REVERSAL

The Bible’s theme of reversal can be unnerving to those who are relatively well-off and comfortable. It is too easy to begin trusting in our own resources, assuming our security is found in the things we have or what we are able to earn—and when that happens, the voices of the psalms and the prophets, among others throughout the Bible, will sound like a threat to us. To others, promises of reversal are good news.

This was expressed in Mary’s song when she visited Elizabeth soon after they had received the good news from the angel about the sons they would have.

Speaking of God’s action and intervention in our world that would be embodied in the lives and ministry of these two boys, Mary sang her own prophetic psalm: “He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty” (Luke 1:52, 53).

How we hear these words will depend on our relative position in the world. This is good news for the humble and the hungry. While this feels like a warning to the rich and the rulers, it is reassuring for those who follow God, relying on His promises and provision. So, the Bible’s promises of reversal insist that history and society are not always how they appear. Those who look like winners but have gained wealth and power by deception and wickedness are not as fearsome as they might seem. “People, despite their wealth, do not endure; they are like the beasts that perish” (Psalm 49:12). Similarly, those who have been exploited and oppressed are not as defeated as they appear. With God as their agent of reversal, they need not be afraid. “His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation” (Luke 1:50).