The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 217: The Everlasting Covenant (2023)

Episode Date: August 5, 2023

Fr. Mike highlights the rich text in Isaiah 55 and 56 which reveals that the house of the Lord will not only be for the chosen people, but for all people. We also hear the story of how God mercifully restores Israel who is like an unfaithful bride. Today’s readings are Isaiah 55-56, Ezekiel 16, and Proverbs 13:1-4. 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 217. We are reading three chapters, Isaiah 55 and 56, Ezekiel 16. It's the longest chapter in the book of the prophet Ezekiel. It's also a recap of God's love for Israel,

as well as Israel's unfaithfulness. And so there are some serious images and it's prophetic poetry, and yet God is going to compare Israel to his unfaithful bride. And so there's going to be all talk of a number of PG-13 stuff. So FYI, Proverbs chapter 13 and verses one through four. As always, the Bible translation I'm reading from is the Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition. I'm using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension 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 then you get daily updates and daily episodes and day 217 would show up right up in your, in your queue. So as I said, it is day 217. We are reading Isaiah 55 and 56, Ezekiel chapter 16 and Proverbs chapter 13 verses one through four. The book of the prophet Isaiah chapter 55, an invitation to abundant life. Ho, everyone who thirsts come to the waters, and he who has no money, come buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk, without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear and come to me, hear that your soul may live, and I will make with you an

everlasting covenant, my steadfast, merciful love for David. Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. Behold, you made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. Behold, you shall call nations that you know not, and nations that knew you not shall run to you because of the Lord your God and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you. Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord that he may have mercy on him and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the

Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there, but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth. It shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I intend and prosper in the thing for which I sent it. For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace. The mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead

of the thorn shall come up the cypress. Instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial for an everlasting sign, which shall not be cut off. Chapter 56 rewards of righteousness. Thus says the Lord, keep justice and do righteousness for soon my salvation will come and my deliverance be revealed. Blessed is the man who does this and the son of man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it and keeps his hand from doing any evil. Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, the Lord will surely separate me from his people. And let not the eunuch say, behold, I am a dry tree. For thus says the Lord

to the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name, which shall not be cut off. And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and hold fast my covenant. These I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices

will be accepted on my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. Thus says the Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered. All you beasts of the field come to devour all you beasts in the forest. His watchmen are blind. They are all without knowledge. They are all mute dogs. They cannot bark, dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber. mute dogs, they cannot bark, dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber. The dogs have a mighty appetite. They never have enough. The shepherds also have no understanding. They have all turned to their own way, each to his own gain, one and all. Come, they say, let us get wine. Let us fill ourselves with strong drink. And tomorrow will be like this day, great beyond measure.

drink, and tomorrow will be like this day, great beyond measure. The book of the prophet Ezekiel, chapter 16, God's unfaithful bride. Again the word of the Lord came to me, Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations, and say, Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem, Your origin and your birth are of the land of the Canaanites. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. And as for your birth, on the day you were born, your navel string was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor swathed with bands. No, I pitied you to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred on the day that you were born. And when I passed by you, I saw you weltering in your blood. I said to you in your blood, live and grow up like a plant of the field.

And you grew up and became tall and arrived at full maidenhood. Your breasts were formed and your hair had grown, yet you were naked and bare. When I passed by you again and looked upon you, behold, you were at the age for love, and I spread my skirt over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I pledged myself to you and entered into a covenant with you, says the Lord God, and you became mine. Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil. I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with water, and washed off your blood from you, and anointed you with oil. I clothed you also with embroidered cloth, and shod you with leather. I wrapped you in fine linen, and covered you with silk.

And I decked you with ornaments, and put bracelets on your arms, and a chain on your neck. And I put a ring on your nose, and earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown upon your head. Thus you were decked with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour and honey and oil. You grew exceedingly beautiful and came to regal estate, and your renown went forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor which I bestowed upon you, says the Lord God. But you trusted in your beauty, and played the harlot because of your renown, and lavished your harlotries on any passerby. You took some of your garments, and made for yourself gaily decked shrines, and on them played the harlot, the like has never been, nor ever shall be. You also took your fair jewels of my gold and of my silver,

