The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 212: God's Instrument (2022)

Episode Date: July 31, 2022

Fr. Mike highlights the works of King Cyrus, who we met yesterday, and how he is able to contribute to the will of God without actually knowing him. Cyrus not only shows us that no soul is ever too far for God's grace, but that God makes all things new, and is able to bring beautiful blessings from the most desperate situations. Today's readings are Isaiah 45-46, Ezekiel 6-7, and Proverbs 12:9-12. 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 212. We're reading from Isaiah chapter 45 and 46, also Ezekiel chapter 6 and 7, and Proverbs chapter 12, verses 9 through 12. The Bible translation

that I'm reading from, as always, is the Revised Standard Version, 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. You can also subscribe to this podcast by clicking on subscribe and receiving daily episodes and updates and all those kinds of things that we do. It is day 212. As I said, we are now in Isaiah 40 through 45, 45 and 46, Ezekiel chapter 6 and 7, and Proverbs chapter 12, verses 9 through 12. The book of the prophet Isaiah, chapter 45, Cyrus, God's instrument. Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped,

to subdue nations before him and uncover the loins of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed. I will go before you and level the mountains. I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut asunder the bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hordes in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. For the sake of my servant Jacob and Israel, my chosen, I call you by your name. I surname you, though you do not know me. I am the Lord, and there is no other. Besides me there is no God. I clothe you, though you do not know me, that men may know from the rising of the sun and from the west that there

is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness. I make well-being and create woe. I am the Lord who do all these things. Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the skies rain down righteousness. Let the earth open that salvation may sprout forth, and let it cause righteousness to spring up also. I, the Lord, have created it. Woe to him who strives with his maker, an earthen vessel with the potter.

Does the clay say to him who fashions it, what are you making? Or your work has no handles. Woe to him who says to a father, what are you begetting? Or to a woman, with what are you suffering labor pains? Thus says the Lord, the Holy One of Israel and his maker. Will you question me about my children or command me concerning the work of my hands?

I made the earth and created man upon it. It was my hands that stretched out the heavens and I commanded all their host. I have aroused him in righteousness and I will make straight all his ways. He shall build my city and set my exiles free, not for price or reward, says the Lord of hosts. Thus says the Lord, the wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Ethiopia and the Sabaeans,

men of stature, shall come over to you and be yours. They shall follow you. They shall come over in chains and bow down to you. They will make supplication to you, saying, God is with you only, and there is no other, no God besides him. Truly, you are a God who hide yourself, O God of Israel, the Savior. All of them are put to shame and confounded. The makers of idols go in confusion together. But Israel is saved by the Lord with everlasting salvation. You shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternity.

For thus says the Lord who created the heavens. He is God who formed the earth and made it. He established it. He did not create it a chaos. He formed it to be inhabited. I am the Lord and there is no other. I did not speak in secret in a land of darkness. I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, seek me in chaos.

I, the Lord, speak the truth. I declare what is right. Assemble yourselves and come, draw near together, you survivors of the nations. They have no knowledge who carry about their wooden idols and keep on praying to a God that cannot save. Declare and present your case. Let them take counsel together. Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides me, a righteous God and a Savior. There is none besides me. Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is no other. By myself I have sworn. From my mouth has gone forth in righteousness a word that shall not return. To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Only in the Lord it shall be said of me, our righteousness and strength. To him shall come and be ashamed all who are incensed against

him. In the Lord all the offspring of Israel shall triumph and glory. Chapter 46, Idols Cannot Save. Bell bows down. Nebo stoops. Their idols are on beasts and cattle. These things you carry are loaded as burdens on weary beasts. They stoop, they bow down together. They cannot save the burden, but themselves go into captivity.

Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been born by me from your birth, carried from the womb, even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made and I will bear. I will carry and will save. To whom will you liken me and make me equal and compare me that we may be alike? Those who lavish gold from the purse and weigh out silver in the scales hire a goldsmith and he makes it into a god. Then they fall down in worship. They lift it upon their shoulders. They carry it. They set it in its place and it stands there. It cannot move from its place. If one cries to it, it does not answer or save him from his

trouble. Remember this and consider. Recall to mind, you transgressors, remember the former things of old, for I am God and there is no other. I am God and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose, calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass. I have planned, and I will do it. Listen to me, you stubborn of heart, you who are far from deliverance. I bring near my deliverance. It is not far off, and my salvation will not tarry. I will put salvation in Zion, for Israel my glory. The book of the Lord came to me,

Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them and say, You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. Thus says the Lord God to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys, Behold I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places. Your altars shall become desolate, and your incense altars shall be broken, and I will cast down your slain before your idols. And I will lay the dead bodies of the people of Israel before their idols, and I will scatter your bones round about your altars. Wherever you dwell, your cities shall be waste and your high places ruined, so that your altars will be waste and ruined, your idols broken and destroyed,

your incense altars cut down and your works wiped out. And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and you shall know that I am the Lord. Yet I will leave some of you alive. When you have among the nations some who escape the sword, and when you are scattered through the countries, then those of you who escape will remember me among the nations where they are carried captive. When I have broken their wanton heart, which has departed from me and blinded their eyes, which turn wantonly after their idols, and they will be loathsome in their own sight for the evils, they have committed, for all their abominations. And they shall know that I am the Lord. I have not said in vain that I would do this evil to them.

Thus says the Lord God, clap your hands and stamp your foot and say, Alas, because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, for they shall fall by the sword, by famine and by pestilence. He that is far off shall die in pestilence, and he that is near shall fall by the sword, by famine and by pestilence. He that is far off shall die in pestilence, and he that is near shall fall by the sword, and he that is left and is preserved shall die of famine. Thus I will spend my fury upon them, and you shall know that I am the Lord. When they're slain, lie among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, on all the mountaintops, under every green tree, and under every leafy oak, wherever they offered pleasing odor to all their idols. And I will stretch out my hand against them, and make the land desolate and

waste throughout all their habitation, from the wilderness to Riblah. Then they will know that I am the Lord. Chapter 7. Impending Doom. The word of the Lord came to me, And you, O son of man, thus says the Lord God to the land of Israel, An end, the end has come upon the four corners of the land. Now is the end upon you, and I will let loose my anger upon you, and will judge you according to your ways. And I will punish you for all your abominations. And my eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity, but I will judge you according to your ways. And I will punish you for all your abominations. And my eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity, but I will punish you for your ways while your abominations are in your midst. Then you will know that I am the Lord. Thus says the Lord God.

Disaster after disaster. Behold, it comes. An end has come. The end has come. It has awakened against you. Behold, it comes. Your doom has come to you, O inhabitant of the land. The time has come. The day is near, a day of tumult and not of joyful shouting upon the mountains. Now I will soon pour out my wrath upon you and spend my anger against you and judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations. And my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity.

I will punish you according to your ways while your abominations are in your midst. Then you will know that I am the Lord who strike. Behold the day. Behold it comes. Your doom has come. Injustice has blossomed. Pride has budded. Violence has grown up into a rod of wickedness. None of them shall remain, nor their abundance, nor their wealth, neither

shall there be preeminence among them. The time has come. The day draws near. Let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn, for wrath is upon all their multitude, for the seller shall not return to what he has sold while they live. For wrath is upon all their multitude. It shall not They have blown the trumpet and made all ready, but none goes to battle, for my wrath is upon all their multitude. The sword is without, pestilence and famine are within. He that is in the field dies by the sword, and him that is in the city famine and pestilence devour. And if any survivors escape, they will be on the mountains, like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, everyone over his iniquity.

All hands are feeble, and all knees weak as water. They clothe themselves with sackcloth, and horror covers them. Shame is upon all faces, and baldness on all their heads. They cast their silver into the streets, and their gold is like an unclean thing. Their silver and gold are not able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord. They cannot satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it, for it was the stumbling block of their iniquity. I will turn my face from them, that they may profane my precious place. Robbers shall enter and profane it, and make a desolation.

