The Tale of Babel and Pentecost

The first time I heard this connection was in my Old Testament survey class. Much like the rest of the Old Testament, the event that occurred at the tower of Babel was a real event in history with serious implications for the people involved. But there is a deeper, fuller meaning within the context of the redemptive-historical drama of the Scriptures. And I would like to take a moment to try to unfold this meaning.

Within the Genesis narrative, the Babel incident occurs sometime between Noah's generation and Abraham's calling. The people of the earth were of one language. They gathered together in one place, to gather all of their resources and build a city and tower with its top in the heavens. They desired to make a name for themselves. This was all in contrast to the revealed will of the Lord in the beginning - to be fruitful and fill the earth with those who projected his image and called upon his great name. The earth was to be a sanctuary filled with the saints who continually ministered to his name. But the people of Babel did exactly the opposite - they saw "making a name for themselves" as antithetical to the divine purposes of the Lord in being "dispersed over the face of the whole earth" (Gen. 11:4). The irony of the people's efforts is that the Lord of heaven still had to come "down to see the city and tower, which the children of man had built" (v. 5). Being displeased with man's attempt at self-glorification and autonomy apart from the communion of God, the Lord confused their language and dispersed them over the face of the earth (v. 7,8).

We fast forward a few millennia to several days after the ascension of Jesus to the right hand of the Majesty on high, where all the Jews have gathered for the celebration of Pentecost (the Feast of Weeks). While Babel's curse was the confusion of the language of man seeking autonomy from God, Pentecost and the giving of the Spirit was the reversal of the curse - the Spirit caused the disciples to speak the unifying message of the gospel in all languages, that all might understand (Acts 2:6-11). And while Babel dealt with the sin of the people for staying in one location by dispersing them over the face of the whole earth, Pentecost gathered all the devout men from every nation under heaven to commission them to make disciples of all peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations (Acts 2:5).

The wonderful drama of Scripture is not a segregated lump of stories but an intricate tapestry of events orchestrated by the powerful workings of God, within the mind of God, for the ultimate glory of God. I believe the tale of Babel and Pentecost is just one small instance of this.

SDG