Day 268: Rebuilding the Temple (2026)

Fr. Mike Schmitz (0:01)

We can't lose our faith the way we lose our car keys. We either give it away or we let it decay because we don't use it. Hi, my name is Fr. Mike Schmitz, and in my new book, Unshakeable, Building a Life of Virtue in a World of Chaos, I tell faith-filled stories that inspire you to live a life of virtue that flows from the unshakeable power of God. Although we're surrounded by a culture that mocks virtue, we can feed ourselves stories that really do uphold what is good and promote a virtuous life. When we live this way, we experience freedom and joy like never before. It's my prayer that the stories in my book, Unshakeable, will inspire you to fight the battle for a virtuous life and win through trust in an unshakeable God. Order your copy at ascensionpress.com.

Hi, my name is Fr. 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 today. We are on day two of the return, so that means day 268 total. We're reading Ezra chapters three and four, as well as a new book, Zechariah, the Prophet Zechariah, chapters one, two and three, as well as Proverbs chapter 20 verses four through seven. As always, the Bible translation I'm reading from is the Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition. I'm using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension. If you want to download your own Bible in a Year reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress.com/bible in a Year. You can also subscribe to this podcast, click on subscribe, and then what will happen is you will receive daily episodes and updates, and we will receive maybe some more ability to see on people's radars. I mean, people might find out, here we are on day 268 Today might be their day one, which would be phenomenal, incredible if you subscribe, or if you share and comment and say how much you like, or maybe you dislike this podcast, and still you've persisted with us for 268 days, that's pretty remarkable, and you deserve some kudos and some credits. As I said, it is Ezra 3 and 4 today, a new book, The Book of the Prophet Zechariah, who is contemporary of Hegai, that was yesterday, chapters 1, 2 and 3, as well as Proverbs 20, verse 4 through 7 Little heads up, when it comes to Zechariah, he's gonna have a bunch of dreams, kind of a crazy night for the life of the Prophet Zechariah. When I say dreams, I mean God-inspired dreams, aka visions, and so it's gonna be a little bit, read here a lot, of symbolic language and symbolic stuff going on in Zechariah's prophecy. But then again, he's a prophet, so we're getting after it again. For the third time, day 268, Ezra 3 and 4, Zechariah 1, 2 and 3, Proverbs 20, verses 4 through 7

The Book of Ezra, chapter 3 Worship restored at Jerusalem.

When the seventh month came, and the sons of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem. Then arose Jeshua, the son of Josadach, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel, the son of Shaltiel, with his kinsmen. And they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings upon it as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God. They set the altar in its place, for fear was upon them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings upon it to the Lord. Burnt offerings morning and evening. And they kept the feast of booths as it is written. And offered the daily burnt offerings by number according to the ordinance as each day required. And after that, the continual burnt offerings, the offerings at the new moon, and all the appointed feasts of the Lord, and the offerings of everyone who made a free will offering to the Lord. From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord. But the foundation of the temple of the Lord was not yet laid. So, they gave money to the masons and the carpenters, and food, drink, and oil to the Sedonians and the Tyrians to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa according to the grant, which they had from Cyrus, king of Persia.

Foundation of the Temple Laid.