Broadcast
The Tower of Babel - Part 1
Genesis 11:1-2
05/20/2024
1 Now the whole earth had one language and the same
words.
2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a
plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
(ESV)
Last Sunday the Church celebrated Pentecost, fifty days
after Easter, the day upon which the Holy Spirit visibly came
upon the apostles and those who trusted in Jesus Christ. The
work of the Holy Spirit is to call people to faith in Jesus as
their Redeemer from sin, death, and the power of the devil. In
order to accomplish this work, the Holy Spirit has provided the
Church with both the written Word of God, which is the Bible, and
the sacraments.
The second chapter of Acts tell us how the Holy Spirit came
upon the apostles with the sound of the wind, and tongues of fire
adorned their heads. Saint Luke, the author of the book,
recounted how the disciples proclaimed the good news of salvation
by God's rich love and mercy for the sake of the death and
resurrection of Jesus. Speaking in known languages, Peter and
the rest of Jesus' followers brought the Gospel to all people.
About 2,200 years before the birth of Jesus, after Noah's
flood, God had commanded Noah and his descendants, ``Be fruitful
and multiply and fill the earth.''[1] Yet, rather than dispersing
to receive God's blessings of the fruits of the earth, for the
next hundred years the people remained in one large tribe. ``Now
the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as
people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of
Shinar and settled there.''
This week we will look at the rebellion of the flood
survivors, and God's method to cause mankind to fulfill the task
of filling the earth. We also will see how the Holy Spirit
brings one message of hope to all people.
May our Lord richly bless you with the good news of His
great love. Amen.
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1. Genesis 9:1b (ESV)