The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 72: The Plains of Moab (2024)

Episode Date: March 12, 2024

Fr. Mike describes the sinful events of Israel in Moab, and why God chooses to bless the Israelites through Balaam in spite of their sin. Today's readings are Numbers 24-25, Deuteronomy 26, and Psalm 107. 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 72, and we are reading today from Numbers chapter 24 and 25, from Deuteronomy chapter 26, and from Psalm 107. As always,

I'm reading from the revised, I can't even remember, remember as always, the revised standard version, second Catholic edition. I'm using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension. If you want to be able to download your own Bible in a Year reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a Year. You can also subscribe in your podcast app to receive daily episodes. Once again, today is 72. Today is day 72. My goodness. Numbers 24 and 25 and Deuteronomy 26. We're praying Psalm 107. Not sure if I mentioned that earlier. Psalm 107. Not sure if I mentioned that earlier. Boy, oh boy.

Here we go. Numbers chapter 24 and 25. Numbers 24, Balaam's third oracle. When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as other times to look for omens, but set his face toward the wilderness. And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel encamping tribe by tribe. And the spirit of God came upon him and he took up his discourse and said, the oracle of

Balaam, the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened, the oracle of him who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the almighty falling down, but having his eyes uncovered. How fair are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel! Like valleys that stretch afar, like gardens beside a river, like aloes that the Lord has planted, like cedar trees beside the waters. Water shall flow from his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters. His king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. God brings him out of Egypt. He has, as it were, the horns of the wild ox. He shall eat up the nations, his adversaries,

and shall break their bones in pieces and pierce them through with his arrows. He lurked. He lay down like a lion, and like a lioness, who will rouse him up? Blessed be everyone who blesses you, and cursed be everyone who curses you. Balaam's fourth oracle. And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together, and Balak said to Balaam, I called you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them these three times. Therefore, now flee to your place. I said, I will certainly honor you, but the Lord has held you back from honor.

And Balaam said to Balak, did I not tell your messengers whom you sent to me? If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I would not be able to go beyond the word of the Lord to do either good or bad of my own will. What the Lord speaks, that will I speak. And now behold, I am going to my people. Come, I will let you know what this people will do to your people in the latter days. And he took up his discourse and said, The oracle of Balaam, the son of Baor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened, the oracle of him who hears the words of God and knows the knowledge of the Most High,

who sees the vision of the Almighty falling down but having his eyes uncovered. I see him, but not now. I behold him, but not near. A star shall come forth out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel. It shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth. Edom shall be dispossessed. Seir also his enemies

shall be dispossessed, while Israel does valiantly. By Jacob shall dominion be exercised, and the survivors of cities be destroyed. Then he looked on Amalek and took up his discourse and said, Amalek was the first of the nations, but in the end he shall come to destruction. And he looked on the Kenite and took up his discourse and said, Enduring is your dwelling place, and your nest is set in the rock. Nevertheless, Cain shall be wasted. How long shall Asher take you away captive? And he took up his discourse and said, Alas, who shall live when God does this? But ships shall come from Kittim

and shall afflict Asher and Eber, and he also shall come to destruction. Then Balaam rose and went back to his place, and Balak also went his way. Chapter 25, Worship of Baal of Peor. While Israel dwelt in Shittim, the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab. These invited the people to the sacrifice of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. And the Lord said to Moses, Take all the chiefs of the people and hang

them in the sun before the Lord, that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel. And Moses said to the judges of Israel, Every one of you slay his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor. And behold, one of the sons of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, while they were weeping at the door of the tent of meeting. When Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand and went after the man of Israel into the inner room and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman, through her body. Thus the plague was stayed from the sons of Israel. Nevertheless,

those that died by the plague were 24,000. And the Lord said to Moses, Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, the priest, has turned back my wrath from the sons of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the sons of Israel in my jealousy. Therefore say, Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace, and it shall be to him and to his descendants after him the covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the sons of Israel. The name of the slain man of Israel, who was slain with the Midianite woman,

was Zimri, the son of Salu, head of a father's house belonging to the Simeonites. And the name of the Midianite woman, who was slain, was Cosbi, the son of Zur, who was the head of the people of a father's house in Midian. And the Lord said to Moses, Harass the Midianites and strike them, for they have harassed you with their wiles, with which they beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cosby, the daughter of the prince of Midian, their sister, who was slain on the day of the plague on account of Peor. The Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 26, First Fruits and Tithes.

