A Turn of Events

The greatest twist in history is not Vashti’s domestic disobedience to the king of pomp and greatness. It is not Haman being impaled on his own gallows. It is not Old-Covenant-type blessings on Gentiles that make Jews turn to Christ per the New-Covenant-promises. The greatest surprise, the most amazing reverse in a story, is when Satan’s triumph sealed his undoing.

None of the rulers of this age understood the story, because if they had, “they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Corinthians 2:8). There is a song from the late 1900s that tells the crucifixion story as if Satan and Jesus were in a great fight. The saints were shocked and the devils roared as “the blow of death felled Jesus to the ground.” But when God started the 10 count, He started counting down. “He’s alive forevermore! He is risen, He is Lord, He has won!”

Jesus rose again that “through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14).

And little reversals we see in our weekly stories keep us humble but full of hope. We don’t look like much, and would our God tell stories with some other type of characters? We’ll keep eating and drinking and proclaiming the Lord’s death until He comes, because death brings life. What a turn of events.