An Article of Faith

Not long after Noah’s Flood (Gen. 6-9) the Bible says, “Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As men 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 and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.’
“But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men 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” (Genesis 11:1-9 NIV).
The Tower of Babel is a symbol of man’s sinful pride and rebellion. It was built to satisfy the people’s vanity, “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 and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth’ ” (Gen. 11:4 NIV). The tower was expected to reach heaven. The people were tying to approach God on their own self-serving terms, but they learned that the gates of heaven cannot be stormed. We must approach God in reverence and humility.
God intervenes to prevent the builders of Babel from partaking of the power and glory that belong to Him alone. However, God’s rejection of the nations symbolized by the Tower of Babel is reversed in Genesis 12:1–3 by the call of Abraham, through whom “all peoples on earth will be blessed.” Ultimately the sinful condition of mankind, which is clearly shown by the division of human languages and territories needed “Pentecost.”
“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a noise like a strong, blowing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw something like flames of fire that were separated and stood over each person there. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak different languages by the power the Holy Spirit was giving them.
“There were some religious Jews staying in Jerusalem who were from every country in the world. When they heard this noise, a crowd came together. They were all surprised, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were completely amazed at this. They said, ‘Look! Aren’t all these people that we hear speaking from Galilee? Then how is it possible that we each hear them in our own languages ... telling ... about the great things God has done!’ They were all amazed and confused, asking each other, ‘What does this mean (Acts 2:1-12 NCV)?’ ”
The barriers that divide people and nations are only removed through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Jessie J. Charpentier Sr. is pastor of Jenkins Memorial Baptist Church in St. Martinville.