"He has filled the hungry
with good things but has sent the rich away empty."
{Luke 1:53} (NIV1984)
This
beautiful song of Mary, not only exalts her Great God, but also reveals her
life circumstances. She is in a humble state; she is aware of her need for
mercy, and she is hungry. The rich did not go hungry in her age. She has seen
the hungry stay hungry and the rich eat tremendous feasts. This hunger that she
speaks of, seems to be a hunger for salvation. A hunger for things to be made
right; for God’s righteous rule to be established, and the tyranny to be over.
Her exclamation that the hungry are filled (past tense) is an exclamation based
on faith; she believes that this life inside her is the Righteous King who will
make all things right, but it is also based on history. God led the Israelites
into a desert where there was no water or food, to humble them and to teach
them to look to Him for everything, and then He filled them with food, water,
money and land of their own.
It is hard for us to imagine that being hungry is
a place of blessing, but in God’s kingdom, it is exactly that - a place of
blessing. This is how God operates. He fills the hungry. I think of what it
says in James 1:9, The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in
his high position. What high position is that? The position of being in
need and looking to God to fill that need, that is a high position in the
kingdom of God.
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