The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 141: The Life of David (2026)

Episode Date: May 21, 2026

Fr. Mike touches on one of his favorite bible stories about David's mighty men and discusses his attitude in old age. At the end of his life, David chooses not to dwell on his mistakes, but to recognize the people around him and the blessings he received, which helped him accomplish what God was calling him to do. Today's readings are 2 Samuel 23, 1 Chronicles 28, and Psalm 42. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to the Bible in a year podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of scripture. The Bible in a year podcast is brought to you by Ascension. Using the Great Adventure Bible timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today. It is day 141, and we're reading today from 2nd Samuel, chapter 23, from 1st Chronicles, chapter 28, and we are praying Psalm 42. As you know, the Bible translation that I'm reading from is the revised standard version

in the second Catholic edition. And I'm using the great adventure Bible from Ascension. If you want to download your own Bible in a year reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a year. If you have not yet subscribed to this podcast, you can do that. I got that in under one minute. So hit that a fast forward button twice. And here we are beginning of the Bible, reading the Bible.

It's going to be great. As I said, it is day 141. We're reading 2nd Samuel chapter 23, First Chronicles, chapter 28, and Psalm 42. The second book of Samuel, chapter 23, the last words of David. Now, these are the last words of David, the oracle of David, the son of Jesse, the oracle of the man who is raised on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel. The spirit of the Lord speaks by me.

His word is upon my tongue. The God of Israel has spoken, the rock of Israel has said to me, when one rules justly over men ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light, like the light shining forth upon a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth. Yes, does not my house stand so with God? For he has made with me an everlasting covenant,

ordered in all things and secure. For will he not cause to prosper all my help and my desire? But godless men are all like thorns that are thrown away, for they cannot be taken with the hand. But the man who touches them, arms himself with iron and the shaft of a spear, and they are utterly consumed with fire. David's mighty men.

These are the names of the mighty men whom David had. Joshab Bas Shibeth, the Takamanite. He was the chief of the three. He wielded his spear against 800, whom he slew at one time. And next to him, among the three mighty men, was Elie Azar, the son of Dodo, son of Ahoy. He was with David. David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle and the men of Israel

withdrew. He rose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary and his hand clung to the sword and the Lord wrought a great victory that day and the men returned after him only to strip the slain. And next to him was Shama, the son of Agi the Herorite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehigh where there was a plot of ground full of lentils and the men fled from the Philistines, but he took his stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and slew the Philistines and the Lord wrought a great victory. And three of the 30 chief men went down and came about harvest time to David at the cave of Adulam, when a band of Philistines was encamped in the valley of Raphahim. David was then in the stronghold and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem.

And David said longingly, oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate. Then the three mighty men. men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, which was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it. He poured it out to the Lord and said, Far be it from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went at risk of their lives? Therefore, he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men. Now Abashai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruaya, was the chief of the 30, and he wielded

his spear against three hundred men and slew them and won a name beside the three. He was the most renowned of the thirty and became their commander, but he did not attain to the three. And Beniah, the son of Johoiada, was a valiant man of Kabzil, a doer of great deeds. He struck two aerials of Moab. He also went down and slew a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. And he slew an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but Benaya went down to him with a staff and snatched the spear out of the Egyptian's hand and slew him with his own spear. These things did Beniah, the son of Jehuayda, and won a name beside the three mighty men. He was renowned among the 30, but he did not attain

to the three. And David set him over his bodyguard. Asahel, the brother of Joab, was one of the 30. Al-Hanan, the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, Shama of Harad, Alika of Harad, Halaz the Paltiteite, Ira, the son of Ikechesh of Takoa, Abiyazar of Hanathath, Mubunai, the Hushathite, Zalman, the Ahhojite, Mahari, of Natafah, Helle, the son of Baana of Natafah, Ittai, the son of Ribai of Gibbya of the Benjaminites, Benaya of Pirathan, Hidai of the brooks of Ga'ash, Abi alban, the Arbethy of Bahurim, Elieaba of Shaalbon, the son of Jashin, Jonathan, Shima the Hararite, Ahayam, the son of Shararite, Elifalet, the son of Ahaspai of Maaka, Eliam, the son of Ahitafel of Gael, Hezro of Carmel, Paari, the Arbite, Igah, the son of Nathan of Zobha,

Bani, Gadi, Zilik, the Ammonite, Naharai of B. Iarath, the armor bearer of Joab, the son of Zeroyah, Iraa the Ithright, Gereb, the Ithrite, Yariah the Hittite, 37 in all. The first book of chronicles, chapter 28, Solomon instructed to build the temple. David assembled at Jerusalem all the officials of Israel, the officials of the tribes, the officers of the divisions that served the king, the commanders of thousands, the commanders of hundreds, the stewards of all the property and cattle of the king and his sons, together with the palace officials, the mighty men, and all the seasoned warriors. Then King David rose to his feet and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people.

