Wednesday: “Let Us Go Down”
Read Genesis 11:5-7 and Psalm 139:7-12. Why did God come down to the earth here? What was the event that motivated this divine reaction?
Ironically, although the men were going up, God had to come down to them. The descent of God is an affirmation of His supremacy. God will always be beyond our human reach. Any human effort to rise up to Him and to meet Him in heaven is useless and ridiculous. No question, that’s why, in order to save us, Jesus came down to us; there was, indeed, no other way for Him to save us.
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A great irony in the Tower of Babel account is seen in God’s statement: “to see the city and the tower” (Genesis 11:5). God did not have to come down to see (Psalm 139:7-12; compare with Psalm 2:4), but He did so anyway. The concept emphasizes God’s involvement with humanity.
Read Luke 1:26-33. What does this teach us about God’s coming down to us?
The descent of God reminds us also of the principle of righteousness by faith and of the process of God’s grace. Whatever work we may perform for God, He will still have to come down to meet with us. It is not what we do for God that will bring us to Him and to redemption. Instead, it is God’s move toward us that will save us. In fact, twice the text in Genesis talks about God going “down,” which seems to imply how much He cared about what was happening there.
According to the text, the Lord wanted to put an end to the people’s deep-seated unity, which — given their fallen state — could lead only to more and more evil. That’s why He chose to confuse their languages, which would bring an end to their united schemes.
“The schemes of the Babel builders ended in shame and defeat. The monument to their pride became the memorial of their folly. Yet men are continually pursuing the same course — depending upon self, and rejecting God’s law. It is the principle that Satan tried to carry out in heaven; the same that governed Cain in presenting his offering.” — Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 123.
| How do we see in the Tower of Babel account another example of human hubris and how, ultimately, it will fail? What personal lessons can we take from this story? |
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The Patriarchs and Prophets quote at the end of today's lesson presents a clear portrayal of the core nature and character of sin: "depending upon self, and rejecting God’s law." Thus, sin's core nature and character is self-seeking that manifests in lawlessness - as per 1 John 3:4.
In contrast, righteousness* (the opposite of sin: John 16:8) is based on other-seeking and lawfulness. Lawfulness in this sense means living in harmony with the 'ways' that promote harmony and benefit to all. This way of being and living has its source in the heart of God (1 John 4:7).
Being willing to "go down", to 'step down', when there is a problem is God's nature and character (Philippians 2:5-7). And the purpose of this going/stepping down is to meet humans where they are at in an attempt to raise all who are willing back up to righteousness and restoration (Ephesians 2:4-5; John 3:16; John 12:32).
It is never a question as to God's willingness to go down, but rather of our willingness to be raised up.
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* Righteousness is that which is 'right', or that which 'ought to be'. And the reference point for which 'ought to be' is the abundant life that can only be produced by self-giving love. This is the only viable form of life that is actually possible.
Most of what I wanted to say about today's lesson I wrote yesterday - just one of the problems of cutting a study up into bite-sized pieces. However, there are a couple more points that I would like to add.
We like to point out the futility of us reaching God by our own efforts and in our modern world illustrate this with examples from science and commerce. However, rather than pointing the finger at others, we probably need a reminder that for God to come down to us in this modern world, he has given us a commission. God has chosen us to be his representatives. In the New Testament, he has chosen a couple of metaphors to illustrate his presence among us; salt and light.
Salt is a flavour enhancer. Mixed with food it is unseen but it does make a difference. In wintertime, I like to make rolled-oat porridge for breakfast. It is simple and easy to make nowadays. I use pre-cooked rolled oats, soy-milk and add chopped dates to it. And I add a pinch of salt. I put it in the microwave for 90 seconds. I add a bit more soy milk and I can slowly enjoy eating it while I think about what to write in today's Sabbath School Net discussion. If I leave the pinch of salt out, I know it.
God uses the Holy Spirit to work through us to come down to earth in our modern world. The Christian influence should be something that changes the flavour for those who come over our horizon.
Light is only useful when it is outside the box. It does not have to be a great huge blinding searchlight. But it should shine in dark places where it is needed.
Last night I went out to photograph luminous fungus with some people who had never seen them before. We used torches to pick our way through the bush to where they were. Then we switched out our torches. In the darkness, we could see these beautiful fungi glowing softly in the dark. The gentle light made a beautiful light show that made us forget we were in a dark place.
God wants to be revealed to others today, not by spectacular miracles, or loud proclamations, but by simple everyday acts that change the flavour and colour of the day for the people we interact with.
The link between God and us, and others is simply described by Jesus:
That is how God comes down today.
Maurice, I like that with both of your examples it is only a small measure, a pinch of salt and candlelight in a dark place, that can make a big difference. Historically speaking, Christians have tended to flood seen with the salt/light of Christian dogma rather than display God touching Man by way of the personal pinch of caring for a fellow human being.
