Hi, my name is Fr. Mike Schmitz and you're listening to the Bible in the 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 206 and we are reading from Isaiah, chapter 32 and 33.

We're also reading from the Prophet Baruch, chapter one and two. Also proverbs 11 17 20. As always, the Bible translation that 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 in a year reading plan, you can go to ascensionpress.com bible in a year, and you can also subscribe to this podcast to receive daily episodes.

As I said, today's Day 206. We're reading Isaiah 32 and 33. Also Baruch. Baruch is also one of those seven deuterocanonical books that if you have only read protestant Bibles, where Martin Luther had taken out those seven extra, well, they're extra to you. But for us as Catholics, they are part of the canon, and for the orthodox, it's part of the canon.

For the first Christians, they're part of the canon. So we're going to read and hear from the prophet Baruch, chapter one and two, as well as proverbs 1117 20. The book of the prophet Isaiah, chapter 32 reign of righteousness and justice behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice. Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a covert from the tempest, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land. Then the eyes of those who will see will not be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen.

The mind of the rash will have good judgment, and the tongue of the stammerers will speak readily and distinctly. The fool will no more be called noble, nor the knave said to be honorable. For the fool speaks folly, and his mind plots iniquity to practice ungodliness, to utter error concerning the Lord, to leave the craving of the hungry unsatisfied, and to deprive the thirsty of drink. The knaveries of the knave are evil. He devises wicked devices to ruin the poor with lying words, even when the plea of the needy is right.

But he who is noble devises noble things, and by noble things he stands. Rise up, you women who are at ease. Hear my voice, you complacent daughters. Give ear to my speech. In little more than a year you will shudder, you complacent women, for the vintage will fail, the fruit harvest will not come.

Tremble, you women who are at ease. Shudder, you complacent ones. Strip and make yourselves bare, and put sackcloth upon your loins. Beat upon your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine, for the soil of my people growing up in thorns and briers. Yes, for all the joyous houses in the joyful city, for the palace will be forsaken, the populous city deserted, the hill and the watchtower will become dens, forever a joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks, until the spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest.

Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field, and the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings and in quiet resting places. And the forest will utterly go down, and the city will be utterly laid low. Happy are you who sow beside all waters, who let the feet of the ox and the donkey range free. Chapter 33 a prophecy of deliverance the Lord, the majestic king.

Woe to you, destroyer, who yourself have not been destroyed, you, treacherous one, with whom none has dealt treacherously. When you have ceased to destroy, you will be destroyed. And when you have made an end of dealing treacherously, you will be dealt with treacherously. O Lord, be gracious to us. We wait for you.

Be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble. At the thunderous noise, peoples flee, at the lifting up of yourself, nations are scattered and spoil is gathered. As the caterpillar gathers, as locusts leap, men leap upon it. The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high. He will fill Zion with justice and righteousness, and he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom and knowledge.

The fear of the lord is his treasure. Behold, the valiant ones cry out. The envoys of peace weep bitterly. The highways lie waste. The wayfaring man ceases, covenants are broken, witnesses are despised.

There is no regard for man. The land mourns and languishes. Lebanon is confounded and withers away. Sharon is like a desert, and bashan and carmel shake off their leaves. Now I will arise, says the lord.

Now I will lift myself up now I will be exalted. You conceived chaff, you bring forth stubble. Your breath is a fire that will consume you, and the peoples will be burned as if burned to lime, like thorns cut down, that are burned in the fire. Hear you who are far off, what I have done and you who are near, acknowledge my might. The sinners in Zion are afraid.

Trembling has seized the godless. Who among us can dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us can dwell with the everlasting burnings? He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, who despises the gain of oppressions, who shakes his hands lest they hold a bribe? Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking upon evil?

He will dwell on the heights. His place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks. His bread will be given him. His water will be sure. Your eyes will see the king in his beauty.

They will behold a land that stretches afar. Your mind will muse on the terror. Where is he who counted? Where is he who weighed the tribute? Where is he who counted the towers?

You will see no more. The insolent people. The people of an obscure speech which you cannot comprehend, stammering in a tongue which you cannot understand. Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts. Your eyes will see Jerusalem.

A quiet habitation and immovable tent whose stakes will never be plucked up, nor will any of its cords be broken. But there the Lord in majesty will be for us a place of broad rivers and streams where no galley with oars can go nor stately ship can pass. For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our ruler. The Lord is our king. He will save us.

Your tackle hangs loose. It cannot hold the mast firm in its place or keep the sail spread out. Then prey and spoil in abundance will be divided. Even the lame will take the prey, and no inhabitant will say, I am sick. For people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.

