Day 79: Psalms of Ascent (2026)

Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz and you're listening to The Bible Any Year Podcast, where

we encounter God's voice in live life through the lens of Scripture.

The Bible Any Year Podcast is brought to you by Ascension, using the great adventure

Bible timeline.

We'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds

and how we fit into that story today.

It is day 79.

We have only two days left, including today, until we're completed with the book of numbers

and the book of Deuteronomy, and moving on to the next time period, the conquest and

judges.

But today, it is day 79.

So we are reading today from Numbers, chapter 34.

Deuteronomy, chapter 33, we're also be praying Psalm 120, as always, I am reading from

the Bible translation called the Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition, using

the great adventure Bible from Ascension.

If you want to download your own Bible Any Year reading plan, you can visit AscensionPress.com

slash Bible Any Year, and you want to subscribe to this podcast.

That would be a really good idea, and I would recommend it.

You can just click subscribe, and you are subscribed, as I said today, is the second to last

day, until we are concluding this desert wanderings time period.

It is day 79.

We're reading today, as I said, once again, this is the final blessing of Moses in Deuteronomy,

and the almost very, very end of Numbers, chapter 34, where we find out about the boundaries

of the land of Canaan.

We find out about the tribal leaders and the people amongst the people of Israel, and

we continue with our journey today.

The Book of Numbers, chapter 34, Boundaries of the Land of Canaan.

The Lord said to Moses, command the sons of Israel, and say to them, When you enter the land

of Canaan, this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan,

in its full extent, your south side shall be from the wilderness of Zinn along the

side of Edom, and your southern boundary shall be from the end of the salt sea on the east,

and your boundary shall turn south of the Ascent of Acrobeam, and cross Zinn, and its end

shall be south of Qadish Bernia, then it shall go on to Hazar Adar, and pass along to

Asman, and the boundary shall turn from Asman to the Brook of Egypt, and its termination

shall be at the sea.

For the Western boundary, you shall have the Great Sea, and its coast.

This shall be your Western boundary.

This shall be your northern boundary.

From the Great Sea, you shall mark out your line to Mount Hore.

From Mount Hore, you shall mark it out to the entrance of Hamath, and the end of the

boundary shall be at Zadada, then the boundary shall extend to Zifron, and its end shall be

at Hazar Adan.

This shall be your northern boundary.

You shall mark out your eastern boundary from Hazar Adan to Shafam, and the boundary shall

go down from Shafam to Ribla, on the east side of Ayin, and the boundary shall go down

and reach to the shoulder of the Sea of Chinarath, on the east, and the boundary shall go down

to the Jordan, and its end shall be at the Salt Sea.

This shall be your land, with its boundaries all round.

Moses commanded the sons of Israel, saying, �This is the land which you shall inherit

by lot, which the Lord has commanded it to give to the nine tribes and to the half tribe.

Under the tribe of the sons of Ruben by Father's Houses, and the tribe of the sons of

Gad by their Father's Houses have received their inheritance, and also the half-tribe

of Manasseh, the two tribes, and the half-tribe have received their inheritance beyond the

Jordan and Jericho eastward toward the sunrise.�

Tribal leaders

The Lord said to Moses, �These are the names of the men who shall divide the land to

you for inheritance.

Eleas are the priest, and Joshua the son of none.

He shall take one leader of every tribe to divide the land for inheritance.

These are the names of the men of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jifuna, of the tribe

of the sons of Simeon, Shamuel the son of Amihud, of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son

of Chislon, of the tribe of the sons of Dan, a leader, Bukhi the son of Jogli, of the sons

of Joseph, of the tribe of the sons of Manasseh, a leader, Haniel the son of Eifat, and of

the tribe of the sons of Ephraim, a leader, Kimuel the son of Shiftan, of the tribes of

the sons of Zebulin, a leader, Elizafan the son of Panak, of the tribe of the sons of

Issaqar, a leader, Paltiel the son of Azan, and of the tribe of the sons of Asher, a

leader, Akuhud the son of Shilomi, of the tribe of the sons of Naftali, a leader, Pedahel

the son of Amihud.

