The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 28: The Burning Bush (2024)

Episode Date: January 28, 2024

Fr. Mike reads about the powerful moment God reveals himself to Moses in the burning bush and promises to set the Israelites free from slavery. Today's' readings are Exodus 3, Leviticus 2-3; and Psalm 45. 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. This is day 28. Let's keep on going. We're going to be reading today from Exodus chapter three, just one chapter in Exodus, but also Leviticus

chapter two and three, as well as Psalm 45. If you want to get a copy of your own Bible in a year podcast reading plan, you can go to ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a year, go to ascensionpress.com Bible in a year. You can get that free download of your Bible in a year. Go to ascensionpress.com Bible in a year. You can get that free download of your Bible in a year reading plan. Also, I invite you to subscribe to this podcast. That way, every single day, whenever we drop a new episode, you have it accessible to you, and it's just right there. We're reading from, as always, the Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, and I'm using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension, which is so helpful. We are now in a new period. We started yesterday with Exodus chapter one and chapter two, this time of seeing what

happens when the Lord begins to set his people free and leads them out of slavery in Egypt. Again, spoiler alert. Sorry about that. But today we're continuing our story by following this man, Moses, who has fled to the area of Midian by reading Exodus chapter three. Exodus chapter three. Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. And he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in the flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. And he looked and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.

And Moses said, I will turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, Moses, Moses. And he said, here am said, And he said, And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Then the Lord said, I have seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, Then the Lord said, Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to me, and I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppressed

them. Come, I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring forth my people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt. But Moses said to God, Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt? He said, But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you that I have sent you. When you have brought forth the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God upon this mountain. Then Moses said to God, If I come to the sons of Israel and say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask of me, What is his name? What shall I say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you. And they ask of me, what is his name? What shall I say to them? God said to Moses, I am who I am. And he said, say this to the sons of Israel. I am has sent me to you. God also said to Moses, say this to the sons of Israel, the Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of

Jacob has sent me to you. This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, the Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob has appeared to me saying, I have observed you. And what has been done to you in Egypt. And I promise that I will bring you up out of affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey. And they will listen to your voice. And you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us, and now we beg you,

let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand, so I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders which I will do in it. After that, he will let you go. And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. And when you go, you shall not go empty, but each woman shall ask of her neighbor

and of her who sojourns in her house, jewelry of silver and of gold and clothing. And you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. Thus you shall despoil the Egyptians. Leviticus chapter 2 and chapter 3. When anyone brings a cereal offering as an offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour. He shall pour oil upon it and put frankincense on it,

and bring it to Aaron's sons, the priests. And he shall take it from a handful of the fine flour and oil with all of its frankincense. And the priest shall burn this as its memorial portion upon the altar, an offering by fire, a pleasing odor to the Lord. And what is left of the cereal offering shall be for Aaron and his sons. It is most holy part of the offerings by fire to the Lord. When you bring a cereal offering baked in the oven as an offering, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil or unleavened wafers spread with oil. And if your

offering is a cereal offering baked on a griddle, it shall be of fine flour unleavened mixed with oil. You shall break it in pieces and pour oil on it. It is a cereal offering. And if your offering is a cereal offering cooked in a pan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil. And you shall bring the cereal offering that is made of these things to the Lord. And when it is presented to the priest, he shall bring it to the altar. And the priest shall take from the cereal offering its memorial portion and burn this on the altar, an offering by fire, a pleasing odor to the Lord. And what is left of the cereal offering shall be for Aaron and his sons. It is a most holy part of the offerings by fire to the Lord.

No cereal offering which you bring to the Lord shall be made with leaven, for you shall burn no leaven nor any honey as an offering by fire to the Lord. with leaven, for you shall burn no leaven nor any honey as an offering by fire to the Lord. As an offering of firstfruits, you may bring them to the Lord, but they shall not be offered on the altar for a pleasing order. You shall season all your cereal offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be lacking from your cereal offering. With all your offerings, you shall offer salt. If you offer a cereal offering of firstfruits to the Lord, you shall offer for the cereal offering of your firstfruits crushed new grain from fresh ears, parched with fire. And you shall put oil upon it and lay frankincense on it. It is a cereal offering. And the priest shall burn as its

