The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 286: The Battle to Choose God (2023)

Episode Date: October 13, 2023

Fr. Mike walks us through the current battles of Judas Maccabeus and the Israelite people, emphasizing that while war is violent, freedom to belong to God and worship him is worth fighting for. He also discusses the importance of spending time with virtuous people to acquire their positive qualities and the need to seek good rather than evil to attain the riches of heaven. Today’s readings are from 1 Maccabees 5, Sirach 13-15, and Proverbs 22:13-16. 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 286. If you have the Bible in a Year reading plan printed out, you are on the second to last page. You're on the top of the page. It's amazing. It's incredible. We have one

and three quarters, maybe, pages left to go for the remainder of our time, which is not like we're trying to get it over with, but what? I just, 286 days. Well done. It's amazing. Today, we're reading 1 Maccabees chapter 5, Sirach chapter 13, 14, and 15, Proverbs 22, verses 13 through 16. 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 into your reading plan, and you could also, I have a blue magic marker, and I write through every day after we've read it,

after we've listened to it. It's a way that I track my progress. It's no big deal. You can visit ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a year. You can print that off and yeah, just maybe do the last two pages. Either way, you can also subscribe to this podcast by clicking on subscribe and receiving daily episodes and updates. It's day 286.

We're reading 1 Maccabees chapter 5, Sirach 13, 14, and 15 and Proverbs chapter 22 verses 13 through 16. The first book of Maccabees chapter 5, Sirach 13, 14, and 15, and Proverbs chapter 22, verses 13 through 16. The first book of Maccabees, chapter 5, Wars with Neighboring Peoples. When the Gentiles round about heard that the altar had been built and the sanctuary dedicated as it was before, they became very angry, and they determined to destroy the descendants of Jacob who lived among them. So they began to kill and destroy among the people. But Judas made war on the sons of Esau in Idumea at Akrabatene, because they kept lying in wait for Israel.

He dealt them a heavy blow and humbled them and despoiled them. He also remembered the wickedness of the sons of Baan, who were a trap and a snare to the people and ambushed them on the highways. They were shut up by him in their towers, and he encamped against them, vowed their complete destruction, and burned with fire their towers and all who were in them. Then he crossed over to attack the Ammonites, where he found a strong band and many people with Timothy as their leader. He engaged in many battles with them, and they were crushed before him. He struck them down. He also took Jazar and its villages. Then he returned to Judea.

Liberation of Galilean Jews Now the Gentiles in Gilead gathered together against the Israelites who lived in their territory and planned to destroy them. But they fled to the stronghold of Dathomah and sent to Judas and his brothers a letter which said, The Gentiles around us have gathered together against us to destroy us. They are preparing to come and capture the stronghold to which we have fled, and Timothy is leading their forces. Now then, come and rescue us from their hands, for many of us have fallen, and all our brethren who are in the land of Tob have been killed. The enemy have captured their wives and children and goods, and have destroyed about a thousand

men here. While the letter was still being read, behold, other messengers with their garments torn came from Galilee and made a similar report. They said that against them had gathered together men of Ptolemaeus and Tyre and Sidon and all Galilee of the Gentiles to annihilate us. When Judas and the people heard these messages, a great assembly was called to determine

what they should do for their brethren who were in distress and were being attacked by enemies. Then Judas said to Simon his brother, Choose your men and go and rescue your brethren in Galilee. I and Jonathan my brother will go to Gilead. But he left Joseph, the son of Zechariah, and Azariah, a leader of the people with the rest of the forces in Judea to guard it. And he gave them this command, Take charge of this people, but do not engage in battle with the Gentiles until we return. Then 3,000 men were assigned to Simon to go to Galilee, and 8,000 to Judas for Gilead. So Simon went to Galilee and fought many battles against the Gentiles, and the Gentiles were

crushed before him. He pursued them to the gates of Ptolemaeus, and as many as three thousand of the Gentiles fell and he despoiled them. Then he took the Jews of Galilee and Arbata with their wives and children and all they possessed, and led them to Judea with great rejoicing. Judas and Jonathan in Gilead Judas Maccabeus and Jonathan his brother crossed the Jordan and went three days' journey into the wilderness. They encountered the Nabateans, who met them peaceably and told them all that had happened to their brethren in Gilead.

