The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 272: The Call of Nehemiah (2023)

Episode Date: September 29, 2023

Fr. Mike introduces the book of Nehemiah and takes us through Nehemiah’s exemplary response to the call of God as he does what God asks simply because he asks. He also encourages us to pray for our enemies and explains the need to refrain from vengeance in our interactions with others, especially when we are provoked by their actions. Today’s readings are Nehemiah 1-2, Zechariah 12-13, and Proverbs 20:20-22. 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. Speaking of today, it is day 272, day 272. It's kind of a palindrome. And we're reading Nehemiah chapter one and two. Remember, Ezra was one book. Ezra and Nehemiah were originally one book. Now we're continuing this story. But at the same time, it is fascinating

to note that Nehemiah is written in the first person. And so Nehemiah is going to be the one telling us the story for these chapters, chapter one and two. Also, Zechariah chapter 12 and 13 will conclude Zechariah the prophet tomorrow. But right now we have Zechariah chapter 12 and 13. We also have Proverbs chapter 20 verses 20 through 22. As always, the Bible translation I'm reading from is the revised standard version, the second Catholic edition. I'm using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension. If you want to download your own Bible in a Year reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress.com

slash Bible in a Year 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 daily updates. It is day 272. We're reading Nehemiah 1 and 2, Zechariah 12 and 13 in Proverbs chapter 20, verses 20 through 22. The book of Nehemiah. Chapter 1. Nehemiah's prayers. The Book of Nehemiah Chapter 1 Nehemiah's Prayers The words of Nehemiah, the son of Hakalaya. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa, the capital, that Hanani, one of my brethren, came with certain men out of Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews that survived, who had escaped exile, and concerning

Jerusalem. And they said to me, The survivors there in the province who escaped exile are in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are destroyed by fire. When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days. And I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. And I said, Oh Lord, God of heaven, the great and terrible God who keeps covenant and merciful love with those who love him and keep his commandments. Let your ear be attentive and your eyes be open to hear the prayer of your servant, which I now pray before you day and night for the sons of Israel, your servants, confessing the sins of

the sons of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Yes, I and my father's house have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances which you commanded your servant Moses. Remember the word which you commanded your servant Moses, saying, If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples. But if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though you're dispersed be under the farthest skies, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place which I have chosen to make my name dwell there. They are your servants and your people whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand.

Oh Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name. And give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. Now I was the cupbearer to the king. Chapter 2. In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence, and the king said to me, Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing else but sadness of the heart. Then I was very much afraid. I said to the king, Let the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my father's sepulchres, lies waste, and its gates have been destroyed by fire? Then the king said to me, For what do you

make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven, and I said to the king, If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my father's sepulchres, that I may rebuild it. And the king said to me, the queen sitting beside him, How long will you be gone, and when will you return? So it pleased the king to send me, and I set him a time. And I said to the king, If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province beyond the river, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the

house which I shall occupy. And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me. Nehemiah sent to Judah. Then I came to the governors of the province beyond the river and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the servant the Ammonite heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the children of Israel. Nehemiah's inspection of the walls. So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days. Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me, and I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no beast with me, but the beast on which I rode. I went out by night, by the valley gate, to the jackal's

well, and to the dung gate gate and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which had been destroyed by fire. Then I went on to the fountain gate and to the king's pool but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass. Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall and I turned back and entered by the valley gate and so returned. And the officials did not know where I had gone, or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest that were to do the work. Decision to restore the walls. Then I said to them, You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer

suffer disgrace. And I told them of the hand of my God, which had been upon me for good, and also of the words which the king had spoken to me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for the good work. But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they derided us and despised us and said, What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king? Then I replied to them, The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build. But you have no portion or right or memorial in Jerusalem. But you have no portion or rite or memorial in Jerusalem.