Because the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence, I will bring the worst of the nations to take possession of their houses. I will put an end to their proud might, and their holy places shall be profaned. When anguish comes, they will seek peace, but there shall be none. Disaster comes upon disaster. Rumor follows rumor. They seek a vision from the prophet, but the law perishes from the priest and counsel from the elders. The king mourns, the prince is wrapped in despair, and the hands of the people of the

land are palsied by terror. According to their way, I will do to them. And according to their own judgments, I will judge them. And they shall know that I am the Lord. The book of Proverbs chapter 12 verses 9 through 12. Better is a man of humble standing who works for himself than one who plays at the great man but lacks bread. A righteous man has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel. He who tills his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits has no sense. The strong tower of the wicked comes to ruin, but the root of the righteous stands firm. Father in heaven, we give you praise and glory.

Thank you so much. Thank you for giving us your word. Thank you for speaking to us. Thank you for showing your heart to us this day and every day. Thank you for bringing us to day 212. Lord God, I am so grateful for you and your love and your faithfulness. Even when we are far from faithful, even when we are far from perfect, you just, you bring us back. You bring us back to this pressing play. You bring us back to this

opportunity to just simply listen to your word proclaimed. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for not giving up on us and help us always to never ever give up on you or your grace. Help us to hear your commands, right? Help us to hear your voice and say yes to you with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Okay. So, oh my gosh, you guys, the beginning of Isaiah's reading today, Isaiah chapter 45, is incredible because I mentioned this yesterday, but at the end of chapter 44, we hear this name, Cyrus. In chapter 44, it says, he is my shepherd and he shall fulfill all my purpose. And then,

oh my gosh, it's saying of Jerusalem, she shall be built and of the temple, your foundation will be laid. And then in chapter 45, thus it says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him and cover the loins of kings, open doors before him, the gates to not be closed. All these things, Cyrus did not exist for a long time. And yet the Lord God prophesied that King Cyrus, King of Persia would come along and that not only would he defeat the nations, right? He, the Persians defeated the Babylonians who had defeated the Assyrians, right? But also he would send the people of Israel back to, as it says in chapter 44, back to Jerusalem. And she shall be, Jerusalem shall be rebuilt. And of the temple, your foundation shall be laid.

That you're going to rebuild the temple. You're going to rebuild Jerusalem. And this is just really incredible that here is someone who does not know the Lord God, Cyrus, right? He follows his own gods. He does his own thing. And yet here is God who's, even the subtitle of chapter 45, Cyrus, right? He follows his own gods. He does his own thing. And yet here is God, who's it's even the subtitle of chapter 45, Cyrus, God's instrument that, that we recognize that God can

use all right. That, that everything in the world belongs to God. Even if people don't know it, even if the plants, animals, even if the planets don't know it, everything belongs to God. And so there are ways in which God can write his story with crooked lines. And he does this, right? God writes this story with crooked lines. He even says, Cyrus is his anointed. He's been the one that God has in store to bring the people of Israel out of exile, back home. And this is just, just incredible. Now, after this, the Lord God has a message through Isaiah about idolatry, which we already heard earlier. I mean, I guess we keep hearing it a lot exactly. But if we go back to chapter 44, this is from yesterday, chapter 44, when there's a subtitle

called The Folly of Idol Worship. And it's really interesting because Isaiah has this word where he talks about, here's a tree that grows up, whatever the tree is, it might be an oak, might be another kind of tree. And the person takes the same trunk of the same tree, and part of it they use to cook their meals. Part of it they use to warm themselves by this fire. And another part of it they carve and fashion into their own god. And basically he asks, isn't that just ridiculous?

Isn't that just complete foolishness? The same tree, the same wood that you use to warm yourself and to cook your food is of the same tree and of the same wood that you now bow down in worship. And this is just so interesting. All the different caveats or different ways in which we can turn to idolatry. That's one, the foolishness of idolatry.

But another one is in the reading today, chapter 45 and 46, where it says in chapter 45, verse nine, woe to him who strives with his maker and earthen vessel with the potter goes on to say, does the clay say to him who fashions it, what are you making? Or your work has no handles. I love that image. Does the clay say to the potter, basically, what are you making? Like your work has no handles. Listen, this shouldn't be like this. It should be different. And that is incredible because how often do we tell God, here's how it should be. Here's how things should be going. And so not only is there foolishness about, you know, carving a God out of wood, but also the foolishness of treating God like he's our idol, like treating the true God God like he is our idol, because these are the kind of the two extremes of idolatry. One is making a false God. The other is taking the real

