One story in the whole universe.

One big encouragement for me in following this reading pattern is to see the unity of scripture. Today, we have the beginning of the tribes of Israel. "When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren." (Gen 29:31, ESV). What a weird way to kick off a "chosen people"! Deception and hatred. Already, we see the need for redemption.

And, oddly enough on the same day, we read about the empty tomb. So, deception and hatred have now been swallowed in victory. These two stories span a couple of thousand years. How can it be that we suffer at the hands of insecurity and fear with such a faithful God? We are, in fact, free. All that remains is to live. And what is living except to die (Philippians 1:21)? What is it to seek the best and greatest except that we seek out and serve the lowest and most despised?

We hear Paul's stinging rebuke of the religious establishment:

Go to this people, and say,
You will indeed hear but never understand,
and you will indeed see but never perceive.
For this people's heart has grown dull,
and with their ears they can barely hear,
and their eyes they have closed;
lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
and turn, and I would heal them.

Dull hearts, deaf ears, closed eyes. I think these belong to those for whom the world has clouded their vision. They see only the dead things and call them life. They are blind and deaf to the reality just below the surface.

If you've never read up on Purim, now is a great time. It will add some depth to the story of Esther to see how these events are remembered even now.