The Book of Zechariah, Chapter 12, Jerusalem's Victory, an Oracle The Word of the Lord concerning Israel Thus says the Lord, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him, Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of reeling to all the peoples round about. It will be against Judah also in the siege against Jerusalem. On that day, I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it shall grievously hurt themselves, and all the nations of the earth will come together against it. On that day, says the Lord, I will

strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness. But upon the house of Judah, I will open my eyes when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, the inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the Lord of hosts, their God. On that day, I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of hosts, their God. On that day, I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the people's roundabout,

while Jerusalem shall still be inhabited in its place in Jerusalem. And the Lord will give victory to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not be exalted over that of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not be exalted over that of Judah. On that day, the Lord will put a shield about the inhabitants of Jerusalem

so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the Lord at their head. And on that day, I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Mourning for the pierced one. And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, a spirit of compassion and supplication so that when they look on him, whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him as great as the mourning for Hadad Ramon in the plain of Megiddo.

and their wives by themselves, the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves, the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves, the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves, and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves. Chapter 13. On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. The Wounded Prophet And on that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more.

And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the unclean spirit. And if anyone again appears as a prophet, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the Lord. And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. On that day, every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy mantle in order to deceive, but he will say, I am no prophet, I am a tiller of the soil, for the land has been my possession since my youth. And if one asks him, what are these wounds on your back?

He will say, the wounds I received in the house of my friends. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me, says the Lord of hosts. Strike the shepherd, that the sheep may be scattered. I will turn my hand against the little ones. In the whole land, says the Lord, two-thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one-third shall be left alive. And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on my name, and I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, They are my people, and they will say, The Lord is my God. The Book of Proverbs, 20, verse 20 through 22.

If one curses his father or his mother, his lamp will be put out in utter darkness. An inheritance gotten hastily in the beginning will in the end not be blessed. Do not say, I will repay evil. Wait for the Lord and he will help you. Father in heaven, we give you praise and glory. Thank you so much. Thank you for this day. Thank you for day 272. Thank you for guiding us and being with us. Thank you for inspiring us and giving us the grace to be able to keep pressing play. Lord God, oh gosh,

thank you for the blessings of this day. Thank you also, Lord God, for the hidden blessings of this day. As we continue to pray, open our eyes that we can see the blessings that we often just pass by. Those things that we've seen them so often that they are now unseen. Those things in our lives that we would never immediately consider blessings, but ultimately, upon reflection, they are helping us become more like you. They're helping us become closer to you. Lord God, we ask you this day also not only to receive our prayers, receive our praise, receive our thanks, but also those people that we love.

Receive them into your heart. Those people that have wandered far from you, Lord God, we ask you to please send out your grace to be upon them. Those people who we love and are far from you, the people that we don't love like we should. Send your grace upon their hearts and their lives as well, Lord God, today. Bless those who have hurt us. Bless those who hate us. And help us to love them the way you love them. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen.

So, Proverbs, I don't know why I was struck to pray for the enemies, our enemies, whoever they may be in your life, and I know who they are in my life, but that sense of, you know what, Jesus comes back to that so often that we have to be different. We have to not want to take vengeance on our enemies, but to be able to say, okay, Lord, I want you to save their lives. I want you to make them holy. Not to say that we don't want justice, but we do pray for grace in their lives. And that's what the book of Proverbs, you know, that chapter 20, verse 22, do not say, I will repay evil, wait for the Lord and he will help you. That doesn't mean that God will overlook justice.

That doesn't mean he's going to deny justice, but it does mean that I take a back seat and say, it's not my job to repay evil for evil. We can work for justice. You know what I'm saying? It's a challenge, right? Obviously, especially when we have that opportunity to take vengeance on somebody, to be able to say, no, Lord, even in our normal speech, I think that's one of the things that happens is that we might not have massive enemies. In fact, the people that we wrestle with the most, people that we fight the most, people that we might say, I'm going to take vengeance on them the most are the people that we live with, the people that we have promised to love for the rest of our lives.