The book of Baruch. Chapter one. Baruch and the Jews of Babylon. other gods and doing what is evil in the sight of the Lord our God. Chapter two. So the Lord confirmed his word, which he spoke against and against our judges, who judged Israel, and against our kings, and against our princes, and against the men of Israel and Judah under the whole heaven. There has not been done the like of what he has done in Jerusalem in accordance with what is written in the law of Moses, that we should eat, and one the flesh of his son, and another the flesh of his daughter.And he gave them into subjection of all the kingdoms around us, to be a reproach and a desolation among all the surrounding peoples, where the Lord has scattered them. They were brought low and not raised up, because we sinned against the Lord our God in not heeding his voice. Righteousness belongs to the Lord our God, but confusion of face to us and our fathers, as at this day all those calamities with which the Lord threatened us have come upon us. Yet we have not entreated the favor of the Lord by turning away each of us from the thoughts of his wicked heart. And the Lord has kept the calamities ready, and the Lord has brought them upon us.For the Lord is righteous in all his works, which he has commanded us to do. Yet we have not obeyed his voice to walk in the statutes of the Lord, which he set before us. Prayer for deliverance. And now, O Lord, God of Israel, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with signs and wonders, and with great power and outstretched arm, and have made you a nameHe's actually writing to the people of the exile. So that's why he's in the baby blue. Right, Jeff?Is the Color Coded NEss that were in baby blue, because they're singing the blues in exile. And what happens is here is Baruch, who's ministering to the people who are in Babylon, and a number of the things that he's doing is he's writing a letter to Jerusalem, basically saying, we're taking up a collection, and we're asking you, because here we are in Babylon, we're exiled, we're not in the Temple, we're not in Jerusalem. That's the only place worship can happen. So we're taking a collection and we're sending it to you. Please pray for us.Offer worship on our behalf. But also. And this is crazy, offer worship on behalf of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and for Belshazzar, his son. And that's just. It's remarkable.But, you know, St. Paul is going to repeat this in Romans chapter 13, talking about praying for the rulers, even unjust rulers, because at the time of Paul, there were pretty unjust rulers, and Nebuchadnezzar is the one who brought them all into exile in the first place. And so it's remarkable that here, even in the Old Testament, they're saying, pray for the rulers. But then they go on to have a confession of their sins and talk about how, yeah, we disobeyed the Lord. We knew his law.We didn't lack anything. The only thing we lacked were hearts that were willing to be changed, ears that were willing to listen, eyes that were willing to truly see. And, you know, lives are willing to truly be who God had called us to be. And so this lengthy confession, because righteousness belongs to God. But know what we chose?We chose something other than righteousness. And then he leads them into this prayer for deliverance, basically saying, lord, God, bring us back. Bring us back. And Baruch even includes the words of God himself, saying, well, don't worry, I'm going to bring you home. I am going to bring you out of this land of exile because why?Because I have established my covenant and I will bring you back. And this is the beginning of the book of the prophet Baruch. We're going to continue journeying with him for a couple days and just three days total. And it's just, it's remarkable to be able to not only be with Isaiah as he's with, you know, these kings Ahaz and Uzziah and Hezekiah before the babylonian exile, but also to hear the words of Baruch during the babylonian exile, where here is a people that have been humbled. They were a massive people that had been, become a small remnant.And yet that remnant is saying, God, don't forget. God in even the declaration of faith. God, you won't forget and you will bring us home. It's just so good. In the last line of chapter two, it says, I will make an everlasting covenant with them to be their God and they shall be my people.I will never again remove my people, Israel, from the land which I have given them. And that's just God's promise. And we just, we give God thanks. We're so grateful. I'm grateful for you.So keep on praying. I'm praying for you. Please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow.God blessed. I.

other gods and doing what is evil in the sight of the Lord our God. Chapter two. So the Lord confirmed his word, which he spoke against and against our judges, who judged Israel, and against our kings, and against our princes, and against the men of Israel and Judah under the whole heaven. There has not been done the like of what he has done in Jerusalem in accordance with what is written in the law of Moses, that we should eat, and one the flesh of his son, and another the flesh of his daughter.

And he gave them into subjection of all the kingdoms around us, to be a reproach and a desolation among all the surrounding peoples, where the Lord has scattered them. They were brought low and not raised up, because we sinned against the Lord our God in not heeding his voice. Righteousness belongs to the Lord our God, but confusion of face to us and our fathers, as at this day all those calamities with which the Lord threatened us have come upon us. Yet we have not entreated the favor of the Lord by turning away each of us from the thoughts of his wicked heart. And the Lord has kept the calamities ready, and the Lord has brought them upon us.

