Old testament Genesis 11:4to7 ‘’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.” 5But .. 6 The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
New testament Acts chap 2 ‘’ 1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place…... 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues… 5 .. there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6…. each one heard their own language being spoken. 7Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9…….we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
The above are 2 historical events stated in Bible, both contrasting in nature. What is contrasting in both situations . In Babel. One community with one language, living together in once place gets split and scattered in all directions with different languages. On Pentecost day . People from different nations speaking different languages become like one family and one language.
Why this happen or why God made this to happen? In Babel, people wanted to build a tower to reach heaven by their efforts. There was nothing wrong in their intention , it is God’s cherished wish to take people to heaven, Jesus Himself taught us to think and treasure for what is in heaven. The problem was people wanted to achieve it as a monument of their might which was a challenge to God , there was no role or place for God in their mission. This is what made God to frustrate their efforts. But on the Pentecost day, God was the focus of people, His glory was their mission and they gathered together to worship Him.
It is in the light of above word of God that we need to understand why the experiment of creation of 3 new churches in Kuwait became a flop to stand as a disgrace and black splotch in Marthoma Church history till date. Expanding kingdom of God is surely the mission of any church and creation of new churches or worshipping units is only natural to this growth process but the ultimate aim has to be His Glory and plans are to be guided by the spirit of God . But in Kuwait church creation, Projecting the shrewdness and might of Bishops were the primary force which worked in the plan and not His Glory. As the Babel Tower builders said ’’ we may make a name for ourselves’’ Bishop Mar Poulos wanted to create a name for himself ‘’ I didwhat so and so (read his predecessor’s name) could not do’ and church head responded ‘’ let them obey MY Kalppana.” It was only natural that God frustrated the plans. ’
Let us think for a moment the people who created the Babel Tower. They were like one family, there was complete harmony, unity , cohesive goal, even the intention could not be said as bad but the only one thing that could be found wrong was , they challenged God, they depended on selves, wanted to earn name and glory for themselves, wanted to reach heaven without God and result was , God frustrated their plans , one language became many languages, those who where talking and working in complete unity could no longer talk to each other or understand each other , those who were living together till that moment get fragmented and scattered in all directions. But just the opposite things happen on the Pentecost day, people who were scattered throughout the world were together in one place, those who could not talk to or understand the language of each other could now hear and understand as if they hear everything in their own native language, and most important they did not have to climb up to heaven to meet God ,He was so pleased that the Lord came down to them, in the midst of them and in each one of them.These 2 events present 2 divergent scenarios that our plans could produce WITH God and WITHOUT God. Compare the situation of Kuwait Marthoma Church before the ‘Babel Tower ‘ experiment. It was one worshipping community , there was harmony, togetherness, warmth and mutual respect , adoration for the leadership and it was a pride of the whole church contributing immensely for the evangelical and charities of the church , a helping hand to hundreds of distraught lot. What is the present situation. The people who were worshiping as one family, partakers of same body of Christ , now talk opposite languages, spreading all sort of lies and false reports, trying everything possible to do as much harm as possible, get fragmented and scattered and behaving as arch enemies , total chaos. Who is responsible for this and what made this happen. The same motives which worked in Babel tower builders, that is dependence on the Might and Authority of ‘SELF, MY WILL, MY KALPPANA’ relegating God to the back seat. Even today, those who perpetuated this situation, keep on repeating the same old lies adding sin upon sin. Apostle Paul warns in Gelat.5:10 those who create such situations,’’ ....
The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty’’ Issaiah 30:1 says “Woe….,to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit, heaping sin upon sin …’’ and Hosea 8:14 warns ‘’ 14 Israel has forgotten their Maker and built palaces; Judah has fortified many towns. But I will send fire on their cities that will consume their fortresses’’ and Job says ‘’His eyes are on the ways of mortals; he sees their every step. 24 Without inquiry he shatters the mighty …’’
Babel Tower is a lesson for everyone who make plans trusting on self. Jesus calls them foolish builders who build on sand without foundation and warns such structures are doomed to crash ( Mathew 7:23 to 27) but ‘’those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever’’( psalms 125:1) Let us not forget the word of wisdom from Solomon in psalms 127 1 Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain’’ Zachariah 4:6 says ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit''
Sajan