WEEKLY DEVOTION

From confusion to clarity “Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that

they may not understand one another’s speech. So the LORD scat

tered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and

they left off to build the city.” Genesis 11:7-8 (Read v. 1-9) “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to

speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.And

there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every

nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the

multitude came together, and were confounded, because that

every man heard them speak in his own language.And they were

all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not

all these which speak Galilæans? And how hear we every man in

our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes,

and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judæa,

and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia,

in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers

of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear

them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.” Acts

2:4-11 (read v. 1-47) In the days following the Genesis Flood, everyone spoke the

same language, making it possible through communication to

share ideas and join together in great works. But the problem was

that men gathered to make a name for themselves and to disobey

the LORD God who had created them. God’s solution to the great

city and tower they were building for their own honor and glory

was simple. He confused their languages so that they no longer

understood each other.

On the day in which our Lord Jesus poured out His Holy Spirit

upon His disciples, people of every nation and language were

gathered to Jerusalem in observance of the Jewish feast of Pente

cost. On that day, the Holy Ghost worked a great miracle, for He

caused Jesus’ disciples - most of them from Galilee - to speak in

other tongues. These were not unknown languages but the native

languages of the people gathered to Jerusalem. Each heard the

apostles proclaiming in their own native tongue “the wonderful

works of God” in sending His own Son, Messiah Jesus, to redeem

lost and condemned sinners and give them forgiveness of sins and

life everlasting in the glories of heaven.

In Genesis 11, confusion came when men suddenly began to

speak in different languages - so much confusion that they gave

up on their wicked plans to build a huge city and tower and called

the name of the place Babel.

In Acts 2, what sounded like confusion and even drunkenness to

some resulted in clarity. By the mighty working of the Holy Spirit,

people from all over the world heard of Christ Jesus and what He

had done to redeem them and give them a part and place in God’s

eternal city in the heavens.

In our own day, we have through a wide variety of media the

ability to communicate and share ideas and plans with people of

all nations around the world. Through the Internet, the boundar

ies created by governments and language have to a great degree

been removed.

Like in ancient Babylon, men use these means of communica

tion for every sort of evil and wickedness. People from around the

world join together in sinful and rebellious endeavors.

But like never before, we have opportunity, with the help and

aid of God’s Holy Spirit, to bring clarity and truth to this fallen and

confused world. We can speak of the wonderful works of God to

people of all nations and tongues. We can spread the Word of the

Lord and make known the forgiveness and life He offers and gives

in the Son, Christ Jesus! And when we proclaim the Word of the

Lord, we can know and be sure that God’s Spirit will be at work,

as He was on the day of Pentecost spoken of in Acts 2, convicting

people everywhere of their own sinfulness and comforting them

with the good news of pardon and peace in Messiah Jesus.

O dearest Jesus, grant us Your Holy Spirit and faith which holds

fast to You for the forgiveness of all our sins and life everlasting.

Move us to speak of Your wonderful works to all people everywhere

that they too might repent and turn back to You for forgiveness and

life everlasting. Grant this to us for the sake of Your holy life and

innocent sufferings and death in our stead. Amen.

[Devotion by Randy Moll. Scripture Quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.]

For The Record, Pages 4 on 05/26/2010