The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 21: Walking with God (2023)

Episode Date: January 21, 2023

Fr. Mike continues reading through Genesis 39-40, Job 31-32 and Proverbs 3:33-35 and reflects on Joseph's righteousness as he walked with God. 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, I'm 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. This is day 21, So let's get started. We will be reading today from Genesis chapter 39 and 40, from Job 31 and 32, and from Proverbs chapter 3 verses 33 through 35. As you know, we've been going at this for three full weeks by now. And

we read every day from the revised standard version, Catholic edition. I'm reading using the Great Adventure of Bible from Ascension. If you want to follow along, if you want to read along, maybe even want to go back after you listen to this and mark up your own Bible, you can download your own Bible in a Year reading plan by going to ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a Year. You can click the subscribe button on whatever app you have so that you can get the updates as soon as we update have so that you can get the updates as soon as we update it. And you can also sign up for our email list by texting the word Catholic Bible to the number 33777.

Once again, as I said, today we're reading from Genesis chapter 39 and 40, where we pick back up last yesterday. We read chapter 38, where we heard this story of Judah and Tamar and all the craziness in that family. Of course, from that family came the Messiah, came our Lord Jesus. And so we know that even in brokenness, the Lord can continue to work. Speaking of brokenness, last time we saw Joseph, he was sold into slavery. And now we begin or resume Joseph's story,

beginning with chapter 39 and 40. Genesis chapter 39 and 40. Now Joseph was taken down to Egypt and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, brought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. The Lord was with Joseph and he became a successful man and he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian, and his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him and he made him the overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake. The blessing of the Lord was

upon all that he had, in house and field, so he left all that he had in Joseph's charge. And having him, he had no concern for anything but the food which he ate. Now Joseph was handsome and good looking. And after a time his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph and said, Lie with me. But he refused, and said to his master's wife, Behold, having me, my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has into my hand. He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? And although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie with her, or to be with her. But one day,

when he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house were there in the house, she caught him by his garment, saying, lie with me. But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. And when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, she called to the men of her household and said to them, see, he has brought among us a Hebrew to insult us. He came in to lie with me. And I cried out in a low voice. And when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment with me and fled and got out of the house. Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home.

And she told him the same story saying, the Hebrew servant whom you have brought among us came into me to insult me. But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment with me and fled out of the house. When his master heard the words, which his wife spoke to him, this is the way your servant treated me, his anger was kindled. And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's care all the prisoners who were in the prison. And whatever was done there,

he was the doer of it. The keeper of the prison paid no heed to anything that was in Joseph's care because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper. Sometime after this, the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their lord, the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief butler and the chief baker. And he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard in the prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard charged Joseph with them and he waited on them and they continued for some time in custody. And one night they both dreamed the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt who were confined in the prison, each his own dream, and each dream with its own meaning. When Joseph came to them in the morning and saw them, they were troubled. So he asked Pharaoh's

officers, who were with him in custody of his master's house, Why are your faces downcast today? They said to him, We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them. And Joseph said to them, do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, I beg you. So the chief butler told his dream to Joseph and said to him, in my dream, there was a vine before me and on the vine, there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth and the clusters ripened into grapes. Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the

grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand. Then Joseph said to him, This is its interpretation. The three branches are three days. Within three days, Pharaoh will lift your head and restore you to your office, and you shall place Pharaoh's cup in his hand as formerly when you were his butler. But remember me when it is well with you, and do me the kindness I beg you to make mention of me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house. For indeed I was stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon. When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, I also had a dream. There were three cake baskets on my head, and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts

of baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head. And Joseph answered, this is its interpretation. The three baskets are three days. Within three days, Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat the flesh from you. On the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, he made a feast for all his servants and lifted up the head of the chief butler and the head of the chief baker among its servants. He restored the chief butler to his butlership, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand. But he hanged the chief baker

as Joseph had interpreted to them. Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him. The book of Job chapter 31 and 32. Job asserts his integrity. I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I look upon a virgin? What would be my portion from God above and my heritage from the Almighty on high? Does not calamity befall the unrighteous and disaster the workers of iniquity? Does he not see my ways and number all my steps?

If I have walked in falsehood and my foot has hastened to deceit, let me be weighed in a just balance and let God know my integrity. If my step has hastened to deceit, let me be weighed in a just balance, and let God know my integrity. If my step has turned aside from the way, and my heart has gone after my eyes, and if any spot has clung to my hands, then let me sow and another eat, and let what grows for me be rooted out. If my heart has been enticed to a woman, and I have lain in wait at my neighbor's door, then let my wife grind

for another, and let others bow down to her. For that would be a heinous crime, that would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges. For that would be a fire which consumes unto a badden, and it would burn to the root all my increase. If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or maidservant when they brought a complaint against me, what then shall I do when God rises up? When he makes an inquiry, what shall I answer him? Did not he who made me in the womb make him, and did not one fashion us in the womb? If I have withheld anything that the poor desired, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail, or have eaten my morsel alone, and the fatherless has not eaten of it, for from his youth I reared him as a father, and from his mother's womb I guided him, if I have

seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, or a poor man without covering, if his loins have not blessed me, and if he has not warmed with the fleece of my sheep, if I have raised my hand against the fatherless because I saw help at the gate, then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder and let my arm be broken from its socket. For I was in terror of the calamity from God, and I could not have faced this majesty. If I have made gold my trust, or called fine gold my confidence, if I have rejoiced because my wealth was great or because my hand had gotten much, if I have looked at the sun when

