The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 280: The People of the Covenant (2023)

Episode Date: October 7, 2023

Fr. Mike concludes the book of Esther and the book of Nehemiah by reflecting on the journey and resilience of the Jewish people thus far in the story of salvation.Fr. Mike explains how, in our lives, we don’t always know how God is going to show up, but we know that he will be faithful. Today’s readings are Nehemiah 12, Esther 9-11, and Proverbs 21:21-24. 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 280. We are only two days, including today, two days away from the end of the return and the beginning of the Maccabean revolt. Really fascinating. I think it's fascinating

reading today, Nehemiah chapter 12, as well as the conclusion of Esther, Esther 9 through 11. We're also reading Proverbs chapter 21 verses 21 through 24. As always, the Bible translation that 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. You can also subscribe to this podcast by clicking on subscribe and receiving daily episodes and daily updates every single day. It is day 280. We're reading Nehemiah chapter 12, Esther 9 through 11, as well as Proverbs chapter 21 verses 21 through 24. as well as Proverbs chapter 21, verses 21 through 24.

The book of Nehemiah, chapter 12. Lists of priests and Levites. These are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel, the son of Shaltiel and Jeshua. Saraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, Amariah, Meluk, Hattush, Shekaniah, Rechum, Miramath, Edo, Gennathoi, Abijah, Mishamin, Ma'adaiah, These were the chiefs of the priests and of their brethren in the days of Jeshua. And the Levites, Jeshua, Benui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who with his brethren was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving. And Bakbokiah and Uno,

their brethren, stood opposite them in the service. And Jeshua was the father of Joachim, Joachim the father of Eliashib, Eliashib the father of Joida, Joida the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan the father of Jaduah. And in the days of Joachim were priests, heads of fathers' houses, of Saraiah, Moriah, of Jeremiah, Hananiah, of Ezra, Meshulam, of Amariah, Jeholhanan, of Maluchai, Jonathan, of Shepaniah, Joseph, of Harim, Adnah, of Marioth, Helki, of Edo, Zechariah, of Ginnathon, Meshulam, of Abijah, Zichri, of Miniamin, of Modiah, Piltai, of Bilga, Shemua, of Shemaiah, Jehonathan, of Joyarib, Matanai, of Jedaiah, Uzi, of Salai, Kal Kalai, of Amok Eber, of Hilkiah Hashabiah, of Judiah Nethanel. As for the Levites, in the days of Eliashib, Joida, Johanan, and Jaduah, there were recorded

the heads of fathers' houses, also the priests until the reign of Darius the Persian. The sons of Levi, heads of fathers' houses, were written in the book of the Chronicles until the days of Johanan, the son of Eliashib. And the chiefs of the Levites, Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua, the son of Kadmiel, with their brethren over against them, to praise and to give thanks, according to the commandment of David the man of God. Watch corresponding to watch. Mataniah, Bakqbukayah, Obadiah, Mishulam, Talmon, and Akub were gatekeepers standing guard at the storehouses of the gates. These were in the days of Joachim, the son of Jeshua, son of Josedach, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor, and of Ezra the priest, the scribe. Dedication of the wall of Jerusalem. And at the dedication of the Wall of Jerusalem And at the dedication of the Wall of Jerusalem,

they sought the Levites in all their places to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgivings, and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres. And the sons of the singers gathered together from the circuit round Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netaphathites,

also from Beth Gilgal and from the region of Geba and Asmaveth. For the singers had built for themselves villages around Jerusalem. And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and they purified the people, and the gates, and the wall. Then I brought up the princes of Judah upon the wall, and appointed two great companies, which gave thanks and went in procession. One went to the right upon the wall to the dung gate, and after them went Hoshiah, and half of the princes of Judah, and Azariah, Ezra, Meshulam, Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah, and certain of the priests' sons with trumpets,

Zechariah the son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mataniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zechur, son of Asaph, and his kinsmen Shemaiah, Azarel, Mililai, Gililai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went before them. At the fountain gate they went up straight before them by the stairs of the city of David at the ascent of the wall above the house of David to the water gate on the east. The other company of those who gave thanks went to the left, and I followed them with half of the people upon the wall above the tower of the ovens to the broad wall, and above the gate of Ephraim, and by the old gate, and by the fish gate, and the tower of Hananel, and the tower of the hundred, to the sheep gate, and they came to a halt at the Gate of the Guard.

