The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 237: Water from the Temple (2022)

Episode Date: August 25, 2022

Fr. Mike guides us through the last two chapters of Ezekiel, explaining the biblical significance of the water flowing from the right side of the temple, and how it foreshadows Christ's passion. He also emphasizes the imagery of the clay and the potter in Jeremiah, signifying how our lives are meant to be open for God to mold and shape, according to his will. Today's readings are Jeremiah 18-19, Ezekiel 47-48, and Proverbs 15:21-24. 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 237. We're reading today from Jeremiah chapter 18 and 19, from Ezekiel chapter 47 and 48, the last two chapters of Ezekiel, as well as Proverbs chapter 15, verses 21 through 24.

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. If you want to download your own Bible in-ear reading plan, because, you know, why not start on day 237, you can go to ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a year. You can also subscribe to this podcast and receive daily episodes and updates and all good things if you want to. If you don't, it's your life, man. It's your life. As I said, today is day 237. We're reading Jeremiah 18 and 19, Ezekiel 47 and 48, the last two chapters, as well as Proverbs

chapter 15, verses 21 through 24. The book of the prophet Jeremiah, chapter 18, the potter and the clay. The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, arise and go down to the potter's house. And there, I will let you hear my words. So I went down to the potter's house and there he was working at his wheel and the vessel he was making of I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Then the word of the Lord came to me, O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done, says the Lord?

Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation concerning which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will repent of the evil that I intended to do to it. And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will repent of the good which I had intended to do to it. Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord,

Behold, I am shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Return everyone from his evil way, and amend your ways and your doings. Israel's stubborn idolatry. But they say, that is in vain. We will follow our own plans, and everyone will act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore, thus says the Lord, ask among the nations, who has heard the like of this? The virgin Israel has done a very horrible thing. Does the snow of Lebanon leave the crags of Syrian? Do the mountain waters run dry, the cold flowing streams? But my people have forgotten me. They burn incense to false gods. They have stumbled in their ways, in the ancient roads, and have gone into bypaths, not the highway,

making their land a horror, a thing to be hissed at forever. Everyone who passes by is horrified and shakes his head. Like the east wind, I will scatter them before the enemy. I will show them my back, not my face in the day of their calamity. Plots against Jeremiah. Then they said, come, let us make plots against Jeremiah. For the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not heed any of his words.

Give heed to me, O Lord, and listen to my plea. Is evil a recompense for good? Yet they have dug a pit for my life. Remember how I stood before you to speak good for them, to turn away your wrath from them. Therefore, deliver up their children to famine. Give them over to the power of the sword. Let their wives become childless and widowed.

May their men meet death by pestilence. Their youths be slain by the sword in battle. May a cry be heard from their houses when you bring the marauders suddenly upon them. For they have dug a pit to take me and laid snares for my feet. Yet you, O Lord, know all their plotting to slay me. Forgive not their iniquity, nor blot out their sin from your sight. Let them be overthrown before you. Deal with them in the time of your anger. Chapter 19, The Broken Earthen Flask.

Thus says the Lord, Go, buy a potter's earthen flask, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the senior priests, and go out to the valley of the son of Hinnom at the entry of the potsherd gate, and proclaim there the words that I tell you. You shall say, Hear the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel. Behold, I am bringing such evil upon this place that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. Because the people have forsaken me and have profaned this place by burning incense in it to other gods whom neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah have known.

And because they have filled this place with the blood of innocence and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or decree, nor did it come into my mind. Therefore, behold, days are coming, says the Lord, when this place shall no more be called Topheth

or the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the Lord, when this place shall no more be called Topheth or the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter. And in this place, I will make void the plans of Judah and Jerusalem and will cause their people to fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hand of those who seek their life. I will give their dead bodies for food to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the earth. And I will make this city a horror, a thing to be hissed at. Everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss because of all its disasters. And I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters. And everyone shall eat the flesh of his neighbor in the siege and in the distress with which their enemies and