Many of them had been shut up in Bozrah and Bosar, in Alemah, in Shasfo, Maked and Karnaim. All these cities were strong and large, and some have been shut up in the other cities of Gilead. The enemy are getting ready to attack the strongholds tomorrow and take and destroy all these men in one day. Then Judas and his army quickly turned back by the wilderness road to Bozrah, and he took the city and killed every male by the edge of the sword. Then he seized all its spoils and burned it with fire. He departed from there at night, and they went all the way to the stronghold of Dathomah. At dawn they looked up, and behold, a large company that could not be counted carrying

ladders and engines of war to capture the stronghold and attacking the Jews within. So Judas saw that the battle had begun, and that the cry of the city went up to heaven with trumpets and loud shouts. And he said to the men of his forces, fight today for your brethren. Then he came up behind them in three companies who sounded their trumpets and cried aloud in prayer. And when the army of Timothy realized that it was Maccabeus,

they fled before him and he dealt them a heavy blow. As many as 8,000 of them fell that day. Next, he turned aside to Alema and fought against it a heavy blow. As many as eight thousand of them fell that day. Next he turned aside to Alema, and fought against it and took it, and he killed every male in it, plundered it, and burned it with fire. From there he marched on and took Chaspho, Maked, and Bosar, and the other cities of Gilead. After these things Timothy gathered another army and encamped opposite Raphon on the other side of the stream. Judas sent men to spy out the camp, and they reported to him, All the Gentiles around us have gathered to him. It is a very large force.

They also have hired Arabs to help them, and they are encamped across the stream, ready to come and fight against you. And Judas went to meet them. ready to come and fight against you. And Judas went to meet them. Now, as Judas and his army drew near to the stream of water, Timothy said to the officers of his forces, if he crosses over to us first, we will not be able to resist him for he will surely defeat us. But if he shows fear and camps on the other side of the river, we will cross over to him and defeat him. When Judas approached the stream of water, he stationed the scribes of the river, we will cross over to him and defeat him. When Judas approached the stream of water, he stationed the scribes of the people at the stream and gave them this command, permit no man to encamp, but make them all enter the battle. Then he crossed over against them first and the

whole army followed him. All the Gentiles were defeated before him and they threw away their arms and fled into the sacred precincts of Carnaim. But he took the city and burned the sacred precincts with fire, together with all who were in them. Thus Carnaim was conquered. They could stand before Judas no longer. The Return to Jerusalem Then Judas gathered together all the Israelites in Gilead, the small and the great, with their wives and children and goods,

a very large company, to go to the land of Judah. So they came to Ephron. This was a large and very strong city on the road, and they could not go round it to the right or to the left. They had to go through it. But the men of the city shut them out and blocked up the gates with stones. And Judas sent them this friendly message, Let us pass through your land to get to our land. No one will do you harm. We will simply pass by on foot. But they refused to open to him. Then Judas ordered proclamation to be made to the army

that each should encamp where he was. So the men of the forces encamped and he fought against the city all that day and all the night and the city was delivered into his hands. He destroyed every male by the edge of the sword and raised and plundered the city. Then he passed through the city over the slain. And they crossed the Jordan into the large plain before Beth-shan. And Judas kept rallying the laggards and encouraging the people all the way till he came to the land of Judah.

So they went up to Mount Zion with gladness and joy and offered burnt offerings because not one of them had fallen before they returned in safety. Now, while Judas and Jonathan were in Gilead and Simon, his brother, was in Galilee before Ptolemaeus, Joseph, the son of Zechariah, and Azariah, the commanders of the forces, heard of their brave deeds and of the heroic war they had fought. So they said, let us also make a name for ourselves. Let us go and make war on the Gentiles around us. And they issued orders to the men of the forces that were with them, and they marched against Jamnia.

And Gorgias and his men came out of the city to meet them in battle. Then Joseph and Azariah were routed and were pursued to the borders of Judea as many as 2,000 of the people of Israel fell that day. Thus the people suffered a great rout because, thinking to do a brave deed, they did not listen to Judas and his brothers. But they did not belong to the family of those men through whom deliverance was given to Israel. The man Judas and his brothers were greatly honored in all Israel

and among all the Gentiles, wherever their name was heard. Men gathered to them and praised them. Success at Hebron and Philistia. Then Judas and his brothers went forth and fought the sons of Esau in the land to the south. He struck Hebron and its villages and tore down its strongholds and burned its towers round about. Then he marched off to go into the land of the Philistines and passed through Merisa. On that day, some priests, who wished to do a brave deed, fell in battle, for they went out to battle unwisely. But Judas turned aside to Azotus in the land of the Philistines. He tore down their altars and the graven images of their gods he burned with fire.

