Weekday Devotionals - Aaron

Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As people moved eastward,[a] they found a plain in Shinar[b] and settled there.They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” -Genesis 11:1-4


In Matthew 20, Jesus is addressing a dispute going on between the disciples. He tells them, (I'm paraphrasing) 'Ya know boys, the Gentile nations build empires and the powerful make sure everyone knows how great they are. This should not be the case with you. Remember, you're building the Kingdom, not an empire.' Again, that was the Aaron Green paraphrase, so, don't use it in a scholarly paper or anything, but we see this 'Kingdom vs. Empire' theme show up throughout the Scriptures. One of the first, is the story of the Tower of Babel listed above. On the surface, it may not seem like a big deal that a group of people are deciding to build a big tower, but if you slow down a bit and make some observations, you see how the story is a precursor to the Exodus story. They use bricks instead of stone. This is something the Egyptians will require the Hebrew slaves to produce; most likely, THEY weren't doing the building, they were getting others to do it for them. You also notice a strong emphasis on 'us', 'our people', let 'us' make a name for 'ourselves' (as oppossed to others). Lastly, consider the structure of a tower. Think of big city skyscrapers with names branded on the side. What you find at the top of the towers are penthouses; luxuries of the most wealthy and influential so that they may 'look down upon' everyone else. This was not a construction project to just pass the time, this was one of the first instances of a people attempting to 'play God' over others. This is why God confuses their languages. Why? Because as long as they can conspire together in this manner, it will end up being diabolical. They have the wrong motivations, and they only want those who are just like them. Later on in the book of Acts, we now see the Holy Spirit drawing people from all nations and walks of life to Jerusalem on Pentecost and He unites them in one Spirit language; motivated by the Gospel to go back to their homelands and proclaim this good news to all people; everyhwere. It's this same Spirit that reminds us of these words by Jesus to His disciples... again I paraphrase, 'Remember, your building a Kingdom, not an Empire.' This Kingdom is for everyone. Perhaps you could say, we're building bridges, not towers.

Questions for reflection:
1. Do our friends, neighbors, co-workers express interest in our faith or do they feel they are not welcome? Are we embarrassed to invite them to church or talk about our faith with them?
2. How can we, as the people of God, be a bridge instead of a tower in our community?

Aaron L. Green