memorial portion part of the crushed grain and of the oil with all of its frankincense. It is an offering by fire to the Lord. Peace Offerings If a man's offering is a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offers an animal from the herd, male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering and kill it at the door of the tent of meeting. And Aaron's sons, He shall offer it without blemish before the Lord. that is on the entrails, and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the appendage of the liver, which he shall take away with the kidneys. Then Aaron's sons shall burn it on the altar upon the burnt offering, which is upon the wood on the fire. It is an offering by fire, a pleasing odor to the Lord. If his offering for a sacrifice of peace

offering to the Lord is an animal from the flock, male or female, he shall offer it without blemish. If he offers a lamb for his offering, then he shall offer it before the Lord, laying his hand upon the head of his offering and killing it before the tent of meeting. And Aaron's sons shall throw its blood against the altar round about. Then from the sacrifice of the peace offering as an offering by fire to the Lord, he shall offer its fat, the fat tail and tire, taking it away close by the backbone, and the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat that is on the entrails, and the two kidneys, with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the appendage of the liver, which he shall take away with the kidneys, and the priest shall burn it on the altar as food offered by fire to the

Lord. If his offering is a goat, then he shall offer it before the Lord, and lay his hand upon its head, and kill it before the tent of meeting, and the sons of Aaron shall throw its blood against the altar round about. Then he shall offer from it as his offering for an offering by fire to the Lord, the fat covering the entrails, and all the fat that is on the entrails, and the two kidneys, with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the appendage of the liver which he shall take away with the kidneys, and the priest shall burn them on the altar as food offered by fire for a pleasing order. All fat is the Lord's. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, in all your dwelling places, that you eat neither fat nor blood.

Psalm 45 Ode for a royal wedding To the choirmaster, according to the lilies, a mascal of the sons of Korah, a love song. My heart overflows with a goodly theme. I address my verses to the king. My tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe. You are the fairest of the sons of men. Grace is poured upon your lips. Therefore, God has blessed you forever. Gird your sword upon your thigh, O mighty one, in your glory and majesty. In your majesty, ride forth victoriously

for the cause of truth and to defend the right. Let your right hand teach you dread deeds. Your arrows are sharp. In the heart of the king's enemies, the peoples fall under you. Your divine throne endures forever and ever. Your royal scepter is a scepter of equity. You love righteousness and hate wickedness. Therefore, God, your God, has anointed you

with the oil of gladness above your fellows. Your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and kesha. From ivory palaces, stringed instruments make you glad. Daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor. At your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir. Hear, O daughter, consider, and incline your ear. Forget your people and your father's house, and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him. The people of Tyre will court your favor with gifts, the richest of the people with all kinds of wealth. The daughter of the king is decked in her chamber with gold woven robes. In many colored robes, she is led to the king

with her virgin companions, her escort in her train. With joy and gladness, they are led along as they enter the palace of the king. Instead of your fathers shall be your sons. You will make them princes in all the earth. I will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations. Therefore, the peoples will praise you forever and ever. Father in heaven, we thank you. Once again, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the gift of yourself. And we thank you for being with us with your grace. We know that we can trust you

in all things. We know that we can rely upon you at every moment of our lives. And so this moment and with this, these things in our lives, we trust you. We declare you are good. We declare that you are faithful. We receive your love and we rest in your peace. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen. Man, oh man, we are continuing our journey through Exodus and Leviticus, and it is, I don't know,

hopefully you are getting a sense of like, okay, this is something big. Maybe these are the first times you've ever read or ever heard the words of Exodus, where God actually calls Moses. Like, a lot of us are familiar with the Prince of Egypt, right. Like a lot of us are familiar with the Prince of Egypt, right? Or a lot of us are familiar with the movie,

the 10 commandments, but not a lot of us. Sometimes we've never necessarily read all of the words or heard all of the words when God appears to Moses. And I know sometimes some of you, you might've noticed, wait a second, since I've never read all these words,

like Exodus chapter two, and now Exodus chapter three today, I noticed that yesterday Moses was said to have gotten married to Zipporah, who was the daughter of a guy named Reul. But today it says Jethro was the name of Moses' father-in-law. You're like, what the, what's going on here? Well, there are a number of scholars who refer to them as the same person because he will be referred to it kind of like Jacob in Israel, you know, their same person, two different names. And so same thing with in the New Testament, we have Peter and Simon. And even after Jesus changes Simon's name to Peter, he gets referred to at times as

Simon. So it's not completely unusual for people, characters in the Bible to have more than one name. But if you've never read Exodus chapter two and chapter three before, you might have been like, wait a second here. What's going on? That's what's going on is that they are the same person and they're just referred to by two different names.

