Joel M Bradshaw

1Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.4Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” 5And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. 6And the LORDsaid, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth.–Genesis 11

The ancient world constructed ziggurats to reach as high into the sky as possible. Think of them as interstate highways complete with rest stops to give comfort for the traveler. Only the intended travelers were the gods. The ziggurats gave the impression that a worshiper can cause God to come down to you and that you can go to him.

And in the famous Tower of Babel story this was all linked with personal accomplishment. I met with a married couple last night and in the course of our conversation I asked them why a good and just God would allow them into his Heaven? It is a simple question that reveals if a person understands the concept of grace. It also communicates if they think getting to heaven is about their works or not.

I read in this story a people who wanted to try to control how God acted and worked. They wanted to have access in their own power to Heaven. And that is simply not the Gospel message. The couple last night came from a background that prioritized being a good enough person and doing enough good works that might outweigh your bad. I shared with them this line from the Bible.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

God’s grace cannot be controlled, manipulated, or earned. I read those attitudes in the Tower of Babel story. And of course, God wasn’t having any of that. Their simply is no self-salvation.–JMB