Jeff Cavins
Appearances
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John (2025)
Yes, absolutely. Right in the middle of the gospel of John, you have John chapter 7 and John chapter 8. And it's the story of the woman caught in adultery and the leadership wants to stone her and they are shaming her and she is broken and publicly shamed. And it's in that amazing story that the Lord releases her from that shame and brings her to himself.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John (2025)
Hey, Father. Good to join you. And what a treat it is to look at a gospel at this point. It's like a little bit of a reprieve, isn't it? You're going through all this history and, yeah, but what about Jesus? But what about Jesus? And here we are. We're going to jump ahead for the Gospel of John. So this is going to be great.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John (2025)
And so I would really encourage people, whatever shame in your life, it doesn't have to be what this lady committed. It can be shame in your town, shame in your family, shame for something you said, shame for something you did in college, whatever it might be. I want you to know that Jesus is not going to hold you to that shame the rest of your life, but he is going to release you because he can.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John (2025)
He's God. He is divine, and that's what the focus is. And that's just not a theological point. That is an experience that we can have in our life. Because he's God, I can be free from shame. Maybe it was something on the internet. Who knows? But you can be free and be restored to the Lord, whether you are someone listening to the daily readings or you're the Pope.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John (2025)
And if the Pope's listening.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John (2025)
Yeah, we answer about three to five questions every week that you, the listeners, are asking. And usually it's, boy, I don't understand this or how could God do that? And we try to take those apart as best we can. And always coming from the perspective of we trust God and God is good. He's not arbitrary. He doesn't just do one thing one day and another another day.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John (2025)
He's consistent and his actions are always held to who he is.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John (2025)
Sure, it will be. And there's a couple of things to remember. And one is that all scripture that you have been reading, and in the case of our listeners, all the scripture you have heard up till now is all Christocentric, meaning it finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. And that's what Bible study is all about. And the other thing is what Pope Benedict said,
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John (2025)
mentioned, and that's called recapitulative history. It's a big fancy word for Jesus came and did it again. He came and he relived those stories. And so as you start to read the Gospels now, keep in mind that this is about fulfilling something. And it's about the Son of God fulfilling what the firstborn Son did not complete. And so Jesus had to fulfill all righteousness. He had to complete this.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John (2025)
And then we have some guidelines in the catechism about it being a revelation of who Jesus Christ is. And that's where we get to today with the Gospel of John. And the Gospel of John is different. Everybody knows there's four Gospels. And the question would come up, well, wouldn't it have been okay to just do maybe one? Just have one.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John (2025)
Right, right. But the reason for that is that all four Gospels have a different emphasis, and some of the Gospels share stories. So, for example, Matthew, Mark, and Luke seem to be sharing material, the same stories, the same miracles, some of the dialogue. And so, John stands out because John is really different than those other three Gospels in
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John (2025)
Not to mention that John is really for more of a universal audience. But there is an emphasis on each of the Gospels. In Matthew, we see Jesus as king. In Mark, we see Jesus as the servant. In Luke, we see Jesus the man, the humanity. And in John, we see God, Jesus as king. God.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John (2025)
In fact, you know, in Matthew's gospel, it starts off with a genealogy and it goes back to a son of David, whereas John starts off and says, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And so, it starts off with the divinity of Jesus. A few other things that are really interesting as people are going to go through this with you.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John (2025)
There's only eight miracles recorded in John, and six of those miracles are very peculiar to John. John doesn't have any parables, whereas Matthew had nine of them. Luke had five. 35 parables. He taught very much in a Hebraic way that way.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John (2025)
But one of the things that's beautiful about John is that every single chapter provides kind of a separate portrait of who Christ is and what he has demonstrated as far as being God. And so you could say that the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, they tell us what Jesus did. John tells us who he is. in a real beautiful way.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John (2025)
Another thing that's interesting is that John, over one-third of John's gospel, chapters 12 through 19, covers the last week of Jesus. And so it really focuses on that crucial work that he did, that centerpiece of his death, burial, and resurrection. That's a really, really important point. And our response to the Gospel of John is the word believe.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John (2025)
And that word believe is used many, many times because as John is showing you that Jesus is God, Jesus is the key to salvation. then the onus is upon us to respond to it, and that is called faithfulness, or we believe, we believe the truth.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John (2025)
Yeah, you mentioned the high priestly prayer in chapter 17. That is an amazing prayer that when we get to that, we'll see that we are focus of that, that he prays that we would be one as he and the Father are one. And that's very, very powerful. You know, every time I hear the Gospel of John, I'm reminded of Pope John Paul II.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John (2025)
Because John Paul II, he did Lectio Divina on the Gospel of John every month of his pontificate. So you could say that he literally owned it. He owned that gospel. And that's something that I would really encourage people to do is choose one of the gospels and own it. You know, really get to know it. Memorize the main theme of every chapter.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John (2025)
Now, John is great for that because every chapter, as I said earlier, is a portrait, really, of who Jesus is. So, you have the very famous nine I am statements of Jesus. So John says about Jesus, I am the bread of life in John 6. I am the light of the world, John 8. And also in John 8, before Abraham was, I am. In John 10, I am the door. John 10, I am the good shepherd.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John (2025)
John 11, I am the resurrection and the life. John 14, I am the way, the truth, and the life. In John 15, I am the true vine. And John 18, I am he. And John seems to enjoy doing this because when he later wrote the book of Revelation, he also picked up on that as well and uses I am the Alpha and the Omega. I am the beginning and the end. I am the first and last. I am he who lives and was dead.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John (2025)
And I am he who searches and reigns. in hearts, and I am the root and offspring of David, and I am the bright morning star. So John is just really into revealing who he is and his divinity, and I think that that is beautiful. The one verse that really caps it all off in John is John 10, 30, where Jesus said, I and my Father are one. I and my Father are are one.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John (2025)
And he who has seen me, in John 14, has seen the Father. End of case. Yeah.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John (2025)
Yes, there actually is, and you bring up an odd point, right? It is an odd point. It is. In John 21, Simon Peter went up and drew the net to the land full of large fish, and John wanted you to know how many. So, I mean, either he's really got a thing with numbers, or he is trying to show you something. It's 153 fish.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John (2025)
Thank you, John, because that story would have been incomplete without that number. 153 fish. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. Yes, you're right. Numbers mean something to the Jewish people. And in the Hebrew language, there actually is not 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. They actually use the alphabet to depict the numbers. And so every letter has a numerical value.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John (2025)
And when you put the phrase, I am God, In Hebrew, it comes up to the equivalent of 153. And that is an amazing revelation. And I guess you could call it a Hebraic type of teaching where John is showing you that there was 153 fish. Let's see, 153, what would that mean? Oh, I'm God. I thought something was fishy. Yeah.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John (2025)
You know, you mentioned that 153 fish, and I mean, you're teaching me something here too, and that is that, you know, we were talking about John is really speaking about the divinity of Christ, and here at the very end of it, At the point, and I'll just mention this, this is after Peter betrayed the Lord three times. He let the Lord down three times.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John (2025)
He was the first pope, and he did not serve the Lord the way he was supposed to, and he actually went back to fishing. That's what he's doing up in Galilee, and Jesus... Jesus says, no, you still have that calling on your life. And that's where he reveals the 153 fish, which is in Hebrew, Ani Elohim. Ani Elohim, I am God. Ani is 61. Elohim is 92 for a total of 153.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of John (2025)
And I think that that is showing us that God is still God even after we've blown it. And maybe people reading with you during this time feel like, you know, I just haven't been the servant of God or the husband or the son that I should have been. Well, this is the book where you have a chance to begin afresh. And Jesus says to you, come follow me.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
Yeah. Yeah. The touch points to me were my mother-in-law, my grandfather, my confirmation night. And then at 18 years of age, when I really got serious about serving the Lord, the Bible really became the focus of my life. And I couldn't even return to my college classes, literally. And my parents were not real happy about that. But I would sit outside the classroom with a
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
with this Bible that I bought, and I just read it and read it and read it, and it has really become my life. And for me, the Bible is, it is my life. Now, I don't mean that in the sense of the sacraments are not, or anything like that.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
But when you're going through tough times in your life, like now with so many people who are struggling with a worldwide pandemic, election results, whatever it might be, you have health problems, just literally walking into my living room and seeing my Bible on the counter or on the coffee table, it just brings hope to me knowing there's someone who doesn't change.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
There's someone I can build my life on, that is Jesus Christ, and he actually wrote me letters to guide me and direct me and to comfort me and correct me and show me who I am and what his plan is for my life. And so uh, I've never left the Bible and I get excited every time someone picks one up and says, I'm getting it. I'm getting it. I love it.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