those who seek their life afflict them. Then you shall break the flask in the sight of the men who go with you and shall say to them, thus says the Lord of hosts. So will I break this people and this city as one breaks a potter's vessel so that it can never be mended. Men shall bury in Topheth because there will be no place else to bury. Thus will I do to this place, says the Lord, and to its inhabitants, making this city like Topheth. The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah, all the houses upon whose roofs incense has been burned to all the host of heaven, and drink offerings have been poured out to other gods, shall be defiled like the place of Topheth. Then Jeremiah came from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, and he

stood in the court of the Lord's house and said to all the people, Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing upon this city and upon all its towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have stiffened their neck, refusing to hear my words. The book of the prophet Ezekiel, chapter 47, water flowing from the temple. Then he brought me back to the door of the temple and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east for the temple faced east and the water was flowing down from below the right side of the threshold of the temple south of the altar. Then he brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me round on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east, and the water was coming out on the right side.

Going on eastward with a line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits, and then led me through the water, and it was ankle deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was ankle deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was up to the loins. Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen, it was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through. And he said to me, Son of man, have you seen this? Then he led me back along the bank of the river. As I went back, I saw upon the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other.

And he said to me, This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Ereba, and when it enters the stagnant waters of the sea, the water will become fresh. And wherever the river goes, every living creature which swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh, so that everything will live where the river goes. Fishermen will stand beside the sea from Ein Gedi to Ein Eglim. It will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the great sea.

But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh, they are to be left for salt. And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food food and their leaves for healing. New boundaries of the land. Thus says the Lord God. These are the boundaries by which you shall divide the land for inheritance among the

twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions and you shall divide it equally. I swore to give it to your fathers and this land shall fall to you as your inheritance. This shall be the boundary of the land, on the north side, from the great sea by way of Hethlon to the entrance of Hamath, and on to Zadad, Berothoth, Zebraim, which lies on the border between Damascus and Hamath, and as far as Hazer-Hatakon, which is on the border of Haran. So the boundary shall run from the sea to Hazer-Anon, which is on the border of Haran. So the boundary shall run from the sea to Hezar-Anon, which is on the northern border of Damascus, with the border of Hamath to the north. This shall be the north

side. On the east side, the boundary shall run from Hezar-Anon between Haran and Damascus, along the Jordan, between Gilead and the land of Israel, to the eastern sea, and as far as Tamar. This shall be the east side. On the south side, it shall run from Tamar as far as the waters of Meribath Kadesh, thence along the brook of Egypt to the great sea. This shall be the south side. On the west side, the great sea shall be the boundary to a point opposite the entrance of Hamath. This shall be the west side. So you shall divide this land among you according to the tribes of Israel. You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the aliens who reside among you

and have begotten children among you. They shall be to you as native-born sons of Israel. With you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. In whatever tribe the alien resides, there you shall assign him his inheritance, says the Lord God. Chapter 48. The Tribal Portions. These are the names of the tribes, beginning at the northern border, from the sea by way of Hephlon to the entrance of Hamath, as far as Hezar-Anon, which is on the northern border of Damascus over against Hamath, and extending from the east side to the west, Dan, one portion. Adjoining the territory of Dan, from the east side to the west, Dan, one portion. Adjoining the territory

of Dan, from the east side to the west, Asher, one portion. Adjoining the territory of Asher, from the east side to the west, Naphtali, one portion. Adjoining the territory of Naphtali, from the east side to the west, Manasseh, one portion. Adjoining the territory of Manasseh, from the east side to the west, Ephraim, one portion. Adjoining the territory of Manasseh, from the east side to the west, Ephraim, one portion. Adjoining the territory of Ephraim, from the east side to the west, Reuben, one portion. Adjoining the territory of Reuben, from the east side to the west, Judah, one portion. Adjoining the territory of Judah, from the east side to the west, shall be the portion which you shall set apart, 25,000 cubits in breadth and in length equal to one of the tribal portions, from the east side to the west, with the sanctuary in the midst of it.