So both companies of those who gave thanks stood in the house of God, and I and half of the officials with me, and the priests Eliakim, Maasaiah, Meniamin, Micaiah, Eli-o-enai, Zechariah, and Hananiah with trumpets, and Maasaiah, Shemaiah, Eliezer, Uzi,, Jehohanan, Melchizedek, Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang with Jezrehiah as their leader. And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy. The women and children also rejoiced, and the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off. Appointments to Temple Responsibilities

On that day men were appointed over the chambers for the stores, the contributions, the first fruits, and the tithes, to gather into them the portions required by the law for the priests and for the Levites according to the fields of the towns. For Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who ministered. And they performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did the singers and the gatekeepers, according to the command of David and his son Solomon. For in the days of David and Asaph of old, there was a chief of the singers, and there were songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. And all Israel, in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah,

gave the daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers. And they set apart that which was for the Levites, and the Levites set apart that which was for the sons of Aaron. The Book of Esther, Chapter 9. The Destruction of the Enemies of the Jews. Now, in the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king's command and edict were about to be executed, on the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to get mastery over them, but which had been changed to a day when the Jews should get mastery over their foes, the Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on such as sought their hurt. And no one could make a stand against them, for the fear of them had

fallen upon all peoples. All the princes of the provinces and the satraps and the governors and the royal officials also helped the Jews, for the fear of Mordecai had fallen upon them. For Mordecai was great in the king's house, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces. For the man Mordecai grew more and more powerful. So the Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, slaughtering and destroying them, and did as they pleased to those who hated them. In Susa the capital itself, the Jews slew and destroyed 500 men, and also slew Parshendatha, and Delphon, and Azpatha, and Poratha, and Adelia, and Aridatha, and Parmashta, and Arasai,

and Aradai, and Vizatha, the ten sons of Haman, the son of Hamadatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they laid no hand on the plunder. That very day the number of those slain in Susa the capital was reported to the king, and the king said to Queen Esther, In Susa the capital the Jews have slain five hundred men, and also the ten sons of Haman. What then have they done in the rest of the king's provinces? Now, what is your petition? It shall be granted you.

And what further is your request? It shall be fulfilled. And Esther said, If it pleased the king, let the Jews who are in Susa be allowed tomorrow also to do according to this day's edict, and let the ten sons of Haman be hanged on the gallows. So the king commanded this to be done. A decree was issued in Susa, and the ten sons of Haman were hanged. The Jews who were in Susa gathered also on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they slew three hundred men in Susa, but they laid no hands on the plunder. The Feast of Purim inaugurated. Now the other Jews who were in the king's provinces also gathered to defend their lives and got relief from their enemies and slew 75,000 of those who hated them.

But they laid no hands on the plunder. This was on the 13th day of the month of Adar. And on the 14th day, they rested and made that a day of feasting and gladness. But the Jews who were in Susa gathered on the 13th day and on the 14th and rested on the 15th day, making that a day of feasting and gladness. Therefore, the Jews of the villages who live in the open towns hold the 14th day of the month of Adar as a day for gladness and feasting and holiday making, and a day on which they send choice portions to one another.

And Mordecai recorded all these things and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, enjoining them that they should keep the 14th day of the month Adar and also the 15th day of the same year by year, as the days on which the Jews got relief from their enemies

and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday, that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending choice portions to one another and gifts to the poor. So the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written to them. For Haman the Agagite, the son of Hamadatha, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, to crush and destroy them. But when Esther came before the king, he gave orders in writing that his wicked plot, which he had devised against the Jews,

should come upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. Therefore they called these days Purim, after the term Pur. And therefore, because of all that was written in this letter, and of what they had faced in this matter, and of what had befallen them, the Jews ordained and took it upon themselves and their descendants and all who joined them, that without fail they would keep these two days according to what was written and at the time appointed every year, that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, in every family, province, and city, and that these days of Purim should never fall into disuse among the Jews, nor should the commemoration of these days cease among their descendants. Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihel, and Mordecai the Jew,

gave full written authority confirming this second letter about Purim. Letters were sent to all the Jews to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus in words of peace and truth, that these days of Purim should be observed at their appointed seasons as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther enjoined upon the Jews, and as they had laid down for themselves and for their descendants, with regard to their fasts and their lamenting. The command of Queen Esther fixed these practices of Purim, and it was recorded in writing. Chapter 10. Mordecai's Dream Fulfilled King Ahasuerus laid tribute on the land and on the coastlands of the sea, and all the acts of