He plundered the cities and returned to the land of Judah. He plundered the cities and returned to the land of Judah. The Book of Sirach, Chapter 13. Responsible Use of Riches Whoever touches pitch will be defiled, and whoever associates with a proud man will become like him. Do not lift a weight beyond your strength, nor associate with a man mightier and richer than you. Do not lift a weight beyond your strength, nor associate with a man mightier and richer than you. How can the clay pot associate with the iron kettle? The pot will strike against it and will itself be broken. A rich man does wrong, and he even adds reproaches.

A poor man suffers wrong, and he must add apologies. A rich man will exploit you if you can be of use to him, but if you are in need, he will forsake you. If you own something, he will live with you. He will drain your resources and he will not care. When he needs you, he will deceive you. He will smile at you and give you hope. He will speak kindly and say, what do you need?

He will shame you with his foods until he has drained you two or three times, and finally he will deride you. Should he see you afterwards, he will forsake you and shake his head at you. Take care not to be led astray, and not to be humiliated in your feasting. When a powerful man invites you, be reserved, and he will invite you the more often. Do not push forward, lest you be repulsed, and do not remain at a distance, lest you be forgotten. Do not try to treat him as an equal, nor trust his abundance of words, for he will test you through much talk, and while he smiles, he will be examining you.

Cruel is he who does not keep words to himself. He will not hesitate to injure or to imprison. Keep words to yourself, he will not hesitate to injure or to imprison. Keep words to yourself and be very watchful, for you are walking about with your own downfall. Every creature loves its like and every person his neighbor. All living beings associate by species and a man clings to one like himself.

What fellowship has a wolf with a lamb? No more has a sinner with a godly man. What peace is there between a hyena and a dog? And what peace between a rich man and a poor man? While donkeys in the wilderness are the prey of lions, likewise the poor are pastures for the rich. Humility is an abomination to a proud man. Likewise, a poor man is an abomination to a rich one. When a rich man totters, he is steadied by friends. But when a humble man falls, he is even pushed away by his friends. If a rich man slips, his helpers are many.

He speaks unseemly words and they justify him. If a humble man slips, they even reproach him. He speaks sensibly and receives no attention. When the rich man speaks, all are silent, and they extol to the clouds what he says. When the poor man speaks, they say, Who is this fellow? And should he stumble, they even push him down. Riches are good if they are free from sin, and poverty is evil in the opinion of the ungodly. A man's heart changes his countenance, either for good or for evil. The mark of a happy heart is a cheerful face, but to devise proverbs requires painful thinking.

Chapter 14. Blessed is the man who does not blunder with his lips and need not suffer grief for sin. Blessed is he whose heart does not condemn him and who has not given up his hope. Riches are not seemly for a stingy man and of what use is property to an envious man. Whoever accumulates by depriving himself accumulates for others, and others will live in luxury on his goods. If a man is mean to himself, to whom will he be generous? He will not enjoy his own riches. No one is meaner than the man who is grudging to himself, and this is the retribution for his baseness.

Even if he does good, he does it unintentionally, and betrays his baseness in the end. Evil is the man with a grudging eye. He averts his face and disregards people. A greedy man's eye is not satisfied with a portion, and mean injustice withers the soul. A stingy man's eye begrudges bread, and it is lacking at his table. My son, treat yourself well according to your means, and present worthy offerings to the Lord. Treat yourself well according to your means and present worthy offerings to the Lord.

Remember that death will not delay and the decree of Hades has not been shown to you. Do good to a friend before you die and reach out and give to him as much as you can. Do not deprive yourself of a happy day. Let not your share of desired good pass by you. Will you not leave the fruit of your labors to another, and what you acquired by toil to be divided by lot? Give and take and beguile yourself, because in Hades one cannot look for luxury. All living beings become old like a garment, for the decree from of old is, you must surely die. Like flourishing leaves on a spreading tree, which sheds some and puts forth others, so are the generations of flesh and blood. One dies and another is born. Every product

decays and ceases to exist, and the man who made it will pass away with it. Blessed is the man who meditates on wisdom and who reasons intelligently. He who reflects in his mind on her ways will also Meditation He will pitch his tent near her and will lodge in an excellent lodging place. He will place his children under her shelter and will camp under her bows. He will be sheltered by her from the heat and will dwell in the midst of her glory. Chapter 15 Freedom of Choice and Its Consequences The man who fears the Lord will do this, and he who holds to the law will obtain wisdom. She will come to meet him like a mother, and like the wife of his youth, she will welcome him. She will feed him with the bread of understanding and give him the water of wisdom to drink. He will lean on her and will not fall, and he will rely on her and will not be put to shame.

