Reversal of Fortune

A reversal of fortune is one of the prominent themes of the Scriptures. We see it again and again. Joseph, stuck in an Egyptian prison and not having a single advocate in all of the land, suddenly becomes the second most powerful person in the country. Naomi—she who would be renamed Mara, or "bitter"—comes home with no prospects of happiness or wealth, and ends up being the grandmother of David. The Jewish people are doomed by the machinations of Haman, until suddenly it is Haman that is destroyed through the efforts of Mordecai and Esther.

Reversal of fortune is the theme in Ecc 7.12: "Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it will be well with them that fear God, which fear before him." "I know that there will be a reversal of fortune," says Solomon. "Evil will not prevail. It will be well with them that fear God."

The ultimate reversal of fortune was at the crux of history. Christ went to the cross and died for sinners. God the father must turn his back on him. Yet three days later, Christ rises from the dead. He conquers death, and suddenly every man has the possibility of turning from death to life in Christ.