These are the men whom the Lord commanded to divide the inheritance for the sons of Israel

in the land of Canaan.

The Book of Deuteronomy chapter 33, Moses' final blessing.

This is the blessing, with which Moses' the man of God blessed the children of Israel

before his death.

He said, The Lord came from Sinai, and Don from Sair upon us.

He shone forth from Mount Paran.

He came from the ten thousands of holy ones, with flaming fire at his right hand.

Yes, he loved his people.

All those consecrated to him were in his hand, so they followed in your steps, receiving

instruction from you, when Moses commanded us, as a law, as a possession for the assembly

of Jacob.

Thus, the Lord became king in Jashirun.

When the heads of the people were gathered, all the tribes of Israel together.

Yet Rubin live and not die, nor let his men be few.

In this he said of Judah, Hear O Lord, the voice of Judah, and bring him into his people,

with your hands contend for him, and be a help against his adversaries.

And of Levi, he said, Give to Levi your Thumim, and your Urum to your godly one, when you

tested at NASA, with whom you strove at the waters of Meribah, who said of his father

and mother, I regard them not.

He disowned his brothers, and ignored his children.

For they observed your word, and kept your covenant.

They shall teach Jacob your ordinances, and Israel your law.

They shall put incense before you, and whole burnt offering upon your altar.

Bless O Lord, his substance, and accept the work of his hands.

Crush the loins of his adversaries, of those that hate him, that they rise not again.

Of Benjamin, he said, The beloved of the Lord, he dwells in safety by him.

He encompasses him all the day long, and makes his dwelling between his shoulders.

And of Joseph, he said, Blessed by the Lord be his land, with the choicest gifts of heaven

above, and of the deep that lies beneath, with the choicest fruits of the sun, and the

rich yield of the months, with the finest produce of the ancient mountains, and the abundance

of the everlasting hills, with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness, and the favor

of him, that dwelt in the bush.

But these come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of his head of him that is

prince among his brothers.

His firstling bull has majesty, and his horns are the horns of a wild ox.

With them, he shall push the peoples, all of them, to the ends of the earth.

Such are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and such are the thousands of Manassa.

And of Zebulin, he said, Rejoice Zebulin, in your going out, and isaker in your tents.

They shall call peoples to their mountain.

There, they offer right sacrifices, for they suck the affluence of the seas and the hidden

treasures of the sand.

And of God, he said, Blessed be he who enlarges God.

God lurks like a lion, ate tears at the arm, and the crown of the head.

He chose the best of the land for himself, for there a commander's portion was reserved.

And he came to the head of the people, with Israel, he executed the commands, and the

just decrees of the Lord.

And of Dan, he said, Dan is a lion's welp, that leaps forth from Bashan.

And of Naftali, he said, Oh Naftali, satisfied with favor, and full of the blessings of the

Lord, possess the lake and the south.

And of Asher, he said, Blessed above sons be Asher, and let him be the favorite of his brothers,

and let him dip his foot in oil.

Your bars shall be iron and bronze, and as your days, so shall your strength be.

There is none like God, O Jeşarun, who rides through the heavens to your help, and in his

majesty through the skies.

The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms.

And he thrust out the enemy before you, and said, Destroy.

To Israel dwelt in safety, the fountain of Jacob alone in a land of grain and wine, yes,

his heavens dropped down due.

Happy are you, O Israel, who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, the shield of your

help, and the sword of your triumph.

Your enemies shall come fawning to you, and you shall tread upon their high places.

From 120, prayer for deliverance from slanderers, a song of a sense.

In my distress I cry to the Lord that he may answer me, Deliver me, O Lord, from lying

lips, from a deceitful tongue.