I said, well, not as much as mine. I had no idea. And we can talk about that a little bit later, but I had no idea that when I was 25 years old that a 48-hour period was going to define the rest of my life and I was going to live in it. But, you know, it speaks of the story, really not us, but the story of salvation history. And that's what you're going to be bringing people through.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
You know what some people do with their Bible, which you're explaining it in your Bible right there. You're going back to high school and you can look in there and you can actually see evidence of where your heart has been. And that is that legacy. When you pass away someday, let's say 100 years from now, your nieces and nephews are going to want that because that's where Uncle Mike is.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
That's where Father Mike lived. And they're gonna want it. And I bought this Bible, my first one right here. I got a leather cover on it now. But in the blank pages at the front and back here, I literally wrote down personal stuff that was going on. And like, for example, listen to this. This is before we were engaged.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
Emily and I agreed that God would show us what he wanted us to do for our lives. And then I give the date when we were engaged. And then after that, I talk about first week in July, we found out we're going to have a baby. This was big news for us. It was just unbelievable. I wrote this in my Bible. Emily felt the first move of the baby, November 10th, 1984.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
And I have on the whole page, all of the movements all the way to when Carly was born. That's in my Bible. I have so much like that in here. And then, you know, I spent so much time in the Bible, just writing and, um, you can see it's kind of messed up these days though. And, uh, So I had to get my Great Adventure Bible and start on that now as well.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
So it's going to be exciting. Yeah.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
Well, let's talk a little bit about what exactly we're going to be doing. I should say you, because you're going to be on every single day. Maybe the best thing is just to speak of the structure of the entire year, which the Great Adventure, I'll kind of build that structure, and then you fill in what you're going to do, because I think it's going to be exciting. Yeah.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
If you're going to read through the Bible in chronological order, you have to know how to do it. Because if you go from Genesis and then hope to go all the way to Revelation, you're not going to get it. Trust me. Nobody's going to get it if they just do that. They're going to be like, okay, I'm starting in January, Genesis, February, Exodus, March, Leviticus. I quit. I'm done.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
And so what we're going to do is... is follow the structure of the Bible timeline, and that is we're going to go through 12 periods. In other words, the entire Bible is divided up into 12 color-coded periods, and that's what the Bible timeline chart is about, which people certainly can get. And then out of the 73 books of the Bible, we're picking the
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
14 narrative books, that is the books that actually take you through the entire story. So you've got Genesis, and you've got Exodus, and you've got Numbers, and then you've got Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, Ezra, Nehemiah, Luke, and Acts. And those are the 14, and you're gonna be reading through those, but then what about the other 59 books?
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
Well, you're gonna be, and I think this is brilliant, you're gonna be sprinkling those other 59 books into those 14 books. So they're gonna get a taste of, I wonder what a prophet sounds like, you know, in the midst of kings. And I think that that's gonna be a lot of fun. So that's kind of the structure, you take it from there.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
Well, the scripture says faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God, you know? That's why. What do you think, what's your hope? What's your hope for, you know, we have so many friends around the world that are on this journey with us. What do you hope they will get out of this? I mean, this is a year. It's a few minutes a day, but it's a year. We're promising some things.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
One is we're going to go through the whole Bible. We're going to go through the whole story. You're going to get some commentary, but what do you hope for them personally in this journey?
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
I just got a picture just yesterday from a group in China. Really? Studying, yeah.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
I do have a hope, I guess myself too, I would piggyback on what you're saying there. Over the last, I don't know, five years or so, the Lord has really impressed on me that I'm not just a Christian, not like that's bad or anything, but I'm not just a Christian. I'm a disciple of Jesus. I'm committed. He said, come follow me. I'm chosen. You're chosen. And I'm chosen not to just study.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
I'm chosen to follow him, to pick up his worldview, and to do his word, to accomplish his kingdom and what his will is. And one thing I've learned, Father, and I know you have too, is that Jesus said, do not be afraid more than anything else combined. Do not be afraid. And I ask, well, what's there to be afraid of if I'm gonna be following you? I mean, everything's taken care of.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
It's gonna be great every day. Why would I be afraid? And the answer is, is because if you follow Jesus as a disciple, You aren't going to go and meet people you never thought you would meet. You're going to be in situations you never thought you would be in, and you're going to do things and say things that you never—it's not my gift.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
And one thing I've learned, Father, is that in the kingdom of God, to be a disciple doesn't have a lot to do with giftedness. It has to do with passion and relationship. And so for me, to get deep into Scripture is to really— get close to Jesus, our Lord, and to find out what do you want me to do? And then to know I've got the power to do it.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
And so my hope is that there'll be thousands and thousands of people who will go beyond reading, listening, and they'll do it. And we'll see a movement in the world of people are saying, you know what? I want to enter this story. I don't want to just read about it. I want in, which is through the sacraments. I want in. I want to be empowered. I want to start living the great adventure in my life.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
That's really, I guess, what my hope is on top of what you're saying.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
Kind of shifting gears a little bit, you and I have talked about this a lot. And for those of you joining us, Father Mike and I have a lot in common about things, about Bibles and about writing in our Bibles. And along this journey, we're going to introduce some new ideas, I think, you know, pop them in. I'm not going to tell you what they all are right now, but we do have some surprises.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
That's going to be big, big surprises. Yeah. But I've got to ask you, and then I'll reveal the brand of pencils I use. Do you write in your Bible?
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
But you underline verses that mean something to you or you're teaching from them?
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
I've been using, and we'll share this as we go along, but I've been using this brand here called Caran d'Ache. It's a Swiss brand, and I like it. I use colored pencils. I'll show you the colored pencils here. There you go. I use colored pencils to highlight in my Bible, and I use pens to write in the column and so forth. But it's very personal, isn't it? I mean, you're underlining things that pop.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
And I think that as people go through this year with you, they're going to be hearing it. It's a podcast. But we do encourage people to get the Bible and to take a moment that day and maybe highlight something that really meant something to you. You can even have color schemes, which we'll talk about later, but... Green can be growth. Red can be no, stop, sin. And you can come up with it.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
And it's a lot of fun, actually, to do it and to share it with other people of how you're getting into the Word of God. The Word of God is just so powerful that you could read it and I could read it. And 500 of our friends that are going to be joining us or thousands of them would read the same text. but they're gonna hear it differently.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
God may speak to them in a different way than he speaks to us. And that's just the beauty of, and it speaks of the depth of God's word. And I think that by the time people are done with this year, their life's gonna be different. I really do, because of the power of the word of God. This is one of my favorite verses. And it's, I mean, it's no stranger to you. Obviously, it's 2 Timothy 3.16 says,
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
It says, all scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. And I think that verse really kind of encapsulates what you're going to be doing is that the scripture is inspired. Talk to...
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
You might want to mention a little bit about inspiration, because this isn't just another book. I mean, what makes this book so different, you know?
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
Well, in a nutshell, Father, it's probably good to share with those who are joining us. In a nutshell, what are you going to be doing over the entire year? And then it'd be fun to go kind of deep into that and look at the Bible in our lives as Catholics and also in our lives individually. Personally, what does the Word of God mean to us?
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
Well, your Bible becomes kind of a spiritual document. diary in a sense, you know, I mean, you can go through it and you can see where you've been.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
So you're going to be doing this every single day. It's going to be a podcast. People know about podcasts, basically. And that is that on your smartphone, you're going to carry this around with you. I think everyone's going to have a different time to listen to it. Some people are going to be listening on the way to work. Some people on the way home.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
you know, different, different, different times. But I think it's also a good thing to share with other people, you know, of join me, you know, just to get, you get your friends, Hey, let's do it together. Let's do this together. And maybe at work or, or in the morning, whatever we can get together and we can, we can talk about it once a week or, or whatever.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
Or if you're at work, you know, or at a church, the staff could even talk about it together a little bit. It might be a point of contact.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
And I'm curious what it's meant to you, and I know it's meant the whole world to me.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
I have to admit that I listen to the Bible on my phone as well, or I might listen to a favorite podcast on my phone. And so sometimes I'm like, oh, I want to listen to the rest of that. Honey, do you need anything at the store? You need to get back in the car. Can I go back in the car and listen to it?
