Father Mike Schmitz hosts the Bible in a Year podcast, reading through Scripture using The Great Adventure Bible timeline from Ascension Press. He reads from the Revised Standard Version Bible, Second Catholic Edition and specifically recommends The Great Adventure Bible available from AscensionPress.com or Amazon.

Day 43 covers detailed instructions for constructing the tabernacle and its sacred objects from Exodus 25-26, moral and ritual laws from Leviticus 19, and verses 1-56 of Psalm 119 celebrating God's law. Father Mike emphasizes how these ancient instructions connect to modern Catholic worship practices.

The episode focuses heavily on visualizing the tabernacle's construction details, explaining how items like the menorah and Ark of Covenant might be familiar from popular culture references like Raiders of the Lost Ark, while drawing theological connections to Catholic sacraments and church architecture.

Sacred Construction: Gold, Acacia Wood, and Divine Blueprints

God commands Moses to collect offerings from willing hearts: 'gold, silver, and bronze, blue and purple, and scarlet stuff, and fine twined linen' for building the sanctuary

The Ark of the Covenant specifications: '2.5 cubits length, 1.5 cubits breadth, 1.5 cubits height, overlaid with pure gold within and without'

Two golden cherubim with 'wings spread above, overshadowing the mercy seat' were to be hammered from one piece of gold

God promises: 'There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim...I will speak with you' - Father Mike

The Menorah and Sacred Furniture: A Talent of Gold

The lampstand required 'a talent of pure gold' and featured 'seven lamps set up to give light upon the space in front of it'

Father Mike explains the lampstand description becomes clear when you realize 'it's a menorah' - the familiar seven-branched design

The table for bread of the presence measured 'two cubits length, one cubit breadth, one and a half cubits height' overlaid with pure gold

'You shall set the bread of the presence on the table before me always' - connecting to the Catholic Eucharist in every church tabernacle

Tabernacle Layout: Holy Place and Holy of Holies

The Holy Place contained three items: 'the bread of the presence, the lampstand like the menorah, and the altar of incense' - Father Mike

A thick veil separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, which contained 'only the Ark of the Covenant'

The tabernacle framework used 'upright frames of acacia wood, ten cubits length, cubit and a half breadth' with silver bases

Curtains of 'fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet stuff with cherubim skillfully worked' covered the structure

Leviticus 19: Universal Moral Laws and Cultural Context

'You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy' establishes the foundation for all moral commands

The great commandment appears: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord' - a universal teaching for all time

Justice principles include: 'You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor defer to the great'

Father Mike notes God 'has to teach his people justice before he can teach them mercy' - establishing right and wrong first

Some laws were culturally specific (mixed fabrics, temple hair) while others remain universal moral teachings

Catholic Connections: From Temple to Church

The temple veil's tearing at Christ's death opened the Holy of Holies 'not because it's no longer holy, but because it's no longer off limits' - Father Mike

Christ's pierced side released 'the blood of the Eucharist and the water of baptism' - connecting Old Testament mercy seat to New Testament sacraments

'In every single Catholic church, in the tabernacle...there is the bread of the presence, the bread of the very presence of God' - Father Mike

The ancient bread of the presence prefigures 'Jesus Christ who continues to dwell among us' in the Eucharist