654
00:41:27,360 –> 00:41:29,560
They tell Saul they understand.
Numbers 35.

655
00:41:29,560 –> 00:41:31,560
This is how it has to happen.
It’s not for us to do it.

656
00:41:31,560 –> 00:41:34,960
You have to do it.
And so David says, what is it

657
00:41:35,240 –> 00:41:41,320
that I have to do?
Verse 6, Let seven men of his

658
00:41:41,320 –> 00:41:46,320
sons be delivered unto us, seven
men of his son, so seven sons of

659
00:41:46,320 –> 00:41:48,080
Saul.
Saul of course is already dead,

660
00:41:48,080 –> 00:41:51,280
so they can’t use Saul, but
seven sons.

661
00:41:53,760 –> 00:41:57,600
Saul did the killing.
Well this is clearly telling us

662
00:41:57,600 –> 00:42:00,480
brothers and sisters that Saul’s
sons were involved.

663
00:42:01,880 –> 00:42:04,880
Deuteronomy 24, which the
Gibeonites would have known, it

664
00:42:04,880 –> 00:42:07,640
says in verse 16, the fathers
shall not be put to death for

665
00:42:07,640 –> 00:42:10,160
the children’s sin, and the
children would not be put to

666
00:42:10,160 –> 00:42:12,880
death for the fathers sin.
So clearly these sons were

667
00:42:12,880 –> 00:42:16,280
involved.
Saul had made them officers and

668
00:42:16,280 –> 00:42:19,880
judges in his, in his army and
such like.

669
00:42:20,040 –> 00:42:22,760
And, and clearly they were the
executioners as well.

670
00:42:24,400 –> 00:42:29,200
And so these Gibeonites asked
for seven of those sons.

671
00:42:29,200 –> 00:42:30,920
And you say 7.
Well, that that seems quite a

672
00:42:30,920 –> 00:42:36,480
lot, 7, The number 7 comes up,
brothers and sisters.

673
00:42:37,280 –> 00:42:41,960
The Gibeonites asked for seven.
Why 7?

674
00:42:43,040 –> 00:42:46,640
Seven brothers and sisters,
quite clearly is the covenant

675
00:42:46,640 –> 00:42:51,440
number, the number of the
Abrahamic covenant, and that’s

676
00:42:51,440 –> 00:42:55,200
what’s being implored here.
The Abrahamic covenant.

677
00:42:55,400 –> 00:42:58,920
There’s an additional feature
that tells us that it is the

678
00:42:58,920 –> 00:43:02,360
Abrahamic covenant.
We’re not going to talk about

679
00:43:02,360 –> 00:43:06,560
Rispar in verse 10, but there’s
something that she does that

680
00:43:06,560 –> 00:43:10,600
takes your mind straight back to
Genesis 15 and the Abrahamic

681
00:43:10,600 –> 00:43:13,560
covenant.
Notice what she does in verse

682
00:43:13,560 –> 00:43:16,040
10.
After these seven sons are

683
00:43:16,040 –> 00:43:20,160
killed, they’re hung.
It says in verse 10, Rizpa, the

684
00:43:20,160 –> 00:43:23,280
daughter of Aya, took sackcloth
and spread it for her upon the

685
00:43:23,280 –> 00:43:26,360
rock from the beginning of
harvest until water dropped upon

686
00:43:26,600 –> 00:43:29,680
them out of heaven, and suffered
neither the birds of the air to

687
00:43:29,680 –> 00:43:32,240
rest on them by day nor the
beasts of the fields by night.

688
00:43:32,360 –> 00:43:37,040
She kept the wild animals away.
That’s exactly what Abraham does

689
00:43:37,040 –> 00:43:42,200
back in Genesis 15 when making
that covenant.

690
00:43:43,440 –> 00:43:47,040
And seven times between Genesis
12 and 22, seven times God makes

691
00:43:47,040 –> 00:43:50,800
a covenant with Abraham. 7 is
the covenant number.

692
00:43:51,400 –> 00:43:55,720
Atonement can only be ratified
on the basis of the Abrahamic

693
00:43:55,720 –> 00:44:01,600
covenant.
Brothers and sisters, you’ll

694
00:44:01,600 –> 00:44:05,560
also notice at the end of verse
9 that it says that it was done

695
00:44:05,560 –> 00:44:07,680
in the beginning of barley
harvest.

