The Tower of Babel

Language confused; people scattered. But we are united to God.

In Genesis 11, we learned that there was one language and one speech since God created the earth until the city and the Tower of Babel were built. God confused people’s language so that they might not understand one another’s speech, and scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

God wants humans to multiply and spread all over the earth. Seeing what people began to do when they were in one language, one speech – gathering together and exercising the collective force to build a city and a tower – it’s no harm to have the same proposal being carried out in other areas. God drove people away from the comfort zone with HIS wondrous work, diverting the collective forces to more constructive uses, exploring rather than focusing and limiting at one spot on earth.

Confusing language brings forth separation that is essential for the human development because cities can be built all over the world. People prosper at their own place. This begets many collective forces that are big enough to build cities and generate prosperity, but restraining one another at the same time. The fall of one city or even one kingdom will not extinct the whole humanity.

People can choose a better and safer living place for their family by moving from one place to another, either temporary or permanent. Humans won’t have to subject to one type of society building and development, one monotonous reign as this will be extraordinary dangerous if it becomes a tyrant one.

Can there be peace even we are in different languages and don’t understand others’ speeches? Peace is possible if we all believe in the only living God and obey HIM. His word is the universal language that links us together, leads us to do good, loving our neighbors and hence, we can be fruitful in our place and live peaceably with people in every corner of the world.

Let’s pray to God:

Our almighty LORD, language confusion is another wondrous work You have performed. We praise You for helping humans multiply on the earth. With Your circumspect plan, people all over the world prosper in their own entities instead of becoming one single entity which will be too risky if anything goes wrong. God, please help more people understand Your word, believe in You, and do good accordingly. The goodness will unite us and bring peace to the whole world. Amen.

Noah’s Ark and the Great Flood

God saved the just. Wickedness destroyed. HIS liking never changes.

In Genesis 6-9, we learned that God had arranged raining for 40 days and 40 nights to flood the earth because violence and wickedness of man were great; no living creatures could survive except those in Noah’s Ark.

God is omnipotent. HE creates the earth and of course, HE has the power to destroy it. The great flood is a wondrous work of God. The flooded scale was exclusively large that water covered all grounds. God is full of goodness and loves the just; hence, HE saved Noah and his family by instructing him to build an ark beforehand.

                                                                                                    

Nobody knows God’s plan unless HE tells the chosen person. Violence and evils won’t save people when God strikes HIS fatal blow. We are under HIS full mercy and the criteria to be saved are clear – obey God and be righteous.

Noah has faith in God. He listened and did exactly what God required him to do. Imagine what a big and strong ark Noah had to build to hold his family and many other species on the earth. It took time, patience, hard work to have the ark prepared.

Besides the ark building, organizing the animals into the ark and keeping them well together were all wondrous works of God. God could make Noah understand HIS will; the animals on board must have the same understanding from the great creator. By doing God’s will, humans and other animals managed to stay together in the ark for a long time in peace. If any killing happened, a species might extinct.

Noah prepared enough foods and drinks for all living creatures, but staying in the ark for a long time required good sanitation and mental stability to overcome the anxiety aroused by the confinement. The whole deliverance is full of wonders. With God’s help, the difficult tasks are all achievable.

God loves man and we can trust HIM to deliver us from dangers. Noah was thankful to God. He built an altar and worshiped God. Blessings came after the deliverance. God set a covenant with all flesh that is on the earth, with the rainbow as its sign. HE blessed Noah and his sons, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” HE never withholds blessings to us but we must behave ourselves to deserve them.

God wants us to prosper, not to extinct. And it takes at least two (male and his female) to do so. Marital bond, this basic interdependent relationship is highlighted for all living creatures.

Let’s pray to God:

Our Father in Heaven, praise to Your omnipotence and loving-kindness forever.  Thank you Your bountiful blessings to us. Pray that You will strengthen us to live upright even the world is full of evils. Help us be just, like Noah, and be good enough to please You. In times of difficulty and danger, please deliver us so that we won’t perish but keep glorifying You in our lifetime. Amen.

Cain Murders Abel

Don’t be selfish. Also, care and love other people. We will be better off.

In Genesis 4, Adam and Eve had two sons: Cain (the elder) and Abel (the younger). Cain murdered Abel due to anger because God appreciated Abel more for his well-done job. When God asked about his younger brother, Cain said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” God is omnipotent and just. HE punished Cain severely.

