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The Undoing of Babel by Mary Katherine may
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A commentary by Mary Katherine May, a student of the Holy Bible. LINK to digital image, PDF file and Word Document on Archive.org where Mary Katherine May has the user name BabaMary.
What does the Tower
of Babel have to do with Pentecost????
It is such a great a
blessing to be in the Word of God and see how God's plan for His children has
been in place throughout history! In the
Old Testament book of Genesis, beginning with chapter 9, we read of Noah and
his family and their descendants.
One of Noah's
descendants through his son Ham was Nimrod the mighty warrior. Nimrod founded many cities, including
Babel...
Genesis 9, 10 and
11; Acts 1 and 2
It was after the
flood that it happened. Noah, a good and righteous man, had obeyed God and
built the Ark, loaded in the pairs of animals, his wife, his three sons and
their wives, and then closed the doors and waited for rain. God had told him it
was coming.
On that day it began
like most rains—a few drops here, a few more drops there, and then…the rain
came down as though they were right beneath a waterfall. No one inside the Ark
heard much of anything outside the confines of their tightly-filled space for
the noise of the downpour. It covered most of what went outside of the Ark
fairly well.
Soon the boat began
to rock from side to side. Noah braced himself, but one jolt caught his wife by
surprise and she fell. The animals shifted, bleated and growled and pawed at
the floor. There was nothing much anyone could do about it, so Noah’s three
sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, decided that it was time to rest before the
animals’ beckoned them to once more to care for their needs.
After it was all
over--when all could finally disembark, when dry land returned--how good
everyone felt with that first breath of fresh, clean air—and the rainbow! It
was exquisite! The animals leaped and ran and hopped, all under the
multi-colored arch of beauty in the sky.
God said it was time
to go and live a good life now. They were to have children, descendants that
would populate all of the earth. Noah planted a vineyard, and after a time he
reaped the fruit of his work, although on occasion a bit too much fruit was his
fill.
Drunk with wine,
Noah staggered into his tent. Falling and tripping over his robes, they fell to
the ground just moments before he did. In a drunken stupor he lay, naked and
oblivious to his surroundings.
Shem and Japheth
were not aware of their father’s plight, of the result of his sin of over
indulgence. They were busy about their daily business. Ham, however, was not
like his brothers. God had blessed Noah’s boys, but all was not well with Ham.
He was perverse and his desires were not right.
Going to his
father’s tent, Ham should have called out before entering, asking permission
from Noah to see him—but that is not what he did. Ham had found traces of what
his father had been about outside of the tent, and thus suspecting Noah’s
condition he pulled back the coverings and entered.
We don’t know
exactly what happened next, but it is suspected that Ham’s perverse mind was
vividly, imaginatively busy in a shameful way. And because the sickness of his
thoughts had so overcome him, Ham had the notion that his brothers’ thoughts
were of the same kind as his.
Joking, with
exaggerated speech and a gleam of delight in his eyes, Ham told his brothers of
what he had witnessed. Only Shem and Japheth didn’t laugh or smile. They went
to their father, and walking backward with coverings over their shoulders,
cloaked his naked body, and then quietly and respectfully left Noah alone.
Noah found out what
had happened and brought a curse upon Ham and his offspring. Ham had hidden his
ways from his family before this, but no longer was it to be so—and God had
always known, as God always knows.
Noah cursed Canaan,
Ham’s son. Ham’s descendants were many and they scattered far and wide,
including to Sodom and Gomorah and Babel—one of the cities that Nimrod the
mighty warrior and a descendent of Ham founded.
Babel was a great
city, far advanced in many skills and abilities. They were a proud people who
delighted in themselves. It was decided that a tower should be built—a
ziggurat¬¬--a mountain of stone--that would reach up to the heavens. But God
saw that they were wicked people, having returned to the ways of those that had
caused our Lord to send the flood, and so the Lord confounded their tongues
with new languages that made it impossible for them to understand what each
other was saying.
The people
scattered, populating the earth far and wide. People who were before neighbors,
friends and families were now strangers who no longer could communicate, and
soon they couldn’t recognize each other. And this is how it was.
Yet, God remembered
the people of the earth, and soon would come Abraham and Sarah, and later Moses
and David. A very long time went by, and the story that follows is often far
from pretty—until one night when the sky was clear and the stars were gently
lighting the land below, a child was born. He was Son of God and Son of Man,
and he was righteous, sinless, and obedient—even unto death. His name was
Jesus.
But there is more.
He came out of the grave and went to be with His Father in Heaven. Fifty days
later the Holy Spirit baptized the apostles of Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son
of Man, with mighty power and a fire that burned with love for God so great
that they could not do enough to spread His message of forgiveness and
salvation.
The apostles
immediately began to speak in the languages of the world, languages that were
previously unknown to them. No longer would fear grip their hearts. They spoke
with authority the words given to them by their Heavenly Father.
It was the beginning
of the Christian church, bringing all believers together and uniting them in
the Name of Jesus Christ, Savior and Lord. Now, when believers scattered it
wasn’t for lack of understanding. Rather, they would bring the message of
salvation, and the Body of Christ would continue to grow, vibrant and alive.
At Mount Sinai God
gave the law on stone tablets. On Pentecost God gave himself in the form of the
Holy Spirit. Let us rejoice for this gracious gift that is freely given. Amen.
Rick and Mary May live in Minneapolis, Minnesota where they operated the webstore QualityMusicandBooks.com. Rick is retired from a major corporation. Mary was a independent piano teacher and church musician. They have been married for 43 years and enjoy spending time with family and friends, exploring the natural world and trying new recipes.