which I had given you, and made for yourself images of men, and with them played the harlot. And you took your embroidered garments to cover them, and set my oil and my incense before them. Also my bread, which I gave you, I fed you with fine flour and oil and honey. You set before them for a pleasing odor, says the Lord God. And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your harlotries so small a matter that you slaughtered my children and delivered them up as an offering by fire to them? And in all your abominations and your harlotries, you did not remember the days of

your youth, when you were naked and bare, weltering in your blood. And after all your wickedness, woe, woe to you, says the Lord God. You built yourself a vaulted chamber and made yourself a lofty place in every square. At the head of every street, you built your lofty place and prostituted your beauty, offering yourself to any passerby and multiplying your harlotry. You also played the harlot with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, multiplying your harlotry to provoke me to anger. Behold, therefore I stretched out my hand against you and diminished your allotted portion and delivered you

to the greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior. You played the harlot also with the Assyrians, because you were insatiable. Yes, you played the harlot with them, and still you were not satisfied. You multiplied your harlotry also with the trading land of Chaldea, and even with this you were not satisfied. How lovesick is your heart, says the Lord God,

seeing you did all these things, the deeds of a brazen harlot, building your vaulted chamber at the head of every street and making your lofty place in every square. Yet you were not like the harlot because you scorned higher, adulterous wife who receives strangers instead of her husband. Men give gifts to all harlots, but you gave your gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from every side for your harlotries. So you were different from other women in your harlotries. None solicited you to play the harlot you gave higher while no higher was given to you.

Therefore, you were different. Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God, because your shame was laid bare and your nakedness uncovered in your harlotries with your lovers, and because of all your idols, and because of the blood of your children that you gave to them. Therefore, behold, I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved and all those you loathed. I will gather them against you from every side, and will uncover your nakedness to them that they may see all your nakedness.

And I will judge you as women who break wedlock and shed blood are judged and bring upon you the blood of wrath and jealousy. And I will give you into the hand of your lovers and they shall throw down your vaulted chamber and break down your lofty places. They shall strip you of your clothes and take your fair jewels and leave you naked and bare. They shall bring up a host against you and they shall stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords. And they shall burn your houses and execute judgments upon you in the sight of many women. I will make you stop playing the harlot and you shall also give higher no more. So will I satisfy my fury on you and my jealousy shall depart from you. I will be calm and will no more be angry because you have not remembered the days of your youth, but have

enraged me with all these things. Therefore, behold, I will repay your deeds upon your head, says the Lord God. Have you not committed lewdness in addition to all your abominations? Behold, everyone who uses Proverbs will use this proverb about you, like mother, like daughter. You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and her children, and you are the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite, and your father an Amorite, and your elder sister is Samaria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you, and your father an Amorite. And your elder sister is Samaria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you. And your younger sister, who lived to the south of you, is Sodom with her daughters.

Yet you were not content to walk in their ways or do according to their abominations. Within a very little time you were more corrupt than they in all your ways. As I live, says the Lord your God, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom. She and her daughters had pride, surfeit of food and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did abominable things before me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it. Samaria has not committed half your sins.

You have committed more abominations than they, and have made your sisters appear righteous by all the abominations which you have committed. Bear your disgrace, you also, for you have made judgment favorable to your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. So be ashamed, you also, and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous. I will restore their fortunes, both the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of

Samaria and her daughters, and I will restore your own fortunes in the midst of them, that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all that you have done, becoming a consolation to them. As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, and you and your daughters shall return to your former estate. Was not your sister Sodom a byword in your mouth in the day of your pride, before your wickedness was uncovered? Now you have become like her, an object of reproach for the daughters of Edom and all her neighbors, and for the daughters of the Philistines, those round about who despise you.

You bear the penalty of your lewdness and your abominations, says the Lord. The Everlasting Covenant Yes, thus says the Lord God. I will deal with you as you have done, who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant. Yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish with you an everlasting covenant. Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when I take your sisters, both your elder and your younger, and give them to you as daughters, but not on account of the covenant with you. I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord,

that you may remember and be confounded and never open your mouth again because of your shame when I forgive you all that you have done, says the Lord God. The book of Proverbs chapter 13 verses 1 through 4. A wise son hears his father's instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke. From the fruit of his mouth a good man eats good, but the desire of the treacherous is for violence. He who guards his mouth preserves his life. He who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied. Father in heaven, we give you praise and glory. Oh man, God, every single day you bring us to this place where we get to hear your word

and your word, just like Isaiah described, your word is living and effective. Your word does not return to you void. Your word accomplishes your will. And we're just so grateful. Your will accomplishes your will, Lord God, just as the rain and snow come down. So please help us. Help us to say yes to what you will for us. Help us to say yes to your word today for us.

