The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 87: God Keeps His Promises (2026)

Episode Date: March 28, 2026

Fr. Mike reminds us that God keeps his promises, even if it takes a little longer than we thought. Just like the people of Israel received everything the Lord had promised them, we too will receive everything the Lord has promised us, even in the midst of hardship and temptation. Today's readings are Joshua 19-21, and Psalm 131. 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 87. We have only this day and tomorrow until we're completed the book of Joshua. Moving on to the book of judges, which is just phenomenal.

We're reading today from Joshua 19, 19, 20. and 21, we'll be praying from Psalm 131 today. As always, I am reading from the revised standard version, second Catholic edition. I'm using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension. So if you want to pick one of those up, they're really great, especially as I mentioned yesterday when I'll be reading from Joshua 1920, 2021, there's a lot of talks about places and the divisions of the tribes and their lands, the land that is ascribed by lot to the, or portioned by lot, to the tribes of Israel. And so if you want to be able to have a visual along with that, you can find one of those Great Adventure Bibles and the backs that have maps or even just pull up on your phone or on whatever it is. If you're not driving somewhere, you can look to see what would that map possibly look like.

That could be really helpful today for the reading today. If you want to download your own Bible in a year reading plan, speaking of maps, because that's kind of like a map for how we're walking through the Bible. You can go to ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a year. Lastly, if you've not yet subscribed to this podcast, you can by simply click. that button that says subscribe and then everything's taken care of again it's day 87 we're reading joshua 1920 and 21 and praying psalm 1 31 the book of joshua chapter 19 the territory of simeon the second lot came out for simeon for the tribe of simian according to its families and its inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the tribe of judah and it had for its inheritance bursheba shiba

Lada, Hazar Shual, Balah, Esam, El-Tulad, Beth-Tulad, Beth, Makraboth, Hazar Sousa, Beth Lebaoth, and Shurahan, 13 cities with their villages. Enramon, Ather, and Ashan, four cities with their villages, together with all the villages round about these cities as far as Baalath Biair, Ramah of the Negev. This was the inheritance of the tribe of Simeon, according to its families. The inheritance of the tribe of Simeon formed part of the territory of Judah because the portion of the tribe of Judah was too large for them. The tribe of Simeon obtained an inheritance in the midst of their inheritance. The territory of Zebulin.

The third lot came up for the tribe of Zebulin, according to its families, and the territory of its inheritance reached as far as Sared. Then its boundary goes up westward and on to Marial and touches Debachev. Then the brook, which is east of Joknaam, from Sarid, it goes in the other direction eastward toward the sunrise to the boundary of Chisloth Tabor. Thence it goes to Debarath, then up to Jaffia. From there it passes along, on the east toward the sunrise to Gathar, then to Eth Kassin. And going on to Rimon, it bends towards Nia. Then on the north, the boundary turns about to Hanathan, and it ends at the valley of Ifthaal. and Katah, Nahalal, Shimron, Idala, and Bethlehem, 12 cities with their villages.

This is the inheritance of the tribe of Zebulan, according to its families, these cities with their villages. The territory of Izzakar. The fourth lot came out for Isakar, for the tribe of Isakar, according to its families. Its territory included Jesrael, Cheseloth, Shunam, Hafarahim, Shihon, Anaharath, Rapith, Kishion, Ebez, Rameh, and Ghanim, and Hadda, Beth Pazez. The boundary also touches Tabor, Shahazuma, and Beth Shamesh, and its boundary ends at the Jordan. Sixteen cities with their villages.

This is the inheritance of the tribe of Isakar, according to its families, the cities with their villages. The territory of Asher. The fifth lot came out for the tribe of Asher according to its families. Its territory included Helcath, Halie, Betten, Akshaf, Alamelech, Amad, and Mishal. On the west it touches Carmel and Shiharlibnath. Then it turns eastward. It goes to Beth Degon and touches Zebulan on the valley of Ifthahel, northward to Beth Emek and Ayel. Then it continues in the north to Kabul, Ebron, Rehob, Hamon, Kanah as far as Sidon the Great.

