The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 152: Being Forgotten (2025)

Episode Date: June 1, 2025

Fr. Mike reminds us that, eventually, the world will forget us. He encourages us to keep our eyes fixed on heaven, focusing on surrender and trust in God rather than control. Today's readings are 1 Kings 10, Ecclesiastes 8-9, and Psalm 8. 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. Today is day 152 and we are reading from 1 Kings chapter 10, Ecclesiastes chapters 8 and 9, and Psalm 8. As always, the Bible translation that I'm reading from is the Revised Standard Version, 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 and you can subscribe to this podcast by clicking on subscribe and you know the drill. As I said, it's first Kings chapter 10 today. So we're getting closer and closer to the end of King Solomon's reign. We're gonna see the queen of Sheba

and we're gonna see how everyone's coming to see Solomon because of all of his wisdom and because of how he's just, man, the guys are wealthy. He is rich, yes, super rich. We're also coming closer and closer. The day are wealthy, he is rich, yes, super rich. We're also coming closer and closer. The day after tomorrow, we're encountering our second Messianic checkpoint. So just the day after tomorrow,

we're gonna begin Mark chapters one and two. So excited to go back to the gospels after it's been a while since, it's been a minute since we had the gospel of John. But the day after tomorrow, we are in the gospel of Mark. So good We're also as they said first Kings 10 Ecclesiastes 8 and 9 were praying psalm 8 The first book of Kings chapter 10 visit of the Queen of Sheba

Now when the Queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord She came to test him with hard questions of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions. She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. And Solomon answered all her questions, there was nothing hidden from the king which he could not explain to her.

And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendants of his servants, their clothing, his cup-bearers, and his burnt offerings which he offered at the house of the Lord. There was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king, The report was true which I heard in my own land of your affairs and of your wisdom. But I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told to me.

Your wisdom and prosperity surpassed the report which I heard. Happy are your wives, happy are these your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom. Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel. Because the Lord loved Israel forever, he has made you king, that you may execute justice and righteousness." Then she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold and a very great quantity of spices and precious stones. Never again came such an abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. Moreover, the fleet of Hiram, which

brought gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir a very great amount of almagwood and precious stones. The kingmaid of the almagwood and precious stones. The king-maid of the almagwood supports for the house of the Lord and for the king's house, liars also and harps for the singers. No such almagwood has come or been seen to this day. And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked, besides what was given to her by the bounty of Solomon. So she turned and went back to her own land with her servants. Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, besides that which came from the traders and from the traffic of the merchants

and from all the kings of Arabia and from the governors of the land. King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, 600 shekels of gold went into each shield. And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold, three minus of gold went into each shield. And the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with the finest gold. The throne had six steps, and at the back of the throne was a calf's head, and on each side of the seat were armrests, and two lions standing beside the armrests, while twelve lions stood there, one on each end of a step on the six steps. The like of it was never made in any kingdom. All King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of

the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were of silver, it was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon. For the king had a fleet of ships from Tarshish at sea with the fleet of Hyrum. Once every three years the fleet of ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes and peacocks. Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. And the whole earth sought the presence of King Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. Every one of them brought his present articles of silver and gold, garments, myrrh, spices,

horses, and mules, so much year by year. And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. He had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. And the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shefala. And Solomon's import of horses was from Egypt and Coo, and the king's traders received them from Coo at a price.

A chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver and a horse for a hundred and fifty. And so through the king's traders they were exported to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria. The Book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 8. Obedience to rulers. Who is like the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man's wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his countenance is changed. Keep the king's command, and because of your sacred oath be not dismayed. Go from his presence, do not delay, when the matter is unpleasant,

for he does whatever he pleases. For the word of the king is supreme, and who may say to him, What are you doing? He who obeys a command will meet no harm, and the mind of a wise man will know the time and way. For every matter has its time and way, although man's trouble lies heavy upon him. For he does not know what is to be, for who can tell him how it will be? No man has power to retain the spirit or authority over the day of death. There is no discharge from war, nor will wickedness deliver those who are given to it. All this I observed while applying my mind to all that is done under the sun,

while man lords it over man to his hurt. God's ways are inscrutable. Then I saw the wicked buried. They used to go in and out of the holy place, and were praised in the city where they had done such things. This also is vanity. Because sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the sons of men is fully set to do evil.

Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God because they fear before him. But it will not be well with the wicked. Neither will he prolong his day like a shadow because he does not fear before God. There is a vanity which takes place on earth, that there are righteous men to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity. And I commend enjoyment, for man has no good thing under the sun but to eat and drink and

enjoy himself, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life which God gives him under the sun. When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to see the business that is done on earth, how neither day nor night one's eyes see sleep, then I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. Even the way wise man claims to know it, he cannot find it out. Chapter 9. Acceptance of life as it comes.

But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God, whether it is love or hate, man does not know. Everything before them is vanity. Since one fate comes to all, to the righteous and to the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As is the good man, so is the sinner. And he who swears is as he who shuns an oath.

This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that one fate comes to all. Also, the hearts of men are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, but the memory of them is lost. Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and they have no more forever any share in all that is done under the sun. Go eat your bread with enjoyment, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has

already approved what you do. Let your garments be always white, let not oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol to which you are going. Again, I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favour to the men of skill. But time and chance happen to them all.

For man does not know his time. Like fish which are taken in an evil net, and like birds which are caught in a snare, so the sons of men are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them. Wisdom Superior to Folly I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me. There was a little city with few men in it, and a great king came against it and besieged it, building great siege-works against it. But there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city.

Yet no one remembered that poor man. But I say that wisdom is better than might, though the poor man's wisdom is despised and his words are not heeded. The words of the wise, heard and quiet, are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good. Psalm 8, Divine Majesty and Human Dignity to the Choir Master according to the Gitteth, a Psalm of David. O Lord our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. You whose glory above the heavens is chanted by the mouth of

babies and infants, you have found a bulwark because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have established, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him little less than the angels, and you have crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands. You have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the

field, the birds of the air and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the sea. O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. Father, in heaven you are great and glorious. and all the earth. Father in heaven, you are great and glorious. How majestic is your name? Gosh, and you've revealed your name to us, which is boggles the mind, Lord God, and fills our hearts today.

You not only have the majestic name, not only do you have the glorified name, but you have revealed your name to us. And you've also revealed what the psalmist says, what David says that we can look at the world around us and The universe the billions upon billions of stars that space that you've created and yet What is man that you care for him? Who are we that you're mindful of us that you are constantly attentive to us and yet you are God because you have made us

In your image and likeness and in Christ you have made us your Children and so we just thank you. Thank you so much For being attentive to us. Thank you so much for creating us. Thank you so much for Sustaining us and redeeming us Please receive our thanks this day Lord in Jesus name in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit Amen Okay so again a lot of review when it comes to

of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Okay, so again, a lot of review when it comes to Solomon's life, at the end of Solomon's life, the wisdom of Solomon when he visits the Queen of Sheba or she visits him really and other kings that come to visit him, him with Hiram, the ruler up in Tyre who knows how to sail things well. We've heard these stories before. It's so good. I love the fact that we're getting a review of Solomon's life that we just heard in 2 Chronicles, now here in 1 Kings. It's just, and not only is it a review, cause you know, remember when we were back way back when in Deuteronomy and the book of numbers, that was some review stuff, right? There was kind of retelling the story,

but it's so accurate here in terms of when I say accurate, what I mean is and virtually word for word. I mean, yesterday, Solomon's prayer in the, in the towel two days ago, gosh, how long ago? Time flies, you guys. How long ago it was when you hear Solomon's Prayer of dedication of the temple and how they dedicated the temple, how it's virtually identical in 2 Chronicles

