Dearest e-votees-
Day thirty-six of our cover to cover voyage through the Bible. We have completed Esther (17 down, 49 to go). If you want to see the readings for our trip through the Bible you can follow this link:
Peace,
Karl
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Day 36 Readings: Nehemiah 13:15-Job 7:21
Our assigned readings for today begin with the tail end of Nehemiah. There are blessings and curses mentioned for those who abide in God's laws and those who don't. A fitting summary for that book.
The tone then changes dramatically as we enter into the palace intrigue of Esther. This book doesn't even mention God (let alone God's laws and expectations for God's people). What we have is a tale of the Jewish people and her enemies trying to wipe her out. As we all know this has been a tragic part of God's people's history for centuries. There is some hope and justice, some courage and sacrifice to be found in this tale but clearly things aren't resolved forever. We are given insight into the beginnings of Purim which is celebrated to this day with a reading of Esther with accompanying cheers and catcalls as certain characters appear and play out their roles.
The tone of our readings change dramatically again as we get far enough into Job for him to lose his 10 children, his wealth and his health. He is left on a pile of ashes scraping himself with a potsherd having his friends offer less-than-helpful help. Job teases out unjust suffering. Job is shown to be pure of heart and attentive to God. For that reason he is singled out and tormented. He brings to mind the philosophy of life just keep your head down and hope you don't get noticed. Job will continue to open up more questions than it will answer. But life is that way sometimes. We can find a fellow sojourner in the mystery, at times, in Job.
God, thank you for the rich and varied ways you speak to us in scripture. Give us eager ears and hopeful hearts even when persecutions and sufferings come. Amen.
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