And help us to say yes to you and your will for us this day and every day. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Gosh, you guys, I think, I don't know if I can say this accurately or adequately. Isaiah gets better and better. There have been some incredible chapters in Isaiah for the last however many days we've

been going through this. I mean, there's chapter seven that talks about, you know, God comes to Ahaz and says, you know, ask me whatever you want. And Ahaz says, I will not tempt. I will, you know, I will not ask. I will not tempt the Lord. And because he was going to go, you know, make an alliance in the face of the Assyrians. God promises Emmanuel would be with them.

God promises the virgin will conceive and bear a son. Like all the way back then to this moment, to chapter 40, where they shall run with, not grow weary, they shall walk and not faint. They'll fly upon the eagle's wings like that. Incredible. But gosh, chapter 53 and 54, 55, 56, what we've been hearing is so powerful. So hopefully it's also sounds familiar to you because as we hit chapters, you know, 55, 54, 56, all these, that these are scriptures that are used in what we call the lectionary.

The lectionary is the list of scriptures that are read at Sunday mass and at daily masses. And so these sections of Isaiah are massively known and often, often used. And so they're so good. I mean, here's an example of God's promise. Not only is there the rewards of righteousness, gosh, you know, come receive bread without payment and, and drink wine and, and so good, but you also have chapter 56 that says, let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, the Lord will surely separate me from his people. You know, so here's the stranger that I'm not born Jewish, but he's been brought into the covenant and probably says like, well, no, I'm second class because I just was recently brought into the

covenant. I'm not native or ethnically or racially Jewish. And God says, no, no, no, let not the foreigner say that. And also the eunuch. So the eunuch, as you would know, someone who would live in the courts would be castrated so they could work in the courts and not be a threat to the king's concubines or harem or whatever. But at the same time, those eunuchs, while they might have a role amongst the powerful, were not considered powerful.

And oftentimes they were looked down on. In fact, yeah, that was kind of the role of the eunuch was kind of a second-class citizen in many ways when it came to the people of Israel. And here's God saying as well, let not the eunuchs say, behold, I'm a dry tree, which if you get that imagery, you understand. For thus says the Lord to the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant. You know, it goes on later on to say who worship as I desire. I will give in my house and within my walls, a monument and a name better than sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name, which shall not be cut off. And same thing with, for the foreigners. It goes on to say all those who minister to love the name of the Lord,

be his servants. Everyone heaps a Sabbath, doesn't profane it, holds fast my covenant. These I will bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, which is just, it's incredible. Here's God who just is revealing that yes, he has chosen the Jewish people to be his. These are the first born of God, right? These are the first born of God are the Jewish people. But then he says here in chapter 56, making it absolutely clear that those people who come to the Lord because they recognize his presence among the Jewish people will not be second class.

In fact, their offerings, their sacrifices will be accepted. Not only that, they're given a name, a name among the people of Israel, an everlasting name, which shall not be cut off. That's better than sons and daughters. And this is this clear line in chapter 56, verse seven says, for my house shall be called the house of prayer for all peoples, which is just incredible. Thus says the Lord God who gathers the outcasts of Israel, I will gather yet others. You know, he gathers the outcasts of Israel. Remember those people who would be sent into exile. That's what God is going to do. I'm going to gather the outcasts. And yet I will also gather others besides those already gathered.

And this is just, again, the promise of God, which is just beyond, beyond what we can even imagine. And that's what chapter 55 talks about too. It says that let the wicked one forsake his way, the unrighteous person, their thoughts, let them return to the Lord that he may have mercy on them for our God will abundantly pardon. And this is the mystery of God who is complete justice, but also is complete mercy. And there's that next line that we just, I think most of us, maybe we've heard it. Maybe we haven't for my thoughts are not your thoughts. Neither are my ways. You always says the Lord for us, the heavens are higher than the earth. So are my ways higher than your ways and

