This is the 12th and final blog post covering Genesis 1-11, known by scholars as the primeval Genesis narratives. What we've covered in these 11 chapters are not historical stories, in the modern sense of "history", but rather mythopoeic origin narratives with a monotheistic theological twist. These stories were undoubtedly first spread by the Israelites orally, and then only much later were they written down in the present form. In fact, these narratives were almost assuredly written down at many different times and formats and were only brought together in the form that we now have sometime around the time of the Judean exile to Babylon. The final story from these chapters clearly demonstrates its exilic setting.
Around 600 years prior to the birth of Jesus, most of the Judeans were taken by the Babylonians into captivity. During this time, much of what later became the "Old Testament" or the Hebrew scriptures was compiled into its final form. Some of these writings had been orally passed down from generation to generation, but many others had existed in various written manifestations. Through time, these stories, poetry, and discourses had taken on an authoritative voice in the Jewish community. Though clearly passed on and written down by humans, they were acknowledged to have been inspired by God and were given a unique status as a guide for the Jewish people and the basis for the Jewish religion.
So, as the Judean people lived their exilic lives in the shadow of Babylonian Ziggurats (rectangular towers climaxing in a kind of pyramid shape at the top - often used for temple worship to pagan gods), the final story of the Genesis primeval narratives took shape.
In a previous blogpost in this series, I mentioned how language differentiates humanity from the rest of the animal kingdom. Here in Genesis 11, we discover that the use of language might very well allow humanity to become almost God-like.
"Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, 'Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.' And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, 'Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.' The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. And the Lord said, 'Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another's speech.' So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the earth." - Genesis 11:1-9 (NRSV)
Just as Eve had done in the garden, so now the people of Babel reach up to the heavens to grasp the place of God. They use their united speech and technology to transcend their human role and vocation. Rather than spreading throughout the earth as God had commanded them, they congregate in Babel (Babylon) and seek to build a tower up to the heavens.
In the earlier chapters of Genesis, we have seen the ever-widening effect of human sin and brokenness. Can the use of human ingenuity and technology now solve all of human problems? Genesis 11 tells us that actually, because of human sin and brokenness, technology has just as much a chance to simply exacerbate human problems, rather than fixing them. Out of God's grace and mercy, he confuses the human language, forcing the various tribes and peoples to scatter out upon the face of the earth. Better to limit human "progress" when it is used for selfish and idolatrous reasons, than to allow it to grow unchecked.
It is interesting how often we humans have expected our technological progress to solve all of our problems. But it seems that for every problem we solve, we create a host of other issues that might be far worse than the original challenges we hoped to overcome.
So, then what is the hope of the human race? Is there a solution to redeem God's good, but now flawed and marred creation? Can the confusion of Babel be reversed? Will there be a re-creation, as in the time of Noah? Can the curse of Cain be overcome? Will Adam's and Eve's sin forever taint the human race? Is there a solution?
The Bible says, "Yes!" - and this solution begins with a man, called Abram, who is later renamed, Abraham. And with this man begins the story of how God will come to redeem and be with his people. It's an epic story, and in the final chapter of this story, God unites every tribe, language, people, and nation on the face of the earth. In the end, humanity doesn't climb up to the heavens, as in the story of Babel, rather God comes down to the earth to be with his people forever. It's a big narrative, so read on! - Shay
No comments:
Post a Comment