it shone, or the moon moving in splendor, and my heart has been secretly enticed, and my mouth has kissed my hand, this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges, for I should have been false to God above. If I have rejoiced at the ruin of him that hated me, or exalted when evil overtook him, I have not let my mouth sin by asking for his life with a curse. If the men of my tent have not said, Who is there that has not been filled with his meat? The sojourner has not lodged in the street. I have opened my doors to the wayfarer. If I have concealed my

transgressions from men by hiding my iniquity in my bosom, because I stood in great fear of the multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I kept silence and did not go out of doors, ah, that I had one to hear me. Here is my signature. Let the Almighty answer me. Oh, that I had the indictment written by my adversary. Surely I would carry it on my shoulder. I would bind it on me as a crown. I would give him an account of all my steps. Like a prince, I would approach him. If my land has cried out against me and its furrows have wept together, if I have eaten its yield without payment and caused the death of its owners, let thorns grow instead of wheat and foul weeds instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.

Young Elihu rebukes Job's friends. So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. Then Elihu, the son of Barakal, the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became angry. He was angry at Job because he justified himself rather than God. He was also angry at Job's three friends because they had found no answer, although they had declared Job to be in the wrong. Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were older than he. And when Elihu saw that there were no answers in the mouths of these three men, he became angry. And Elihu, the son of Barakhel the Buzite, answered, I am young in years, and you are aged.

Therefore I was timid and afraid to declare my opinion to you. I said, let my days speak, and many years teach wisdom. But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty that makes him understand. It is not the old that are wise, nor are the aged that understand what is right. Therefore I say, listen to me and let me also declare my opinion. Behold, I waited for your words. I listened for your wise sayings while you searched out what to say. I gave you my attention and behold, there was none that confuted Job or that answered his words among you. Lest you say, we have found wisdom, God may vanquish him, not man. He has not directed his words against me and I will not answer him with

your speeches. They are discomfited. They answer no more. They have not a word to say and I shall speak because they do not speak because they stand there and answer no more. I also will give my answer. I also will declare my opinion, for I am full of words. The spirit within me constrains me. Behold, my heart is like wine that has no vent. Like new wineskins, it is ready to burst. I must speak that I may find relief.

I must open my lips and answer. I will not show partiality to any person or use flattery toward any man, for I do not know how to flatter, else would my maker soon put an end to me. Proverbs chapter 3 verses 33 through 35. The Lord's curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the abode of the righteous. Toward the scorners, he is scornful, but to the humble, he shows favor. The wise will inherit honor, but fools get disgrace.

God in heaven, we thank you. We thank you for your word. We thank you for revealing your heart to us. We thank you for heroes, people who are faithful, like our friend Job. We thank you for heroes, people who are faithful, like Joseph. Help us to be the kind of men and women

who know your name and who know your commands and have the ability and the grace, the perseverance and the persistence, the confidence and trust in you to do your will in all things. We make this prayer in Jesus' name. Amen. In the name of the Father and Son, the Holy Spirit. Amen. So as we noted, St. Joseph, not St. Joseph, but it's interesting because Joseph, the ancient Old Testament Joseph, has a lot of parallels with the New Testament Joseph.

And among those parallels, we have not yet seen them because we see them later on in this story. Other than this, that young Joseph in the Old Testament is righteous. For the last 21 days, we've been following the story of families who are normal, meaning broken, families who are normal, meaning messed up, and people who, even though they're trying to do right, they often fail to do right. And yet here is one of the most virtuous people. We've heard his story. I mean, obviously Noah was a righteous man. He's declared that in scripture.

But here's Joseph, who seems consistently to choose to walk with the Lord. In fact, that's the marking of Joseph, isn't it? It's the refrain that keeps happening because the Lord was with him. The Lord was with him. This is one of the things that we can take consolation in our lives. Particularly in the midst of this, Joseph has been betrayed by his brothers. He has been sold into slavery. He's falsely accused. He's falsely imprisoned. And all the while the refrain is, but the Lord God was with him. And I think sometimes for myself,

I can only recognize the Lord God being with me when things go the way I want them to go. Not when they're blessed, not when there's fruit, not when there's some consolation and the Lord can still use me, even in the midst of my brokenness, even in the midst of my not liking the situation. And yet Joseph is a phenomenal example for all of us of here is Joseph

who is in a terrible situation that he did not create, but he's the basically the victim of it. But he did not live like a victim. What he lived like, he lived like a victor, right? He lived walking with the Lord and the Lord was with him. It is so easy for us to forget that in all situations, in all circumstances, the Lord is with us. Even when, as Job pointed out, our friend Job pointed out, I have walked with God. I have been righteous. And yet it feels like God is not with me. But I declare that in some ways he's saying God is still with me because I have not left him and he will not leave me. We can declare that as Christians, as those who have the fullness of revelation, as Catholic Christians, we have the fullness of revelation, knowing that not only do

we have these old Testament stories, we also have the fulfillment of the old Testament. We also have the revelation of Jesus in the new covenant, in the New Testament, where God declares, not just with his words, but with his very self, that I am faithful to you, that you can count on me, that I fight for you. So all of us in our situations that are broken, all situations that are not ideal, we can know with absolute confidence that the Lord is still with us. I cannot wait to Lord is still with us. I cannot wait to continue this journey with you. We're gonna find out more about Joseph tomorrow and next couple of days, what God is gonna do when he continues to walk

and lead his people. We're also gonna find out what Elihu has to say tomorrow, who's like the young pup, young buck, who is not gonna hold back. He's gonna tell these old folks what he thinks. And then someone really important is going to show up in the book of Job, and we need to hear from him because he's been kind of quiet this entire time. Anyways, my name is Father Mike.

I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless. you