my thoughts than your thoughts. This, this recognition that on earth, you know, this is the reason, you guys, this is the reason why we're doing the Bible in here, because we want to have the Lord's thoughts in our minds. We want to actually see the world the way the Lord reveals the world to us, the way he's made the world. And to be able to say, okay, yes, it's true that if I think like the world, my thoughts will not be like God's thoughts and his thoughts are not like my thoughts. But if we let ourselves, our vision, our view of the world be shaped by God's word, then it changes the way we see. And we begin to think, we begin to see things the way God sees them. In fact, we even begin to love the way God loves. And that's the power of

his word. Again, here's the big line. For as rain and snow come down from heaven and did not return there, but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower, bread to the eater. So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth. It shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I intend and prosper in the thing for which I sent it. And that's the promise of God. You guys, I can't begin to tell you how many people have contacted me or contacted people at Ascension and said, hearing God's word proclaimed every day has changed every aspect of my life. Not to say that my life is not perfect, but saying that no, listening to God's word every day, his word is

accomplishing the will that he sent it for. And it's, it's changing my life. It's changing the way, again, I see, I think, changing the way I love and changing the way I live, which is so powerful. Now, last note, Ezekiel chapter 16. I mentioned there was a little PG-13, hopefully you caught that. But this is a story, recapitulation of the story of Israel. And basically it says, yep, here is, here's the person newborn who no one wanted. That's Israel. The newborn person that no one wanted is Israel. And yet God says, and I claimed you. I claimed you and scrubbed you off, you know, cleaned you of your blood, cleaned you of

your brokenness and your abandonment. And I brought you to myself and I let you grow. And this is like, he says, this is God choosing Abraham, right? This is God choosing Abraham out of all the human beings in the entire world and saying, you and your family, this is where I'm going to start this blessing of the world. And did what? Out of Abraham, raised up this massive family, raised up this massive kingdom. And what does God say?

Here is this woman. He clothes her with beauty and grace and he feeds her well. And she's dressed in fine linen and in silk and embroidery. She has, and she has these, all this jewelry. And then he says, but you became captivated by your own beauty. Remember, this is the one no one wanted. Remember, this is the, this is the abandoned, forgotten, neglected child that God said, no, no, I'll make you mine.

And then when she comes of age, he weds himself to her, right? So this relationship of intimacy, this relationship of I am yours and you are mine, remember the yesterday, your maker shall become your husband. And what happened is you got captivated with your own beauty, your own strength, your own wisdom, and said, basically, I don't need my God. I don't need my husband anymore. And saying, I went after other lovers. Remember, the image here is adultery is an image for idolatry. And he even says, you took the jewels I gave you,

you took the wisdom I gave you, you took all the beauty I gave you, and you made the idols out of all of those things. And so after all of that, and he even saying, oh gosh, he can highlight this. Even prostitutes, essentially harlots, right? They get paid for their services. So you didn't even get paid. You gave everything that I'd given you. You gave everything, your beauty, your goodness, all these things. You

gave them away and you didn't even get anything back. And my brothers and sisters, this is what idols do. They take and they take and they take and they don't give back. God is the one who loves us and he just gives. Idols don't love us back. We can love them with our whole heart and they will never ever, idols will never ever love us back. And yet, oh gosh, and yet it says then, and yet God saw all this. God saw all of this and said, I will restore you.

This is the mercy and the beauty and the power of God. After all those places of your brokenness, you become worse than Sodom, become worse than Samaria, and yet I will restore you. And this recognition, again, at the end of chapter 16, here's God who says, I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish with you an everlasting covenant. Remember what Jesus says at the last supper, take this all of you and drink from it. This is my cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting, the new and eternal covenant. Because the truth of the matter is, yes, this is a prophecy against the people of Israel, right? Those Jews who are in exile and just not turning to the Lord. They lost everything because

they had made for themselves idols. They had committed adultery with their idols, idolatry. And yet this is still us. Because here in the fullness of time, Jesus has fulfilled and said, here's the everlasting covenant. And now, and now on God's holy mountain is a house of prayer for all nations, including those of us who are not born Jewish, but were grafted unto the tree because of Jesus Christ. This is such a gift. What an incredible gift today to be able to go through Isaiah 55 and 56 and Ezekiel chapter 16, to hear the words of the prophets to those being sent into exile and to hear the words of the prophet of those who are in exile, speaking to those who are in exile.

Because if we are not in exile yet, we're being sent there. And if we are in exile, then we need that word of hope and that word of compassion that God has not forgotten us. So we need to pray. I'm praying for you. Please pray for me and pray for each other. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.