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
You know, another great idea would be, and people are always looking for ideas on how to incorporate scripture into their life, is, well, what if a family has, they have two teenagers or three teenagers or junior high kids, and maybe this could become a point during dinner, it's not gonna be that long, maybe after dinner or dinner, where you could play this and discuss a little bit as well.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
I mean, it's not gonna be that long and maybe people could use it in creative ways that way.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
Yeah. And you've had such a big impact on young adults and teens. And I know you have a big impact on adults as well. You're just that guy. You have an impact on everybody. But how many people would like to say, well, I wish I could ask Father Mike a question. And in 365 days, I would think you're probably going to be addressing a lot of people's questions and what they're
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
what they're asking in life. And sometimes they don't even know until it's brought up and like, oh my gosh, I've been dealing with that in my own life. And it's gonna become a wonderful tool there. Real quickly, I just wanna share a little bit about the Great Adventure Bible because this is what you're gonna be using. It's unlike any other Bible and kudos to Ascension Press.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
I mean, they did a great job of... of taking the idea of reading the Bible in chronological order and putting the Bible timeline chart actually into the book. And so it's different in that, and this is on the side, you can see it's color-coded. And the Great Adventure Bible takes the entire Bible and divides it into 12 periods, color-coded. I'll give you a crude look at that.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
That's the chart I can show you. And then on the back, you've got, So it takes the entire Bible and puts it into 12 color-coded periods, and then it shows you the 14 books. Those are the books that go through the entire Bible, and then the other 59 fit somewhere in there. And that's kind of the beauty of the Bible there.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
But it also has in it a wonderful article on how to interpret Scripture, and it also has an article on how to pray Scripture or do Lectio Divina. and an introduction on how to use the Bible. So if people don't have a Bible, I really encourage you to get one that you can live in. That means write in it.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
Some people, they'll probably say this to you too, Father, and say, oh, I could never write in my Bible. So I say, fine, put that Bible on the shelf, go buy another one that you can write in.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
And it's usually, isn't it the first time you write in it, that's the toughest, isn't it?
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
I do a bullet journal, but I'm starting to do something a little different, yeah.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
Well, you know what I did?
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
go ahead go ahead i'm going to show you an example of that you go for it i was going to change the subject okay so i i i did that i i started with this bible the first one i bought i i underlined so carefully you know and i had my color system and everything and i was only going to use this one pen then i started getting this oh that's such a cool verse and i what anybody got a pen and i started writing with everything and then i got i wanted to highlight and i got a wet marker
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
not even knowing what happens when you put a wet marker on Bible paper. And so in 1 Corinthians 13, I did it. Now this is perfection.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
And the problem with it was it also highlighted chapters 14 and 15 on the other side. And I'm like,
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
I've used it all these years. And it's sort of like, you know, when I bought a brand new Subaru, everything was just perfect. And then I came out from a store one time and someone had dinged the side of my Subaru. I'm like, no, it's wrecked now. It's wrecked. I'm going to have to get a new one. That's life. That's life. And you're going to make mistakes when you when you highlight in your Bible.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
That's all part of it. It's you and it's life. And just jump in and do it.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
And if anybody thinks, you know, as I go through, I don't know, I've never done this before and maybe I'll get confused. With your permission, I think I'm going to be joining you once in a while to sort of explain the major movements, you know, that you come, all of a sudden you're reading and then, oh, okay, I'm going to come in with timeout. There's what you're about to enter here.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
Let me tell you where you're going. And then you're going to take them right through there. So I'm going to come in, you know, here and there too.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
It's not a praise party, but I'll tell you, you, I don't know of anyone who has really had such an impact. on people at such a basic level of follow Jesus, follow Jesus. And what you're saying and the way you communicate, it resonates with people. And that's why I think this project that was your idea is going to yield incredible fruit.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
And we need to remember to be in prayer for everybody that is going through this because their life is gonna be transformed by the power of the word. The scripture says, my word... which goes out does not return empty. It will accomplish that which I purposed. And this book is unlike any other book. It's not just data, it's transformation.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
And if it gets into your heart, prepare yourself, you're going to get changed. You're going to get changed if you'll submit yourself to it.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
It's going to be good.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
Should we both pray? We'll pray for our, I'll open it. I'll just pray. And then if you want to conclude, that'd be great. In the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lord, I thank you for your word. I thank you, Lord, for coming to us and inviting us to be a part of the life of the Trinity.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
I thank you for choosing us to not only know your ways, but to be involved in your kingdom and your plan for the world. I thank you, Lord, for Father Mike and what's going to take place over a year's period of soaking people in your word.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
And I do pray, Lord, for all those who are going to join us, that their lives would be transformed, that they would become like you in thought and deed, in every way. I pray that this will be a new beginning for people as they have a relationship with you through your word.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
Amen.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
Well, it's going to be so exciting because, you know, in the Great Adventure Bible timeline, it's basically taking the entire Bible. And I've got my office is filled with Bibles. I've got the Great Adventure Bible here. But it's taking the Bible that is, some would argue, it's the most complex book in the world. You know, it's going way back into creation, all the way to Revelation.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
And for some people, it's very difficult to read. They don't know how to read it. And what you're going to be doing, and I'm going to assist in any way that I can, is that you're going to take people through that entire journey from Genesis to Revelation, not just reading it like it is in the Bible, but you're going to read it in chronological order so that they basically— get the story.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
And I think that that's what's going to make this so different and so unique is that for a year, people are going to soak themselves in God's word and really get a hold of the story, not just the stories, which you and I could talk about the stories day and night, but it's the story. And that story is really going to illuminate people's lives and give them direction in their life and correction and
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
And it's going to give them hope and a foundation on which they can really trust the Lord. And let's admit it, most Catholics that we know of, I'm not talking about people who follow you on social media or people who have gone through the Great Adventure, but Catholics in general in the country, they don't have that real personal relationship with the Word of God.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
And I think you're going to be bringing that to them.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
No, I know exactly when it was. Exactly. Give me a moment here. I'll tell you exactly when it got a hold of me. And I got a picture of it. I got a picture of the time. I got a picture. It was 19, and it was my first communion. It was 1971, May 1st, 1971. I was confirmed and I received two Bibles for my confirmation.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
And that night when I got home, absolute, I'm telling you exactly what happened here. I took that Bible and I was just like, whoa, the Bible. and I put it on my end table and I looked at it and I thought, how do I read it? I want to read this. I was just drawn to it. And so I came up with this amazing plan. And that is, I would open it up in Genesis and I would read one verse a night.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
And then by the time I was old, say 30, I will have read all of it. Well, that lasted about two weeks and the Bible still sat there all of those years. And here's a picture of me and my mother and my Bible the night of my confirmation. I don't know if you can see that. Oh, yeah. But so I actually got a picture of it.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
And from that point on, I was always attracted to the Bible, but I didn't actually read it. And I think part of it was that nobody expected me to. I was really never invited to. And for sure, nobody ever taught me how to read the Bible. And I personally think that's one of the biggest problems that we face is that we don't teach our children how to read the Bible.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
So thank you. I appreciate that very much. And you and I have known each other for quite a while, and it's a lot of fun getting together because we talk about the Word of God constantly, and we're always sharing insights. And myself included, you mentioned the tool as far as your own life, mine too. People come up so often and they say, wow, that really changed my life, the Bible timeline.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
But then it was when I was 18 years old, I was a college student, and I was attracted to Emily, who had become my wife one day. And I went over to her house, and her mother was a real strong Bible Christian. And I went into the kitchen, and there was a Bible opened up, and she sat there with this 18-year-old kid, long hair down to here, And bell-bottom jeans and everything.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
And she sat and she started talking to me from the Bible that God loved me and that God had a plan for my life. And I'll tell you what, I mean, you're 18 years old. You're not attracted to just middle-aged women teaching religion, right? but it was that Bible. It was her relationship with the Bible that it just drew me in. And I wanted to know this Bible. I wanted to know the God of the Bible.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
This is my mother-in-law's Bible, the Bible she had that day. I first met her. She passed away last year, but this is Alice's well-worn Bible that she read to me. And so this is very, very important. And You know, you've got different Bibles, I'm sure, too. And I've got, this is my grandfather's Bible.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
