Fr. Mike reflects on King Saul's despair in the face of trial, and how he seeks other means of comfort when he feels like God has abandoned him. God never abandons us, especially in the midst of danger. Fr. Mike invites us to place our trust in God's promise, instead of resorting to sinful acts. Today's readings are 1 Samuel 27-28 and Psalm 34. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.
Chapter 1: What does Fr. Mike introduce in Day 118?
Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to the Bible in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of Scripture. The Bible in a Year podcast is brought to you by Ascension. Using the Great Adventure Bible timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds. Now, we fit into that story today.
Chapter 2: What chapters and psalm are read today?
It is day 118. We have two days left, including today, for 1 Samuel before we jump into 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles. We are reading two chapters from 1 Samuel today. It is 1 Samuel chapter 27 and 28. We're also praying Psalm 34. That's treinta y cuatro for those Spanish speakers who know how to speak Spanish numbers, but we'll be reading this in English.
Speaking of the translation of which you'll be reading is the Revised Standard Version, 2nd Catholic Edition. I'm using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension. Speaking of Spanish Bibles, actually, this is not, no one told me to say this. I am literally looking. on my bookshelf and I can see the Spanish version of the great adventure Bible timeline, uh, sorry, great adventure Bible.
They have it in Spanish. So if you are someone who are more, you're more accustomed to reading scripture in Spanish, they do have a Spanish great adventure Bible. It is also the revised standard version, second Catholic edition, I believe, or maybe it's something, I don't know. That was just something I said, but I do have the Spanish version. They have it from Ascension.
If you want to download your own Bible in a year reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a year. You also can subscribe in your podcast app to receive daily episodes. And this, if you had done this, would be your 118th freely delivered to your place where you listen to podcasts day in a row. Does that make sense?
Chapter 3: How does David escape from Saul?
Day 118, we're reading 1 Samuel 27 and 28, and we're praying Psalm 34. 1 Samuel chapter 27, David goes to King Akshish in Gath. And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape to the land of the Philistines.
Then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand. So David arose and went over, he and the 600 men who were with him, to Akshish, the son of Maok, king of Gath. And David dwelt with Akshish and Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, Nabal's widow.
And when it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath, he sought for him no more. Then David said to Akshish, If I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be given me in one of the country towns, that I may dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you? So that day Akshish gave him Ziklag. Therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day.
And the number of the days that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was a year and four months. Now David and his men went up and made raids upon the Geshurites, the Gerzites, and the Amalekites, for these were the inhabitants of the land from of old, as far as Shur to the land of Egypt.
Chapter 4: What happens when Saul consults a medium?
And David struck the land and left neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the garments, and came back to Akshish. When Akshish asked, against whom have you made a raid today? David would say, against the Negev of Judah, or against the Negev of the Jeremelites, or against the Negev of the Kenites.
And David saved neither man nor woman alive to bring tidings to Gath, thinking, lest they should tell about us and say, so David has done. Chapter 28 In those days, the Philistines gathered their forces for war to fight against Israel. And Akshish said to David, Understand that you and your men are to go out with me in the army.
David said to Akshish, Very well, you shall know what your servant can do. And Akshish said to David, Very well, I will make you my bodyguard for life. Saul consults a medium at Endor. Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had put the mediums and the wizards out of the land. The Philistines assembled and came and encamped at Shunem.
And Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped at Gilboa. When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him either by dreams or by Urim or by prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, seek out for me a woman who is a medium that I may go to her and inquire of her.
And his servants said to him, behold, there is a medium at Endor. so saul disguised himself and put on other garments and went he and two men with him and they came to the woman by night and he said divine for me by a spirit and bring up for me whomever i shall name to you the woman said to him surely you know what saul has done how he has cut off the mediums and the wizards from the land
Why then are you laying a snare for my life to bring about my death? But Saul swore to her by the Lord, As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing. Then the woman said, Whom shall I bring up for you? He said, Bring up Samuel for me. When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice, and the woman said to Saul, Why have you deceived me? You are Saul.
The king said to her, Have no fear. What do you see? And the woman said to Saul, I see a God coming up out of the earth. He said to her, What is his appearance? And she said, An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe. And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and did obeisance. Then Samuel said to Saul, why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?
Saul answered, I am in great distress for the Philistines are warring against me and God has turned away from me and answers me no more either by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do. And Samuel said, Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has turned from you and become your enemy? The Lord has done to you as he spoke by me.
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Chapter 5: What does Samuel tell Saul during their encounter?