696
00:44:07,920 –> 00:44:11,240
That’s Passover time.
That’s an appropriate time.

697
00:44:11,560 –> 00:44:15,800
Passover, you got the number
seven, you got the keeping of

698
00:44:15,800 –> 00:44:20,280
the birds and the beasts away.
You got Passover time and then

699
00:44:20,280 –> 00:44:26,440
you’ve got hanging, these men
hanging, hanging.

700
00:44:26,600 –> 00:44:28,800
Whether it was on the cross or
whether it was hanging off a

701
00:44:28,800 –> 00:44:31,400
piece of wood, we, we don’t
particularly know, but they were

702
00:44:31,400 –> 00:44:37,000
hung, hanging on a piece of
wood. 4 things telling you that

703
00:44:37,000 –> 00:44:41,840
this is the Abrahamic covenant.
The Gibeonites understood the

704
00:44:41,840 –> 00:44:49,280
principles of atonement and
these seven were were were taken

705
00:44:49,600 –> 00:44:54,640
and in verse 9 they were hanged
before Yahweh right in front of

706
00:44:54,640 –> 00:45:01,320
Yahweh.
It was done as a declaration of

707
00:45:01,400 –> 00:45:04,240
what has to happen to atone for
sin.

708
00:45:07,680 –> 00:45:09,480
And that’s what we’ve come to
remember this morning, brothers

709
00:45:09,480 –> 00:45:16,040
and sisters.
We’ve come to remember the one

710
00:45:16,720 –> 00:45:21,960
who on Golgotha was hung on a
cross to ratify the Abrahamic

711
00:45:21,960 –> 00:45:26,920
covenant that was made to
Abraham all those years ago.

712
00:45:26,960 –> 00:45:32,080
But God saw that as binding.
It doesn’t change.

713
00:45:32,080 –> 00:45:34,760
Our first two hymns talk about
God never changing.

714
00:45:35,200 –> 00:45:39,160
Great is thy faithfulness, thou
who never changes.

715
00:45:39,560 –> 00:45:43,200
God has a covenant, brothers and
sisters, that we can be a part

716
00:45:43,200 –> 00:45:46,400
of.
I think it’s the most

717
00:45:46,480 –> 00:45:52,080
incredible, wonderful story,
this story of the Gibeonites and

718
00:45:52,080 –> 00:45:55,560
how they changed.
It’s never too late to change,

719
00:45:55,560 –> 00:45:59,720
is it?
I just want to finish, Brothers

720
00:45:59,720 –> 00:46:05,400
and Sisters, by just showing you
where these Gibeonites end up,

721
00:46:06,480 –> 00:46:10,760
just just to show you that they
stayed faithful for hundreds of

722
00:46:10,760 –> 00:46:14,680
years.
You come across to Ezra chapter

723
00:46:14,680 –> 00:46:17,560
8, but we’ll leave the story in
Second Samuel 21.

724
00:46:17,560 –> 00:46:20,840
I think we’ve got enough to know
what the Gibby Nights were about

725
00:46:20,840 –> 00:46:23,560
in that story and how faithful
they were and how they

726
00:46:23,560 –> 00:46:26,520
understood the principles of
atonement and how they

727
00:46:26,520 –> 00:46:30,960
transformed from being sin
schemers to being the ones who

728
00:46:31,000 –> 00:46:36,840
understood how to overcome sin.
And so many years pass by

729
00:46:36,840 –> 00:46:40,960
brothers and sisters, and they
go into captivity and they come

730
00:46:40,960 –> 00:46:43,160
back.
They come back under the rubber

731
00:46:43,160 –> 00:46:45,760
ball, first of all, and then
they’re going to come back under

732
00:46:45,840 –> 00:46:49,640
Ezra.
But Ezra has a problem in Ezra

733
00:46:49,640 –> 00:46:55,280
chapter 8 because he gets in
verse 15 of Ezra chapter 8 to a

734
00:46:55,280 –> 00:47:00,760
place called Ahava.
And it says in verse 15 I gather

735
00:47:00,760 –> 00:47:03,240
them together to the river that
runneth to a harbor and their

736
00:47:03,240 –> 00:47:07,400
abode wee intense 3 days.
And I viewed the people and I

737
00:47:07,400 –> 00:47:10,520
found none of the sons of Levi.
Remember those Levites, the

738
00:47:10,520 –> 00:47:14,000
teachers of the nation, the ones
who were instrumental in making

739
00:47:14,000 –> 00:47:17,160
sure people understood what
temple service was all about.