Then the boundary runs to Rama, reaching to the fortified city of Tyre. Then the boundary turns to Hossa, and it ends at the sea. Mahalab, Aksib, Uma, Afeck, and Rehob, 22 cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the tribe of Asher, according to its families, these cities with their villages. The territory of Naftali. The sixth lot came out for the tribe of Naftli,

for the tribe of Naftali, according to its families. and its boundary ran from Halif, from the oak of Zahannin, and Adami Nekeb, and Jabneal, as far as Lakhum, and it ended at the Jordan. Then the boundary turns westward to Asnoth Tabor, and goes from there to Hukukuk,

touching Zebulon at the south, and Asher on the west, and Judah on the east at the Jordan. The fortified cities are Zidim, Zirr, Hamath, Rakhath, Chinareth, Adama, Rama, Hezor, Kadesh, Edriye, and Hezor, Yiron, Migdal El, Horem, Beth Anath, and Beth Shemeth,

19 cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the tribes of Naftali, according to its families, the cities with their villages. The territory of Dan. The Seventh Lot came out for the tribe of Dan according to its families, and the territory of its inheritance included Zora, Eshtaul, Urshamesh, Shah Al-Aubin, Ayjalan, Idthla, Elan, Timna, Akron, Elthaka, Gibbathan, Baalath, Jehud, Benet-Barak, Gathramon, and Mejarkon, and Racon, with the territory over against Joppa. When the territory of the Danites was lost to them, the Danites went up and fought against Leshem,

and after capturing it and putting it to the sword, they took possession of it and settled in it, calling Lesham Dan after the name of Dan their ancestor. This is the inheritance of the tribe of Dan, according to their families, these cities with their villages. The inheritance of Joshua, when they had finished distributing the several territories of the land as inheritances, the sons of Israel gave an inheritance among them to Joshua, the son of none. By command of the Lord, they gave him the city which he asked,

Timnath Serra, in the hill country of Ephraim, and he rebuilt the city and settled in it. These are the inheritances which Eliezer the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the father's houses of the tribes of the sons of Israel distributed by lot at Shiloh before the Lord at the door of the tent of meeting. So they finished dividing the land. Chapter 20 The city of refuge. Then the Lord said to Joshua, say to the sons of Israel, appoint the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses, that the manslayer who kills any person without intent or unwittingly may flee there. they shall be for you a refuge from the avenger of blood he shall flee to one of these cities and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and explain his case to the elders of that city then they shall take him into the city and give him a place and he shall remain with them and if the avenger of blood pursues him they shall not give up the slayer into his hand because he killed his neighbor unwittingly having had no enmity against him in times past and he shall remain in that city until he has stood before the congregation for judgment until the death of him who is high priest priest at that time, then the slayer may go again to his own town and his own home, to the town from which he fled. So they set apart, Kadesh in Galilee, in the hill country of Naftali, and Shechem

in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiryath Arba, that is Hebron, in the hill-country of Judah. And beyond the Jordan, east of Jericho, the appointed Bezor, in their wilderness on the table-land from the tribe of Rubin, and Ramoth in Gilead, from the tribe of Gad, and Golan, in Bashan, from the tribe of Manasseh. These were the cities designated for all the sons of Israel and for the stranger sojourning among them that anyone who killed a person without intent could flee there, so that he might not die by the hand of the Avenger of Blood till he stood before the congregation. Chapter 21 The cities of the Levites. Then the heads of the father's houses of the Levites came to Eliezer the priest and to Joshua the son of Nun and to the heads of the father's houses of the tribes

of the sons of Israel, and they said to them, at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, The Lord commanded through Moses that we be given cities to dwell in, along with their pastor lands for our cattle. So by command of the Lord, the sons of Israel gave to the Levites the following cities and pastor lands out of their inheritance. The lot came out for the families of the Coethites. So those Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest received by lot from the tribe of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin, 13 cities, and the rest of the coethites received by lot from the families of the tribe of Ephraim, from the tribe of Dan, and from the half-tribe of Manasseh, 10 cities. The Gershanites received by lot from the families of the tribe of Isacar, from the tribe of

