The Greatest Reversal
Imagine attending a Sunday morning worship service to discover that the pastor’s sermon has been replaced with a comic spiel (skit or short play) retelling the story of Esther in the Bible. Then, during the spiel, each time Haman’s name is mentioned the people around you erupt with loud booing and foot-stomping while swinging noisemakers overhead. Not only that, but when Esther or Mordecai are named, the boos give way to passionate choruses of “Ah!” and “Yeah!”.
Has the world gone mad? No! You are simply experiencing a traditional Purim (the Feast of Esther) celebration! This frenetic topsy-turvy atmosphere is a fitting vehicle for recounting the biblical story of Esther and encountering the God who specializes in dramatic reversals.
The book of Esther is all about reversals as these few examples show:
Chapter 2:1-20: Esther is chosen as queen but hides her Jewish identity.
The reversal – Risking her life, Esther reveals her identity and uses her royal position to stop the destruction of her Jewish people (chapter 7:1-6).
Chapter 3:1-15: King Ahasuerus gives his signet ring to Haman who uses it to seal an irreversible edict in the king’s name for the ethnic cleansing of Persia’s Jews.
The reversal – After Esther exposes Haman’s plot, the king strips Haman of his signet ring and gives it to Mordecai. Mordecai then drafts and seals an irreversible edict in the king’s name authorizing the Jews to dispatch their enemies (chapter 8:1-10).
Chapter 5:9-14: Haman plans to execute Mordecai and erects gallows 75 feet tall (literally “a stake” on which to impale Mordecai’s body).
The reversal – Haman is executed by the king and is impaled on the 75-foot gallows intended for Mordecai, who is given Haman’s position, ring, estate, and honor (chapter 7:7-10).
The turning point of this riveting story is in chapter 6, which is when the fortunes of Haman and Mordecai begin inverting. This chapter concludes with Haman’s wife and advisors gravely warning, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you will not overcome him but will surely fall before him” (Esther 6:13).
Their words were prophetic. “Now in the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king’s command and edict were about to be carried out, on that very day the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, the reverse occurred: the Jews gained mastery over those who hated them” (Esther 9:1 ESV, emphasis added).
Mic drop… BAM! A complete reversal!
The story of Esther displays what the rest of the Bible proclaims – that Israel’s God is the “Master of Reversals.” From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible’s narrative arc is one of reversal. The story begins with a perfect creation ruined by humanity’s fall into sin, resulting in separation from God’s presence and ultimately death (Genesis 3). But it ends with the reverse – sin and death are eradicated and God’s presence is fully restored to His redeemed creatures in the New Jerusalem of a new heaven and earth (Revelation 21).
Mic drop… BAM! A complete reversal!
We see the same reversal theme in the lives of individuals in the Scriptures. Job goes from absolute ruin to full restoration (just read his book to witness this transformation). The once rejected Joseph becomes his family’s savior (Genesis 37-47). The lowly are raised up in honor and barren women become joyous mothers of children (Psalm 113). The mighty are brought down and the humble exalted; the hungry are filled and the rich sent away empty (Luke 1:52-53). Those who sit in darkness are given light (Isaiah 9:2; Matthew 4:16). Messiah’s fanatic opponent becomes His most faithful proponent (Acts 8:1-3, 9:15-22).
This year Purim begins at sundown on March 2. Jewish people around the world will be celebrating the glorious reversals of Esther. Some will do so through creative spiels, and others by reading the Megillah (scroll of Esther), but all will boo Haman into oblivion and cheer Mordecai and Esther on to victory.
Yet sadly, far too few Jewish people see their personal need for spiritual reversal… much less God’s provision for it through Messiah’s death, burial, and resurrection.
Seeing this happen motivates Life in Messiah’s field workers and staff. Our heart’s desire and prayer to God is that more Jewish people will seek for and find the reversal – the greatest reversal – Messiah offers.
And God is at work![1] Please pray for us as we stand with the Jewish community celebrating God’s faithfulness to His people, and as we point them to Messiah and the reversal they need.
Written by Dan, Life in Messiah Board Member
Is there a situation that feels irreversible to you right now? What might it look like to trust the “Master of Reversals” in that place?
Who in your life needs to hear about the “greatest reversal”? Would you ask God to use you as part of His reversing work in someone’s story (whether Jewish of Gentile)?
If you’d like to learn more about our mission at Life in Messiah and who we are, click HERE. For resources on how to share Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) with your Jewish friends, co-workers, or neighbors, click HERE.
Endnotes:
[1] Here are a few “God-at-work” stories from Life in Messiah:
Jacob’s Story – a secular Jewish man who found Messiah through the outreach of a messianic congregation.
Jen’s Story – a young Israeli backpacker whose travels led her to believe in Messiah
Antony’s Story – a Jewish musician whose journey to faith started with questions online
Isaac’s story and hope for the hopeless in Israel