God and treating him like he is your toy. He's like our toy. He's our magic wand or our magic crystal ball or whatever he is. Basically thinking that we can give God counsel or that we can criticize what God does, saying, what are you doing? Or your work has no handles, it should be different. And I think that's incredible that we do this. And I'm so grateful to the Lord for Isaiah to illuminate this and to reveal that this is in all of our hearts. Now, when it comes to Ezekiel,

keep in mind that Ezekiel knows that, here we are, post-exile or in the midst of the exile. And there are these ways in which the people have suffered. They've suffered through sword, they've suffered through famine, they've suffered through pestilence, fire, they've suffered through being scattered. And these images are going to come up again and again and again, that these are the ways in which many people have experienced the consequences of turning away from the Lord, the sword, famine, pestilence, and being scattered. But the point of all of this is uttered so many times in chapter six and chapter seven.

What is it? After all these things, then what will happen? Then they will know that I am the Lord. God says this through Ezekiel so many times after everything that happens, virtually everything that happens comes back to this. And then you will know. We're going to hear this again and again. All of these things you've endured, all these things you've suffered, they're a consequence

of your decisions and they're not God abandoning you. This is so that you will know that God is the Lord and that the Lord has claimed you and he wants you back. And that's just so incredible. Even after God allows the desolation of the temple. In fact, Ezekiel talks about this, talks about how people will come into the temple, these are the Babylonians, and they will desecrate the temple. In fact, they will even go into the secret places in the temple, AKA the holy of holies. Here's God saying, here's what they will

have done. I mean, this is, remember there's three phases of exile. There's the first phase with Daniel, second phase with Ezekiel, and the last phase of being brought into exile where the Babylonians only leave the blind, the lame, those people that they didn't want. And they bring everyone else basically goes to Babylon. And that's when the Babylonians destroy, utterly destroy the city and utterly destroy the temple. And here is Ezekiel saying that God is going to let that happen. God is going to let them desecrate the actual temple because you have desecrated the actual temple

in not giving God the worship that he deserves. Does that make sense? That sense of like, okay, here's God who's going to allow this horrible thing to happen where his presence abides. Because you, those of you who are in charge of taking care of the temple, have not taken care of the temple. You've already desecrated it by your false worship. Now, one of the things I want to kind of highlight is, remember that the beginning of the book of the prophet Ezekiel, this is the last thing. At the beginning of the book of the prophet Ezekiel, I pointed out that Ezekiel had this

vision in his 30th year. And that means, remember, Ezekiel was a priest. He was a Levitical priest. And that meant that he would have spent his early life training to be a priest. And in the very year that he would have served in the temple, he found himself in exile. And so there's this horrible, you know, weight of just grief probably upon him. And yet at the same time, in the book of the prophet Ezekiel, we heard that Ezekiel would carry the weight of the people, that he would carry the sins of the people upon himself. I mean, this is one of the

reasons maybe even why he's there lying on his side for 390 days plus 40 is because he's bearing the iniquity of the people. So here is Ezekiel who still gets to act as a priest. That's one of the roles of the priest, right? Is to deal with the sins of the people, to carry the weight of their iniquity upon himself. That's why Jesus is the great high priest, because he truly and utterly and fully carries the weight of sinful humanity upon himself. And so Ezekiel gets to participate in this, even though he's not able to give temple worship, he is able to participate in the action of the temple, which is that sacrifice of himself, that sacrifice of atonement, that sacrifice of taking the weight of the sins of the people

upon himself. And so that's just an incredible way in which God still does fulfill Ezekiel's priesthood, even though he was not able to worship in the actual temple as God had asked. Ezekiel was able to do it as he was able. And that's just a remarkable thing for all of us to recognize that as we have been baptized, we're anointed priests, prophet, and king, and that God allows us to maybe not serve in the way we want to, but he always allows us to fulfill the role that he has set aside for us and he's commissioned us to fill. And so I just want to encourage you, especially if,

like we said yesterday, if this is one of the worst days or worst seasons of your life to know that you are fulfilling, you can fulfill, you have the ability to fulfill that call to be priest, prophet, and king or queen every moment of every day of our lives. So we pray for each other and I am praying for you. Please pray for each other. Pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.