his power and might, and the full account of the high honor of Mordecai to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of Chronicles of the kings of Medea and Persia? For Mordecai the Jew was next in rank to king Ahasuerus, and he was great among the Jews and popular with the multitude of his brethren. For he sought the welfare of his people and spoke peace to all his people. Chapter 10. And Mordecai said, These things have come from God. For I remember the dream that I had concerning these matters, and none of them has failed to be fulfilled. The tiny spring which became a river, and there was light and the sun and abundant water. The river is Esther, whom the king married and made queen. The two dragons are Haman and myself. The nations are those that gathered to

destroy the name of the Jews. In my nation, this is Israel, who cried out to God and were saved. The Lord has saved his people. The Lord has delivered us from all these evils. God has done great signs and wonders which have not occurred among the nations. For this purpose, he made two lots, one for the people of God and one for all the nations. And these two lots came to the hour and moment

and day of decision before God and among all the nations. And these two lots came to the hour and moment and day of decision before God and among all the nations. And God remembered his people and vindicated his inheritance. So they will observe these days in the month of Adar on the 14th and 15th of that month with an assembly and joy and gladness before God from generation to generation forever among his people Israel. Chapter 11. Postscript. In the fourth year of the reign of Ptolemy and Cleopatra, Dossotheus, who said that he was a priest and a Levite, and Ptolemy his son, brought to Egypt the preceding letter of Purim, which they said was genuine, and had been translated by Lysimachus, the son of Ptolemy, one of the residents of Jerusalem. Lysimachus, the son of Ptolemy, one of the residents of Jerusalem.

The book of Proverbs, chapter 21, verses 21 through 24. He who pursues righteousness and kindness will find life and honor. A wise man scales the city of the mighty and brings down the stronghold in which they trust. He who keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble. Scoffer is the name of the proud haughty man who acts with arrogant pride. Father in heaven, we give you praise. We thank you so much for your word. Thank you so much for the history, the stories of your presence and your action among the people that you've chosen,

the people that you love, the people you've covenanted yourself with. We ask you to please send your Holy Spirit upon us in our lives so that we can know that you have chosen us, that you fight for us and that you've covenanted yourself to us and us to you.

Help us always live as your children because you always will be our father in time and in eternity. We thank you and we praise you in Jesus' name. Amen. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Okay, so a couple things. One, we concluded Esther, obviously, so let's go maybe a little reverse. So the Feast of Purim is a feast that is continued to be celebrated today. There are a lot of customs that are associated with Purim, kind of like, I mean, here's a week analogy. The week analogy is Christmas or even say All Hallows Eve. So Christmas, clearly it's about the birth of Jesus. That is the point. And the reason why we give

gifts is because of the Magi who brought gifts. And so we give gifts. And then it gets kind of distorted a little bit like, oh, yeah, we still give gifts because of the Magi. Sure. But, you know, we can easily forget that. Or even like All Hallows Eve or Halloween, right? That day before All Saints Day can oftentimes in our world or in different cultures can

take on a different form, right? So rather than people commemorating the saints, there is this idea that evil spirits roam around the world during that time. So you put a jack-o'-lantern in your front of your house and it wards off the blah, blah, blah, you know, et cetera. So basically what starts out as something good kind of gets distorted, even though the kernel is still there, right? That seed is still there. So Purim, I mean, has not been as distorted as Halloween or has not been as distorted as Christmas has, but they have a lot of customs.

If you want to take a look at some of the customs of Purim, which is, again, as I said, still celebrated around the world by the Jewish people, you can look at some of those customs. It's really fascinating, I think. Anyways, that's all I'm going to say about that, other than the fact that, gosh, you can imagine the number of Jewish people who would have commemorated, who would look to the book of Esther, especially throughout the course of the last 2,000 years. I mean, this is,

500 years plus or so, give or take, before the time of Jesus. And you'd imagine that there were many Jews who would look to the number of times when nations of the world or kingdoms of the world sought to eliminate Jews from the face of the earth. I guess it's not a stretch to point out the Holocaust during World War II or the Shoah, I guess is probably a better way to say it, since we know the Holocaust is actually a sacrifice to God, a full burnt offering to God. And so when we do use the term Holocaust, there are many Jews who don't like the term Holocaust because of the fact that in the scriptures we've been reading, Holocaust is a good thing, right? Holocaust is a completely burnt offering to God, to the Lord. So Shoah is, you know,

kind of the preferred term in many circles. We have that, we have the Shoah, right? And during World War II, you can imagine how many Jews would look to Queen Esther and look to the story of Esther as, yeah, this is the same story that here we are once again, back at this place where we're hated because we belong to the Lord. We're hated because we belong to the Lord God himself. Of course, in this story, at the end of this story, the Jews are able to, in Esther 9 and following, the Jews are able to take vengeance upon those who had sought to kill them. It's interesting, though, because even in the midst of this, I mean, gosh, how many times have we read stories in the Old Testament here where there's a lot of violence? There's so much violence.

