Father Mike Schmitz hosts day 67 of the Bible in a Year podcast, reading from Numbers 18, Deuteronomy 19-20, and Psalm 99. He uses the Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition and follows the The Great Adventure Bible timeline from Ascension Press.

The episode covers the duties and compensation of priests and Levites, including their unique inheritance arrangement where God himself serves as their portion. Father Mike explains the complex tithing system where Levites receive tithes but must also give back a tithe of their tithes.

The Deuteronomy passages introduce cities of refuge for accidental killers and rules of warfare, including the controversial commands for total destruction of Canaanite peoples. Father Mike addresses the difficulty of these 'wars of judgment' passages, explaining them as divine judgment on peoples who practiced child sacrifice.

Levitical Inheritance: God as Portion Instead of Land

The tribe of Levi receives no land inheritance among Israel's tribes because 'I am your portion and your inheritance among the sons of Israel,' creating a unique dependency on worship-based support.

Levites receive portions from sacrificial offerings including 'every cereal offering, every sin offering, and every guilt offering' as their perpetual due for temple service.

Even recipients of tithes must tithe: Levites give 'a tithe of the tithe' back to God, with the best portions going to Aaron the priest.

Redemption prices are specified: firstborn humans redeemed at 'five shekels in silver according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs.'

Cities of Refuge: Justice vs Vengeance in Ancient Israel

Three cities of refuge (expanding to six) protect accidental killers from 'the avenger of blood in hot anger' while ensuring proper trial procedures.

Accidental death example given: 'when a man goes into a forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and his hand swings the axe...and the head slips from the handle and strikes his neighbor so that he dies.'

Intentional murderers receive no sanctuary: elders 'shall send and fetch him from there, and hand him over to the avenger of blood, so that he may die.'

Legal proceedings require multiple witnesses: 'Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be sustained.'

Biblical Warfare Rules: Peace Offers and Total Destruction

Standard warfare protocol requires offering peace terms first: 'When you draw near to a city to fight against it, offer terms of peace to it.'

Soldiers with new houses, vineyards, or betrothed wives are exempted from battle, along with 'what man is there that is fearful and faint-hearted.'

Canaanite tribes face total destruction: 'you shall utterly destroy them: the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites.'

Environmental protection mandated: 'You shall not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them, for you may eat of them...Are the trees in the field men that they should be besieged by you?'

Father Mike's Commentary on Divine Judgment Wars

Canaanite destruction represents 'wars of judgment' against peoples practicing child sacrifice to Molech, not ordinary military conquest according to Father Mike's interpretation.

'God knew that here's a people that if they live in the midst of these broken people of Canaan, they're going to change their hearts' - Mike explains the preservation rationale.

Father Mike acknowledges difficulty: 'I know that it upsets a lot of us' but emphasizes trusting God's justice while wrestling with challenging passages.

Alternative interpretation offered: these commands might be 'prediction rather than instruction' since God knew Israel wouldn't fully obey.