Father Mike Schmitz hosts day 48 of the Bible in a Year podcast, reading from Exodus chapters 33-34, Leviticus 24, and Psalm 80 using The Great Adventure Bible from Ascension Press. He encourages listeners not to quit if they've missed days, emphasizing that consistency matters more than perfection.

The readings focus on Moses as mediator between God and Israel, God's renewed covenant after the golden calf incident, and the establishment of laws that would make Israel distinct among nations. Father Mike explores how God's presence with His people requires them to live differently from surrounding cultures.

Moses' Intercession and God's Conditional Presence

God initially refuses to accompany Israel to the Promised Land, saying "I will not go up among you, lest I consume you in the way, for you are a stiff-necked people."

Moses argues that God's presence is what makes Israel unique: "For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us?"

Father Mike emphasizes Moses' key insight: "If you do not go with us, we will become extinct" - without God's presence, Israel loses what makes them distinct among nations.

The Revelation of God's Glory and New Stone Tablets

God agrees to show Moses His glory but warns "you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live," placing Moses in a cleft of rock.

God proclaims His name as "the Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness."

Moses spends 40 days on Mount Sinai without food or water, receiving new stone tablets to replace those broken during the golden calf incident.

Moses' face shone so brightly from speaking with God that he had to wear a veil when addressing the Israelites, removing it only when entering God's presence.

Covenant Laws and the Call to Distinct Living

The renewed covenant includes specific commands: "Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest" and observance of three annual festivals.

Israel is forbidden from making covenants with Canaanite peoples or intermarrying with them to maintain their distinct identity.

Blasphemy against God's name carries the death penalty: "He who blasphemes the name of the Lord shall be put to death, all the congregation shall stone him."

Father Mike connects this to Christians today: "If you've been baptized, you've been made into a temple of the Holy Spirit" and must live distinctly in response to God's presence.