Mixing Things Up

Last week in a Bible study group, some friends and I talked about the Holy Spirit coming at Pentecost and giving people the ability to speak in various languages. This was in response to Christ's commission for the early church to go out and make disciples of all the world. Since people in different parts of the world speak different languages, these early believers would need some divine help in order to communicate with those people.

I've been spending a lot of time in the Old Testament lately. Today I read Genesis 11 which tells the story of the tower of Babel. People point to this story as a warning against pride and self-security, but I think the root sin in this (and every) situation is disobedience. God commanded these people to spread out and fill the whole world. Instead, they decided to clump together and build a big city. So God came down and mixed up their languages so they had no choice but to separate from each other.

God said, "Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other." So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. - Genesis 11: 6-7

When I read this verse, it reminded me of thediscussion last week about the Spirit coming down at Pentecost. This is another instance of God showing up and mixing up peoples languages. Interestingly, these two stories aren't all that different.

The reason for the mix-up at Babel was to send people out around the world. At Pentecost, the languages were given to send people out around the world.

One difference, however, is that in the story of Babel, the languages came as a result of disobedience. At Pentecost, it was because of faith. This happened after the sacrifice of Jesus. The blood has been shed, forgiveness is now available. God was enabling and sending those first believers out into the world, to preach to those were who have been scattered for millennia, gather them up, and bring them back to God. Using those exact same languages that brought about the original scattering, God brought healing and redemption to people all over the world.

I find it so comforting to know that God doesn't scatter things without gathering it up again later. He doesn't convict without later offering redemption. He may tear down, but He will rebuild. If you're in a season of tearing down, I encourage you to seek God like never before. He will rebuild you if you offer yourself to Him.