Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Babble, Babble.

Scripture Passage that Caught my Attention Today: Genesis 11:1-9 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” 5 The LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. 6 And the LORD said, “Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore it was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

Observation: Hmmm…some things seem to defy explanation. Centuries later Jesus will literally pray that we will all be one, but here they are one (in language and even in cooperation) and the Lord is not pleased. We are told that the Lord felt like nothing would be impossible for them, as if that’s a bad thing.

Much has been written about this passage. The conjecture is that the people were learning to depend upon and trust in themselves rather than in God. That’s certainly possible. But if so one would still think that God could have just sat them all down in a big meeting, set a hearty dose of smoke ascending from some tall mountain and, in a thundering voice of authority, explained the situation.

Application: Among other things, this passage is a humbling reminder that, even if we ever do figure everything out (or think we have everything figured out), we will still be left utterly dependent on God. The sooner we realize this, the better.

Prayer:
Lord, help us to simply be your people. Nothing less and nothing more. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Scripture Readings today included: Genesis 9-11 and Luke 4)

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