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Hey kids, welcome to Junior's for Jesus.
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Go grab your Bibles.
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We're gonna be digging in and learning
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some really exciting stories.
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We've been talking this week about patriots and prophets.
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A prophet was a special person chosen by God
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to deliver important messages to his people.
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They were special messengers from God.
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These prophets played a crucial role
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in helping the people to understand God's will
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and guiding them back to follow his commands.
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Prophets were often called to warn the people
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when they were doing something wrong.
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It's like having a friend who tells you
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when you're about to make a bad choice.
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The prophets would remind the people
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to be followers of God and to be obedient to God's law.
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They would warn them about the consequences of their actions
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and encourage them to turn back to God.
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They also shared messages of hope and encouragement.
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When the people faced tough times,
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prophets brought messages from God
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to give them comfort and hope.
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It's like having someone share you on when things are hard.
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The prophets reassured the people that God was with them
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and if they stayed faithful and obedient,
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better days were ahead.
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Prophets sometimes predicted the future.
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God revealed to them what would happen
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and then they would share these words with the people.
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Our memory verse for this week is Leviticus chapter 23,
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verse three, it reads,
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six days shall work be done,
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but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest,
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You shall do no work on it.
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It is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings.
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The Sabbath of the Lord is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings.
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Hosea, the first minor prophet,
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lived in the northern kingdom of Israel
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before its captivity.
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He married a woman named Gomer, whom he loved,
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but she wasn't faithful to him.
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And when she left him to live with other men,
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He warned her that she wouldn't be happy
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and he did everything that he could to win her back.
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So why did God tell Hosea to write this sad story?
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It was to help God's people know how sad he felt
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when they were unfaithful to him.
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You see, Gomer was a symbol of Israel
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and just as she had left her husband
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and lived with other men,
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Israel had left the worship of God
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and the people were worshiping idols.
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And just as Hosea was heartbroken for what Gomer did,
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Israel's worship of other gods
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was breaking God's great heart of love.
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He knew that they wouldn't be happy in the end.
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Return, O backsliding children, he said,
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for I am married to you, Jeremiah chapter three verse 14.
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Now that word backsliding means that they were sliding back
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into their old, sinful ways.
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So why was that happening?
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Because you have forgotten the law of your God, God said,
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there is no knowledge of God in the land
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and my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
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Hosea chapter four verses one and six.
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The kingdom of Israel was sometimes called Ephraim
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because that was its most important tribe.
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God said, Oh, Ephraim, what shall I do to you?
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Its people were like a silly dove without sense,
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he said, because they have rebelled against my law.
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Hosea chapter six verse four, chapter seven verse 11
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and chapter eight verse one.
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But even though they were bent on backsliding,
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God said, how can I give you up, Ephraim?
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My heart churns within me.
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My sympathy is third.
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Hosea urged, Oh Israel, return to the Lord your God.
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And God promised, I will heal their backsliding.
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I will love them freely.
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Hosea chapter 11 verses seven and eight.
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Hosea chapter 14 verses one and four.
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Now, let's apply it.
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Knowing that God loved backsliding Israel like that,
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don't you think he loves you just as much
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and is just as sad when you want to leave him
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to follow the world?
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This podcast is sponsored by MyBibleFirst.org.