The God of Reversals
And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them: -Deuteronomy 28:13
All throughout Scripture, we see this principle illustrated. That if we follow after God, and keep His commandments, and do the things that are pleasing to Him, that He will make us the head, and not the tail. And if we’re currently the underdog, or “the tail,” so to speak, God has an interesting way of reversing our fortunes to make us “the head.”
The God of reversals
Take a look at a few examples from the Bible and see if you can’t discern God’s character shining through:
Joseph: Joseph found himself sold into slavery, and then falsely accused of attempted rape, and throw into prison. Once there, he was even forgotten by the Pharaoh’s butler: for whom Joseph interpreted his dream correctly. Yet in the midst of all this, God reversed his fortunes in a very big way: perhaps the biggest reversal in the entire Bible. After Joseph correctly interpreted the Pharoah’s dream, he was freed from prison, made ruler over the entire nation of Egypt, given nearly unlimited authority, and blessed with material possessions and a wife. “And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt” (Genesis 41:41).
Moses (and the nation of Israel): Moses and his people found themselves in bitter bondage and slavery to the Egyptians. Yet, by the ten mighty plagues, culminating to the final parting of the Red Sea, God lead His people out of Egypt and gave them freedom from slavery, victory over their enemies, and great material wealth. “But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians” (Exodus 3:22).
Esther: Through her beauty and favor, Esther had become the queen of a great empire. Yet one of the king’s promoted princes, Haman, had devised a plan to kill all the Jews in the entire empire. He had the king issue a decree that required that all Jews be killed on a certain day: which meant almost certain death for all of God’s people, including queen Esther. Yet by her influence, Esther was able to speak to the king and save her people alive, and not only that, but the day that was marked for the destruction of God’s people instead became a day of great victory and triumph over their enemies.
And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far, To stablish this among them, that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly, As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day: that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor. -Esther 9:20-22
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