There's some other theories too, like maybe Raul is the head of the entire household, but Jethro is the actual, actual father of Zipporah. But, uh, but Jethro is the actual, actual father of Zipporah. But nonetheless, the most important thing from our story today is not only that God says, listen, I have heard, I have watched, I have observed. I care about the sufferings of my people. I've heard their cries. And this is one of the things for us. It's so good.

It's so necessary for us to know that this is true, to know that when we cry out to the Lord and it doesn't seem like there's any answer. so good and so necessary for us to know that this is true, to know that when we cry out to the Lord and it doesn't seem like there's any answer. Remember, this has been hundreds and hundreds of years of the people of Israel being blessed by the Lord in the sense that they're having more children and they're becoming stronger and stronger, but also being in terrible circumstances where they're being worked with rigor, where they're being treated as slaves and being forced to live as slaves. Yet the entire time, God has heard their cry. The entire time, God has loved every one of them.

The entire time he's blessed them in many ways, even if one of his blessings, this is important, even if one of his blessings hadn't yet been their freedom from slavery. This is so important for all of us. We can be in the midst of like horrible situations and be crying out to God, like deliver me from this situation. Please answer this particular prayer. And there can be times, many times, in fact, when God doesn't release us from that particular situation, when he doesn't free us from that particular thing that's in our lives, but that doesn't mean that he's not blessing us in dozens upon hundreds of other ways. And one of the important things for all of us to do is to recognize that just because God has not answered

this prayer doesn't mean he's not answering any prayers. Just because he hasn't blessed me in this particular way doesn't mean that he is not blessing me in a bunch of other ways. It's one of the things the people of Israel kept in mind, even as they were in the midst of slavery, that God was continually with them, that he was continually helping them in strengthening them and blessing them, even though they were in incredibly awful circumstances. But when God said to Moses, well, here's what's going to happen. I want you to come out back to this place, come to this, uh, to come back to this mountain and on this mountain, you's going to happen. I want you to come out back to this place, come to this, to come back to this mountain. And on this mountain, you're going to do something specific

on this mountain. You will worship me. This is key. This is absolutely critical. And what we're going to, it's going to be the refrain. We're going to go hit on for the rest of the, basically the rest of the book of Exodus, at least the narrative part of this book, where God is saying, I'm setting you free, not just because you're made for freedom. I'm setting you free, not just because slavery is bad and it demeans you. I'm setting you free, not just even to bring you back to the promised land. I'm setting you free so you can worship. And this is so critical. The Lord God, he's setting his people free for their own sake, but he's also setting them free so that they can become a people who is free to worship him as he's asking them to worship him.

And it is just such a gift. That's one of the reasons why, as we're looking back into Leviticus now, chapter two and chapter three, we have these, the peace offering, we have the serial offering. We have these different ways that God had asked his people to worship him. And that's why we pay attention to, to Leviticus, because this was the way that God had asked in ancient times, his people to worship him. And so we pay attention to that, knowing that God has asked us in this final age, in this age of the church, this age of the Holy spirit, this age of Christianity, that he's asked us to worship him in the mass and why it's absolutely critical that we do what he's asked us to do because he's

made us to worship him this way. He's created us to worship him in this way, and he's given us everything that we need to give him the worship that he deserves and the worship that he has asked for. It's such a gift. What a gift, not only to be able to hear these words, to speak these words to y'all, but also to pray with you. I invite you, continue to pray for each other. We have not yet gotten to the place where God delivers his people from slavery in Egypt. And the story that's coming up relatively quickly,

but we have to go through a number of experiences first. They're going through those tomorrow and the days to come. But in the meantime, we continue to pray for each other. My invitation, please pray for each other. Please pray for me. I am praying for you. This journey is a long one and it is not one that I think we can make on our own. So we need each other.

We pray for each other. We help each other. And God willing, I cannot wait to see you again tomorrow. God bless.