She will exalt him above his neighbors and will open his mouth in the midst of the assembly. She will fill him with a spirit of wisdom and understanding and clothe him with a robe of glory. He will find gladness and a crown of rejoicing and will acquire an everlasting name. Foolish men will not obtain her and sinful men will not see her. She is far from men of pride and liars will never think of her.

A hymn of praise is not fitting on the lips of a sinner, for it has not been sent from the Lord. For a hymn of praise should be uttered in wisdom, and the Lord will prosper it. Do not say, Because of the Lord I left the right way, for he will not do what he hates. Do not say, It was he who led me astray, for he has no need of a sinful man. The Lord hates all abominations, and they are not loved by those who fear him. It was he who created man in the beginning and left him in the power of his own inclination. If you will, you can keep the commandments. They will save you.

If you trust in God, you too shall live. He has placed before you fire and water. Stretch out your hand for whichever you wish. Before a man are life and death, good and evil, and whichever he chooses will be given to him. For great is the wisdom of the Lord. He is mighty in power and sees everything. The eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, and he knows the deeds of every man. He has not commanded anyone to be ungodly,

and he has not given anyone permission to sin. to sin. The book of Proverbs chapter 22 verses 13 through 16. The sluggard says, there is a lion outside. I shall be slain in the streets. The mouth of a loose woman is a deep pit. He with whom the Lord is angry will fall into it. Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him. He who oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth or gives to the rich will only come to want. Father in heaven, we give you praise. Thank you so much for this day.

Thank you for your word. Thank you for your wisdom. Help us to see life through your eyes, to see you through the way you've revealed yourself to us, and help us to see ourselves clearly so that we can know who you are and know who we are and know what your will is every day of our lives. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. In the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. So Judas Maccabeus continues to dominate as we realize. Now, one of the things here is what is he doing? What's, what's actually happening here? What's actually happening here is remember Alexander the great he's conquered and then

he's divided up all of his land and Antiochus Epiphanes, right? Is the one who is, he is, he's a bad dude. And so here's Judas Maccabeus. And while Antiochus Epiphanes is away, Judas Maccabeus is freeing the people of Israel. It is really violent. Once again, like I mentioned yesterday, there's an element where we kind of forget that it's easy for us in some ways to say, yeah, the Lord was on the side of the Israelites as they marched into the promised land. It's harder for us to have a closer to modern day battle and say, oh, the Lord was on the side of the Israelites as they marched into the promised land. It's harder for us to have a closer to modern day battle and say, oh, the Lord was on the side of the people as they fought against the Greeks. Same thing with this. It's sometimes maybe easier to think of the Jews coming into the promised land and clearing out the Canaanites and the Jebusites and the Moabites

and the Ammonites, Hivites, with violence and harder in more recent times to be able to say, oh gosh, here is these battles. And yet, remember, we're living in this fallen world. We're living in this broken world. And the Greeks had come in and they had completely destroyed Jewish people. They were out to kill them all. In fact, as it even says in this chapter, in chapter five, that the Gentiles were fighting against the Jews to slaughter all of them. And so here is Judas Maccabeus, and he is fighting in some ways you

could, in some ways, maybe you could maintain that it's a defensive war. At the same time, it's a war for their independence. It's a war for freedom. And I think those of us who live in the United States, we would understand that there's such a thing as a war for independence. There's such a thing as a war for freedom, even though war is never, ever good, right? No war is, is it's awful. War is horrible. And yet here, freedom is good and freedom is, it's worth fighting for not only for oneself, for one's family, but also for the ability to worship here. And that's exactly what their point is. The point is to be able to live as a free people once again, so that they can not only be free themselves, but they also can belong to the Lord God. And so that's what we get here in 1 Maccabees chapter 5. Guys, Maccabees, it's a brutal

