Day 175: Knowledge of God (2026)

The central question of this episode is straightforward and urgent: what does it actually mean to "know God," and what happens when a people lose that knowledge? Father Mike Schmitz works through two distinct but connected sections of scripture—2 Kings 6–7 and Hosea 4–7—to argue that the catastrophic state of Israel in the northern kingdom is not primarily a failure of obedience or morality, but a failure of intimate, firsthand knowledge of God. The episode is an extended meditation on that single thesis, grounded in the day's readings.

The Invisible Reality Behind the Visible Siege

The episode opens with two stories from the life of the prophet Elisha that establish a crucial framework: God's presence and power are real and active even when they are invisible. In the first story, the Syrian army surrounds the city where Elisha and his servant are staying. The servant panics: "Alas, my master, what shall we do?" Elisha responds with calm confidence: "Fear not, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." Then Elisha prays that the servant's eyes be opened, and "behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha."