The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 167: Viaticum (2023)

Episode Date: June 16, 2023

Today we read about Elijah's discouragement after fleeing from Jezebel, and how God tells him to "arise and eat" to strengthen him for the journey ahead. Fr. Mike points out how God calls us to draw strength for the journey as well, even at the end of our earthly lives. The readings are 1 Kings 19-20, 2 Chronicles 20, and Song of Solomon 6. 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 167. We are reading from 1 Kings chapter 19 and 20,

2 Chronicles chapter 20, and Song of Solomon chapter 6. As always, the Bible translation that I am reading from is the Revised Standard Version, the Second Catholic Edition. 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 if you want to subscribe to this podcast, you can. You're free to do it. And if you want to subscribe to this podcast, you can, you're free to do it. And if you don't want to, you're free to do that as well. As I said, it is day 167 and we are reading from first Kings 19 and 20 second Chronicles 20 and song of Solomon chapter six, the first book of Kings chapter 19, Elijah flees from Jezebel. Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done. And now he had slain all the prophets with the sword.

Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow. Then he was afraid, and he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree, and he asked that he might die, saying, It is enough now, O Lord. Take away my life, for I am no better than my father's. And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, Arise and eat.

And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, Arise and eat, else the journey will be too great for you. And he arose and ate and drank and walked in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God. Elijah meets God at Mount Horeb. And there he came to a cave and lodged there. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him and he said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah? He said, I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts, for the sons of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and slain your prophets with the sword. And I,

even I only am left, and they seek my life to take it away. And he said, Go forth and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind, an earthquake. But the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, a still small voice. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, What are you doing here, Elijah?

He said, I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts, for the sons of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars and slain your prophets with the sword. And I, even I only am left, and they seek my life to take it away. And the Lord said to him, Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria, and Jehu, the son of Nimshi, you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha, the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. And him who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay, and him who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.

Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him. Elisha becomes Elijah's disciple. So he departed from there and found Elisha, Elijah's disciple. And he said to him, Go back again, for what have I done to you? And he returned from following him, and took the yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered to him. Chapter 20 Ahab's Wars with the Syrians Then Hadad, the king of Syria, gathered all his army together. Thirty-two kings were with

him, and horses and chariots, and he went up and besieged Samaria and fought against it. And he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel and said to him, Thus says Ben-Hadad, Your silver and your gold are mine, your fairest wives and children also are mine. And the king of Israel answered, As you say, my lord, O king, I am yours, and all that I have. The messengers came again and said, Thus says Ben-Hadad, I sent to you, saying, Deliver to me your silver and your gold, your wives and your children. Nevertheless, I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, and they shall search your house and the houses of your servants, and lay hands on whatever pleases them, and take it away. Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, Mark now, and see how this man

is seeking trouble, for he sent to me for my wives and my children, and for my silver and my gold, and I did not refuse him. And all the elders and all the people said to him, Do not heed or consent. So he said to the messengers of Ben-Hadad, Tell my lord the king, all that you first demanded of your servant I will do, but this thing I cannot do. And the messengers departed and brought him word again. Ben-Hadad sent to him and said, The gods do so to me and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people who follow me. And the king of Israel answered, Tell him, let not him that belts on his armor boast himself as he that puts it off. When Ben-Hadad heard this message as he was drinking

with the kings in the booths, he said to his men, Take your positions. And they took their positions against the city. A prophet speaks to Ahab. And behold, a prophet came near to Ahab king of Israel and said, Thus says the Lord, Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will give it into your hand this day, and you shall know that I am the Lord. And Ahab said, By whom? He said, Thus says the Lord, By the servants of the governors of the districts.

Then he said, Who shall begin the battle? He answered, You. Then he mustered the servants of the governors of the districts, and they were two hundred and thirty-two, and after them he mustered all the sons of Israel, seven thousand. The Syrians are defeated. And they went out at noon, while Ben-Hadad was drinking himself drunk in the booths, he and the thirty-two kings who helped him. The servants of the governors of the districts went out first, and Ben-Hadad sent out scouts, and they reported to him, Men are coming out from Samaria. He said, If they have come out for peace, take them alive, or if they have come out for war, take them alive.