For the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor David. Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek. Therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. Moreover, the Lord will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me.
The Lord will give the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines. Then Saul fell at once full length upon the ground, filled with fear because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night. And the woman came to Saul, and when she saw that he was terrified, she said to him, Behold, your handmaid has listened to you.
I have taken my life in my hand, and have listened to what you have said to me. Now therefore you also listen to your handmaid. Let me set a morsel of bread before you, and eat, that you may have strength when you go on your way. He refused and said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the woman, urged him, and he listened to their words. So he arose from the earth and sat upon the bed.
Now the woman had a fatted calf in the house, and she quickly killed it, and she took flour, and kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread of it, and she put it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they rose and went away that night.
Psalm 34. Praise for deliverance from trouble.
A Psalm of David. When he feigned madness before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away. I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord. Let the humble hear and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.
Look to him and be radiant, so that your faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and delivers them. O taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. O fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no want.
The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Come, O sons, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is there who desires life and covets many days that he may enjoy good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it.
The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. The face of the Lord is against evildoers to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
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Chapter 6: What is the significance of Psalm 34?
So basically just still the Christian attitude. Yep. Yep. God can reveal the future prophets or other saints, but the Christian attitude is means that I put myself confidently into the hands of God himself for whatever concerns the future, giving up all unhealthy curiosity about it. That's so good. Giving up all unhealthy curiosity about the future.
Now, on the other hand, improvidence can constitute a lack of responsibility. Like no taking no care of the future can constitute a lack of responsibility. So here's what we do. We have this freedom where we can put ourselves trustingly into the Lord's hands, knowing that, yep, he is there. The God of all time, he's the God of all everything.
At the same time, we have to also be concerned and aware of the fact that this moment, while this moment is the most important moment, sometimes the job of this moment is to prepare for the next moment. Sometimes the task of this day is to prepare for tomorrow. And so we only do the task of today, but sometimes again, as I said, the task of today is to prepare for tomorrow.
And so there's this, this dual, like such a balance of, yep, I trust in the Lord right now. I don't, I don't have an, I don't want to have an unhealthy curiosity about the future. And at the same time, I am aware of the fact that the task of right now might be, might be to prepare for then goes on to say. 21 16 all forms of divination are to be rejected.
So this is what Saul did He was appealing to this medium to try to get an answer that God was not giving It goes on to say recourse to Satan or demons conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to unveil the future consulting horoscopes astrology palm reading interpretation of omens and lots phenomena of clairvoyance and recourse to mediums all all
All are wrong, and they all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. And they contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.
Now, this is so remarkable is that I remember talking with someone and they were saying that, oh, my mom made me get rid of all my books on tarot cards. And She doesn't understand. It's just silly. It's just fun.
And I remember speaking with her and thinking, oh, your mom, I'm glad your mom made you get rid of your books on your tarot card books because the church doesn't condemn those things because they are a waste of your time or because they're just silly. It's because they're actually dangerous. There's actually power there.
When the church condemns here, horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, clairvoyance, recourse to mediums, all these things, We recognize that there, yes, there's a spiritual world and the spirits are not all good, right? There are spirits who live in God's presence, angels, absolutely. But there are also spirits who have rejected God's presence.
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Chapter 7: How does Fr. Mike conclude the reflection?
The same thing is true for anyone who would call upon a medium or a horoscope or a Ouija board or any of those kinds of things. If that's been part of your life, my invitation, I beg you, please get rid of those things, burn them, throw them away and get to confession. Be restored to the Lord because it is a serious, serious violation of the first commandment.
And even more, well, not even more, but just as much, it's placing your own eternal soul in great, great jeopardy, in great, great risk. And so I know that's really heavy, but it's right from the Bible here, 1 Samuel chapter 28, where this happens. And what's the consequence for Saul is that you'll die tomorrow, Prophet Samuel says to Saul. And this kind of thing spiritually kills us.
And so again, you don't have to be afraid. We don't have to be afraid because Jesus Christ conquers everything, but we do have to make a point of definitely turning away from all sources of evil like this and turning back to the Lord, repenting, going to confession if we have the chance and getting rid of all traces of those things in our lives. Again, heavy topic today on day 118.
At the same time, what a gift to be able to be called higher. What a gift to be able to realize that there is a spiritual world out there that we're part of. At the same time, we need to trust in the Lord more than anything else, even when he's silent and not to take the control of the future in our own hands. I know it's hard and this world is difficult and this life is difficult.
And that's why we keep praying for each other. And please pray for each other. I'm praying for you. Please, please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.
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