and in 1 Kings, same thing with today in 1 Kings 10 and 2 Chronicles about the visit of the Queen of Sheba, which is so good. Just great review for all of us. As well as Ecclesiastes eight and nine. There are so many things that I just want to highlight about Ecclesiastes because it just seems to be one of those situations where the wisdom books are,

speaking wisdom, you know, that the wisdom books are telling us, are guiding us in a way of living life wisely. Once again, it can be really negative. It can come across as being negative, but it's not. What it is is an honest assessment of how life actually is, that God's ways are inscrutable. We don't know what happens, that here's a sinner

who gets ahead and here's a righteous person who doesn't get ahead, and yet the same fate happens to them all. We all end up just dying. Remember, one of the big, big takeaways, one of the big lessons for the book of Ecclesiastes is if all there is is this world, if all there is is this life, it's meaningless. If all there is is this life,

then this life is meaningless because it all ends in death. If all there is is this life, then this life is meaningless because it all ends in death. If all there is in this world is this world, this world is meaningless because it just ends in death. Basically, if we choose to live a life apart from God and there's nothing after this, then it simply is meaningless

because nothing actually matters. Nothing truly endures. And yet, we know that while time will erase all things there is something more than time. That recognition as the author of Ecclesiastes brings up again and again that the day will come when no one knows your name. The day will come when you're completely forgotten. In fact that's the the last story that the wise one tells in chapter 9. It says here's an example of wisdom under the Sun. Great city, few men in it, great king came against it,

besieged it, it was gonna destroy the city, but this poor wise man, his wisdom delivered the city. And yet I don't even know his name. Nobody knows this person's name. And that is, man, so good for us to know. I remember years ago, I have a spiritual director, my spiritual director, he stopped and we were talking and he said, you know, you're gonna be forgotten

really soon. He was kind of out of nowhere, we were just talking about stuff and he's like, you know, you're gonna be forgotten really quickly. And I was like, oh yeah, Father, I know, he's a priest, he's a hermit, basically lives up in Northern Minnesota and he meets with priests for spiritual direction,

some other people for spiritual direction. And he just had that word, that you know, you're gonna be forgotten pretty quickly. He's saying, you know you're not Thomas Aquinas. And I was like, oh father, absolutely. I am very much aware of this. And I don't have any problem with that at all. And I think it's because this wisdom of Ecclesiastes,

you know, I think that any person who's living in this life has thought about their life and the impact of their life Has already come to that place of yeah, I get it. I get it at some point very soon I will be completely forgotten even by the people who are close to me That's just how life goes and that recognition of being able to be at peace with this is such a gift it's a gift to any one of us to be able to be at peace with this because I know and we know that, yes, if all there is is this life, then this life doesn't mean anything.

But this life is not all there is. And this life matters. Your life matters. One last note in chapter nine, verse 11. Just so powerful. Again, I saw that under the sun, the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong,

nor bred to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favored to the men of skill. But time and chance happen to them all. Oh, so good. It is, again, it's not sometimes just a matter of, you're the smartest in the room, you're the strongest in the room,

you're the fastest in the race. It's just sometimes chance. Sometimes it's just to have this opportunity. And why did I lose? Well, because the time was up. Time and chance happens to all of us. And again, that is so good because rather than giving into our desire to control,

we get to have the call to surrender. Rather than the desire to control, we have the invitation to trust. And yes, of course we wanna be as fast as we can be, as strong as we can be, as wise as we can be, as good as we can be. Ultimately when it comes down to it, the call in every one of our lives

is to trust the Lord and surrender to him. And that's so, so good. Oh my gosh. I want to gift it is to be able to journey through Ecclesiastes with you. This is our be able to journey through Ecclesiastes with you. This is our second to last day in Ecclesiastes. Tomorrow, we're finishing up with the last three chapters of Ecclesiastes and then the day after tomorrow, as I said,

we're jumping in to our second Messianic checkpoint with the Gospel of Mark. I am so excited. I'm praying for you guys. Please, please pray for me and pray for each other. My name's Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.