June 5, 2022 Text: Genesis 11:1-9
Dear Friends in Christ,
In watching a recent episode of American Built, they focused on the Willis Tower in Chicago one the tallest buildings in the world. When the Sears Corporation had it built in the early 1970’s it was to function as their corporate office. The other motivation in play was that Chicago wanted the tallest building in the world. Something that had been around since the Great Pyramid was built in Egypt. Man is always trying to outdo each other. It is so obsessive and competitive that there is an organization, The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, that has become the official referee.
Today in our text there are people who want to make a name for themselves. They want to be known over all the earth. They are all speaking the same language. What are they saying? They want to live apart from God. Man cannot survive this way. The Lord will make this clear by what He says. Let’s hear it together . . .
“NOW YOU ARE TALKING MY LANGUAGE”
At this time in history all of mankind is descended from Noah. Remember, the ark builder? Because they were all related, they all spoke the same language. Just because they had this in common did not mean they had total unity. They were still out for each other. This happens when we fail to communicate with our Creator. When we are not communicating with God, then we are not able to communicate with each other.
Look at our communication in the United States. We speak English, the universal language of the world. Go anywhere, which I did on the internet this week, and they have signs in English. We may have the same language but are we understanding one another? When gas hits five dollars a gallon and energy prices are spiking, and we can’t hire enough workers to produce goods and services even when we have let millions of new people into our country there is a communication breakdown. People babel on about solutions but they are all speaking a different language.
When some see a beating heart as not a child, we are speaking a different language. When some see marriage as beyond a man and a woman, we are speaking a different language. When some are comfortable with anarchy and chaos, we are speaking a different language. But at the root of all this miscommunication is men and women who want the power of God.
That is what happened in Shinar. Look at their language in verse 4. “Let us build ourselves…let us make a name for ourselves.” They have forgotten the original “let us” moment of Genesis 1:26, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” This was the Holy Trinity speaking. Nothing can be made apart from Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Now we are starting to hear some language we can get behind.
What motivated the Lord to intervene? The key here is in verse 6, “this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing they propose to do will now be impossible for them.” Man is a conceited mess. If the human race remained united in self-interested pride, there would be no limit to people’s rebellion against God.
The Lord intervenes in the affairs of man. He must. His divine power altered their though processes, making it impossible to communicate and trust one another. The tower was to reach the heavens, but the all-knowing, all-powerful God came all the way down to inspect this tiny structure of man. The early Christians understood this verse to refer to the preincarnate Jesus. Now You Are Talking My Language.
The Son of God is the Word made flesh. The Word of God in the flesh confuses the word of man. Man always talks big, always makes plans apart from God but God’s Word is always the final answer.
Here we are in society, in families, in schools, in jobs, in churches. We all speak the same, except for an accent or variation here and there. Yet, look at all the misunderstandings we encounter. Husband and wife. Child and parent. Teacher and student. Boss and employee. Communication breakdowns hurt and they can linger, and they can tear apart relationships.
God comes into this world of ours every day. In the person of Jesus Christ, we have a Savior who spoke a language that even his 12 closest buddies didn’t always understand. But they would. They would see Him die. They would see Him rise from the dead. They would see Him ascend to heaven. They would receive His forgiveness and share in his glory. On Pentecost they would be given power from on high. They would need this strength when people didn’t understand their salvation message.
You and I have what they had. The Lord speaks to us in language easy to understand. Water and Word. Bread and wine and Word. He answers our prayers and forgives our misunderstandings with others. His language is our language. In a world of confusing language, He calms the troubled heart. In a society of profane language, He lets our light shine with the words we use. He wraps us in His arms and says, “I love you and will use your witness.”
Now you are talking through Me. Thank you Lord.
Amen.