The portion which you shall set apart for the Lord shall be 25,000 cubits in length and 20,000 in breadth. These shall be the allotment of the holy portion. The priests shall have an allotment measuring 25,000 cubits on the northern side, 10,000 cubits in breadth on the western side, 10,000 in breadth on the eastern side, and 25,000 in length on the southern side, with the sanctuary of the Lord in the midst of it. This shall be for the consecrated priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept my charge, who did not go astray when the people of Israel went astray as the Levites did. And it shall belong to them as a special portion from the holy portion of the land, a most holy place adjoining the territory of the Levites. And

alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites shall have an allotment 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in breadth. The whole length shall be 25,000 cubits and the breadth 20,000. They shall not sell or exchange any of it. They shall not alienate this choice portion of the land for it is holy to the Lord. The remainder 5,000 cubits in breadth and 25,000 in the length shall be for ordinary use for the city, for dwellings and for open country. In the midst of it shall be the city, and these shall be its dimensions, the north side 4,500 cubits, the south side 4,500, the east side 4,500, and the west side 4,500. And the city shall have open land, on the north 250 cubits, on the south 250, on the east 250, and on the west 250. The remainder of the length

alongside the holy portion shall be 10,000 cubits to the east and 10,000 to the west, and it shall be alongside the holy portion. Its produce shall be food for the workers of the city, and the workers of the city from all the tribes of Israel shall till it. The whole portion which you shall set apart shall be 25,000 cubits square, that is, the holy portion, together with the property of the city. What remains on both sides of the holy portion and of the property of the city shall belong to the prince. Extending from the 25,000 cubits of the holy portion to the east border, and westward from the 25,000 cubits to the west border,

parallel to the tribal portions, it shall belong to the prince. The holy portion, with the sanctuary of the temple in its midst, and the property of the Levites, and the property of the city, shall be in the midst of that which belongs to the prince. The portion of the prince shall lie between the territory of Judah and the territory of Benjamin. As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side to the west, Benjamin one portion. Adjoining the territory of Benjamin, from the east side to the west, Simeon one portion. Adjoining the territory of Simeon, from the east side to the west, Issachar one portion. Adjoining the territory of Issachar, from the east side to the west, Zebulun one portion. Adjoining the territory of Issachar, from the east side to the west, Zebulun, one portion.

Adjoining the territory of Zebulun, from the east side to the west, Gad, one portion. And adjoining the territory of Gad to the south, the boundary shall run from Tamar to the waters of Meribeth Kadesh, thence along the brook of Egypt to the great sea. This is the land which you shall allot as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel, and these are their several portions, says the Lord God. These shall be the exits of the city. On the north side, which is to be 4,500 cubits in measure, three gates, the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah, and the gate of Levi, the gates of the city being named after the tribes of Israel. On the east side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates, the gate of Joseph, the gate

of Benjamin, and the gate of Dan. On the south side, which is to be 4,500 cubits by measure, three gates, the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar, and the gate of Zebulun. On the west side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates, the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher, and the gate of Naphtali. The circumference of the city shall be 18,000 cubits, and the name of the city henceforth shall be, The Lord is There. The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 15, Verses 21-24 Folly is a joy to him who has no sense, but a man of understanding walks aright. Without counsel, plans go wrong, but with many advisors, they succeed. To make an apt answer is a joy to a man and a word in season how good it is. The wise man's path leads upward to life

that he may avoid Sheol beneath. Father in heaven, we give you praise. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for this day. And thank you so much for bringing us back to your word on this day. And you are a gift. Your word is a gift. And this day, Lord God, whatever day this is in our lives, it is day 237 of just listening

to your word. And we thank you so much for continuing to speak to us, not only speaking to our minds and revealing you to us, but also speaking to our hearts and moving our hearts to belong to you with everything we have and with everything we are. We thank you. We give you praise and we bless your name. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen. Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Amen. Oh gosh, you guys. Okay. Well, not only do we get to the end of Ezekiel, which was awesome. And we're going to get to that in just a second, but here's Jeremiah 18 and 19. Just so good. Oh, that's a real quick reminder because I know sometimes we get to this part of the podcast, right? And we might even forget the words we heard because there are a lot of words spoken. The word of God is powerful and living and effective, but sometimes it can go in one

ear and out the other. So let's review a little bit of Jeremiah 18. It starts out by talking about the potter and the clay, right? So the word of the Lord comes to Jeremiah, go down to the potter's house. And what does the potter do? He's making a vessel out of clay and then he refashions it. Then he reworks it. He decides this is not how I want it. And so he fixes it. And this is so good because obviously Jeremiah then makes the connection. And the connection is hero Israel. This is what I can do. Can I not do this? Can I not take a nation, a kingdom? Can I not take a people that does not belong to me and make them mine? Can I also not take the people that's mine and say, you're not living the way I've called you to?