And it's probably my most treasured possession because it still has in it the bulletin from the week he died right in that place. And he underlined verses, he wrote things in the column, and this is near to my heart. So yeah, that's when the Bible really came alive to me.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Bringing the Bible Back to Catholics (with Jeff Cavins)
No, he wasn't actually. And I didn't know. When it came to my dad's side of the family, I really didn't know their faith that well until after they had passed away. And then all of a sudden we realized, wow, he was deep into scripture. And he could have just passed away and without the Bible, I wouldn't have known much. But the Bible left me a legacy. That's the word, legacy. What's that? Yeah.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
One of the keys to reading the Bible, as we're doing in chronological order, as a narrative, I just want to remind everybody, these are all stories, but they're all part of a story. And that bigger story is the story of salvation history and God's firstborn son among all the nations, Israel. And it is a story of a covenant relationship with God and
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And what we see in Samson is certainly great stories. It's almost entertaining. But what we see is a microcosm of the macro reality of Israel. In other words, what is happening to Samson individually is really happening to the nation. And that is, they're supposed to be separate, holy unto the Lord, as it said back in Leviticus.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And what they're doing is they're getting entangled with the Philistines, the neighboring nations. And what makes Israel strong is their uniqueness in their covenant relationship. And when he meets Delilah, what does she go after? She makes you so unique? What makes you so different? And then he starts toying with sin here. And in a sin, but then he's going to do something that really is serious.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
He's going to actually give the secret and not only give the secret to Delilah, but he's going to give up the secret, which is his covenant faithfulness. And his hair is a demonstration of that. It is a metaphor in a sense. And she cuts his hair. He loses his strength. And a lot of people, they want to look at this as a simple children's story. What was Samson's strength? Oh, it was his hair.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
No, it wasn't. Because if it was in high school, I could have whipped all of you. But But it was what it stood for, and it stood for the covenant faithfulness. And when you lose covenant faithfulness, you become weak, you become blind, and you become like all the other nations. And we see this even in the book of Revelation, which we're going to get at the end of the year.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
in that all seven churches, they lost their usefulness in the world drama. And they weren't faithful. They weren't faithful. So this is a huge lesson with Samson that you're going to be going through. And I really, really encourage people to take a look at their own life.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
We are. We become just like everybody else. And what you were describing just a moment ago, the church has a name for it, and it is very dangerous, and it's called presumption. And that is that I presume that God will be there even if I commit this sin. But there comes a time where it was your last day. It was your last day on earth. You didn't know that, that it was your last day on earth.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
But that's what happened. And so presumption is a very, very dangerous thing to do. And like you said, can you imagine suddenly when Samson realized? But here's the good news. And I love this. And this is a truth that will go throughout all the rest of the Bible reading for our friends. And that is, God is a God of second chances. God is a God of forgiveness.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And this is important, and I would just encourage all who are listening, listen, we live in a world today where everything is permissible and nothing is forgivable, right? Everything is permissible, but nothing is forgivable. We'll let you do anything, but we're not going to forgive you. And if that was the case with Samson,
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
He would not have renewed his covenant by a demonstration of his hair, and he, on the last thing he did, brought down the gods of the Philistines. So I think that's an important thing to remember, is that even though we live in a world that permits everything, it's a world that won't forgive anything, but God will.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And there's one more point as you're reading the book of Judges that you're going to notice at the very beginning of it and the very end of it, there's going to be one phrase. And that phrase is that every man did what was right in their own eyes. And that's where you land. is if every man does what is right in his own eyes.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And that's something that is a challenge for us today is that we have been given leadership and God has given us leadership in the church. And we have to resist that temptation to say, you know what? I'm an American. I'm going to pull myself up by the bootstraps. And I think I know what's best. And I think I can make this decision. And I'll take it from here, God. Yeah.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
That's one thing you don't say to God is I'll take it from here. But that was the attitude of Israel during the period of the judges. And I mean, you're a priest, you know yourself, you work with people every day. The idea that I can take it from here and I'm going to do what's right in my own eyes, you know exactly where that lands people.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Yeah, but what's interesting is that even today, people think that it should be nice and easy and clean because God is with us. But what we're going to find out here in this period, Father, is the fact that God is with them. There's also going to be trials in the period to see, will they really trust in the Lord? So let's kind of set the stage. We just went from the book of
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Exactly. You know, one of the biggest questions, and I'm a predictor here, and that is one of the biggest questions that's going to come out of this is, Father Mike, Jeff, What about this complete, utter obliteration of cities? And what I'm going to say about that is that we do have some help here. And that is that every Thursday at 2 p.m.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Eastern Time, I'm on the Ascension Catholic Bible Study Facebook page. and we answer the difficult questions of the week. And during this period, trust me, we're going to get into this. It's called harem warfare, H-E-R-E-M, harem warfare. It is a complete holocaust to God, the wiping out of a city. We're going to take a look at that. Did they do it? Did they not do it? Was there a purpose?
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Is it justified? So we will look at that, and I encourage people to bring their real difficult questions over to the Ascension's Catholic Bible Study page, and you can even hashtag AskJeffCavens, and we'll get to some of those questions. But trust me, that's going to come up big time. Absolutely.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Right, it's live at two o'clock Eastern, but then we post it, exactly right. And we've already done about 10 of them or nine, something like that.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Sure. Well, I think that it'd be good for people to take stock of their own heart and the movements of their own heart. As Israel is going to go through the period of judges, they're going to go through rocky road of doing everything what's right in their own eyes. And the next period we're going to be entering in is the royal kingdom.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And what we're going to see is that Israel is finally going to say, we want a And I would just pray that people could take stock of the movement of their own heart from feeling alone, no direction, no leadership, to thank you, Lord. You have given me leadership. You have given me a direction. May I be faithful to your plan and be faithful to who you are.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
of Numbers, and now we're moving into Joshua, the last period left off on the eastern side of the Jordan River, looking westward across the Jordan. And you can see Jericho, and you can even see Jerusalem way up on the hill. And this is where they're going to be going into. The principal books are Joshua and Judges, and then in the midst of Judges, there's Ruth,
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
So we have really two major sections here. We have the conquest of Canaan, and then we enter a very, very difficult period called the Judges, and we'll talk about that in a little bit. The main character is Joshua. Moses has died on Mount Nebo, on the eastern side of the Jordan, in modern-day Jordan. And Joshua is the one that's going to take them across in this first book, Joshua.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And it's very dramatic. They're going to go across the Jordan River, and the waters are going to be rolled back all the way to a city called Adam. And that's about eight miles upstream. Now, this is interesting because the waters, you know, the Canaanite God system is... is they're really worshiping Baal. And there's all kinds of derivatives of this. And the two principal gods are Asherah and El.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Asherah and El get together. They have a baby god. Ain't he cute? And his name is Baal. And Baal is over fertility. Baal is over the waters, over agriculture. And the very first thing that God is going to do in going into the land is he's going to move that water all the way upstream, and everybody in Jericho is going to see this. Now, they're going to go across, and the manna's going to cease.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
They're going to circumcise the young men who they didn't in the desert. Then they're going to take Jericho, and most people have heard that story, and then they're going to divide and conquer. There's going to be a southern and a northern campaign in the book of Joshua. but they don't utterly take the land. They take the hill countries, and then the Canaanites have the lowlands.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Now, if you look at warfare today, you'd say, yay, I mean, we've got the upper hand. We're up on the mountains. But that's not true, because it's where the chariots are. That's what counts, and that's down below. And so, they settle into the land, and the You know what's really happening here, Father, is they've been in boot camp for a year at Mount Sinai in Numbers and Exodus, and it's showtime.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Now is the time to put your faith into practice. In fact, those were the last words in Deuteronomy from Moses in chapter 4 and chapter 6. He says, basically, that you have to live your life as though two things—one, you There's only one God. Number two, you've got to teach your children.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
If you're going to go into this land where they sacrifice children, they want to intermarry, this is the way that you're going to be successful. So they go in, they possess the land, but they don't do what God commanded them to do. And so we have all kinds of interesting stories here, and as people are going to find out, very
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
This is the period where all of your questions are going to come about, about why did this happen? Why did that happen? What about the innocent? And so that's the first part of our movement here. That's the conquest. And another interesting thing that happens here in the next few days is that all of the land will be divided up among tribes, right?