Moses continued, When you come into the land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance, and have taken possession of it, and live in it, you shall take some of place which the Lord your God will choose to make his name to dwell there. And you shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, I declare this day to the Lord your God, that I have come into the land which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us. Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God. And you shall make response before the Lord your God. A wandering Aramean was my father, and he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number. And there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. And the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us and laid upon us hard bondage.

Then we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers. And the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror, with signs and wonders. And he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, O Lord, have given me. And you shall set it down before the Lord your God and worship before the Lord your God. And you shall set it down before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God. And you shall rejoice in all the good which the Lord your God has given to you and to your house, you and the Levite and the sojourner who is among you.

When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, which is the year of tithing, giving it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within your towns and be filled. Then you shall say before the Lord your God, I have removed the sacred portion out of my house, and moreover I have given it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all your commandment which you have commanded me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, neither have I forgotten them. I have not eatengressed any of your commandments, neither have I forgotten them. I have not eaten of the tithe while I was mourning, or removed any of it while I was

unclean, or offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God. I have done according to all that you have commanded me. Look down from your holy habitation from heaven, and bless your people Israel, and the ground which you have given us as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey. Concluding Exhortation This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul. You have declared this day concerning the Lord that he is your God and you will walk in his ways and keep his statutes and his commandments and his

ordinances and will obey his voice. And the Lord has declared this day concerning you that you are a people for his own possession as he has promised you and that you are to keep all his commandments that he will set you high above all nations that he has made, in praise and in fame and in honor, and that you shall be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he has spoken. Psalm 107, Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Many Troubles. O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.

Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in, hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in. Let them thank the Lord for his merciful love, for his wonderful works to the sons of men, for he satisfies him who is thirsty, and the hungry he fills with good things. Some sat in darkness and in gloom, prisoners in affliction and in irons, for they had rebelled against the words of God and spurned the counsel of the Most High. Their hearts were

bowed down with hard labor, they fell down with none to help. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and gloom and broke their bonds asunder. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to the sons of men. For he shatters the doors of bronze. He cuts in two the bars of iron. Some were sick through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction.

They loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He sent forth his word and healed them, and delivered them from destruction. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to the sons of men. And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,

and tell of his deeds in songs of joy. Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters. They saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep. For he commanded, and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. They mounted up to heaven. They went down to the depths. Their courage melted away in their evil plight. They reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits end. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble and he delivered them from their distress.

He made the storm be still and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad, because they had quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven. Let them thank the Lord for his merciful love. Praise wonderful works to the sons of men. Let them extol him in the congregation of the people and praise him in the assembly of the elders. He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground, a fruitful land into a salty waste because of the wickedness of its inhabitants. He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water. And there he lets the hungry dwell, and they establish

a city to live in. They sow fields and plant vineyards and get a fruitful yield. By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their cattle decrease. When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, trouble, and sorrow, he pours contempt upon princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes. But he raises up the needy out of affliction and makes their families like flocks. The upright see it and are glad, and all wickedness stops its mouth. Whoever is wise, let him give heed to these things. Let men consider the steadfast love of the Lord. Father in heaven, thank you so much for your word.

Thank you for your blessing. Thank you, God, that we know that we have enemies in this world. We have enemies in the natural world. We have enemies in the spiritual world, in the supernatural world. And yet you are on our side. You fight for us, and while others may desire to curse us, Lord Jesus Christ, in your name you bless us. In your own name, by your own power, by your own goodness,

by your own love for us, you utter a blessing over every one of us. And I ask you to please, Lord God, once again, this day when we're listening to these words, send your word of blessing into our lives, into our hearts, into the people that we love, people that we care about, the people that we have tried to help, but it seems like nothing helps. Lord God, speak your word of blessing over all of them and over all of us. We make this prayer in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. So one of the things we're going to go back to is we're going back to the book of Numbers chapter 24 and 25. So remember that Balak, he had, king of Moab, he had asked that Balaam, son of Baor, that he would curse the people of Israel. And Balaam decided to do this because he was offered the right price. And yet he was not able to curse. He said, I'm only going to say what God says. And so what he did is three, four times, four times, not three times. Well, it was three, but three plus one, four times Balaam says words of blessing over the people of Israel. And this is remarkable,

