Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 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. That is why it was called Babel - because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.This story took place after the fall of man and separation from God, and we see a unity of man. Unity, as a standalone concept, is usually considered to be a good thing. Many nations on earth are still diligently seeking unity of mankind. As Christians and missionaries, we seek unity in the work that we do. This is normal and acceptable – the opposite of unity being disunity. Yet, we see in Genesis that there is a unity that God did not approve of: a unity of man without God – man’s own creator. Calling that unity is kind of like saying that a family is united when really the children are united against the will and wisdom of their parents. There was unity, but it was a rebellion at the same time. The people of Babel were united to recognize themselves and build a monument to themselves. Unity of man without God is hollow and not at all a part of God’s plan for true unity. We then see that God divided them by confounding their language. Yet, God still had a plan for true and meaningful unity and for building His kingdom. In Acts 2 we find a story that I believe is inherently related to Babel. Verses 1-21:
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.” Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:This story took place after God’s plan for the salvation of man was made manifest in Christ. Here we see the early church – those who were in Christ – together in unity, but this time they had the missing component. They were in unity together but also in Christ himself rather than in rebellion to God. Interestingly, God used language as a sign of this unity in Him. Where language had been man’s unity devoid of God, tongues were given as a sign of their unity in God. Unlike the people of Babel, the church did not seek a name for themselves, but sought rather to promote the name of Christ that Christ might be glorified. We see later in the same chapter that three-thousand people were added to their number as a result. This is not the building of a monument to self, but rather of God’s kingdom through true, blessed unity with the goal of honoring God rather than man.
“‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
My goal, therefore, has become to go out and not make a name for myself. Honestly, you could say that I want to be forgotten. This may seem like a strange statement, but I’ve come to realize that I don’t need my name to live forever because I actually get to live forever with God. And yet, we still have a need to come together in unity to accomplish things for the kingdom, but we do so bearing in mind that our unity, even as Christians, must be a unity not just of ourselves, but one that is in Christ and in the will of God. We really can accomplish great things for the kingdom of God through unity, but being great in-and-of-itself should not be our goal; it’s about His glory. Even if we were to build ourselves up, the greatness of man pales in comparison to God. Take 1st Corinthians 1:25-31:
For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”This is where we find greatness. We make ourselves great only in Him and in making His greatness known. Ultimately, it has become my prayer that whatever I do as an individual or in unity with my brothers and sisters would give glory only to the name of Jesus Christ: that any action or deed, any word or encouragement, anything that is of the Lord – given through this weak servant – would leave others with thanksgiving toward the Lord. Matthew 5:16 says “Let your light so shine before men that they would see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” I take that to mean: do good for all to see and in such a way that you glorify God. I don’t need a memorial built in remembrance of me; I don’t need to be a famous missionary; I don’t need to be thought of as impactful – rather, may Christ receive the glory for everything that He has done – even the good work that He has done in me. This is the only lasting difference that we can make. Our names and monuments are going to fade, but our God and His kingdom will be everlasting.