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
So if you look at a map in the back of your Bible, you'll see a tribal allotment of land, both on the east and the west side of the Jordan, and there's something peculiar about it. You won't see any land for Joseph. And you won't see any land for the Levites. And the reason is because Joseph has two half-tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh. Those were his sons.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And there is no tribal allotment for the Levites because they have 48 cities distributed throughout the land for them to minister from. So that's the book of Joshua. Then it comes to an end, and then we're going to be going into Judges.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Right. Well, you're exactly right. We have to approach the Scripture from an attitude, a certain attitude, and I would say there's two attitudes that we have to have. One is that all of our friends who are going to be joining you throughout this period are going to approach the difficult text in one of two ways. One, God is on trial. And that is, I don't like this. This doesn't fit.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
This wouldn't fly today. Okay, God, explain yourself. Because I've already kind of, you know, the jury has come back in, and I'm finding you wanting in these stories. And so people can approach it that way, or you can approach it as St. Thomas suggests, and that is that God is not arbitrary. You can approach this from the standpoint of trust. I know that he is faithful. I know that he's merciful.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
I know that he is just, and he has covenant faithfulness. Therefore, Lord, I'm going to read it from that standpoint. And as St. Augustine says, if I can't understand it, I have to dwell here a little longer until I can see what I need to see. That's one thing is we really want to challenge people about their perspective when they approach these stories.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And then the second is, you have to remember that this was written for you. This was written to encourage you, and it reveals God, and it reveals us, and this is ultimately about you. It's about you. And what happens to Israel certainly happens to us, but please, Lord, may our response be Be one of faithfulness because we have learned about Jesus Christ. And so those are the two perspectives.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
It's not just their story. This is my story, too. And what is my attitude as I read these stories?
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Oh, thank you. It's good to join you. And yeah, we're going into a very, very exciting period. Yeah, there's a lot that happens. Yeah, there's an amazing amount that happens. And this period is actually not that long. And it's made up of two books. It is Joshua and Judges. And for those of you that are following along in your Bible timeline chart, this is the green period.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Yeah. You know, the one text that I think really stands out to me about this, the conquest with Joshua is when Joshua says, you know, he looks at the landscape and what the choices are out there now that they've come into the land. And he says, as for me and my house, we're going to serve.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And that's the question that we would ask of anybody listening to the readings or actually reading the Bible is, who are you going to serve? Now, that moves into that next part of the green period, and that's the Judges. And the book of Judges is a long book. And the way to understand it is that at the end of Joshua, Joshua dies, and suddenly they don't have any leadership anymore.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
They had Moses for 80 years, they had Joshua, and now they don't have any central leadership at all, and they go through this rather lengthy period of time with no leadership, and And what happens is they enter into a cycle that is just deadly. And it's repeating seven times in the book of Judges, and it starts off with sin. And that sin, just remember S's here, the sin leads to servitude.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And isn't that a truth? Sin leads to servitude. We become slaves. The servitude, the slavery... leads to supplication. We pray and we ask God, please deliver us. And that supplication leads to salvation. God raises up a judge, which is not like Judge Judy, but it is like a warrior king almost. And then they receive victory.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And then after that salvation, then we see this repetition, sin entering in again. And this goes over and over seven times in the book of Judges. And Father, sometimes when I read this, I almost want to say, guys, hello. But then I'm looking in the mirror, you know, it's like, hello, Jeff. And I find myself in this and it's like, why didn't you guys get it? Because we didn't.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
You know, how come you didn't fly right? Because I didn't.
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Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Well, we have 12 judges in the book of Judges, and some of them, they're not all one after the other. There are times when there is a couple of judges at the same time in different areas of the land, and you have to remember that when you read it. And there's 12 of them. One woman, her name is Deborah, in Hebrew, Devorah, buzzing bee is what it means in Hebrew.
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Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And it's green because it reminds us of going from the desert wanderings, which is tan, now into the lush, green land of promise, the land of Canaan. That's why it is green.
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Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And we know of Deborah, but the most famous of all the judges is Samson. And Samson is an extraordinary individual. He is no doubt a very good-looking man. He is a practical joker. He loves women. And he has also taken an extraordinary vow. Imagine that.
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Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
You know, you take a vow, and yet you're struggling with everything everyone else is struggling, but you took a vow, and that vow is called a Nazarite vow. which means that you are holy unto the Lord, you are sanctified unto the Lord, you're not a priest, but you are sanctified. And this could be a man or a woman, by the way, Scripture tells us, and you don't cut your hair.
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Introduction to Conquest & Judges (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And that length of your hair is a sign of your faithfulness, your covenant faithfulness to God. And then he meets Delilah, who is not one of the Jewish women, She is from the neighboring nations, the Philistines, and everything goes sideways at this point.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Yeah, and I would encourage all of our listeners, I would encourage you to not just look at the life of Israel and say, wow, they sure didn't learn, did they? And get a clue, but to look into the mirror and ask, what is it in my life that God is trying to bring me out of? What is it? Are there addictions? Are there ways of thinking?
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Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Are there habits in my life where this is really keeping me from the intimacy and that relationship with God that he wants? And as you read, take these principles and apply them to yourself. Your eyes are going to be opened. I know mine are. And I think that this is one of the
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
fall to when they read the Bible is that it's for somebody else when the New Testament says this was written for your encouragement.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Pay attention to those three major changes during this reading period of the priesthood, the tabernacle, and the Word of God. In our lives today, we have the privilege of being under the care of priests. And we have the privilege of worshiping according to a way, and that's the Eucharist, the celebration of the Mass.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And we have the privilege of being the people of the word, the sacred scripture and the sacred tradition, and really ask God to give you some illumination on those three things, recognize them at church, recognize them in their life, embrace them, and thank God for all three.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Well, thank you. It's a privilege to go on the journey with you. And, you know, it's one thing to have your Bible in front of you. It's another thing to know where you're at in it, where you were and where you're going. And I think that by the time people are done, they're going to have a good picture of the overarching story of salvation history.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And, hey, we've only gone through one book so far in two periods.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Well, one of the things we're trying to do, Father, is to help people to navigate the complicated areas of the story. And this is probably the first one that we're going to encounter where If you don't understand what's happening in the book of Exodus, then you're going to kind of miss out on the narrative. And that really begins with you finished up Genesis and now we're starting Exodus.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
But what a lot of people don't know is we have 400 years that just went by and there's no story in between there. It's you guess, you know? And so when we pick up with Exodus, it's after 400 years of being down in Egypt and And during that 400 years, the current Pharaoh doesn't respect the relationship that Joseph had 400 years ago. And so we find Israel in bondage in Egypt.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And they are tired of it, as we all are. And we could say they were quarantined for 400 years. 400 years. And they cry out to God and say, we've had enough. We're crying out to you. And God raises up a deliverer by the name of Moses. And that's where we pick up on this particular book and this whole event that we're going to go through now.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Well, up until now, it's kind of a basic story. But now in Exodus, we're going to be introduced to a number of new major, major things in the story. And I guess we can kind of move up to that. They cry out to God and God raises up Moses. His name is Moshe, which means to draw out. And that's what his calling is going to be, to draw them out of darkness.
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Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
out of bondage, but it comes at quite a price. And it is an amazing story of how God tries to break them from Egyptian bondage. They are eating like the Egyptians, they're worshiping like the Egyptians, they even dress like the Egyptians. I won't get into the...
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
I said I was going to avoid that, but you got it in there and that's good. I'm so sorry. You are right. Is he gonna not say this? He has to. So you're right. I mean, everything about their life, they were addicted to idolatry. And so God had to do something amazing to draw them out and turn them to himself. And that's where we have the 10 plagues. And the result of that is
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Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Their freedom comes and they go through the Red Sea and the Egyptians follow them and the sea collapses on them. And then for three months in the book of Exodus, they travel down to Mount Sinai. And God says to them, you know, your clothes aren't going to wear out. I'm even going to, I'm going to provide food for you, which we know as bread. Manna. Manna, exactly, manna.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And manna means, what is it? You know, what is it? We're not used to this. We have garlics and leeks back there, and what is this? And so God had said something very important during this period. He said, I brought you out here to show you that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of my mouth.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And so after three months of traveling south, they end up at Mount Sinai, and they're going to be there for one year. And this is where everything changes in that one year. And if you don't get it, then you're not going to understand most of the rest of the Old Testament. Right.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Yeah, well, I was gonna say, for sure, this is gonna be a painful freedom. And isn't it always? I mean, we say to people, this is what you need to do to become free. And they go, well, I don't know if I could really... And then they come to the conclusion of maybe life wasn't so bad, you know, with my addiction. And that's what Israel, that's what they face. And they start to blame Moses.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
You brought us out here to kill us. There weren't there enough graves back there, you know, where we were. Yeah. So they end up at Sinai for a year and something big takes place. And that is that God is going to make a covenant with Israel. And we know that there's been this progression of covenants all along since you started reading, starting with Adam and Eve, with one holy couple.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And then after that, you have one holy tribe with Abraham and And now we have one holy nation. We have a family, rather. We go from Noah, family, tribe with Abraham. And now we have one holy nation. And God's making a covenant with them, which means I'm going to do this for you. You're my people. This is what you need to do in response to me. And it goes south. Yeah. Very quickly.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
The covenant was made chapter 24. By chapter 32, we have the golden calf incident and everything looks like it's going crazy. But it's in the midst of that, that we have three of the most important things to get during this period of reading. And I'll just give you those quickly. One is that there's going to be kind of a... a laicizing of the nation.