not only because here is God who is telling this soothsayer, you know, telling this individual, Balaam, what to say. And the words that God speaks are blessings. But as this is happening, chapter 25 is happening. This is remarkable. Chapter 25 is the people of Israel are living on the plains of Moab, right? Because they're about to enter into the promised land. It's coming up in a few chapters. We're getting to the end of Numbers. We're getting to the end of Deuteronomy. And the next step after that is Joshua leading the people across

the Jordan River into the promised land. But right now they're in the plains of Moab. And what is happening? It says the people of Israel, they had to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab. And they invite, these invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So here is this generation. Here are these people about to go into the promised land. And while the Lord God is prohibiting Balaam from cursing the people of Israel, and he's forcing Balaam to bless the people of Israel, the people of Israel are being false to the Lord, their God. They are, as it says, playing the harlot. They are hooking up essentially with the daughters of Moab. So that

means that these men of Israel were not only intermarrying if they did that, but they were also adopting the worship practices, the religious practices of the people of Israel. They were turning away from the Lord God. They were being unfaithful. Meanwhile, God on the hill with Balaam is forcing Balaam to bless the people that are being unfaithful. This is the goodness, the goodness of God, but this is also the darkness of our hearts because the story that's told in chapter 25, you might not have gotten all the details. It talks about this. One of the sons of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman. His name is Zimri. Her name is Cosby. Brought her to the tent of meeting. Now,

the thing that the Bible even seems to back away from explicitly saying is that this gentleman, this guy, Zimri, and this Midianite woman, Cosby, were not just around the temple of meeting hanging out, that they were engaging in sexual relations in the very tent of meeting. So here's Phineas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, right? So Aaron, high priest, his son, Eleazar, has a son, Phineas. And Phineas sees this desecration, this massive sacrilege happening in the holiest space, holiest place, God's presence, that this guy, Zimri, and this gal, Cosby, are engaging in this particular act in the presence of the Lord in violation, obviously, on a bunch of levels. And so he puts a spear through both of them as they're there on the ground in the tabernacle of the Lord.

And then God declares, yeah, that was the right thing to do. So Eliezer is, sorry, I meant to say Phineas is praised in other parts of the scripture in the book of Psalms. It describes how Phineas rose up because here the people of Israel had not only turned away to worship of other gods, although that is deadly enough, but in such a way that violated in so many,

so many horrible ways, the holiness of God in this chapter 25, the book of Numbers. And then just one last note when it comes to Deuteronomy chapter 26, that we heard about the tithes and the first fruits. So good. Not only are the people of Israel commanded to give the tithe, right? That first 10%, the first fruits of their flocks, the first fruits of their field, the first fruits of the year, essentially, of the yield to the Lord. But they're also called to give

that tithe on the third year. For what? Not just for the Lord, but also for the sojourner or the stranger, right? The fatherless, the orphan, and the widow. Those who don't have anyone to care for them, here is God who says, no, you're going to care for them. And this is something really remarkable. And this is something that marks the Jewish people and it marks our Judeo-Christian heritage, which is we don't necessarily look to others. You don't necessarily look to a political system or to a government to take care of the poor among us.

In fact, the commandment is this. It's no, you take care of the poor among us. In fact, the commandment is this. It's, no, you take care of the poor. Imagine, what if all of us actually did what the commandment of the Lord was? What if all of us actually gave 10% of our yield, not only for the worship of God, but for the service of those who could not care for themselves, those who are strangers among us, the fatherless, the widow, the orphan. Imagine how different our parishes would be, how transformed our world would be if just on a regular basis, we gave our first fruits of worship to God and first fruits of tithe to take care of those who could not take care of them. We wouldn't look to other people to take care of it. We would look to ourselves. We look to our community. We look to our parish. And I think I really like how the government takes care of the roads. I love it. But I also think that if we're going to be followers of God's word, then maybe this is

an invitation and a word of conviction of saying, okay, to what degree am I being called to give my first fruits in worship, but also my first fruits to the care of the people around me, the stranger, the widow, the orphan. This is something that only the Lord can convict in our hearts. And so I just invite us all to pray. And we could say, God, if you need to convict me because I'm not doing this, you have my permission. And if God, if I am doing this and you just want to console me in that sense of like,

keep it up and you're doing well, then you have my permission to console me. Whether to console or convict the Lord God, you have my permission. Whatever I need, I will receive from your hand. Let's keep praying for each other because again, the word of God convicts us and the word of God moves us to belong more and more to him. I'm praying for you. Please keep praying for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you all tomorrow. God bless.