The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 30: Nile Turned to Blood (2024)

Episode Date: January 30, 2024

Fr. Mike explains how God is doing something new in this period, and shows us how much God desires to pour out his mercy on us. Today we read Exodus 6-7, Leviticus 5, and Psalm 47. 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 will 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 30, and that means today we're continuing our journey through Exodus and Leviticus and the book of Psalms. We'll be reading from Exodus chapter 6 and chapter 7, Leviticus chapter 5 and Psalm 47. If you want

to be able to follow along, not just with your ears, but with your eyes, you want to be reading along, we are reading from the Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition. I'm using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension, as well as I have this Bible in a Year. We have this Bible in a Year reading plan where you can know what's coming up, know where to be at, know where to be at in your Bible when we start talking. You can get that for free at ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a Year. Again, the Bible in a Year reading plan at ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a Year. You can also subscribe to this podcast in whatever app you're using to listen to this

podcast by just clicking subscribe. Once again, we are reading from Exodus chapter 6, chapter 7, Leviticus chapter 5, and Psalm 47. Exodus chapter 6 and chapter 7. But the Lord said to Moses, Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will send them out. Yes, with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land. And God said to Moses,

I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty. But by my name, the Lord, I did not make myself known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they dwelt as sojourners. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, whom the Egyptians hold in bondage, and I have remembered my covenant. Say therefore to the sons of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I

will deliver you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment, and I will take you for my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord. Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses because of their broken spirit and their cruel bondage.

And the Lord said to Moses, Go in, tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to let the sons of Israel go out of his land. But Moses said to the Lord, Behold, the sons of Israel have not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, who am a man of uncircumcised lips? But the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge to the sons of Israel and to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, charge to the sons of Israel and to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt. These are the heads of the father's houses, the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, Hanak, Palu, Hezron, and Carmi. These are the families of Reuben. The sons of Simeon, Jameel, Jamin, Ohad, Jahin, Zohar, and Shaul,

the sons of a Canaanite woman. These are the families of Simeon. These are the names of the sons of Levi, according to their generations. Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. The years of the life of Levi being 137 years. The sons of Gershon, Libni, and Shimei by their families, the sons of Kohath, Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uziel, the years of the life of Kohath being 133 years, the sons of Merari, Mali, and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their generations.

Amram took to wife Jokabed, his father's sister, and she bore him Aaron and Moses, the years of the life of Amram being 137 years. The sons of Ishar, Korah, Nefeg, and Nihri, and the sons of Uziel, Mishael, Elzpahan, and Sithri. Aaron took to wife Elisheba, the daughter of Aminadab, and the sister of Nashon. And she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. The sons of Korah, Asir, Alkanah, and Abiasaf. These are the families of the Korahites. Eleazar, Aaron's son, took to wife one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the father's

houses of the Levites by their families. These are the Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, Bring out the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt by their hosts. It was they who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing out the sons of Israel from Egypt, this Moses and this Aaron. On the day when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, the Lord said to Moses, I am the Lord. Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you. But Moses said to the Lord, Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me? And the Lord said to Moses, See, I make you as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet. You shall speak all that I command you, and Aaron your brother shall tell Pharaoh to let the sons of Israel go out of his land.

But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the sons of Israel go out of his land, but I will harden Pharaoh's heart. And though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand upon Egypt and bring forth my hosts, my people, the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I stretch forth my hand upon Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from among them. So Moses and Aaron did so. They did as the Lord commanded them. Now Moses was 80 years old, and Aaron 83 years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, When Pharaoh says to you, Prove yourselves by working a miracle, then you shall say to Aaron,

Take your rod and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent. So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did as the Lord commanded. Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same by their secret arts. For every man cast down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. Still, Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said. Then the Lord said to Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hardened. He refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he is going out to the water. Wait for him by the river's

brink, and take in your hand the rod which was turned into a serpent. And you shall say to him, The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness. And behold, you have not obeyed. Thus says the Lord, By this you shall know that I am the Lord. Behold, I will strike the water that is in the Nile with the rod that is in my hand, and it shall turn to blood. And the fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile shall become foul, and the Egyptians will loathe to drink water from the Nile. And the Lord said to Moses, Say to Aaron, Take your rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, their canals, and their ponds, and all their pools of water, that they may become blood. And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, over their rivers, their canals, and their ponds, and all their pools of water, that they may become blood. And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt,