I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and for the footstool of our God, and I made preparations for building. But God said to me, you may not build a house for my name, for you are a warrior and have shed blood. Yet, the Lord God of Israel chose me from all my father's house to be king over Israel forever, for he chose Judah as leader. And in the house of Judah, my father's house, and among my father's sons, he took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel. And of all my sons, for the Lord has given me many sons, he has chosen Solomon, my son, to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. He said to me, it is Solomon your son who shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. I will establish his kingdom

forever if he continues resolute in keeping my commandments and my ordinances as he is today. Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, observe and seek out all the commandments of the Lord your God, that you may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children after you forever. And you, Solomon, my son, know the God of your father, and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind. For the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you.

But if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever. Take heed now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be strong and do it. Then David gave Solomon his son the plan of the vestibule of the temple, and of its houses, its treasuries, its upper rooms, and its inner chambers, and of the room for the mercy seat, and the plan of all that he had in mind for the courts of the house of the Lord, all the surrounding chambers, the treasuries of the house of God, and the treasuries for dedicated gifts, for the divisions of the priests and of the Levites, and all the work of the service in the house of the Lord,

for all the vessels for the service in the house of the Lord, the weight of gold for all golden vessels for each service, the weight of silver vessels for each service, the weight of the golden lampstands and their lamps, the weight of gold for each lampstand and its lamps, the weight of silver for a lampstand in its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand in the service, the weight of gold for each table for the showbread, the silver for the silver tables, and pure gold for the for the for the forks, the basins and the cups, for the golden bowls and the weight of each, for the silver bowls and the weight of each, and for the altar of incense made of refined gold and its weight. Also, his plan for the golden chariot of the cherubim that spread their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord.

All this, he made clear by the writing from the hand of the Lord concerning it, all the work to be done according to the plan. Then David said to Solomon his son, be strong, and of good courage, and do it. Fear not, be not dismayed, for the Lord God, even my God is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished. And behold the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God. And with you, in all the work will be every willing man who has skill for any kind of service. Also the officers and all the people will be holy at your command. Psalm 42.

Longing for God and his help in distress. To the choir master, a maskell of the sons of Cora. As a dear longs for flowing streams, so longs my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me continually, where is your God?

These things I remember as I pour out my soul, how I went with the throng and led them in procession to the house of God, with glad shouts and songs of Thanksgiving, a multitude-keeping festival. Why are you cast down, oh my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God. For I shall again praise him, my Savior and my God.

My soul is cast down within me. Therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep at the thunder of your cataracts. All your waves and your billows have gone over me. By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me. a prayer to the God of my life.

I say to God, my rock, why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? As with a deadly wound in my body, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me continually, where is your God? Why are you cast down, oh my soul?

And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God. I shall again praise him, my help and my God. Father in heaven, we give you praise. give you praise in all things. And God, thank you so much for Psalm 42. We are reminded that we can ask the question, God, where are you? And actually, we're not only reminded that we have the question, where are you? We get so often assaulted by that question. Where's your God? If you believe in him

and if he's there for you, if he loves you, then point him out to me. Where is he? Our God, in those moments, we might be our own accuser, the evil one might be the accuser, or those around us might be the accuser that ask that question. And yet in this moment, Lord, we know where you are, you are with us. Who you're for, you're for us. And you're beside us at all times. Lord God, we give you and we thank you. And we make that declaration of faith, that declaration of faith that is, even when it is hard for us to know where you are, hard for us to sense your presence. We have faith. We have faith that you are faithful to your promises. And you have said, you will be with us forever you are with us at all times. Without you, we can do nothing. And so with you, we can do all

things. Father, keep us close to you and never let us be parted from you. In Jesus' name we pray, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. So a couple things to highlight. Ah, gosh, okay, let's go in reverse because I think it's going to be fun to go in reverse. When I say reverse, I mean from First Chronicles chapter 28. First Chronicles chapter 28 is here's David handing the reigns over to Solomon. Remember that Samuel and Chronicles are telling two different stories, right? They're telling the story as it happens. That's Samuel. Here's the story of history as it's unfolding. And here's chronicles that's looking back not only on the life of David and life of Solomon, but knowing all of the corruption that's going to happen when Kings starts. It knows all the

corruption, all the division, all the exile that's going to happen after King starts. And here is In 1 Chronicles chapter 28, David is handing over the reins to Solomon saying, I've built up all this amassed all these treasures and wealth so that you can build a temple for the Lord. And then he says these words, and Solomon, my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and a willing mind. Solomon is going to start out so strong. We're going to get this in just a day or two. Solomon is going to start out so strong. He is not going to end strong.