For the Lord is righteous in all his works, which he has commanded us to do. Yet we have not obeyed his voice to walk in the statutes of the Lord, which he set before us. Prayer for deliverance. And now, O Lord, God of Israel, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with signs and wonders, and with great power and outstretched arm, and have made you a nameHe's actually writing to the people of the exile. So that's why he's in the baby blue. Right, Jeff?Is the Color Coded NEss that were in baby blue, because they're singing the blues in exile. And what happens is here is Baruch, who's ministering to the people who are in Babylon, and a number of the things that he's doing is he's writing a letter to Jerusalem, basically saying, we're taking up a collection, and we're asking you, because here we are in Babylon, we're exiled, we're not in the Temple, we're not in Jerusalem. That's the only place worship can happen. So we're taking a collection and we're sending it to you. Please pray for us.Offer worship on our behalf. But also. And this is crazy, offer worship on behalf of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and for Belshazzar, his son. And that's just. It's remarkable.But, you know, St. Paul is going to repeat this in Romans chapter 13, talking about praying for the rulers, even unjust rulers, because at the time of Paul, there were pretty unjust rulers, and Nebuchadnezzar is the one who brought them all into exile in the first place. And so it's remarkable that here, even in the Old Testament, they're saying, pray for the rulers. But then they go on to have a confession of their sins and talk about how, yeah, we disobeyed the Lord. We knew his law.We didn't lack anything. The only thing we lacked were hearts that were willing to be changed, ears that were willing to listen, eyes that were willing to truly see. And, you know, lives are willing to truly be who God had called us to be. And so this lengthy confession, because righteousness belongs to God. But know what we chose?We chose something other than righteousness. And then he leads them into this prayer for deliverance, basically saying, lord, God, bring us back. Bring us back. And Baruch even includes the words of God himself, saying, well, don't worry, I'm going to bring you home. I am going to bring you out of this land of exile because why?Because I have established my covenant and I will bring you back. And this is the beginning of the book of the prophet Baruch. We're going to continue journeying with him for a couple days and just three days total. And it's just, it's remarkable to be able to not only be with Isaiah as he's with, you know, these kings Ahaz and Uzziah and Hezekiah before the babylonian exile, but also to hear the words of Baruch during the babylonian exile, where here is a people that have been humbled. They were a massive people that had been, become a small remnant.And yet that remnant is saying, God, don't forget. God in even the declaration of faith. God, you won't forget and you will bring us home. It's just so good. In the last line of chapter two, it says, I will make an everlasting covenant with them to be their God and they shall be my people.I will never again remove my people, Israel, from the land which I have given them. And that's just God's promise. And we just, we give God thanks. We're so grateful. I'm grateful for you.So keep on praying. I'm praying for you. Please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow.God blessed. I.

He's actually writing to the people of the exile. So that's why he's in the baby blue. Right, Jeff?

Is the Color Coded NEss that were in baby blue, because they're singing the blues in exile. And what happens is here is Baruch, who's ministering to the people who are in Babylon, and a number of the things that he's doing is he's writing a letter to Jerusalem, basically saying, we're taking up a collection, and we're asking you, because here we are in Babylon, we're exiled, we're not in the Temple, we're not in Jerusalem. That's the only place worship can happen. So we're taking a collection and we're sending it to you. Please pray for us.

Offer worship on our behalf. But also. And this is crazy, offer worship on behalf of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and for Belshazzar, his son. And that's just. It's remarkable.

But, you know, St. Paul is going to repeat this in Romans chapter 13, talking about praying for the rulers, even unjust rulers, because at the time of Paul, there were pretty unjust rulers, and Nebuchadnezzar is the one who brought them all into exile in the first place. And so it's remarkable that here, even in the Old Testament, they're saying, pray for the rulers. But then they go on to have a confession of their sins and talk about how, yeah, we disobeyed the Lord. We knew his law.

We didn't lack anything. The only thing we lacked were hearts that were willing to be changed, ears that were willing to listen, eyes that were willing to truly see. And, you know, lives are willing to truly be who God had called us to be. And so this lengthy confession, because righteousness belongs to God. But know what we chose?

We chose something other than righteousness. And then he leads them into this prayer for deliverance, basically saying, lord, God, bring us back. Bring us back. And Baruch even includes the words of God himself, saying, well, don't worry, I'm going to bring you home. I am going to bring you out of this land of exile because why?

Because I have established my covenant and I will bring you back. And this is the beginning of the book of the prophet Baruch. We're going to continue journeying with him for a couple days and just three days total. And it's just, it's remarkable to be able to not only be with Isaiah as he's with, you know, these kings Ahaz and Uzziah and Hezekiah before the babylonian exile, but also to hear the words of Baruch during the babylonian exile, where here is a people that have been humbled. They were a massive people that had been, become a small remnant.

And yet that remnant is saying, God, don't forget. God in even the declaration of faith. God, you won't forget and you will bring us home. It's just so good. In the last line of chapter two, it says, I will make an everlasting covenant with them to be their God and they shall be my people.

I will never again remove my people, Israel, from the land which I have given them. And that's just God's promise. And we just, we give God thanks. We're so grateful. I'm grateful for you.

So keep on praying. I'm praying for you. Please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow.

God blessed. I.