And we realize, wait a second, with my words, I just took vengeance on them. They said something to me earlier. They did something that it was annoying to me. And what I just did is I decided to be vengeance on them. They said something to me earlier. They did something that was annoying to me. And what I just did is I decided to be annoying to them. I decided to be mean to them with my words. And isn't that, I mean, we can make it really lofty. We can make it really abstract and say, those enemies out there somewhere. But I realized, wait a second, I'm most often most cruel with those people that I'm most

close to. And I don't think that that's a good idea. I think that's something that I need to repent of and say, God, please help me. So in verse 22 of chapter 20 of Proverbs, do not say, I will repay evil. I'll wait for the Lord and he will help you. Maybe that means talking to your kids, talking to your parents, talking to your spouse, talking to your friends, talking to the people you talk to every day, the people I talk to every day too. Man, man, oh man. I also like this verse 21 of chapter 20 of Proverbs.

An inheritance gotten hastily in the beginning will in the end not be blessed. Kind of like winning the lottery and how many people's lives have been devastated by the lottery. They haven't necessarily been blessed, but they have been hurt. Okay, away from the book of Proverbs, back to Zechariah. We only have one chapter left tomorrow in Zechariah chapter blessed, but they have been hurt. Okay, away from the book of Proverbs, back to Zechariah. We only have one chapter left tomorrow in Zechariah chapter 14. But today we got to hear some incredible words, just words of Jerusalem's victory, right? This restoration of Jerusalem that it's ultimately going to be in verse seven, it says, and the Lord will give victory to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house

of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not be exalted over that of Judah. What a shield around the inhabitants of Jerusalem, which is important for us because we're in the book of Nehemiah as well. And they're putting a wall around themselves, which is not the same thing, kind of the same thing, but not necessarily the same thing that Zechariah is prophesying about. But we also have this, gosh, in the end of chapter 12, mourning for the pierced one. We have it also quoted in the book of, sorry, the gospel of John chapter 19. It says, they will look on him whom they have pierced. They shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly over him as one weeps over a firstborn. On that day, the morning in Jerusalem will be as great as the morning for

Hadad Ramon in the plain of Megiddo. Okay, who are we talking about? Well, I think we're talking about the Lord Jesus, the only child, the only son of God, the firstborn of all ages, of all creation. We recognize that here's this incredible prophecy that you imagine that as Zechariah and his listeners are reading about, hearing about the pierced one, they wonder, what is that? Maybe that's the people of Israel, you know, the Jewish people experiencing suffering, but it becomes incredibly personified and incarnated in the person of Jesus Christ. And it's remarkable that that prophecy that is ultimately made complete in Jesus on the cross out of love for you and love for me, which is another thing. We know it's one thing to hear these and think, wow, that's amazing. Here is Zechariah writing hundreds and hundreds of years before Jesus.

And he's saying this. That's fascinating. It's powerful. But then realizing, wait, why was he pierced in the first place? Why was Jesus pierced through in the first place? Well, out of love for you, because he hasn't given up on you. Out of love for me, because he hasn't given up on me. And it's so important for us to hear these words and to remember them because it's so easy to forget them. That Jesus actually loves you. He was pierced through and he was mourned over

because he determined, he decided, he has declared that you are worth his very life. You are worth his death. And I know that so many people feel alone. You might feel alone in this moment, but just recognize here is Zechariah writing hundreds of years before Jesus saying that there will be a day of mourning because of the pierced one. And that day actually has already happened. And in so many ways to get to this point on day 272, where you hear these words, where you get to

hear the truth that here is Jesus, God himself, who loves you to the point of death, and I know that you can feel discouraged and isolated and alone right now. You might feel like you can't even talk to God right now, even though you're pressing play and listening to his word, but he loves you. He has not forgotten about you and you are not alone. That's part of what this community is, even though if it's a virtual community, I know there's people online who pray with these readings every single day. They talk with each other every single day, but there's a bunch of us who we're not connected that way, but we are connected right now.