both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone. Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded in the sight of Pharaoh. In the sight of his servants, he lifted up the rod and struck the water that was in the Nile. And all the water that was in the Nile turned to blood. And the fish in the Nile, and all the water that was in the Nile turned to blood. And the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile became foul, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. And there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts. So Pharaoh's heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said. Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not lay even this to heart. And all the Egyptians dug round about the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the Nile. Leviticus chapter 5. If anyone sins in that he hears a public

adjuration to testify, and though he is a witness, whether he has seen or come to know the matter, yet does not speak, he shall bear his iniquity. Or if anyone touches an unclean thing, whether the carcass of an unclean beast, or the carcass of an unclean cattle, or a carcass of unclean swarming things, and it is hidden from him, and he has become unclean, he shall be guilty. Or if he touches human uncleanness, of whatever sort the uncleanness may be with which he becomes unclean, and it is hidden from him, when he comes to know it, he shall be guilty. Or if anyone utters with his lips a rash oath to do evil or to do good, any sort of rash oath that men swear, and it is hidden from him, when he comes

to know it, he shall in any of these be guilty. When a man is guilty of any of these, he shall confess the sin he has committed, and he shall bring his guilt offering to the Lord for the sin which he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat, for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin. But if he cannot afford a lamb, then he shall bring as his guilt offering to the Lord for the sin which he has committed two turtle doves or two young pigeons, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. He shall bring them to the priest who shall offer first the one for the sin offering. He shall wring its head from its neck, but shall not sever it. And he shall sprinkle some of the

blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, while the rest of the blood shall be drained out at the base of the altar. It is a sin offering. And he shall offer the second for a burnt offering according to the ordinance and the priest shall make atonement for him and for the sin which he has committed and he shall be forgiven. But if he cannot afford two turtle doves or two young pigeons, then he shall bring, as his offering for this in which he has committed, a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering. He shall put no oil upon it, and shall put no frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering. And he shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take a handful of it as a memorial portion, and burn this on on the altar upon the offerings by fire to the Lord. It is a sin offering. Thus the priest shall make

atonement for him for the sin which he has committed in any one of these things, and he shall be forgiven. And the remainder shall be for the priest, as in the serial offering. The Lord said to Moses, If anyone commits a breach of faith and sins unwittingly in any of the holy things of the Lord, he shall bring as his guilt offering to the Lord, a ram without blemish out of the flock, valued by you in shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, it is a guilt offering. He shall also make restitution for what he has done amiss in the holy thing, and shall add a fifth to it, and give it to the priest, and the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering, and he shall be forgiven. If anyone sins doing any of the things which the

Lord has commanded not to be done, though he does not know it, yet he is guilty and shall bear its iniquity. He shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish out of the flock, valued by you at the price for a guilt offering. And the priest shall make atonement for him for the error which he committed unwittingly, and he shall be forgiven. It is a guilt offering. He is guilty before the Lord. Psalm 47, God's rule over the nations. To the choir master, a psalm of the sons of Korah. Clap your hands, all you peoples.

Shout to God with loud songs of joy, for the Lord, the Most High, is awesome, a great king over all the earth. He subdued peoples under us and nations under our feet. He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob, whom he loves. God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises, sing praises to our king, sing praises. For God is king of all the earth. Sing praises with a psalm. God reigns over the nations. God sits on his holy throne. The princes of the peoples gather as the people of God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God. He is highly exalted.

God, you are exalted and you're exalted above all ages. You are exalted about all names and you have revealed your name to us. So we cry out your name. We cry out the name of the son of God, Jesus Christ. You are our Lord and you are the God of the universe. You are the king over all and you reign on your holy throne. We ask that you please, you are the God who reigns. We ask that you also reign in our hearts. You're the king of creation. We also ask that you are the king of our lives. Lord God, we give you permission this day. Not that you need our permission, but you are so humble that you choose to allow us to refuse your love or to receive your love. Lord God, this day, help us to receive your love. Help us to let ourselves be loved by you.

