The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 52: Israel Continues to Journey (2025)
Fri, 21 Feb 2025
Fr. Mike kicks off our reading of the book of Numbers by explaining where Israel is at in their journey with the Lord, and how they are keeping him at the center of it all (literally). Today we read from Numbers 1, Deuteronomy 1, and Psalm 84. 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: Who is hosting the Bible in a Year podcast?
Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to the Bible in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of Scripture. The Bible in a Year podcast is brought to you by Ascension.
Using the Great Adventure Bible Timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story together. Today, it is day 52. We have just left Egypt and the Exodus, and we're entering into the period of the desert wanderings. This is a kind of a big step.
And actually, today is going to be a little bit, well, I've got some good news for you and some bad news for you. But before that, I just want to remind you that the Bible translation that I'm using is the Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition. I'm using the Red Adventure Bible from Ascension.
One of the things that gets asked a lot, and you probably have figured this out already on day 52, is, is that you don't need to be following the exact bible translation that i'm reading from in fact sometimes what i'll do is i'll read multiple translations not out loud here on the recording but multiple translations at times can give me a different layered understanding of what's being said
So if you have a New American Bible, if you have a New Jerusalem Bible, if you have one of the other English Standard Version, those are all pretty good translations. Again, you can use whatever. Jeff has always said that the Bible translation that is best to use is the one that you will use. And so that's what we got going for us. So that's nice.
But I'm using the Revised Standard Version, 2nd Catholic Edition. A student just asked me, he said, hey, if I want to follow along with you, it's not too late to start if you're just starting today on day 52. How do I do that? I said, well, at the beginning of every podcast, I encourage people to download the Bible in a Year reading plan by visiting ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a Year.
And he said, thanks, Father. And I said, no problem, bro. So if you want to get your Bible in a Year reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress.com slash slash Bible in a year. Also, you can subscribe in your podcast app. So as I said, today we have some good news and we have some bad news. The good news is we are journeying into the book of Numbers and the book of Deuteronomy. So good.
Incredible. A new period, new time period. The bad news is this, is the beginning of Numbers is kind of all about Numbers. It's where we got the title, the English title for the book of Numbers. The Hebrew title means into the wilderness, which is much more dramatic and a lot more exciting than
But our translation, our title for the book of Numbers is Numbers because it begins by numbering the people of Israel, numbering the tribes, the different 12 tribes of Israel. Now, that numbering can be discouraging for some people because you might get to the end of this day thinking, like, what the heck? That's all this was?
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Chapter 2: What Bible translations are used in this podcast?
Of the people of Asher, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from 20 years old and upward, every man able to go forth to war, the number of the tribe of Asher was 41,500. Of the people of Naphtali,
Their generations, by their families, by their father's houses, according to the number of names from 20 years old and upward, every man able to go forth to war, the number of the tribe of Naphtali was 53,400. These are those who were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron numbered with the help of the leaders of Israel, 12 men, each representing his father's house.
So the whole number of the sons of Israel by their father's houses from 20 years old and upward, every man able to go forth to war in Israel, their whole number was 603,550. But the Levites were not numbered by their ancestral tribe along with them. For the Lord said to Moses, only the tribe of Levi you shall not number.
You shall not take a census of them among the sons of Israel, but appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the covenant and over all its furnishings and over all that belongs to it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings and they shall tend it and they shall encamp around the tabernacle. When the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down.
And when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up. And if anyone else comes near, he shall be put to death. The sons of Israel shall pitch their tents by their companies, every man by his own camp and every man by his own standard. But the Levites shall encamp around the tabernacle of the covenant.
that there may be no wrath upon the congregation of the sons of Israel, and the Levites shall keep charge of the tabernacle of the covenant. Thus did the sons of Israel.
They did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses. The fifth book of Moses, commonly called Deuteronomy.
Chapter one, events at Horeb recalled. These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness in the Ereba over against Suf, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dezahab. It is eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Sinai to Kadesh Barnea.
And in the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the sons of Israel according to all that the Lord had given him in commandment to them. After he had defeated Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashteroth and in Adri.
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