Akshire, from the tribe of Naftali, and from the half-tribe of Manasa in Bashan, 13 cities. The Mira rites, according to their families, received from the tribe of Rubin, the tribe of Gad and the tribe of Zebulun 12 cities. These cities and their pastor lands, the sons of Israel, gave by lot to the Levites as the Lord had commanded through Moses. Out of the tribe of Judah and the tribe of Simeon, they gave the following cities mentioned by name, which went to the descendants of Aaron, one of the families of the Coethites who belonged to the Levites since the lot fell to them first. They gave them Kiriath Arba, Arba, being the father of Anak, that is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, along with the pastor lands round about it. But the fields of the city and its villages

had been given to Caleb the sons of Jeffuna as his possession. And to the descendants of Aaron, the priest they gave Hebron, the city of refuge for the slayer with its pastor lands, Libna with its pastor lands, Jatir with its pastor lands, Jutah with its pastor lands, Eshtamoa with its pastor lands, Holon with its pastor lands, Debeer with its pastor lands, Ayin with its pastor lands, Juta with its pastor lands. Beth Shamesh, with its pastor lands, nine cities out of these two tribes, then out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibbon with its pastor lands, Gibba, with its pastor lands, Anathoth with its pastor lands, and Almann, with its pastor lands, four cities. The cities of the descendants of Aaron, the priests, were in all 13 cities with their pastor lands,

and to the rest of the coethites, belonging to the coethite families of the Levites, The cities allotted to them were out of the tribe of Ephraim. To them were given Shechem, the city of refuge for the slayer, with its pastor lands in the hill country of Ephraim. Gizir with its pastor lands. Kibzaim with its pastor lands. Bethoron with its pastor lands, four cities. And out of the tribe of Dan, Elthiki, with its pastor lands.

Gibbathon with its pastor lands. Iselon with its pastor lands. Gothraman with its pastor lands, four cities. and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Tanak with its pastor lands, and Gathramon, with its pastor-lands, two cities. The cities of the families of the rest of the Coethites were ten in all with their pasture-lands. And to the Gershanites, one of the families of the Levites were given out of the half-tribe of Manassah, with its pastor-lands, the city of refuge for the slayer, and Beshhtarah, with its pastor-lands,

two cities. And out of the tribe of Esakar, Kishion, with its pastor lands, Debarath with its pastor lands, Jarmouth with its pastor lands, and Ganim with its pastor lands, four cities. And out of the tribe of Asher, Michal with its pastor lands, Abdon with its pastor lands, Helcath with its pastor lands, and Rehob with its pastor lands, four cities. And out of the tribe of Naftali, Kadesh in Galilee with its pastor lands, the city of refuge for the slayer. Athador, with its pastor lands, and Khartan with its pastor lands, three cities. The cities of the several families of the Gershinites were in all 13 cities with their pasture lands. And to the rest of the Levites, the Merorite families, were given out of the tribe of Zebulun,

Jukhneam with its pastor lands, Khartah with its pastor lands, Dimna with its pastor lands, Nahlal with its pastor lands, four cities, and out of the tribe of Rubin, Bezir with its pastor lands, Jihad with its pastor lands, Kittamoth with its pastor lands, and Maffaath with its pastor lands, four cities, and out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth and Gilead, with its pastor lands, the city of refuge for the slayer, Manaheim, with its pastor lands, Hefshpon with its pastor lands, Jezer with its pastor lands, four cities and all. As for the cities of the several Merorite families, that is, the remainder of the families of the Levites, were allotted to them in all 12 cities. The cities of the Levites, in the midst of the possession of the sons of Israel, were in all

48 cities with their pasture lands. These cities had each its pasture lands round about it, so it was with all these cities. Thus the Lord gave to Israel all the land which he swore to give to their fathers, and having taken possession of it, they settled there. And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers, not one of all their enemies had withstood them. for the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. Not one of all the good promises which the Lord had made to the House of Israel had failed. All came to pass. Psalm 131.