book. In fact, it's one of the reasons, this is one of the reasons why I think there was talk about Mel Gibson writing a screenplay, maybe he already has written a screenplay, to doing a movie about the battles of Judas Maccabeus, because you have things like Braveheart, which are very violent, The Patriot, which are very violent. And here's this incredible story in the Bible, violent, but also important, so important for us. Now, also important for us, I think, is if we go back to the book of Sirach, we have the responsible use of riches in chapter 13, which is just, gosh, just again, talking about there is such a thing as the gift, right? There's how to act in presence of others too. I think this is interesting. The very first

verse in chapter 13, whoever touches pitch will be defiled. Pitch is like it's tarts, that sticky stuff. Whoever touches pitch, it'll be stuck on you. And whoever associates with a proud man will become like him. I think that's just, isn't that just that good? The recognition that people are sticky and you want to be with virtuous people because you want to get some of that stuck on you. I don't necessarily want to be with someone who's evil because that will get stuck on me. So being the humble person, that'll get stuck on me. But the proud person, that'll get stuck on me. And I think that's kind of an interesting thing. In chapter 14, gosh, how many times do I have to say this in Book of Sirach? We're also going to find this in the Book of Wisdom later on. But every line is just worth treasuring and pondering in our hearts. But

recognize in chapter 14, there's verse 11. And I think this is, it starts a little section here that I think is surprising. Verse 11 says, my son, treat yourself well. And I think that's like, wait, wait, a lot of this has been like, hey, be really careful with your stuff and maybe deny yourself some things. But verse 11 of chapter 14,

my son, treat yourself well according to your means. And that's a really good piece of wisdom too. Not only to treat yourself well, but according to your means, like don't spend more than you have and present worthy offerings to the Lord. So it's my son, treat yourself well according to your means and present worthy offerings to the Lord. And this is so good. Remember that death will not delay. And the decree of Hades has not been shown to you. Death is not going to wait for anyone, whether you're wealthy or poor, whether you've taken care of yourself or haven't taken care of yourself. Death is not going to delay. I love this. Do good

to a friend before you die. Reach out to him and give to him as much as you can. Do not deprive yourself of a happy day. Let not your share of desired good pass by you. Golly. I mean, honestly, do not deprive yourself of a happy day. How often through worry, through anxiety, through preoccupation, through just all of the things that can choke out the life of God in us, do we deprive ourselves of a happy day? It doesn't mean necessarily that we've deprived ourselves of spending money on ourselves or just relaxing, relaxing in the sense of not going to work or not taking care of our responsibilities, but do not deprive yourself of a happy day. How many of our days, actually, if we allowed them would be happy days if we just let them

be what they are meant to be. And that's actually a choice we get to make. And that's the last thing I want to say here in chapter 15. The subtitle of chapter 15 is freedom of choice and its consequences. And starting in verse 11, we realize that this author says, do not say because of the Lord, I left the right way or that God has led me astray. That's verse 12. The Lord hates abominations. So basically, it's in James as well, the letter of James. James says, do not say that the Lord's tempting me

because God doesn't tempt us to any evil at all. In verse 14, it was he, God himself, who created man in the beginning and he left him in the power of his own inclination. Verse 15, if you will, you can keep the commandments. They will save you. If you trust in God, you too shall live. This is going back all the way to Genesis. Remember when Cain was having a rough day and he was jealous of his brother Abel and he wanted, you know, he wanted vengeance upon Abel for nothing Abel had ever really done. He was just jealous of him. And God says, he says, listen, sin is a demon lurking at your door.

Sin is a dragon monster lurking at your door, but you can overcome him. And this is what Sirach says as well. If you will, you can keep the commandments. They will save you. If you trust God, you too shall live. And here's, he has placed before you fire and water. Stretch out your hand for whichever you wish. And you'll get that before a man or life and death, good and evil for whichever he chooses will be given to him. And this is the reality for every single one of us. God has made us for heaven and he gives us the choice. Stretch out your hand for heaven or stretch out your hand for hell. You'll be given whatever you've chosen. God has made it possible for us to enter into heaven by his life, death, and resurrection in Jesus Christ.

God has opened the gates of heaven. He's made it accessible to us. But he also life, death, and resurrection in Jesus Christ. God has opened the gates of heaven. He's made it accessible to us. But he also says, okay, stretch forth your hand to whichever you want. And whatever you choose will absolutely ultimately be given. And so I don't know you guys, I want heaven. I want to choose Jesus. I want to choose God. And yet I know myself. And I know that all of us battle to choose God on a regular basis with every moment, every fiber of our beings, and so we pray for each other. I'm praying for you.

Please pray for me that we all choose heaven. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless. you