And he's the potter, we're the clay. And it's so powerful for us to realize this and recognize this in our lives too, that no matter what our past is, that God can say, no, but in my hands, I can give you a future. No matter what we've done in the past, that we can say, okay, God, I'm in your hands.

Also, I mean, for good or for ill, right? We can look to our negative past, our sinful broken past and say, God, in your hands. Also, I mean, for good or for ill, right? We can look to our negative past, our sinful, broken past and say, God, in your hands, you can make me new. You can make me something that I can never make on my own. But also, if we look at our good past and realize, okay, Lord, that was good, but that was also your grace. That was also your gift.

The fact that maybe we've done good in our past, we've been blessed in our past, does not mean that we deserve that and does not mean that now we've earned good in our past. We've been blessed in our past. Does not mean that we deserve that. And does not mean that now we've earned some kind of future. It's Lord, no, actually today, I'm still in your hands. So whether our past has been just a mess, you know, broken, or whether our past has been blessed and incredible, we find ourselves in this moment in God's hand.

And that reality of like, no, Lord, I am the clay and you are the potter. And that's why it goes on to talk about Israel's stubborn idolatry, because here's this connection, the connection with Israel and with us. Here's, remember Jeremiah, he's warning them of what's coming. Ezekiel, this is the end of the chapter, the end of the book. And, and so this is after all the destruction that has come upon everyone. But Jeremiah is still saying, you guys, more disaster is coming, which is why in chapter 18, there are these plots against Jeremiah. And they said, come, let us make plots against Jeremiah. For the law shall not, this is so good, for the law shall not

perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. So let's strike him and let's not heed any of his words basically we don't have to listen to jeremiah because honestly we still have got priests we still have wise we still have prophets we'll listen to them instead but remember what they're doing they're being false they're only telling the people what they want to hear not what they need to hear jeremiah is the only one at least we know about who's telling the people what they need to hear. And so Jeremiah, this strikes, remember he's the weeping prophet. This strikes Jeremiah to the heart so much that he's like, okay, fine. He's kind of like Moses in this. Remember Moses in the wilderness where there's a couple of times where he's just like, this is a stiff neck people, Lord. Like sometimes he's interceding on their behalf, but other times Moses is like, I'm done.

I am, I'm over this people. Lord God, go ahead. Just take them out. But then he of course changes his mind and says, okay, I'm sorry. I'm interceding for them. This is what Jeremiah is doing right now too, is that he weeping prophet, he cares about them so much. He loves them. He loves God both so much. But at this moment, Jeremiah is going to be thrown into cistern, right? He's going to be thrown into a dried out retainer of water in the ground. And so there's these plots against him. And of course, at some point, even his love, even his patience runs out. And so we have to recognize that that's the reality because there's a place in which even the holiest people that we know, holiest people that are among us, they're still people, right? They're

still human beings and their love and their patience is finite as opposed to God whose love is infinite, whose patience is infinite. And yet there are consequences to our behavior. Obviously in chapter 19, we have the broken earthen flask. Basically God says to Jeremiah, go buy a potter's earthen flask. Take some of the elders of the people, the priests, go out to the valley. In memory of the valley of Hinnom, so the valley where they had sacrificed their own children to the false god, go there and shatter the potter's flask, the earthen flask, saying like, this is what's going to happen. If you continue this, this is what's going to happen.

Babylon is coming and they're going to destroy everything here. The temple, they're going to destroy the city. They're going to take everyone worth taking and exile them. And that's the symbol. And that's the message, of course, Jeremiah. Now, Jeremiah doesn't revel in this, even though he's praying for judgment upon the people. He loves the people and he loves the Lord and he does not want disaster to come upon them, but he is telling them it is coming. And that's, again, for all of us, this reality, the recognition, the remembering the fact that our actions, our decisions have consequences and those consequences can be blessing, but those consequences can also be painful.