And here is David. Again, remember, this is Ezra. maybe the chronicler, whoever is writing Chronicles, knows the story of Solomon. He knows that Solomon is going to have a divided heart and an unwilling mind. He's going to be a man who starts out with great wisdom, but he's going to waste that wisdom on a sin. He's going to waste that wisdom on power. He's going to waste that wisdom on all the things that we are tempted to waste wisdom on. And so here in verse 9 of chapter 28 of First Chronicles, we have this almost ominous words of King David to his son. and you Solomon, my son, know the God of your father, and serve him with a whole heart and a willing mind.

It goes on to say, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever. And that is what ultimately will happen. And it's just so tragic. And yet, we know that while it happened for Solomon, God did not abandon his people. Not at all. He did not abandon his people. And the same thing is true for us.

When we turn our backs on the Lord, he does not. abandon those he loves and he loves you so much. Last little note from Second Samuel chapter 23 and the stories of David's Mighty Men. This is, it's one of my favorite chapters. I have a bunch of favorite chapters in First and Second Samuel. And this is one of my favorite chapters in Second Samuel, where David talks about the three mighty men. And it's just, it's, I don't know, I could gush. I could go on and on. But you have these three mighty, remember he has his 30. Actually, by the end of this chapter, there's 30 plus, roughly 37, including Uriah the Hittite. But you have these three, the top three soldiers. And if you're going to be one of the top three soldiers of David's army,

these are the specialist of his special forces, right? First you have Josib, Bathshebath, the Takmanite, who's chief among them. He kills 800 men at one time. And just, you think about this. This is remarkable that he just doesn't give up. Then you have Eliezer, the son of Dodo, one of the three mighty men. When he arose and attacked the Philistines until his, until his, hand was weary and his hand stuck cleaved to the sword. And he just can't imagine that just, that battle, he kept fighting. And then he rose and attacked Philistines. Then also the third mighty man was Shama, the son of Aghi the Herarite. And he's defending a plot of lands, basically a hill full of beans. And he everyone else fled, but Shama, the son of Agi the Herarite. He stayed there.

He stationed himself in the middle of the field. He defended it, killed the Philistines, and Lord brought about a great victory. Those three incredible, soldiers, those three incredibly brave soldiers are noted here at the end of David's life. Now, we can note their stories and there's so much to learn about their stories. But one of the things that we want to highlight today is what we highlighted yesterday is that at the end of David's life, he could choose to be corrupted by the fact that he's done wrong. He could choose to be corrupted by the fact that he's been through so much. He could choose to be resentful and bitter of the fact that his life is ending. And yet he gave God praise. And now here he is in chapter 23,

giving the men around him praise. And this is one of those recognitions of, yes, maybe it's easy to give God praise in certain situations, but at the end of one's life, to be thinking of someone else, at the end of one's life to be thinking of, where can I give the people around me

who've cared for me, who have fought by my side, who have lived a life with me, can I tell the world of their greatness? Can I praise them in the face of other people? And that's one of those, just such a gift that we can do. And we don't have to wait

to the end of our life to do it. on one hand is to be able to give God praise in every situation, in every circumstance. And the other is to be able to recognize the people around us and to praise them and to thank them and to recognize. David couldn't have done all that he did by himself, right? He's one man. He could not have united the kingdom. He's one man. He could not have defeated the Philistines.

He's one man. He could not have defeated the Ammonites. He's one man. He couldn't have done all these things by himself. So he recognizes that I needed these people around me. to be able to be at the place where God had called me. So what does he do? He gives God praise for having anointed him and strengthened him.

And he notices and recognizes the people around him. And this is just one of the invitations we have, not only to give God praise and to not become resentful, to not be corrupted by the battles we've been through, but also to look up from our own pain. If this is at the end of David's life, to look up from our own story and recognize, here's the stories, here's the lives, here's the courage, the gifts, the skills, the strength, the accomplishments of the people around me. Today, can I recognize that? Can I recognize those things without bitterness, without resentment? Because I think there's something massively important to be able

to learn from in this story of the last days of David's life. Now, there is one more chapter, one more chapter in Second Samuel, chapter 24 before we go to First Kings. And David's going to, he's going to stumble one more time. We already heard about it. We heard about it in First Chronicles. But here at the end of David's life, we have these two, major lessons. One, to give God thanks and praise, to not be corrupted by our battles. And secondly, is to look up from our own pain, look up from our own story and recognize the stories of those around us and to be able to praise those people around us, to lift them up when the only thing we can do. I mean, the only thing David could do at this point in his life was lift up the people

around him. Well, I guess he could have chosen to be resentful. He could have chosen to be bitter. But he gave what he had to give. And that's my invitation for all of us is, okay, today, help me to give what I have to give. Just give what I have to give. If that's praise, if that's thanks, that's blessing, that's notice, attention, give what I have to give. Let's pray for each other because that is not always easy. I'm praying for you. Please pray for me.

My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.