The Pride Of Babel & The Praise Of Christ
written at Monday, January 18, 2010
Was reading through Genesis 9,10 & 11. The essence of the chapters covers the account of Noah's descendants after the flood, what happened after that significant event when God decided to wipe out everything off the face of the Earth because of its corruption.
So after the flood God told Noah in Genesis 9:1 to "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth." So Chapter 10 describes that account. I personally thought that it the people were being obedient, you know, multiply the earth and filling it. Was curious about going deeper so I referred to Piper's sermon on the Pride of Babel. Good thing he managed to shed more light on the 3 chapters!
It looked like a fulfilment of God's command. It looked like obedience. Then Genesis 11 tells us that they weren't in fact spreading, they were clustering! They not only clustered together, they tried to make a name for themselves by building a tall tower to reach the heavens. God shattered their disobedience and made their clustering impossible by confusing their languages and scattering them all over the earth.
What a fitting 3 chapters for me personally! Am I living for His glory or for my own self-image? Well, this is not the end, the scattering and the confusing of the languages were not just a judgment on sin, but in fact it was at the same time designed to bring all the glory to Christ! I'll share with you what Piper had mentioned in his sermon which spoke to me the most.
1. Pride will be destroyed. "Her sins are heaped high as heaven. . . . As she glorified herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says, “I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see.” . . . Alas! Alas! You great city, you mighty city, Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come." - Revelation 18:5,7,1
2. The gospel glorified. "A great part of the glory of the gospel is that it is not provincial. It is not a tribal religion. It breaks into every language and every people. If there were no diversity of languages, if the spectacular sin of Babel had not happened with its judgment, the global glory of the gospel of Christ would not shine as beautifully as it does in the prism of thousands of languages."
3. Jesus Praised. The praise that Jesus receives from all the languages is more beautiful, because of its diversity, than it would have been if there were only one language and one people to sing. “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” Revelation 7:9-10
It was the spectacular sin on the plains of Shinar that gave rise to the multiplying of languages that ends in the most glorious praise to Christ from every language on earth. Praise the Lord, O Bethlehem, let everything that has breath praise the Lord - Piper
Shatter my pride, shatter my dreams, that I may only dream for You O Lord.
The Pride Of Babel & The Praise Of Christ
written at Monday, January 18, 2010
Was reading through Genesis 9,10 & 11. The essence of the chapters covers the account of Noah's descendants after the flood, what happened after that significant event when God decided to wipe out everything off the face of the Earth because of its corruption.
So after the flood God told Noah in Genesis 9:1 to "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth." So Chapter 10 describes that account. I personally thought that it the people were being obedient, you know, multiply the earth and filling it. Was curious about going deeper so I referred to Piper's sermon on the Pride of Babel. Good thing he managed to shed more light on the 3 chapters!
It looked like a fulfilment of God's command. It looked like obedience. Then Genesis 11 tells us that they weren't in fact spreading, they were clustering! They not only clustered together, they tried to make a name for themselves by building a tall tower to reach the heavens. God shattered their disobedience and made their clustering impossible by confusing their languages and scattering them all over the earth.
What a fitting 3 chapters for me personally! Am I living for His glory or for my own self-image? Well, this is not the end, the scattering and the confusing of the languages were not just a judgment on sin, but in fact it was at the same time designed to bring all the glory to Christ! I'll share with you what Piper had mentioned in his sermon which spoke to me the most.
1. Pride will be destroyed. "Her sins are heaped high as heaven. . . . As she glorified herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says, “I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see.” . . . Alas! Alas! You great city, you mighty city, Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come." - Revelation 18:5,7,1
2. The gospel glorified. "A great part of the glory of the gospel is that it is not provincial. It is not a tribal religion. It breaks into every language and every people. If there were no diversity of languages, if the spectacular sin of Babel had not happened with its judgment, the global glory of the gospel of Christ would not shine as beautifully as it does in the prism of thousands of languages."
3. Jesus Praised. The praise that Jesus receives from all the languages is more beautiful, because of its diversity, than it would have been if there were only one language and one people to sing. “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” Revelation 7:9-10
It was the spectacular sin on the plains of Shinar that gave rise to the multiplying of languages that ends in the most glorious praise to Christ from every language on earth. Praise the Lord, O Bethlehem, let everything that has breath praise the Lord - Piper
Shatter my pride, shatter my dreams, that I may only dream for You O Lord.