There's so much killing. There's so much death. There's so much destruction. And it can really give us a lot of, give us pause in many ways. In the book of Esther, even in the book of Esther, even while the Jews took vengeance, right, which defending themselves, they killed a lot of people, it reveals that they also showed restraint. Let me say that. It says a couple times that, yep, they slew 300 men in Susa. They slew 500 men the day before.

And then 75,000, I believe, around the surrounding villages. But they took no plunder. Yep, they were willing to kill those who were seeking to kill their lives, to end their lives. But they didn't plunder them. And that reveals something very core. them. And that reveals something very core. And that core thing is, here is the self-defense of the Jews on this, what has now come, the Feast of Purim. But they didn't go beyond merely defending themselves. They didn't go beyond merely taking vengeance or establishing justice, essentially, fighting back. They didn't also plunder those that they killed. And I think that

in a broken story, in a broken world, that shows a ray of hope, right? It shows a ray of justice. It shows a ray of mercy even, because they were given permission to plunder, but they didn't. And I think that's significant. Let's go back to Nehemiah and Esther, both of the stories, because we're coming to Nehemiah. Tomorrow is the end of Nehemiah. We'll also read the prophet Malachi tomorrow, or Malachi. I don't know how many people say that. I'm going to say Malachi, though, because that's what I'm familiar with. But you have this story. I mean, where are we? Remember where we've come from. We journeyed with Abraham. I mean, we started even before Abraham. We started with Adam and Eve, and then we went through Abraham,

and God is promising Abraham, or Abram, right? That he would have a kingdom. He would be the father of so many children, like the stars of the sky, the sand and the seashore. He would have land. And as that grew, you know, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. And then you have Joseph, the son who goes to Egypt. And they all go to Egypt. They're enslaved.

And they get set free by God through Moses and Aaron and all the establishment of the covenant, you know, the tabernacle in the wilderness. And they finally crossed the promised land and there's the conquest of Joshua and there's a book of Judges because they don't have a king. They're doing what was right in their own eyes. Then they have Samuel who anoints King Saul.

And then after Saul is David, this whole story. And then the divided kingdom, you know, Solomon, then the divided kingdom. And then the Assyrians come in and then the Babylonians come in and then the Persians come in and then the Persians come in. And now here they are, they're back in their homeland, right? They're back in the Holy land and not Esther, but you know, in the meantime, here's Nehemiah and Ezra,

Zerubbabel. And day after tomorrow, we're going to have the Greeks come in, in the reign of the Maccabean revolt or the time of the Maccabean revolt. And we realized that God has still made a promise. God has still made a promise that he would make of the descendants of Abraham a great nation. But you can imagine for hundreds of years now, for hundreds of years, the kingdom has been divided. The kingdom has been annihilated. The people of God for 70 years were exiled.

And now they're still under rule of others, not only the Babylonians and the Persians, Persian Median Empire, right? And then also now coming up after tomorrow, the Greeks and then the Romans. And you think, God, how are you going to set them free? How are you going to fulfill these promises that you made to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob? You can imagine the waiting and how the waiting would be so difficult. Because how are you going to do it, God? How in the world are you going to do this? How are you going to make things right? How in the world are you going to bring the kingdom

to this earth? And, you know, we know the end, we know the answer, but it's so good for us in this moment to pause and realize here's how far we've come for the last 280 days, but here's how far the Jewish people have come for hundreds and hundreds, almost by this point, 2,000 years, and waiting and trusting and walking and working and worshiping and doing this all in faith, not knowing how God is going to do it, but knowing that God is going to do it. That's so important for us because in our lives, we don't know how God is going to be with us. We don't know how God is going to redeem us. We don't know how God is going to save us, but we know that he is. We know that he is going to save us. He is

going to redeem us. He is going to fight for us. And we have faith because of our ancestors, our forefathers, because we've been, as Christians, been grafted onto the tree of the people of the covenant, the Jewish people. And so we know that God has been faithful to them and he is faithful and he will be faithful to us as well. In the meantime, we pray for, I mean, he's still faithful right now in the meantime, but we pray for each other. I'm praying for you. Please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I

cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.