Cain’s murder shed innocent blood, a great sin that violates the Ten Commandments.

It’s important to examine the murderer carefully and learn from his mistakes.

1)      Cain demanded respect that he didn’t deserve, got angry and ignored God’s advice. Selfishness overruled and it surpassed fairness and uprightness.

2)      Cain didn’t improve himself but sought murder. He didn’t cherish and respect life.

3)      Cain told lie in front of God by saying he had no idea where Abel was. God knows everything. Of course HE knows Cain is the murderer.

4)      Cain denied responsibility to himself and to others.

When a person only cares about the self, he overlooks or denies the interpersonal relationships, whose existences are absolute. We have a responsibility to pay attention to other people, to monitor and adjust the self to righteousness so that we can live peacefully together with others.

If everyone just minds one’s own business and ignores the presence of others, we are generating and spreading indifference. This provides a seminary of vice and crime. Very soon, people will forget God and walk in their own way, even at the expense of others. Sins multiplied and humans are more evil than ever.

God wants us to care and love each other as this is the most efficient way to build, maintain and maximize human’s welfare. It keeps peace and helps people resist evil and commit no crime to harm the self and others. We play the roles as a giver and a receiver simultaneously at all times. Even remaining silent could have an impact on other people. So, never say “I don’t care!”

If we have difficulty in offering brotherly care to others, pray to God for help. We can always start with the small things such as a smile. Let Jesus care for others through us. Keep working with care and love, evil will have no room to stay behind and self-love could be constructive. We will benefit from our efforts and be able to fully enjoy God’s blessings.

Let’s pray to God:

Blessed Savior Jesus, you are a supreme model of care and love. Please help us understand humans belong to one another and we will be better off if everyone acts with brotherly care. No matter how small a thing is, pray that we do it with care and love in mind, not just to the self but also to others. Whenever we encounter difficulty doing so, please act through us so that we can keep behaving upright rather than walking in our own way and sinning continually. Amen.

The First Sin of Man

In Genesis 3, our earliest ancestors, Adam and Eve encountered a temptation from the cunning serpent and they failed to obey God by eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They were ashamed of their nakedness and hid away from God. God punished Adam and Eve by several means: pain in giving birth, toil, death, out of the Garden of Eden and no accessibility to the tree of life, etc.

Temptation is everywhere, even in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve had two options: yes and no. They were given the free will to choose. Why didn’t they cherish all the beautiful things God granted them but choose to disobey HIM? Sad to say, they didn’t trust God giving all the best to them, best in terms of suitability. They wanted to be like God. The disobedience was an evil one, a transgression, definitely not expressing thankfulness to God.

God is omnipotent and incomparable. Eating the forbidden fruit won’t make Adam and Eve like God. On the contrary, they sinned and were drifted away from God since then because HE stands for goodness, not evilness.

This first sin of man, also called Original Sin, marked the fall of man and contaminated the seed. When man multiplied, sin also multiplied. One generation after another, we are still subjected to temptations, sins, pain in giving birth, toil, and death. With so many temptations around us, which are always sugarcoated to disarm our guard, are we hopeless?

Hope exists because there are things that never change albeit the fall of man. For example, God’s omnipotence, HIS love to man, our free will to choose to obey God and resist temptations instead of being defeated by them. In other words, we can choose to be a righteous person and return to God regardless of the absolute existence of Original Sin.

If God doesn’t love man and help us, the Bible might simply end at Genesis 3. But God never forsakes us. We heard more from God, including the Salvation to us, as the Bible is a record of HIS word. Given an invaluable opportunity of reconciling to God, we ought to learn a lesson from Adam and Eve and do better. Resist temptations, use our free will and choose to obey God from now on. It’s never too late walking in God’s way.

Let’s pray to God:

Great and loving God, You give us so many bountiful blessings and ask so little of us; only that we obey You. Your word is full of loving-kindness and for our welfare, and yet we always fail to resist temptations, and disobey You. Please give us wit and strength to do according to Your will, say “No” to temptations to avoid going against You. If we sinned, please correct us for we need to repent, ask for Your forgiveness and offer atonement shortly. O God, thank you again for Your love, care and mercy to us despite Original Sin and our sins.