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Why Babel?
Like Eden, the story of Babel once again sets the stage for yet another attempt by the peoples of the world to abandon God in pursuit of their own greatness.
Genesis 11:1-9
11:1 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.
3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 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.”
5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. 6 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. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
8 So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 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.
I do not believe that in this situation God was competing for control of the human race. Even in light of Exodus 20:3, the first of the Ten Commandments; “You shall have no other gods before me.” I believe the motivation behind His actions were of love and concern for His children. Concerned that their sense of accomplishment and self worth would be skewed and fragile, he redirected the human race back to His plan for us. God spoke to all of us through His Prophet Jeremiah when He said; “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (NKJV) How is it then that we continue to challenge God for control over our own lives and affairs, even in the face of such a great and loving declaration? Why is it that after repeated struggles in life, after deep wounds cause us such horrific pain, that we continue to place bandages of our own wisdom on our hurting hearts and ignore the immense resource of spiritual healing? Not only spiritual healing, but total healing of body, mind, and spirit! If we consider the role of spiritual healing as fanciful and wishful thinking, then we will miss out on a crucial component of God’s best for us.
God delights in our participation with Him in many ways, but will only participate with us if we are willing to walk with Him in obedience. God’s healing is complete, but He asks us to participate in that process. Christians may have an understanding of that, but often take it to an extreme point of view that says; spiritual healing is the only viable component of the healing process. However, even a cursory look at scriptures reveals that God is a God of health, science, and council. The wonderful work of the human body, which, by the way, was fearfully and wonderfully created by God, is full of scientific wonders! Healing and regenerative processes, chemistry and programming that tax even the most brilliant minds. Chemistry that govern our emotions and thoughts, yet as we grow in knowledge and wisdom in these matters, we remove God from the mix and attribute the arena of science to our own greatness. Sound familiar? King Nimrod’s goal was to build a great tower, reaching into the heavens! A great monument to the greatness of man, and an excuse to move God out!
As you read the various posts, I would like to encourage you to leave comments, or e-mail your thoughts or questions to: pastordavehoney@yahoo.com