A song of quiet trust. A song of a sense. Of David. O Lord, my heart is not lifted up. My eyes are not raised too high. I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me, but I have calmed and quieted my soul like a child quiet. quieted at its mother's breast, like a child that is quieted is my soul.

O Israel, hope in the Lord. From this time forth and forevermore. Father in heaven, we give you praise. We thank you. We give you glory and honor and every breath we have is from you. Every heartbeat is from you. And so we thank you for every heartbeat. We thank you with every heartbeat.

We thank you for every breath and we thank you with every breath. Lord God, you've given them to us for free. and we are so blind to them so often. So every moment of every day, this day, especially this day, every heartbeat, every breath, let everyone be a prayer of praise, a prayer of thanks to you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen, the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen. So again, as I said, kind of one of those days where it's like, man, oh man, we got to get

through this. All the names, all the places, all the things we mentioned yesterday, that these places are meaningful. They're important to us to note because their history. At the same time, the last lines of today's readings in Joshua chapter 21 are so powerful because it sums up why we went through all those names. It sums up why we went through all those tribes and all those places. The last words is the Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their fathers.

And that's so, so powerful. It goes on. It says, not one of their enemies had withstood them for the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. And bam, here's the last line of chapter 21, verse 45. not one of all the good promises which the Lord had made to the House of Israel had failed. All came to pass. And there is something so, so good for us to hear that, something so good for us to be reminded

of this fact that, think about this. This is not after one day, this is not after one week or one month or one year, or even one generation. This has happened over multiple generations, a couple centuries, but here is God's faithfulness that came to pass. And not, again, just handed to them. They had to cooperate with the Lord. They had to be faithful to him.

They had to obey him. They had to fight. And yet, not one of all the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed. All came to pass. And this is something that all of us, I think all of us, need to be reminded of right now, is that what God has promised, he will, he will fulfill. But it doesn't mean that he fulfills it immediately. It doesn't necessarily mean that he fills it without a fight. But it does mean that he is faithful to his promises. And so we're going to be faithful as well. And we're faithful like that Psalm 131. which is one of my favorite Psalms. I know I might say that a couple times, but it is one of my favorite Psalms. I often give it as a penance in confession because it's just, it's only three verses long. Psalm 131. If you want to go back and pray that one more time,

it's so good because it's just that, that prayer of humble trust. Like the fact that, like, you know, so much of our lives are spent striving and so much of our lives are spent battling. And yep, sometimes that's what we're called to. But oftentimes we strive against the Lord. We battle against the Lord.

And Psalm 131 reminds us, No, in silence and in peace, I rest in the Lord's arms as a child in his mother's arms. And so I just invite us all today to enter into the Lord's rest, to enter into his peace. We might be called to battles. We may be called to struggle or striving, but not battle against the Lord, not striving against the Lord, but to be able to be at peace and abide, abide in his love and abide in his presence, to abide in his arms like a child in the arms of his or her mom. We give you praise Lord God.

and I'm praying for you, everyone. Tomorrow we're going to finish the book of Joshua, and it's going to be awesome because Joshua has some words for the people of Israel, kind of like Moses did, some kind of like famous last words, just reminding the people of Israel of their dignity, reminding of the people of Israel of their high call. And that's what we're getting to tomorrow. So let's be praying for each other that we do show up tomorrow,

that we show up tomorrow, even after rough days or rough seasons, rough weeks in our lives, and just say, Lord, speak. Your servant is listening. I'm praying for you. Please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. Can I wait to see you tomorrow? God bless.