What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you, you deceitful tongue, a

warriors sharp arrows with glowing coals of the broomtree, woe is me, that I sojourn

in Mishak, that I dwell among the tents of Qadar.

Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace, I am for peace, but when I speak,

they are for war.

Father in heaven, we thank you, and we praise your name.

We thank you for being with us on this journey.

You are the one who initiated this journey, God.

You're always the one who leads us.

You're always the one who speaks first.

You're the one who moves first.

You're the one who loves us first.

All of our prayers to you, all of our listening to you, and all of our loving you back is

simply a response to your initiative.

So we just thank you.

We thank you that if we're hearing these words, we know that you have chosen us because

you've loved us, or God you choose your people, and you continue to guide them and fight

for them, and we know that you continue to choose us as messed up as we are, and you continue

to love us and fight for us.

Oh God, help us to love you back, and help us to respond to your fighting for us by

being the kind of people who are willing to not fight against you, but fight with you.

Help us to love you well, and the people around us well.

We make this prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen, and the name of the Father,

and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen.

Amen.

So, so good.

We have a couple things happening today.

This is wrapping up.

We're wrapping up with the book of numbers.

We're wrapping up the book of Deuteronomy, and so at the end here in Numbers, chapter 34,

we have the boundaries of the land of Canaan, and so it just says, get on the southern side.

This is the boundary.

On the eastern side, this is the boundary, et cetera.

One of the things that reminds us of is the fact that the promised land is not some

kind of abstract idea, right?

I mean, maybe in modern times it's become an abstract idea, or it's a metaphor for something

else.

But in the ancient world, in the old covenant, for the Jewish people, it is a very specific

thing.

It is a tangible thing.

It the boundary lies from here to there to there to there, right?

And there's something really powerful about that for us, because not only does it reveal

to us that it reminds us, I guess, of the fact that this is a true story, this is an

historical reality, this is something that actually happened.

This people of Israel were enslaved in Egypt for over 400 years.

They were led through the wilderness for 40 years, and then they entered into this particular

place, and at this particular time, and lived in this particular way.

And one of the things that we recognize in this is that Judaism, Judaism, as well as Christianity,

are historical religions, is that they happened out of time in a place to a certain people,

and this is how God has interacted with them and on their behalf.

And it just reminds us, right, that to be spiritual to have faith is not divorced from

our daily lives.

It's not divorced from matters, not divorced from time or space, right?

It is entrenched in time and space as well.

And so it's like us, you know, as human beings, we are what we believe as Christians is that

as human beings, we are both matter and spirit.

We're made of flesh and our souls, and we're not one or the other, we're both together.

And something is incredibly similar to the Judeo-Christian faith, is it is intensely spiritual,

but it's also very much intensely material that it is heaven and earth united in some

ways.

And so the boundaries of the Land of Canaan, and we have the tribal leaders in the book of

Deuteronomy, the Moses' final blessing is so interesting because there are a number of

times where you can kind of get a little sense of who is blessed a lot and who is not

blessed a lot.

As an example, the very first blessing is for Ruben, right, the tribe of Ruben, and it

says, let Ruben live and not die, nor let his men be few.

Like, okay, that is not a very powerful blessing, let him live and not die, because the next

couple, you know, Judah, and we have the tribe of Levi and Joseph, like all of these other

tribes are blessed in some pretty powerful ways.

And yet, let Ruben live and not die, nor let his men be few, is a little bit underwhelming,

we'll say.

But one of the things I want to highlight is the Psalms, and I don't often talk about

the Psalms as we're praying through these, but we just prayed Psalm 120.

And Psalm 120 marks the beginning of what it's called the Psalms of Ascent.

The Psalms of Ascent are from Psalm 120 to 134.

And these are the Psalms typically associated with the three major feasts in the life of

the people of Israel, the feast of Passover, the feast of weeks, or we call it Pentecost,

or the Feast of Tabernacles, of Feast of Booths.