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Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And there's going to be one tribe that rises up as the priests, and those are the Levites. And that's where Moses and Aaron are from. And so you have the priests, the Levites, and then, and by the way, this takes place in chapter 32, keynote, keynote, rumble strips, this is where Leviticus belongs. Right, exactly. Yeah.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
That's where Leviticus belongs because that is for the priests and it is for the people, the holiness code. So we have the priesthood, but then there's two other things at Sinai that are huge. One is the tabernacle. And this comes as a result of Moses being up on the mountain and seeing like a heavenly vision of what it looks like to worship.
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Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And we see that also at the end of the Bible in John's revelation. And you'll see it at your local Catholic church, I might add. Exactly. But then the third thing is, is that God gives him his Torah. He gives him his law. Exactly. And that law is not meant to put them down. It's not meant to control their lives. Like we think, you know, my dad grounded me. He hates me.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
He's making my life miserable. No, he loves you. And so the more sin, the more law, and the law is to get you to focus on on your relationship with God, that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. So as we move forward, we got to keep track of the Levites. We keep track of the tabernacle.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And once you do this, you're prepared to really start understanding books like Hebrews in the New Testament, the work of Jesus as the high priest, And certainly his word is given, which we're going to find out in the New Testament that Jesus is going to fulfill every single thing that we're reading.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
No, that's a great question. And I would have to say that in my studies over the years, and in the beginning, it was like Leviticus, skip. And now it's not. It's a very critical book. And I might add that in Jesus' day, all of the children who started their biblical studies in Israel started with Leviticus of all the books, not Genesis, not Exodus, not Numbers or Deuteronomy, but Leviticus.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And the reason... was that Leviticus talks about holiness. It talks about kadosh, holiness, to be totally distinct, to be totally separate, to be holy. And I think that the thing that I would add to the reading when people are listening to you during Leviticus is this – God brought Israel out into the desert to do something.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And he said in Leviticus, he said six different times, he said, be holy as I am holy. Be holy as I'm holy. And four more times he said that. And then he went on to say, he said, you need to learn to discern between the good and the bad, that which is clean, that which is not unclean.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And then he also said, do not obey the laws of the place you came from, nor the place you are going, but obey my word. Now, what we see here, Father, is we see the foundation of discipleship. which is God is discipling a nation who has come out of bondage, come out of addiction. And he's saying, if you want to be my people and you want to truly live free, you've got to imitate me.
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Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And I'm going to be in your midst. I'm going to be in the tabernacle. I'll be with you. But I think that it's really important for people to realize as they read Leviticus, maybe you won't understand everything about it, but listen carefully for how God is forming a nation, what they wear, what they eat, who they hang around with, you know, how they treat their neighbors.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Egypt & Exodus (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
All of this really goes back to God is saying, I am God. I am discipling you. So we learn a great lesson, and that is that imitation is the foundation of discipleship. And that will carry on into the New Testament as well.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And then there's going to be a 400-year break after that. And then you're going to be picking up with Exodus and moving on. So we're right on schedule here.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Yeah, I think it's faith, you know, and what is faith and trusting in God. This idea of faith is not simply believism. You know, God did not say to Abram, do you just believe what I'm telling you? Right. But faith, to quote Pope Benedict, faith is really divided into two things. One is a mental acknowledgement.
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Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Abram says, yes, I believe that God is calling me to leave this land and go to a new land, a promised land. That's why we call it the promised land. It was promised to Abram and his descendants. But the second aspect of that, the first is faith. Mental assent, yes, I concur, I believe. The second is a personal entrusting of yourself to God.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Now, as we continue to read in the Patriarchs and beyond, you're going to encounter people who made mental assent, but they never entrusted themselves. And that's where the story gets really interesting. But what we see in Abram is he not only believed God, But it was counted for him as righteousness because he stepped out and he walked in it. He showed that he trusted God.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And so there's a remarkable demonstration here of what it means to walk with God, with Abram. And you can kind of measure Isaac and Jacob and beyond with the walk that Abraham had with God.
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Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
uh the actions the decisions and the real lives of these people who are our fathers in faith so thank you once again well i'm finding it so exciting so far just you know just to listen yes and to uh you know scriptures as faith comes by hearing in hearing by the word of god and as you're reading scripture father and i'm listening that word is going deep into my heart and and god is having his way
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
with my heart via his word. And so you're a gift in that you're lending your voice to God to speak, but then we also get some great commentary. So I appreciate it. It's just a wonderful opportunity.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Oh, thanks for allowing me to come and go for the ride. This is exciting. You know, just came through the early world and that is turquoise. And now we're going to enter a burgundy period. And burgundy reminds us of a blood, blood covenant, big thing that's going to happen in this period.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
You know, as I've been listening to you over the last number of days, I'm just reminded of the encouragement of the Word of God and just want to extend encouragement to everybody that this is a story that you can get. And we're here to help you to navigate some of the time periods where it could be a little confusing, you know, if you don't have somebody guiding you. So that's good.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And it's good to have someone that can kind of help you. And this is chapter 12 of Genesis all the way to chapter 50. And we just came off of 11 chapters that really established kind of the early world. Now we're looking at the history that we're really familiar with, you know?
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Right, yeah. And God has a plan to redeem mankind, which we saw the fall and original sin, they lost original justice back in the garden. And what we're gonna pick up on now in this period, which you're gonna be going through, I think it's even the day after Christmas, you're gonna be reading quite a bit. Big chunk, yeah.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
During this patriarchal period, which is gonna cover Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. you're really going to get a look at how God works with mankind. And Abraham is going to become very important to us because how God deals with Abram is going to come into Paul's explanation in the New Testament, for example, in Galatians, dealing with faith and what it means to believe.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And so we pick up in chapter 12 with God speaking to a man by the name of Abram. As you said, his name is going to get changed. And he is in modern day Iraq. And he's in Ur of the Chaldeans. And God calls him. And you might notice in chapter 11, you get this so-and-so begot, so-and-so begot, so-and-so, which is a lot of people's favorite part of the book. Bible, I understand.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Yeah, right. Well, you know what it's called, actually? It's a Hebrew tool called a toledot. A toledot is a literary tool that takes you from the wide angle down to narrow. In other words, the writer is forcing you to go from all of mankind to one guy, and that's Abram. And Abram's going to be key because he's going to walk with God, and God is going to make a people of Abram.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And so you pick up in chapter 12, and there are three key promises that God makes to Abram, which are going to be very important, three promises that are going to be very important in your reading plan. And I'm sure you'll bring them up when we reach that point. We start off in chapter 12. all the families of the earth shall bless themselves.
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Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And so you have three promises to Abram at the beginning of this period, and that is land, a royal dynasty, going to make his name great, and worldwide blessing. Three major promises. But we have a major problem, and that is Abram doesn't have any kids. He doesn't have any kids. And it's just beautiful how God deals with this problem and gives him a son, Isaac.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And people are going to be reading that with you. And he ends up with Isaac as a son. But it's so interesting. In chapter 15, which you're going to be coming upon pretty quick in your reading.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
In chapter 15, we're going to see that Abram struggles with God. How do I know that you're going to give me these things? I don't even have a son, and God is going to make a covenant. with Abram. And you're going to read about it in chapter 15. I won't read it now, but this is a beautiful, beautiful situation where God makes a covenant with Abram.
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Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And, and as a result of that, we're going to have Isaac and then Isaac and his wife, Rebecca have Jacob and Esau, or I should say Esau and Jacob. Right. And then after that, we're going to have through Jacob, the 12 sons, tribes of Israel through four different ladies. It's going to be Leah and Rachel, true, but it's also going to be their handmaids, Bilhah and Zilpah.
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And you're going to end up with all of the tribes of Israel, the sons of Jacob, which eventually is going to lead them into Egypt, where things again go south. And they become the really servants of the Egyptians, and it doesn't end well for them.