Have you ever felt like change comes out of the blue? You show up to work one day and people are acting differently? You meet up with family and they're acting differently and saying things that are head-scratchers? You're with your spouse, or in a dating relationship, and suddenly they are acting differently and becoming more unavailable? You start reading your Bible and praying more and former-style conversations with friends seem suddenly hollow? Even worldwide events seem like everything is backwards and reactions you expect on a broader scale are upside down too? I can say "yes" to all of those. Makes you feel like, "Is it them or is it me? Is this some kind of joke? What's going on?"
In my experience, when it feels like things are upending it's because they are! The workers showed up at the Babel Tower one day and they couldn't understand each other. They were incomprehensible to one another."What is wrong with this guy?" Teammates seemed to be talking gibberish to one another. Eventually in walking around the building site they hear someone whom they understand and decide to team up and get out of there. Alike in language feels safely "like-minded" and new communities are started and develop into unique cultures. That day in Babel was the start of a big change. God dispersed humans over the face of all the earth (Gen. 11:9), as He had asked them to do on their own (Gen. 9:1,7; Gen. 11:3-4). I wonder if families were split up by these language assignments too? Was this the start of a trend where it seems men and women are speaking "different languages" (aka Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus)? It seems the seeds of future conflict were already sown in their hearts as they walked away from each other, shaking their heads, thinking "she's crazy, he's nuts."
The fragmentation these people were trying to avoid was the very thing God caused to happen. How is God active in our fragmentations? Are these language barriers (and we can use the word "language" broadly here, e.g. the 5 Love Languages) opportunities to become more humble and practice listening to each other on a deeper level? Are we okay with slowing down the end product in favor of the process? Can we see the need for cutting back human ambition to create room for God's grace? Can we relate to the Titanic ship Capt. Edward John Smith who felt invincible and was rumored to say "Even God himself couldn't sink this ship" moments before it hit an iceberg? Are we more comfortable with the emotional and behavioral bricks and walls we build for self-protection than with letting God shatter our habits and reverse our plans to move us out of our comfort zones? Are our churches creating programs to keep people busy and to give ourselves a false security of involvement and activity as a substitute for the Holy Spirit's living faith and devotion and power and moving out into the non-believing community as we have been asked to do? If everything seems increasingly difficult and confusing, could it be you and I are you banging our heads against the figurative wall in stubbornness? (Acts 26:14)
What these men and women most wanted would have destroyed them and what they most feared proved to be part of their deliverance.The people of Babel were the original workaholics.They began to look at never-ending work as the cure rather than the curse.(Lamech called his son Noah, by faith understanding that God's plan is a greater blessing than human works - Genesis 5:29). The people of Babel were driven to build because of insecurity about their future. If they had instead met in prayer to review recent events - a weekly rest provided at Creation, a deliverer from sin promised in the Garden of Eden, a protection through the Flood, a promise given to their father Noah - they would have refocused upon the grace of God and His sovereign control and remained in unity with each other.
Trust and obey, for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
Esther think you so much for insightful and far reaching comments that l have been blessed with this week. I especially wish to comment on the closing lines where you wrote ‘The people of Babel were driven to build because of insecurity about their future. If they had instead met in prayer to review recent events - a weekly rest provided at Creation, a deliverer from sin promised in the Garden of Eden, a protection through the Flood, a promise given to their father Noah - they would have refocused upon the grace of God and His sovereign control and remained in unity with each other.’
How true that most of our worries and futile stressful attempts to solve them are for situations and problems that do not exist and/or were never going to happen aka a second universal flood.
GOD bless you and the readership in general as we learn to lean on JESUS and trust all with Him.
That’s so beautiful, dear Sis Marcia.
The phrase ”we are taking a burden which God has not given us“ reminds me of the Serenity Prayer…”help me know when to act for change and when to accept what is.”
The part ” We may well have anxiety and anticipate danger and loss, for it is certain to befall us. But when we really believe that God loves us and means to do us good we shall cease to worry about the future.” reminds me of Jeremiah 29:11-14….a comforting promise to the scattered which reveals God’s dream for us.
Thank you so much for sharing, 🙏
As a mark of our fallen race, man continues to think, by this "excessive pride or self-confidence motto", that height is a demonstration of power! Look at the sky-high buildings in different countries! What is the reason for them to be built, but pride? The greed for money and power haunt us all. It is up to us to choose between earthly material things and eternal most precious life with our Redeemer... May we choose Jesus TODAY! Because that's the safest choice!
Most of the world dismisses Genesis as factual history, but we believe that the Bible tells the genuine history of humanity. And archeology often confirms what the Bible has already told us. I found some fascinating details in the article on "The Tower of Babel" at the Wyatt Museum site. While Ron Wyatt was bolder in his claims than careful scientists would be, you can judge the evidence in this article without an author name for yourself.
Dear sister Inge
For quite some time now l have been wanting praise GOD publicly for the work you do in sourcing and disseminating researched back information and providing the hyperlinks so that myself and others can be led into deeper study. I have been and continue to be blessed by your work. Thank you