Genesis 11-12:9
When Noah and his family left the ark they were given a
command, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” Apparently they were
fruitful, but they did not want to fill the earth. The events that took place
at Babel were in direct contradiction to living with God and serving Him. Their
desire instead was to, “make a name for ourselves,” that is, to make themselves
great so that they bear glory and honor to themselves. Ultimately they wanted
to worship themselves. We still do this in some ways. Wanting to be glorious we
make ourselves to be masters of our own lives (and the lives of others
sometimes if we can), and ultimately place ourselves above God deciding which
of His commands we will follow and which we won’t.
In addition to this arrogance, the people of Babel
determined to build a tower to prevent being dispersed over the face of the
whole earth. That would be the earth that God wanted them to fill. They decided
that their plan to stick together was better than God’s plan to go out into the
world.
God’s response is one of punishment tempered with mercy.
He confused their speech. They could no longer understand each other, foiling
their plan to make themselves great and to avoid God’s will for them. However
harsh that might seem, it ultimately accomplished God’s will to fill the earth and
they scattered – probably by language group – and began to form the ethnic
groups as we know them today.
It should be noted that the Bible is pretty clear that
there is only one race – the human race. Within that race there is a lot of
variety, even beyond language, but ultimately we are all one kind. We were made
in the image of God, fell into sin, and are now redeemed and reconciled to God
in Christ.
There is a promise that points ahead to the coming of
Christ in this reading. God called Abraham to be the foundation of His nation,
a nation that would show His ethics and His mercy. More than that, they would
be the family that brought the savior into the world. The world was blessed by
the birth of Jesus, Abraham’s descendent whose death and resurrection blesses
us with salvation and everlasting life for all people – no matter their
ethnicity.
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