So these went out of the city, the servants of the governors of the districts, and the army which followed them, and each killed his man. The Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them. But Ben-Hadad, king of Syria, escaped on a horse with horsemen. And the king of Israel went out and captured the horses and chariots and killed the Syrians with a great slaughter. Then the prophet came near to the king of Israel and said to him, Come, strengthen yourself and consider well what you have to do. For in the spring the king of Syria will come up against you. And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, Their gods are gods of the hills. And so they were stronger than we,

but let us fight against them in the plain. And surely we shall be stronger than they. And do this, remove the Kings each from his post and put commanders in their places and muster an army like the army that you have lost horse for horse and chariot for chariot. Then we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he listened to their voice and did so. In the spring, Ben-Hadad mustered the Syrians and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. And the sons of Israel were mustered, and they were provisioned, and went against them. The sons of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of goats, but the Syrians filled the country. And a man of God came near and said to the king of Israel, Thus says the Lord, Because the Syrians have said, The Lord is a God of the hills, but he is not a God of the

valleys. Therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord. And they encamped opposite one another seven days. Then on the seventh day the battle was joined, and the sons of Israel struck a hundred thousand Syrian foot soldiers in one day, and the rest fled into the city of Aphek, and the wall fell upon twenty-seven thousand men that were left. Ben-Hadad also fled, and entered an inner chamber in the city. And his servants said to him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Let us put sackcloth on our loins and ropes upon our heads and go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps he will spare your life. So they belted sackcloth on their loins and put ropes on their heads and went to the king of Israel and said, Your servant

Ben-Hadad says, Please let me live. And he said, Does he still live? He is my brother. Now the men were watching for an omen, and they quickly took it up from him and said, Yes, your brother Ben-Hadad. Then he said, Go and bring him. Then Ben-Hadad came forth to him, and he caused him to come up into the chariot. And Ben-Hadad said to him, The cities which my father took from your father I will restore, and you may establish bazaars for yourself in The cities which my father took from your father I will restore, and you may establish bazaars for yourself in Damascus as my father did in Samaria. And Ahab said, I will let you go on these terms. So he made a covenant with him and let him go. A prophet condemns Ahab. And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his fellow at

the command of the Lord, strike me, I beg you. But the man refused to strike him. Then he said to him, because you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as you have gone from me, a lion shall kill you. And as soon as he departed from him, a lion met him and killed him. Then he found another man and said, strike me, I beg you. And the man struck him, hitting him and wounding him. So the prophet departed and waited for the king by the way, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes. And as the king passed, he cried out to the king and said, Your servant went out into the midst of the battle, and behold, a soldier turned and brought a man to me and said, Keep this man,

if by any means he be missing, your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver. And as your servant was busy here and there, he was gone. The king of Israel said to him, So shall your judgment be, you yourself have decided it. Then he made haste to take the bandage away from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. And he said to him, Thus says the Lord, Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life shall go for his life, and your people for his people. And the king of Israel went to his house resentful and sullen, and came to Samaria. The second book of Chronicles chapter 20, Invasion from the East.

After this, the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Maunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle. Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea, and behold, the Aaron has a zontamar, that is, Ein Gedi. Then Jehoshaphat feared feared and set himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord. And from all the cities of Judah, they came to seek the Lord.

Jehoshaphat's prayer and victory. And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the Lord before the new court and said, O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? Do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. Did you not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? And they have dwelt in it and have built you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, If evil comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this

house and before you, for your name is in this house, and cry to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save. And now, behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came up from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy. Behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. O our God, will you not execute judgment upon them? For we are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon them. For we are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you. Meanwhile, all the men of Judah stood before the Lord with their little ones, their wives, and their children. And the spirit of the Lord came

upon Jehaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, son of Jael, son of Mataniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. And he said, Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat. Thus says the Lord to you, Fear not, and be not dismayed at this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God's. Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley east of the wilderness of Jeruel. You will not need to fight in this battle. Take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.

Fear not, and be not dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you. Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. And the Levites of the Kohathites and the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established. Believe his prophets, and you will succeed. And when he had taken

counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and to praise him in holy splendor as they went before the army and say, Give thanks to the Lord, for his mercy endures forever. And when they began to sing in praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come up against Judah, so that they were routed. For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, destroying them utterly, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another. When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude, and behold, they were dead bodies lying on the ground. None had escaped. When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoil from them,

they found cattle in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They were three days in taking the spoil. It was so much. On the fourth day, they assembled in the valley of Barakah, for there they blessed the Lord. Therefore, the name of that place has been called the valley of Barakah to this day. Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem and Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies. They came to Jerusalem with harps and lyres and trumpets to the house of the Lord. And the fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God

gave him rest round about. The End of Jehoshaphat's Reign Over Judah Thus, Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Azubah, the daughter of Shilki. He walked in the way of Asa, his father, and did not turn aside from it. He did what was right in the sight of the Lord.

The high places, however, were not taken away. The people had not yet set their hearts upon the God of their fathers. Now, the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, from first to last, are written in the Chronicles of Jehu, the son of Hanani, which are recorded in the book of the kings of Israel. After this, Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did wickedly. He joined him in building ships to go to Tarshish, and they built the ships in Ezean-geber. Then Eleazar the son of Dodavahu of Mereshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because you have joined with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made. And the ships were wrecked, and were not able to go to Tarshish.

The Song of Solomon, Chapter 6. Colloquy of the Friends and the Bride. The Bridegroom's Praise of the Bride. Where has your beloved gone, O fairest among women? Where has your beloved turned, that we may seek him with you? My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the bed of spices, to pastor his flocks in the gardens, and to gather lilies. I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine. He pastors his flock among the lilies. You are beautiful as Tirzah, my love, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners. Turn away your eyes from me, for they disturb me. Your hair is like a flock of goats moving down the slopes of Gilead. Your teeth are like a flock of ewes that have come up from the washing. All of them bear twins. Not one among them is bereaved. Your cheeks are like halves

of a pomegranate behind your veil. There are sixty queens and eighty concubines and maidens without number. My dove, my perfect one, is only one, the darling of her mother, flawless to her that bore her. The maidens saw her and called her happy, the queens and concubines also, and they praised her. Who is this that looks forth like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army with banners? I went down to the nut orchard to look at the blossoms of the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army with banners. I went down to the nut orchard, to look at the blossoms of the valley, to see whether the vines had budded, whether the pomegranates were in bloom. Before I was awake, my fancy set me in a chariot beside my prince. Return, return, O Shulamite, return, return, that we may look upon you.

Why should you look upon the Shulamite as upon a dance before two armies? Father in heaven, we give you thanks and we give you praise for this opportunity to just enter into the history of the kings, the history of the chronicles, the history of the family of Jesus, the history of the people that you've chosen with their flaws and their faults, with their disasters and with their victories. And because we know that you are the God of our flaws and the God of our faults, you are the God of our disasters and you are the God of our victories. And so we give our hearts to you this day and every day. Please receive them. Please receive our lives, our victories and our defeats, our flaws and everything we are

in Jesus name, in the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Okay, golly, a lot of reading today. It was really good though. It was so good. The book of 1 Kings, we're coming to the end. We have only a couple of chapters left in 1 Kings, but in 1 Kings, we not only have the story in chapter 19 of Elijah and Elijah's fleeing from Jezebel.

There's a couple of things to keep in mind. So right after God's victory through Elijah over the prophets of Baal, right on the Mount Carmel, what happens? Elijah's fleeing from Jezebel and he gets to this place and he is so discouraged. And I just wanna highlight this just really briefly. Elijah is so discouraged after his victory,

he even recognizes his own weakness. He says, it is enough now, O Lord, take my life for I'm no better than my father's. There's an element of humility that he's got. He's not riding on this high after this victory of defeating the prophet of Baal. He, in this moment, it seems like his weakness is on display to himself. And what happens? He gets to this place of victory and he just says, Lord, let me die now. Take my life here.

Now, this is so interesting because I've seen this happen so many times. After defeats, after moments of incredible humiliation or moments of incredible embarrassment, there are times where a person says, I don't wanna be seen. I don't wanna be talked to. Don't look at me.

I wish I was dead. But I've also seen it to be the case that after incredible victory, when there's in some ways you'd say there's no more battles to fight. Basically, Elijah's ministry at this moment is almost over. I mean, he's going to do a few more things. Don't you worry about that. But the big moment, you know, the big battle, that is more or less done.

And I've found this so often that at the beginning of a person's life, they're like, oh, I've got all these battles to fight. I've got all these victories to accomplish, these things to do. And there's an excitement there. But I've also seen people who in the midpoint or end of their life where they're looking and saying, there's no more battles to fight, that the big moments are behind me. And there can be some incredible discouragement that sets in their hearts. And I wonder if that's not what's happening with Elijah in this moment. But here's what God does in that moment of my life's over, in that moment of Jezebel's trying to kill me, in that moment of like, you

know what, I keep going, but for what? God speaks to him. He has the rise and eat, and he gives him bread for the journey. He gives him food enough for the journey. I mean, this is what happens to us, right? That, yes, we might think, oh gosh, my best days are behind me. But what does God tell us? He says, get up and eat. And one of the things that he tells us to get up and eat is the bread for the journey. So in the Catholic world, we have this thing called viaticum. It's V-I-A-T-I-C-U-M, viaticum. And it's basically the last time a person receives Holy Communion, the last time they receive the body and blood of Jesus in the Eucharist called viaticum. You know, as priests and other lay people, they will bring Holy Communion to hospitals

and nursing homes whenever someone's sick like this. If they can receive Holy Communion, it's called viaticum. Viaticum essentially means bread for the journey or bread for the way, food for the journey. In that sense that you are not done, right? And that's the declaration of God to Elijah here. You're not done. And that's what we're saying to all those men and women who, when they received the Eucharist for the last time, like you're not done. This world, this life on this world might be coming to an end, but gosh, the Lord has so much further for you to go. And that's the great news. Yes, there's going to be a time in our lives where