We are connected in prayer. We are connected in what is declared in God's word. And so receive his love right now. If I could just invite you to do that. In verse chapter 13 of Zechariah, he talks about if someone prophesies, their mom or dad will kill them. He's talking about false prophets, just in case that makes anything any better for you. You're like, oh man, don't be a prophet.

Well, don't be a false prophet. How about that? Okay. So the book of Nehemiah is going to be really, really important. And I know that we're getting up there in time, but here's the beginning of this story. Remember we had Zerubbabel who was the first wave. We had Ezra, the second wave. Now Ezra is going to show up here in the book of Nehemiah chapter eight. That's when he's going to show up. And yet now we have the third wave, chapter eight, that's when he's going to show up. And yet now we have the third wave, Nehemiah. Under Ezra, we had the rebuilding of the essentially temple worship and whatnot.

Nehemiah recognizes that there's no walls around the city of Jerusalem. And here he tells the story. I love this story of the call of Nehemiah. It's incredible. What happens? And just let's just slow down for one second to skip a rock across chapter one and chapter two. It says, Nehemiah. It's incredible. What happens? And just let's just slow down for one second to skip a rock across chapter one and chapter two. It says, Nehemiah asks the question. Now he'd already visited Jerusalem maybe 15 years before this. And he asks, Hey, you were in Jerusalem. How is it? And he's gets informed that the walls have not been rebuilt, that the city basically is open to attack. It's incredibly vulnerable. And Nehemiah's response is amazing. In verse four, chapter one, he says, when I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days. And I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

And it is, gosh, you think about this. Nehemiah has this nudge, he cares about the people of Jerusalem. He cares about the city of Jerusalem. He cares about the worship happening in Jerusalem. And when he hears that there's no walls around the city, I sat down and wept for days and prayed for days and fasted for days. And we have to ask the question, man, is my heart so hardened or am I so unfaithful that when I hear bad news, my response is not that I sit down and weep. It's not that I immediately pray. It's not that I turn to the Lord in fasting. A lot of times we turn to the news. We turn to each other. We turn to someone else. Nehemiah's response, when his heart is broken, he turns to the Lord. And it's so incredible. His prayer in chapter one is, or multiple prayers in chapter one are so good.

And one of the things that Nehemiah does is he acknowledges, he says, we deserve this because you let us know, God, if we're faithful, then we'll have success. And we weren't, we weren't faithful. And it's my fault and it's my father's fault. And he just, it's incredible. But then he goes on to say, please give us a chance. Let me do something essentially even.

And then at last verse of chapter one, I love it. Now I was cupbearer to the king and it's one of those dun, dun, dun. What's next? And in chapter two, here he is. He's in King Artaxerxes and his queen's presence and he's the cupbearer. And Artaxerxes notices that he's sad.

And now I'd never been sad in the presence of the king. And he realizes this is not because you're sick, your heart's sick, what's up? in the presence of the king. And he realizes this is not because you're sick, your heart's sick. What's up? And I love how Nehemiah unfolds. This is incredible. He was afraid. I mean, it's incredible. He says he was afraid. Why should my face not be sad, king? When the city, the place of my father's sepulchers lies in waste. King said to me, for what do you make a request? And here is Nehemiah. You guys, this is what we,

this is the pattern for every one of us. We have a big ask. We have some task. We have, the king says, what do you want? And Nehemiah says, so I prayed to the God of heaven. He doesn't just say, here's what I want. He prays, God, please help me. You know, one of the things I love about many of our students is as they begin their prayers, they acknowledge the fact that I don't know how to pray. And they say, come Holy Spirit, teach me how to pray. I mean, before almost every prayer. And I love it because it's just this acknowledgement of, I'm going to talk to you, Lord. And I realize I can't talk with you without your spirit.

