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

A Word about Prayer

This blog is not really about my thoughts per se, but me trying to portray the thoughts of the heavenly mind - the God whose wisdom is above all earthly thoughts. From the outset, one can clearly see the disparity. But more accurately, we are really never more than messengers, proclaiming the message given us - as in our former deafness, the Spirit took what was our Lord's and proclaimed it to us, expounded its hidden mysteries for us, and made the Word come to life in our hearts (John 16:13-15). That being said, for this particular post, I humbly take a back seat in order to allow someone far more capable to take the reigns to give us an important word about prayer. Yet another instance of one messenger giving way to another.

This is from Dr. Bruce Ware's contribution to the book For the Fame of God's Name, entitled "Prayer and the Sovereignty of God" - 

God's purpose in instituting prayer, and in longing for us to pray, simply cannot have anything to do with helping him. Rather, one of the most startling and wondrous realizations that any Christian can have is that much of the purpose of prayer has to do with one simple thing: relationship - that is, relationship coram Deo (before the face of God). One great and glorious reason God devised prayer was to use it as a mechanism to draw us to himself, to help us see how much we need him, to set before us constantly the realization that he is everything we are not, and he possesses everything that we lack. We are weak, but he is strong; we are foolish, but he is wise; we are untrustworthy, but he is faithful; we are ignorant, but he is infinitely knowledgeable; we are poor and empty, but he is rich and full. Imagine this: although God does not need any of what we bring to him in prayer, he longs for us to bring everything that we do bring to him and so much more! He wants us to pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17), in part because our need for him never ceases. Prayer is not instituted, then, as a means of helping God out. Just the opposite: it is for our sake, and for ours alone. In fact, God commands us to pray! And he does so, not out of some supposed benefit he derives from our praying, but because he longs for us to learn the discipline and joy of dependence upon him for everything we lack, all of which he possesses in infinite measure! We are compelled, then, by the force of divine authority to come and drink of the living water that our souls thirst after, to receive bread from heaven that sustains us day by day, and to realize afresh moment by moment by moment that all we are longing for, and everything that is good, is found in one and only one place: in God.

Let us pray then, as before the face of God - journeying through the wilderness of this world, we come thirsty and weary before the throne of grace. In prayer, through his written Word and the instituted ordinances, he fills us...time and again.

SDG

The Chaotic Waters Submit to the Word of Christ

We live during times where professing Christians have become increasingly illiterate in biblical language. Nowadays, it has become necessary to dig deeper into the nuances of Scripture to magnify the God who is there. We do this by concerntrating on the many facets of the nature of the Godhead. For now, I would like to highlight the sovereign power with which Christ speaks. Reading the first few verses of the opening chapters of Genesis, we see the phrase, "...darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2).

This verse reflects the common views of the day in Ancient Near Eastern religion - that the demonic sea monster of the dark primordial abyss struggled against the creator deity. In Babylonian mythology, a battle ensued where the storm god Marduk made war with Tiamat, the ancient dragon of the sea. The heavens and earth are formed from the monster's divided body. But this picture of war and struggle is not what we see painted in the Bible. The Scriptures refer to the Leviathan as Rahab. Rahab and the raging waters submit wholeheartedly to the Word of Christ (Psalm 89:9-11, "You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them. You crushed Rahab like a carcass"; see also 2 Peter 3:5, "the earth was formed out of water and through water by the Word of God."). The Son was the agent with which God created the world (Hebrews 1:2). The effectual power with which the Word is carried out is seen in the Spirit, as he hovers over the deep abyss. This community participation of the Triune God leads to God speaking, "Let there be..." - and there was. God formed the world out of and through the waters. The Scriptures detail no record of a battle or struggle of any kind - the waters simply obey.

Throughout Scripture, the sea continues to be a force to be reckoned with for man. But God continually delivers his saints through the waters, for the chaotic waters willfully submit to his Word. Remember in the days of Noah, when God delivered 8 persons in the ark through the flood judgment - we see later that this corresponds to baptism and the ark symbolized the power of the future resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:21). Again, look at the Red Sea exodus event, where Israel walks safely on dry ground through the raging waters as the pillar of fire leads them along the way. Paul clarifies that this too symbolized a kind of baptism, where God was delivering his people from judgment (1 Corinthians 10:1-2). The waters would then consume the pagan Egyptians. Baptism in terms of salvation through judgment is a topic I will try to address in a later post.

The last scenario I would like to bring up is the storm event in Matthew 8. The disciples tremble with fear as the chaotic sea waters again present their intimidating waves - the deep abyss that consumes and conquers all who attempt to struggle against it. The disciples invoke the comfort of their Savior. Jesus speaks a word - and the quaking waters stop abruptly and lie still. The Leviathan does not struggle, he does not rage - when the Word speaks, he obeys. The power Christ wields is sovereign and supreme.

SDG