our best days are literally behind us. I don't know, literally, our best days are behind us. And what do I have to look forward to? Well, God himself, what we have to look forward to is an eternity with him. And so that's one of the reasons why we never, as Christians, we never have to be discouraged. We never have to experience what Elijah experienced, even though it's normal for us. It's normal for us to say, I had this big victory and now I have to let down. He goes, what's next? The Lord says, no, get up and eat. There's something more. There you have places to go. That's why he gave him a Dr. Seuss book. That part wasn't real. I just inserted that part. But then what happens after this, he goes to Horeb

and he meets God. He meets the Lord himself, right? There is the storm. There's the strong wind. There's the earthquake. There's the fire. And yet God wasn't in the fire. He wasn't in the wind. He wasn't in the earthquake. He was in the still small voice. And there's just so, so much good in that where we realize that what God is doing in so many of our lives is he's speaking to us in quiet. You know, we want God to speak to us with this loud speaker, you know, megaphone situation where we just dial them in and it's just broadband internet connection where he's speaking so clearly to us. And oftentimes God speaks to us in the quiet, but our lives are so full of noise that we

do not hear his voice. And so that's a reminder to turn down the music, to turn down noise that we do not hear his voice. And so that's a reminder to turn down the music, to turn down the noise so we can hear his voice. I think that's part of what this podcast is, right? It's us saying, God, I want you to speak. I know you want to speak to me. I know you are speaking to me. So let me listen to your word and turn off the other things and listen to this so that I can hear your voice. And lastly, here we have a couple of things in the first Kings. This is, I'm sorry, FYI, this is all happening more or less in the North, right? I mean, Elijah went down to Mount Horeb, which is, you know, way down to Mount Sinai already,

all the way down there. But all this other stuff is happening in the North. So Elijah comes back up to, he's in Damascus and this whole, and he anoints Hazael, the king of Syria. He anoints Jehu, king of Israel. Then he anoints Elisha, son of Japhat, as the prophet in his place. And that's going to happen very soon. But Elisha has this call from Elijah, right? And the call is just this weird, where Elijah throws his cloak over him and then walks away. And he says, what have I done to you? But Elisha runs after him and says, let me kiss my father and mother goodbye.

And he says, what are you talking about? Go back. What have I done to you? Like, I don't know. You threw your cloak over me. Does that mean something? And what Elisha does, right? He kills the yoke of oxen, boils their flesh and gives it to the people and they ate. And basically he's burning his bridges, right? He is saying, I can't go back to becoming a farmer who's plowing. I am now a disciple of Elijah. And there's something so just hardcore and intense about this. We're going to find out more about Elisha in the days to come. But then we also, in chapter 20, last little, well, a couple of things. We have Ahab, right?

And Ahab being up north, Ahab goes to war with the Syrians and he's doing well. I mean, God is helping them out. God is giving them directions and God is basically, he's helping well. I mean, God is helping them out. God is giving them directions and God is basically, he's helping them. He's giving them victory. But one of the things that Ahab doesn't do, now Ahab is not a good king, right? He's one of the bad kings. What Ahab does is that Ahab gives Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria, he gives him mercy. And that was not what he was supposed to have done. He was supposed to have said, okay, here's the Syrians that to come against my people. And you have shown him mercy. You should not have shown him mercy. And that prophet goes to King Ahab and tells him this.

And then Ahab returns to his house, resentful and sullen and comes to Samaria. And we're going to hear what happens with the rest of his story tomorrow. Last little note in second Chronicles, though, we just have to, we have to talk about it. We're reading a couple of different books, 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles. 1 Kings is happening in the north, right? With Elijah up there, King Ahab up there, but then 2 Chronicles right now currently is talking about what's going on down in the south with King Jehoshaphat. Remember son of Asa, both of those kings, pretty good kings, Jehoshaphat better than Asa because Jehoshaphat took down those temples and the Asherim and all those kinds of things. And so he's a good king.

And so here is God who is defending the people of Judah and Jerusalem against the Ammonites and the Moabites and the Assyrites, right? They come against him with a multitude and God says, no, just go out there, go out there praising, and you'll see that I'm going to fight for you. And that's what happens. They don't even have to fight because the Moabites and the Ammonites turn on the people from Mount Seir, and then they turn on each other. And all that the people of Judah and Jerusalem have to do is just pick up the spoils. And that's something so powerful for us as well, to kind of have that idea, that clear sense of just like back in the book of Exodus where God says, the Lord fights for you. All you have to do is keep still.

Just stay here and I'll fight for you. Anyways, here we are, you guys. A lot of time today in our readings, but worth it. So much stuff to get through today. And so you're sticking with it. Stay 167. You're praying. I'm praying.

Please pray for me. I am praying for you. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.