I can't even talk. I can't even talk to you, God, without you, God. And so it's so good. Ah, come Holy Spirit, teach me how to pray. It's like Nehemiah here. The king says, what do you want? And he, then I turned to the Lord and I prayed, come Holy Spirit, teach me how to speak to the king. And I said, if it pleases the king, I love this. And if your servant has found favor in your sight, he reminds the king that he's been doing a good job. He doesn't just say, oh, here's what I want, lays it out. He says, well, if I've done a good job so far, and if I found favor in your sight, then he

asks for this favor, send me to Judah that I may rebuild it. And how long will you be gone? And he, this is amazing about Nehemiah. Nehemiah knows exactly what he wants. This is out of the blue. I mean, this is a request of the king Artaxerxes because he notices that Nehemiah is sad. But Nehemiah has already thought this through. He knows exactly what he needs. So he says, I'll be gone this long. I'll come back. I mean, doesn't give him specifics right here.

But he does say, I need some letters. I need a letter from Asaph. I need a letter to the people in the province beyond the river. Also, I'm going to need permission to have some wood because we're going to rebuild some things. And this is, it's amazing. It's incredible. Nehemiah gets to Judah, gets to Jerusalem under armed guard.

Remember Ezra had to pray, Lord, guide me with no guards. Nehemiah, he took the guards and he gets to Judah. And immediately, immediately in verse 10 of chapter two, it says, But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the children of Israel. And one of the lessons I've always heard is whenever you try to do a work for God, there's always going to be someone who is your opposition. Your opposition could be people who are naysayers, just like, you can't do that.

No one ever could do that. Your opposition could be people who don naysayers, just like, you can't do that. No one ever could do that. Or your opposition could be people who don't like that you're doing this. People could be, your opposition could be people who don't like you doing this thing. Whatever it is, there's always going to be opposition. It goes on to say, Nehemiah expected the walls in the middle of the night. And that's one of the things that I remember how many older priests have told me the same kind of thing. They're like, you got to walk the grounds.

Like, you got to walk around the church to see what's going on. Because you can't just say, well, I trust the fact that the walls are still up. I trust the fact that nothing's leaking. They all say, you have to inspect it. And this is what Nehemiah is doing. He gets out there and he is walking around the walls and he doesn't tell anybody about it. He says he went under the cover of night because he's doing this thing that he has not yet announced to the people in Jerusalem. Hey, by the way, P.S., you're going to be rebuilding these walls. He wants to inspect the project before he announces the project. And that is just, it's wise. It's so wise. You have to have feet on the ground, boots on the ground,

and eyes really looking at this thing in order to know what's the project. And then he makes the decision to restore the walls. People say, you're rebelling against the king. And I love this. These are the last words of Nehemiah in chapter two. They claim that he's rebelling against the king, even though it was the king who gave him the letters and told him to go and rebuild the walls. He doesn't say that. He doesn't say, well, no, the king gave me some letters. He says, he doesn't say that. He doesn't say, well, no, the king gave me some letters. He says, the God of heaven will make us prosper and we, his servants will arise and build. That's just so good. He doesn't have to defend himself. Doesn't explain himself. He's like,

listen, God's got this. God's got me. And because you're opposing this, you will have no part in this. I just, the book of Nehemiah is one of those things people say is a masterclass when it comes to leadership, is a masterclass when it comes to the ability to just listen to God's word and act on it very clearly and cleanly and decisively, even in the midst of opposition, even in the midst of, you know, Nehemiah is going to experience some internal opposition as well, because that's one of the things that we all experience, not only external pressures and external oppositions, but even inside there is, there's a battle and that sometimes we get discouraged and you're going to see, we're going to see Nehemiah facing all of those battles in days to come. But today we got the call of Nehemiah and his prayer and this recognition that this

is someone who's going to do something incredible. And that incredible thing is just simply build some walls. But he's doing it because God asked, as God asked. And for every one of us, that's the key, to do what God asks, as God asks, and because he asks. Let's pray for each other, because that's the secret of life, to do what God wants, because he wants, as he wants.

So I need prayers, and you need prayers. So I'm praying for you, and you're praying for me. I hope you are praying for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.