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Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Well, I think people are a little alarmed sometimes when they're reading the Bible and they hear these wild stories that people get into and they take offense like, oh, that shouldn't be in the Bible or I didn't expect that from the Bible. Well, just turn the Bible around and look at it like a mirror. I didn't expect that in your life either. And you didn't expect that in your life either.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
You didn't... You know, you didn't think you would think like you're thinking. And so it really does paint a picture of the brokenness of humanity. And it speaks of the great patience and the loving kindness that God demonstrates in bringing us all back together into his family, which is going to culminate in Jesus. I would not be alarmed at all of these stories in the Bible.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
I think anytime you read about sin, sure, it's alarming, but it really does echo where mankind is at today. And also the love of God and the great lengths he goes to save us and to bring us to himself. This period of the patriarchs is so rich. in the stories about God's faithfulness, about our brokenness.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
You know, when you get to, you know, go from Abraham and Sarah, and then you get into Isaac and Rebecca, you will see Rebecca working with her son, Jacob, to try to right wrongs. And then Jacob fooling his brother And we wonder when he fools his brother Esau and he gets from him the blessing, but also the birthright.
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When he gets that, you're thinking, now this isn't right. There's gotta be consequences to it. Right. And there are consequences. You keep reading.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Keep reading. And in Hebrew writing, Father, it's really interesting because in Hebrew writing, we want the story to be Jacob fooled Esau. We want punishment in the next chapter. Right. But the Hebrew writers don't do that. They don't tell you the results. They show you.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And that's why you've got to read it carefully and start seeing patterns differently. develop. But the whole period in Genesis ends with Jacob giving blessings to all of his sons, and one tribe is going to rise above all of them as a tribe to pay attention to for the rest of the story.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Yeah, and another thing to pay attention to is how the church reads Scripture. You know, we know that there are three different levels that we need to pay attention to when you're reading it. Number one is you need to read this, all of this, the patriarchs in Genesis, knowing that Christ fulfills all of this. He fulfills all of it. And from time to time, that will become evident.
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But second of all, We need to read it in light of what does this mean to me? Do I see myself in this story? Am I Jacob? Right. Or am I Esau?
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Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Yeah, right. And so you read it knowing that this relates to my life as well. And the third is the future, heaven. How does this find fulfillment eventually in heaven? And those are the three things. things that we pay attention to as Catholics when we read the Bible, but it is a love letter written to you where God is revealing his heart and his plan to you.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And don't be discouraged if you don't get it all right now. There was a very famous word from one of the saints who said that reading the Bible is like drinking from a drinking fountain. Do you remember that one?
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Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Yeah, yeah. You don't go to a drinking fountain and start crying saying, look at all of that went on the ground. Okay. be happy with what you got.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Well, this period is going to be an exciting period, and I know that it's going to be fun to go through it with you. It's really the story of Abraham, and now we are following the seed line all the way from Eve We're gonna follow that line all the way to Jesus. And so one of the ways we navigate through this complex Bible is we stay on task.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
We are following the seed line that was introduced with Adam and Eve. And you can read about these genealogies in Matthew and Luke. And so it's not just willy-nilly, there's actually a prescribed way of telling this entire story. So we've got Abram, and that great covenant that God makes with Abram is going to be bedrock for the rest of the entire Bible.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
We're gonna be looking for when do they get land? When is there a royal kingdom established? When is worldwide blessing available to the world? And so that acts as a foundation for us to read going forward. But then who can forget the great stories of Isaac, and Jacob, and then the longest portion of Genesis goes to Joseph.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to the Patriarchs (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And just a key, when you get to that point, when you get to that point, remember, it's not just about Joseph. There's one other character that you're gonna be getting into. I won't let the cat out of the bag. But you're gonna be talking about that, and it's going to end with all the blessings to these sons, which are really, really important. And they end in Egypt.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
But the key is you've got to live your life as though there's one God, and that is your message, that's your testimony, that's your witness, is there's only one God. And that's true for us today. But we have to ask, when people look at our lives, do they come up with a conclusion that we serve four gods? Maybe money, technology, sports, and oh yeah, church, God.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Now, the second key is one that really hits home. And it's something that we can do something about. If we're going to live in America right now, or Canada, or wherever people are listening from around the world, if we're going to live in this culture, we have to have a witness in our life.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Our marriage, our money, our fathering, our mothering, our politics, everything has to be a witness that there's only one God that we're worshiping. The second one is you have to diligently teach your children. Now, this isn't just an option or kind of like, hey, we have a good family. We kind of teach our kids.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
This is the prescribed formula for success in a foreign land that is opposed to God and the gospel. And so Moses said, in these words, which I command you this day shall be upon your heart and And you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontals between your eyes, and you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." So when we talk about you must teach your children, it's in the broader context of your home. And God says that you should even write these words of mine on the doorposts of your house.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And when you go to Israel today, you'll see these little boxes that with these scriptures inside of it nailed to the doorposts of their house. And when they come into their house, they kiss what's called the mezuzah. Mezuzah means doorpost in Hebrew. When they kiss that, they are saying that my home will be ruled by the word of God. And that's what's happening when they go into the promised land.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
God says, if you want to be successful, you've got to live like there's only one God, me, and you have to teach your children, and your home has to become what Israel called a mikdash ma'at, that is, a small temple place. where you worship me, you teach your children, that is the key to success.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Now, we have to look at our current situation in the United States and ask ourselves, is it because we have not done those two commands? One God, our family, our home, our children, that lands us in a place where we've lost our narrative, which is what Israel is going to do, because they're not going to obey what God is telling them to do here.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
No, it is safe to say that Numbers is the narrative, but Deuteronomy is a second law. It's a second set of laws that are given due to the hardness of Israel's heart at this particular time. But it's chalk-filled with wonderful, wonderful guidance and wisdom for us.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And this, I cannot tell you how critical this is, not only to the story and the narrative, but also our lives today.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Let me give you another interesting insight, Father, as all of our friends are reading with you through this period. In chapter 17, there's going to be just a few words that will be the key to understanding in the future Israel asking for a king. Because when they come into the land, they're going to ask for a king in 1 Samuel.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
In 1 Samuel chapter 7, they're going to ask for a king, and God is going to give them a king. But there's a warning about it given back here in Deuteronomy, and it's Deuteronomy 17, 14, where God says, When you come to the land which the Lord your God gives you, you possess it and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
You may indeed set as king over you him whom the Lord your God will choose. But then he gives three things that the king should not have, which just keep this in your back pocket because this is going to be the downfall. Mm-hmm. of those three kings, and that is going to be Saul, David, and Solomon. And particularly, this is going to be applicable to Solomon. Now, listen to this.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And we can talk about that, particularly in the area of how do you live your life when you're going into a country where it is diametrically opposed to the message of God? Like that's ever going to happen, right? Yeah, that may be once in a while. So we're going to look at that.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
These are the three. You must not have multiple horses. You must not have many wives, and you shall not greatly multiply silver and gold, okay? So those are the three, and these typically are related to foreign alliances.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Now, I'm just saying this now because this is really important that when we come to 1 Samuel 7, and this is after Joshua and Judges, and they're going to ask for a king, we've got to remember what was spoken through Moses earlier, and that is, okay, you can have a king if it's who I say you can have, but Do not let them have many horses and chariots, not much gold, and not many wives.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And we'll see later in the story how this became a downfall for Israel.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
You know, there's so much in Deuteronomy, numbers in Deuteronomy. And, you know, Jesus even refers to it, like in Deuteronomy 24, when Moses, he makes a provision for divorce. but it was because of the hardness of their heart. And the Pharisees are going to call that on Jesus and say, well, Moses said it was okay. And Jesus said, yeah, but it wasn't that way from the beginning.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And they're referring to Deuteronomy 24. He said, it's due to the hardness of your heart. I would say that Deuteronomy 16 is another important one because this is where they are told that three times a year they're to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. And the pilgrimage to the Holy Land was a beautiful time.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And later, when David comes on the scene, they're going to start to read and sing psalms on the way to Jerusalem during these pilgrimages and get their heart right before God. And that's what we experience when we go to Mass every week. It's sort of like a mini-pilgrimage, if you will.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