Help us to give you permission to redeem us once again, to save us once again, to give us your grace once again, and to love us once again. Lord God, every day is new with you. Your love is new every morning. Please give us your love today as we receive it from you with you. Your love is new every morning. Please give us your love today as we receive it from you with gratitude. Make this prayer in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. In the name

of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Man, it seems like every time we come back to the scripture, every time we get jumped back into the story, there's another thing that God reveals. I mean, he continually reveals to us, but one of the things he reveals in the first chapter we read today is from Exodus is how he has to remind Moses who he is, that he's basically making it absolutely clear. So Moses cannot forget, like, I am the Lord, your God, the God almighty. I'm the God of your father, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. And he says, even he's saying, like we said yesterday, I revealed myself to them, but my name, the Lord, remember that, that sacred name of God, Y H W H Yahweh. I did not make myself known to

them. He's saying, he's, he's saying to Moses, listen, you heard all of these stories of your ancestors, but listen, I'm doing something even more new, even newer with you. So therefore go to the people of Israel, go to them and tell them like God is doing something new. And this is the gosh, the case in our lives as well, that there are so many things, so much of himself that God has revealed to us. And yet we read scripture and we're here right now. One of the things that he reveals to us again is like, okay, those are the things I've done in the past. Remember them because it's so easy to forget. That's one of the things, one of the themes we're going to have for the course of this entire year. Remember the deeds of God. Remember his heart because we're so tempted to have this short-term memory where

we don't remember what God has done in light of what we're going through right now. We forget the past because of the present or because of our anxiety over the future. And so God here is reminding Moses, yes, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, but also I'm with you and I will be your God. And I'm revealing myself to you in a new way. And that's what God is doing for us too. Remembering the past. That's why we're going through this scripture, not just to learn stuff, but to be reminded of things that are so easy to forget, like God's character, like his heart, but also

so that he can reveal himself to us now so that we can know him even more deeply and know and be able to follow him even more closely. It's just so good. I just am so grateful to the Lord. One of the things he reveals to us, not only in Exodus, but also in Leviticus today, is that here is the sin offering. When a person commits a sin,

and there's this, it's so great. I don't know if you noticed, there were different categories, right? If you are the leader of the people, if you are the people, if you are a common person, then different sacrifices are being offered. Why?

Because if you're a leader of the people, if you are a common person, then different sacrifices are being offered. Why? Because if you're a leader of the people, if you are a priest of the people and you sin, there's this recognition that, okay, that's also scandalous. And so we have a heavy responsibility. And isn't that something that we all know when it comes to the leaders of the church and people that we look to in the faith that when, when they fail, uh, it not only hurts them, it not only hurts the people in their lives, it hurts the whole church. It hurts. Um, we all suffer. And so that recognition that here is the Lord saying, yeah, there's a seriousness there, or when a community sins, like there's a seriousness there. And then even when the common person, essentially the lay person sins, there's a seriousness there.

But one of the things that was so powerful as we're reading through Leviticus today is the reality that God is so gracious, even in his mercy. Like even when sacrifice, the guilt offering is being, the sin offering is being presented. God is so gracious. He's so merciful in that it says if you can't afford, you can't afford a goat, you can't afford a bull, then you can offer two pigeons or two turtle doves. But even if you can't afford that, you can bring an offering of fine flour. It's this element of God saying, what I want for you is I want to be able to give you my

mercy. If there's any prohibition, if there's anything getting in your way, any prohibitive, right? Any kind of obstacle to you receiving my mercy, I'm willing to go down in price. Like basically what you are able to offer me, you need to offer that. But if you can't offer something, then offer what you can, even to the point of like, here's some flower, Lord. And that is just, again, it's not about being technical. It's not about just being like, what's the word unnecessarily subtle or necessarily nuanced. It is about the fact that this is a sign of God's great graciousness, a sign of his great love. What do you have to offer? Offer that. If you don't have the big thing to offer, then offer the small thing that you do have.

And this is what we give to the Lord every single day because so many of us have so little. So many of us have, gosh, not great hearts. So the Lord says, well, just give me the heart you have. So many of us have not great, incredible deeds. And so the Lord God says, well, just give me the small deed that you have. Not a lot of us have incredible opportunities to do big, big things for God.

So he says, okay, then do small things. I'll take it. Why? Because I am your God and you're my child. You're my son. You're my daughter. And I'm your dad. And so just whatever you have to offer, offer it and I'll receive it because that's how

good he is. We keep praying for each other as we keep going through the Bible. Please lift each other up in your prayer today because we don't know the battles we're all facing. And so just keep on interceding on behalf of each other. Pray for me too. Gosh, I need the Lord's mercy and his grace

every single day and I'm praying for you. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to continue this journey with you and I cannot wait to see this journey with you, and I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.