And so we just recognize, okay, Lord, I can repent now whether it's time to repent. At the end of Ezekiel, we have this incredible, incredible image. Remember, we've been following this rebuilding of the temple. We've been following the reconstituting of the city of Jerusalem. And now we have this incredible image

of the water running from underneath the temple from the right side to the east. And the image, of course, is that this small, small trickle of water that goes from the right side of the temple, from the east side of the temple, and flows out. It continues to get deeper and deeper and deeper as it goes into the Dead Sea, basically. It says into the Ereba, right? So that region of Israel is all the way down to the Dead Sea. If you know anything about the Dead Sea, you know that nothing lives there. And here is God's prophecy through Ezekiel that says, no, this living water that flows from the temple

will go all the way down to the Dead Sea. Not only will there be incredible life in the Dead Sea with fish abounding and life teeming in the Dead Sea, but all along that river, there will be so much fruit on the trees and everything that grows there. It'll bear fruit every month, not just once a year or twice a year, every month it will bear fruit.

And so this water, this living water that comes from the temple is a prophecy, obviously, not only of the fact that God is going to bring his people back to Jerusalem, that's going to happen after they leave Babylon, but ultimately what God is going to do in bringing life to this world, it's just so incredible. Jesus, he says, destroy this temple. I will rebuild it in three days. And they say, ah, are you kidding me? This devil has been under construction for over 40 years. You can rebuild it in three days. But then scripture says, but he was referring to them about the temple of his body. If you ever see a crucifix, you will note not only is Jesus crucified on the cross there, but he always has the spear mark right on his side.

We know that from John's gospel that one of the soldiers thrust him through with a lance. And what happened? Out of that, blood and water flowed. Now, the church fathers, people from the very beginning, always saw that as a symbol. The water is a symbol of baptism, and the blood is a symbol of the Eucharist, of Holy Communion. That water and blood flowing from the side of Jesus. But here's Jesus. Remember, his body is the temple. He's referring to the temple of his body. And here in Ezekiel, we have this image of water flowing from the right side of the temple. If you ever see a crucifix, you will always note that it's on the right side of Jesus

that that spear mark is, that that wound from the spear is there, because from the very beginning, the Christians saw this, oh, Jesus is this temple that Ezekiel prophesied, and it's from his side that that blood and water flows out. And what happens? What happens when we're baptized is we're made completely new. We're made into God's sons and daughters. We're given divine life inside of us. We're made partakers of the divine nature of God himself.

And so this symbol that Ezekiel's pointing out about this new temple that's reconstituted in Israel is actually Jesus himself. And from the side of the temple, the right side of the temple, the east side flows out this water that brings life to everything. And from Christ's pierced side, his right side flows out blood and water. And that water gives us new life. And that blood in the Eucharist gives us eternal life. As Jesus said in John 6,

unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life within you. But all those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, which is incredible. What an incredible gift that Jesus is the fulfillment of not just this prophecy at the end of the book of the prophet Ezekiel, but of all the prophecies about the Messiah

in the Old Testament fulfilled in Jesus Christ. This is our last day with the book of the prophet Ezekiel. Tomorrow, if you have the reading plan, you know, we're jumping into Daniel. We're continuing with Jeremiah, but jumping into the first two chapters of Daniel. So we're going kind of all over time here, right? So remember, Ezekiel is the end. Ezekiel is the last kind of big prophet before we hear of the re being brought back to Jerusalem, the reconstruction of the city, the reconstruction of the temple. That's coming in a number of days, being brought back to Jerusalem, the reconstruction of the city, the reconstruction of the temple that's coming in a number of days, but we have to still go through some more prophets

who are in exile, including Jeremiah, as he continues that, that process of Babylon coming in and continuing to destroy things, but also Daniel. Remember Daniel was exiled in that first wave of exile. We're going to hear about that tomorrow. Oh man, here we go. Let's keep on trucking along. I am praying for you. Please, please pray for me. My name is Father Mike, and I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.