Now remember, the people of Israel had to go up to Jerusalem to worship in the temple

at these three times of the year.

And so as they made pilgrimage, when they got to a certain place, they would begin praying

these Psalms of Ascent, right?

So there's two things to think about, well, a couple things to think about.

One is Jerusalem is always considered up, you know, even if you're living in the north

of Israel.

You would still go up to Jerusalem, because Jerusalem is as situated in the hill country

writes on Mount Zion.

And so you'd always go up to Jerusalem, even if you're coming from the north.

And so that Psalms of Ascent is, as you're journeying on your pilgrimage, you are going

up so Psalms of Ascent.

So when we take out pilgrimages to Israel to the Holy Land, one of the things that will

do is will typically ride the bus, since it's much easier than walking I hear, will ride

the bus from the Jordan River all the way up to Jerusalem.

And as we take that bus ride, we'll pray the Psalms of Ascent.

And it's again, it's a reminder of the fact that here, for thousands of years, people

of Israel would journey and make this pilgrimage upwards to be able to worship God in the temple

in Jerusalem.

And they pray those Psalms of Ascent as we are ascending.

I've heard also, though, that it's not merely on the road necessarily, it's not merely

on the trail leading up to Jerusalem where they would pray the Psalms of Ascent, but that

there would be historically 15 steps leading up to, they'll say, the second temple period.

In the second temple period, there were maybe 15 steps.

And on each one of these steps, pilgrims would stop on each step and they'd pray the

one Psalm of Ascent for every step.

And so they ascend to the temple while praying through these Psalms of Ascent.

And in all these, one of the things that I find just kind of fascinating is you'd think,

okay, these are Psalms that you pray on your way up to being able to worship the Lord.

They, in my mind, I would think, oh, they're all the same.

And yet, they're not all the same.

Some of them are hymns, they are songs of joy.

Some of them are laments.

In fact, today, Psalm 120 is a lament.

It's written, you know, songs written during times of distress and trouble and saying,

okay, I'm leaving that behind me.

There are Psalms of Thanksgiving.

There are Psalms of confidence.

There are prophetic Psalms that contain divine statements or prophecies where God is the

one speaking.

There's wisdom Psalms and there's royal Psalms.

In fact, one of the, I guess you might say, unofficial titles of this Psalm 120 today that

we prayed is God's presence during distress.

Today's Psalm 120 is one of those prayers that is a Psalm of lament.

That God is truly present even in times of distress.

So for the next number of days, we are going to be following all those Psalms and praying,

all those Psalms of Ascent.

So from here on day 79 and we're beginning with Psalm 120, we'll continue praying until

day 90 with Psalm 134.

So we will be praying these prayers together with each other.

And whenever we hit these Psalms of Ascent, just be reminded of the fact that they encompass

all of the great joys and great trials of life.

But they're all oriented towards journeying up to the temple of God.

Not only where his presence would abide, but also where he would be worshipped.

He'd be worshipped as he had asked to be worshipped.

And I think there's something about that that just reminds us in good times and in bad

in times of distress, in times of joy, in times of trial, in times of thanksgiving, in

times of blessing, wisdom and prophecy that we are called the worship God.

Because it is in worshipping God that we truly discover who we are, that in worshipping

God, he doesn't get anything out of it.

But he transforms us into a certain kind of person, a certain kind of people.

And that is an incredible gift.

So as we continue this journey, we continue to not only worship God, we also continue

to pray for each other.

And I hope you know by now, I hope you believe me, that I am praying for you every single

day.

So many of you are praying for me, that's not, let's not forget, praying for each other

as well.

Because my voice might be the one that you hear, but there is someone else whose ears are

hearing these words and whose heart is being touched by these words that might need your

prayer, your prayers in a very powerful and very particular way today.

So let's not forget each other as we continue this Bible in a year journey.

My name is Father Mike.

I cannot wait to see you tomorrow.

God bless.