740
00:47:17,160 –> 00:47:20,680
Here’s Ezra coming back to a
temple that’s just been built.

741
00:47:21,280 –> 00:47:24,280
I need Levites.
It won’t work unless I have

742
00:47:24,280 –> 00:47:26,920
Levites with me.
We have to stop.

743
00:47:27,280 –> 00:47:30,360
We need some Levites.
How does he find these Levites?

744
00:47:30,360 –> 00:47:33,280
Brothers and sisters?
Who’s the man that he chooses to

745
00:47:33,280 –> 00:47:35,480
find out?
Levites who would understand

746
00:47:35,480 –> 00:47:37,280
this principle more than anyone
else.

747
00:47:38,360 –> 00:47:43,280
We’ll have a look at verse 16.
It says that I sent for Eliezer,

748
00:47:43,360 –> 00:47:45,640
for Ariel, for Shamaya, for El
Nathan.

749
00:47:45,640 –> 00:47:48,880
There’s seven men here, 7 very
important men.

750
00:47:49,520 –> 00:47:51,200
OK, They’re men of
understanding.

751
00:47:51,200 –> 00:47:53,240
At the end of verse 16, These
seven men.

752
00:47:53,960 –> 00:47:56,800
And he sent them to one
particular man.

753
00:47:56,960 –> 00:48:00,040
I need you to go and see this
man, and ask him to find

754
00:48:00,040 –> 00:48:01,680
Levites.
Who was this man?

755
00:48:02,280 –> 00:48:08,760
Verse 17 And I sent them with
commandment unto Ito the chief,

756
00:48:08,880 –> 00:48:11,360
at the palace, at the Place Casa
fire.

757
00:48:11,800 –> 00:48:14,720
And I told them what they should
say unto Ito.

758
00:48:14,720 –> 00:48:20,120
So this is this man Ito, and to
his brethren the Nethanim.

759
00:48:21,000 –> 00:48:23,800
Now I haven’t mentioned it up
until now, but the Gibeonites

760
00:48:23,800 –> 00:48:29,400
had two names.
The Gibeonites were also called

761
00:48:29,680 –> 00:48:34,720
the Nethanim and back in Joshua
Chapter 9, the word nethanim is

762
00:48:34,720 –> 00:48:37,920
used at the end of that chapter
because the word nethanim means

763
00:48:37,920 –> 00:48:41,480
to give comes from Nathan Natan
to give.

764
00:48:41,480 –> 00:48:45,160
So nethanim is the given ones
and they were given to the House

765
00:48:45,160 –> 00:48:47,040
of God.
Do you know what?

766
00:48:47,040 –> 00:48:51,960
They stayed faithful all through
Israel’s history, even in

767
00:48:51,960 –> 00:48:54,880
captivity.
Go and speak to Ito the

768
00:48:54,920 –> 00:48:57,240
Gibeonite.
He’ll know what to do.

769
00:48:57,240 –> 00:49:02,440
He’ll find you some Levites.
Do you know brothers and

770
00:49:02,440 –> 00:49:04,320
sisters, Ito does find
Gibeonites.

771
00:49:04,320 –> 00:49:07,480
He does Levites.
I should say he does.

772
00:49:07,480 –> 00:49:11,000
He finds 38.
You’ll see at the end of verse

773
00:49:11,040 –> 00:49:18,000
18, he finds 18 Levites from the
family of Mali.

774
00:49:18,840 –> 00:49:24,080
And then in verse 19 he finds 20
more Levites from the family of

775
00:49:24,160 –> 00:49:27,560
of of Mararai from the family,
the Levitical family of Mararai.