But there's a number of very important things that take place in this relatively small period of salvation history, which is about 40 years.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And that mini-pilgrimage is where we prepare our hearts to go up to meet the Lord and to not just where the Lord's presence is, but His real presence, which comes into our life and nurtures us and gives us that strength. So these are really good. It's all good, and I'm really looking forward to going through it. And just remember, Numbers is the narrative book.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Deuteronomy is the last speech of Moses, and it introduces a number of things, and it's right before they go in. And later, Jesus will remove some of these laws in Deuteronomy because of his fulfillment. But Deuteronomy is very, very important.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And you mentioned... I love that lens. Yes, and adding to that lens that he will fulfill everything that he's promised. In Numbers chapter 24, we have one of the greatest real prophecies of the coming of Jesus, which is Balaam's prophecy. And he says, I see him, but not now. I see him, but not now. And this is chapter 24 and verse 17. I see him, but not now. I behold him, but not near.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
A star shall come forth out of Jacob and a scepter shall rise out of Israel. And this is the prophecy of the lion of the tribe of Judah. The scepter shall not depart from from Judah. So all of the Old Testament's Christocentric.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Sometimes it's really blatant like this, but we're reminded all along the narrative, there is one coming that's gonna make sense out of all this and fulfill all of this and is going to be the Lord and King of our lives as well.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
I would just say, if you're listening to this during one of the most unusual times in American history of COVID, or whether COVID is in the rearview mirror like Deuteronomy, it can be a desert. And when you read through this, listen to what the Lord is saying to you in a time of silence. in a time of being quarantined, in a time of being formed. Don't waste it.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Right. Well, you know, there are sections of the Bible that seem rather boring, whether it's numbering off the tribes and telling us how many numbers, number of people there are in each particular tribe, or so-and-so begot so-and-so begot so-and-so. And while they might be boring, they're actually very critical, very important.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
particularly for the person who wants to go a little bit deeper into the story of the Bible. For example, the so-and-so begot so-and-so is actually a literary device called a toledot. And a toledot in Hebrew is sort of like a lens where you're going from wide angle to narrow. And it's a way of going from the broad picture down to one man.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And that's a literary device that kind of takes you by the hand and walks you there. So while they might seem boring, they're very useful. They're very powerful and good for understanding the story. But we pick up in the book of Numbers, and it's important to realize that when Numbers starts, they are still at Mount Sinai.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
In our last period, they were at Mount Sinai for one year, and they received the tabernacle, the priesthood, and the law. These were the three major changes. And then shortly after that, now in the book of Numbers, they're going to break camp. But before that, there is like a recapping of the Exodus story. They go back and they look at that story a bit, as they do in Deuteronomy.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
But the major launching point in the book of Numbers really is the 10th chapter. You know, they were prepared as God's people to go up and take the promised land. They had not been up there since way back, you know, hundreds of years when Abraham was there, and Jacob, and Isaac, and Jacob, and then Joseph.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
But now they're going to make their way back into the promised land, but there's going to be a test, and you know there's tests all along in salvation history. There was at the beginning, there is at the end, there's, well, there is in our own lives today. So the test is going to be, as they break camp in chapter 10, they're going to send spies up into the land, which is not very far.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And they stop at a place called Kadesh Barnea. And Kadesh Barnea comes from the word, Kadesh comes from Kadosh. Kadosh is holy, separated ones. And so... Kadesh Barnea, the city, acts as sort of a launching point where they're going to see if they are really the separate ones and they're going to trust God and go into the land or whether they're going to retreat.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Well, they send 12 spies up and they come back and they give their report. Two of them, Joshua and Caleb, said, we can take it. Ten of them said, there's no way. There's giants in the land. It's great fruit and everything else, don't get me wrong, but there's giants in the land. And so when they came back and gave their report, God said, so be it.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
For every day that you are spying out the land, you will wander for a year in this wilderness. And so how many days do we think they were up in the land? Yeah, 40. So 40 years now, they're going to be wandering in the desert. And that's really the story of the book of Numbers and this period, which we recall the number 40 is a number of testing, like Lent. It is a number of testing.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
It's a number of finding out who you really are. And we see it over and over in the Bible, and especially with Jesus, 40 days in the wilderness. So that's where we're at in the story right now. We broke camp in chapter 10 of Numbers, sent spies up north. They came back with no way, not going to happen. And that was chapter 13.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Oh, yeah, no, no, I think so, absolutely. You know, God said, I brought you out of here into the wilderness. I brought you out here to show you something. And I brought you out here to show you that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. And that's a real lesson for us today, too. It's one thing to read through the Bible in a year.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
It's another thing to trust God with what you are reading and you're putting it into practice. You are you're making a mental assent to it, and then you're giving your personal entrusting to God. And it's important to remember during this desert wandering period that in this 40 years, the older generation, those over 20, they're going to die out in the wilderness.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
They're not going in to the promised land. It's going to be those who are under 20 that they're going to grow up And they're going to be close to 60 now. And they're the ones that are going to be going into the promised land. And the fearless leader that brought them out, Moses, he's not going to go into the promised land because he disobeyed the Lord a couple of times. And he's going to die soon.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
on Mount Nebo just prior to going into the Promised Land, and it's gonna be Joshua that ultimately takes them in. So our attention needs to be on that younger generation, because that's gonna be important later on in the narrative, and especially when we get to the Gospels. Just remember that. It's like one of those points. But Father, I wanna bring up one thing that's really interesting here.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And when you and I go to Israel, we oftentimes will see the Jewish people in Israel. They have little strands of string on the four corners of their garment. And a lot of people ask, well, what is that? What is it? And you commented on this earlier. It says in the book of Numbers, this is where it happens, that God wants them related to trust.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
He wants them to be people who are focused on his word. You know, we just said man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. And he brought them out into the wilderness for this. But then he even makes them dress in such a way that there's like a sacramental that will remind them of his word in the desert. Right.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
So you have these four tassels called tzitzit, or plural, tzitziot, and they are tied on the four corners of their garment, and they are tied in such a way as to represent the 613 commandments of the Torah. So that means that when you see Those tzitziot, you're reminded that you are a son, you're a daughter of the commandments, and this is where you learn to trust God.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And it would be neat if we had something like that today where 24-7 we are just reminded, I'm a son of God's word.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Yeah. And, you know, there's so many wonderful things that happen or interesting things, I should say, that happen in the book of Numbers. You have the Nazarite vow. You have the 70 leadership pattern of 70 leading. You have the bronze serpent, the desert wanderings as foreshadowing. something in the future, which is Jesus. But there's also the priestly blessing.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And this was a blessing that I said over my daughters every day before they went to school. No doubt you have said this. It's in the mass. We wait for the final blessing. Right. And that's Numbers chapter 6, which says, The Lord said to Moses, Say to Aaron and his sons, Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them, The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace or shalom. And so that blessing becomes a major theme in the narrative now. And in fact, on the three pilgrimages, the festivals every year, when they went to Jerusalem, which will be later, they go there for that blessing.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And that's what we receive as the last thing at Mass. Bow your head and receive God's blessing. Unfortunately, sometimes one-tenth of the people are sitting in their car outside at that very point. But I digress. So, yeah, that's where we're at with the book of Numbers. And the book of Numbers has an amazing chapter, chapter 33, that I would draw everyone's attention to.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And as you read it, it's going to be a really a cool reminder of everything that has happened. It's all the stages of Israel's journey from Egypt. So, if you want... a mini story of the story, you can go to chapter 33 and you get from Egypt all the way till the present. Then we have Moses' last letter, his last speech, which is Deuteronomy, the second law. And this is an amazing book.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Yeah, it's exciting. Thanks for having me back again. Yeah, we're going to look at Numbers as the primary narrative book for the desert wanderings. And in the Bible timeline, it is the color, kind of a tan, standing for the desert, you know, the desert experience. And then the supplemental book is going to be Deuteronomy.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And it's structured in such a way where the first part of it looks back as to where they came from. Right. And it's kind of like, well, it looks back at where they were. And the last part looks forward to where they're going. And the middle is where we're at right now. So it's kind of like looking into the rear view mirror as we're moving forward, right? And God is going to place them.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Okay, you were here in the past. You're going here. This is where you're at. Now, let me say something to you that is very, very important. And that is, I'm going to share with you the secret to living in a country that worships foreign gods and they sacrifice children and they want your sons and daughters.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
And of course, that's the Canaanites because they're getting ready now to cross the Jordan River from the east towards the west, and they're going to take Jericho, the first city, and that's going to be the next period of Joshua and the judges. But they are just ready to do it, and Moses gives them the key. He gives them the key and some lessons that are very, very important. Want to hear those?
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Right. Okay, there's really two keys here. The first one is the most famous verse in the entire Bible for the Jewish people. They say it every day. Jesus said it every day. Those in Auschwitz said it before they died. People in difficulties say it, and that is Deuteronomy 6, 4, and I'll give it to you in Hebrew. And it is Shema Israel Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Introduction to Desert Wanderings (with Jeff Cavins) (2025)
Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and you shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your might. Now, that is one key right there, that if you're going to go over and take that land, you have to live. And that land, by the way, is a land of peace. many gods.