776
00:49:30,560 –> 00:49:34,520
But you know that in addition to
those 38 Levites, brothers and

777
00:49:34,520 –> 00:49:39,280
sisters, it says in verse 20
also of the Nethanim, the

778
00:49:39,360 –> 00:49:42,600
Gibeonites, whom David and the
Princess had appointed for the

779
00:49:42,600 –> 00:49:48,720
service of the Levites.
He also found 220 gibbonites

780
00:49:48,880 –> 00:49:51,440
Nethanim.
That’s remarkable.

781
00:49:51,920 –> 00:49:56,160
The Gibeonites ended up being
more faithful than the Levites,

782
00:49:56,800 –> 00:50:01,680
and more came back of the
Nethanim than what came back of

783
00:50:01,680 –> 00:50:04,040
the Levites.
Isn’t that just remarkable,

784
00:50:04,080 –> 00:50:11,000
brothers and sisters?
How that story so so so so

785
00:50:11,000 –> 00:50:14,680
disastrous back in Genesis 34
has this wonderful turn around

786
00:50:15,120 –> 00:50:18,240
so that by the time of the end
of the story we find these

787
00:50:18,240 –> 00:50:22,360
faithful nethanim going back to
help in temple service.

788
00:50:23,920 –> 00:50:26,680
But of course we now brothers
and sisters, come to remember

789
00:50:27,080 –> 00:50:36,520
our Lord Jesus Christ.
We’re told in Mark’s Gospel that

790
00:50:37,320 –> 00:50:40,400
the disciples were told to
prepare an upper room.

791
00:50:40,400 –> 00:50:43,200
They were told that they would
know where to go because they

792
00:50:43,240 –> 00:50:47,360
would find a man bearing a
pitcher of water.

793
00:50:47,360 –> 00:50:49,560
That’s quite a remarkable thing.
Normally the women did that.

794
00:50:49,560 –> 00:50:52,240
So this man must have been one
of these.

795
00:50:52,240 –> 00:50:54,960
Nathanim, you wouldn’t find men
carrying a pitcher of water

796
00:50:55,000 –> 00:50:58,960
necessarily unless he was a
descendant of these gibeonite.

797
00:50:58,960 –> 00:51:01,840
She was of wood and drawers of
water, remember?

798
00:51:03,440 –> 00:51:06,680
But the important thing to note
is that what did Christ do with

799
00:51:06,680 –> 00:51:11,680
that water?
He drew it out and washed the

800
00:51:11,680 –> 00:51:15,960
disciples feet.
The Lord Jesus Christ is acting

801
00:51:16,000 –> 00:51:19,160
as a Gideon.
He’s acting as the nethanim.

802
00:51:19,400 –> 00:51:22,880
He drew out that water and
washed the disciples feet.

803
00:51:23,600 –> 00:51:27,400
And then just a few hours later
he was going to carry a lump of

804
00:51:27,400 –> 00:51:31,200
wood.
He was going to carry his cross,

805
00:51:31,200 –> 00:51:35,960
this large piece of wood, to put
it in the ground to be hung on

806
00:51:35,960 –> 00:51:40,360
that, so that by his blood
sacrifice, brothers and sisters,

807
00:51:40,720 –> 00:51:43,920
we all could share in the
atonement for sin.

808
00:51:45,120 –> 00:51:50,280
His offering can only affect us
if we accept him, if we accept

809
00:51:50,280 –> 00:51:52,520
him as the one who can make
atonement.

810
00:51:52,840 –> 00:51:55,160
The greater than David, we can’t
do anything, can we?

811
00:51:55,160 –> 00:51:59,320
Brothers and sisters?
Here’s the nephanim seen in the

812
00:51:59,320 –> 00:52:02,960
Lord Jesus Christ.
And brothers and sisters, we

813
00:52:02,960 –> 00:52:06,360
can’t be Levites.
Literally, we are not of the

814
00:52:06,360 –> 00:52:11,320
family of the Levites, but we
can be spiritual Levites and

815
00:52:11,320 –> 00:52:13,440
follow in the footsteps of the
Gibbon.

816
00:52:13,440 –> 00:52:16,320
They were the spiritual Levites
from the Gentiles, Brothers and

817
00:52:16,320 –> 00:52:18,840
sisters.
And our greatest example, the

818
00:52:18,840 –> 00:52:22,040
Lord Jesus Christ, the greatest
nethanim, is the one that we

819
00:52:22,040 –> 00:52:25,640
should leave this place desiring
to follow, because He’s the one

820
00:52:25,960 –> 00:52:31,320
that can help us overcome sin.
Hello, this is brother Chris

821
00:52:31,320 –> 00:52:33,800
again.
Before we finish, I wanted to

822
00:52:33,800 –> 00:52:36,040
clarify something that was
mentioned near the end of

823
00:52:36,040 –> 00:52:39,880
brother Steve’s talk regarding
Joshua Chapter 9 verse 27 that

824
00:52:39,880 –> 00:52:42,120
he mentioned when he was looking
at Ezra.

825
00:52:43,120 –> 00:52:45,280
But Steve had asked that we
clarify in there.

826
00:52:45,280 –> 00:52:49,120
He mentions the idea that the
word nothing him is mentioned in

827
00:52:49,120 –> 00:52:51,760
Joshua Chapter 9 verse 27, and
you might have caught it if you

828
00:52:51,760 –> 00:52:54,080
were following along with the
class.

829
00:52:54,440 –> 00:52:58,320
But if not, the idea behind it
is the word in Joshua Chapter 9

830
00:52:58,320 –> 00:53:02,040
verse 27 where it talks about he
made them or gave them.

831
00:53:02,280 –> 00:53:05,400
That’s the same Hebrew word as
nethadim if you’re looking at

832
00:53:05,400 –> 00:53:08,320
the King James Version.
So the key point in the idea

833
00:53:08,320 –> 00:53:11,760
behind the Nethadim still stands
and becomes an interesting

834
00:53:11,880 –> 00:53:15,440
little idea that the casual
phrase used to mention as the

835
00:53:15,440 –> 00:53:18,000
Gibeonites were being that they
were given to the Levites

836
00:53:18,000 –> 00:53:20,880
instead turned into the name
that they were actually given

837
00:53:20,880 –> 00:53:23,960
and what they were referred to
as and was shaping their

838
00:53:23,960 –> 00:53:26,520
identity.
So I just wanted to make that

839
00:53:26,680 –> 00:53:28,320
point.
Brother Steve had asked when I

840
00:53:28,320 –> 00:53:30,720
asked his permission to share
this class that we highlight

841
00:53:30,720 –> 00:53:33,240
that just because it was some
feedback that he got when he

842
00:53:33,240 –> 00:53:36,200
gave this expectation live and
it helped to clarify some

843
00:53:36,200 –> 00:53:38,640
things, what he was referring to
when he talked about Joshua

844
00:53:38,640 –> 00:53:42,080
Chapter 9, verse 27.
So with that, I’ll turn it back

845
00:53:42,080 –> 00:53:44,520
over to myself for our usual
closing.

846
00:53:59,080 –> 00:54:01,200
Thank you for listening to the
Good Christadelphian Talks

847
00:54:01,200 –> 00:54:03,800
podcast.
We hope this talk helped you in

848
00:54:03,800 –> 00:54:05,320
your walk and brightened your
day.

849
00:54:06,480 –> 00:54:08,520
If you would like to hear more,
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850
00:54:08,520 –> 00:54:11,040
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851
00:54:11,040 –> 00:54:15,120
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852
00:54:15,120 –> 00:54:17,600
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853
00:54:17,600 –> 00:54:20,360
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For show notes on the talk you

854
00:54:20,360 –> 00:54:24,480
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855
00:54:24,720 –> 00:54:27,240
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856
00:54:28,480 –> 00:54:30,960
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857
00:54:30,960 –> 00:54:33,480
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858
00:54:33,480 –> 00:54:37,000
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859
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well.

860
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If you enjoy listening to the
talks that we post and hear one

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00:54:41,520 –> 00:54:43,760
that you think we should share,
please tell us about it.

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00:54:44,320 –> 00:54:47,360
You can send a suggestion using
the Contact Us tab on our

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00:54:47,360 –> 00:54:50,400
website or message us on any of
our social media accounts.

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00:54:51,000 –> 00:54:53,880
Thank you for listening.
God bless and talk to you next

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week.