The Pentecost of Acts 2 was the reversal of Babel. God had confused the languages of humankind in Genesis 11:1-9. After the flood, God wanted people to spread across the earth as the population grew. But instead, they rebelled and began to build a tower to heaven. Everyone spoke the same language, and this enabled the project designed to praise humans and not God.
As judgment against their rebellion, God confused their language. They couldn’t understand each other and so could not finish the tower. The result was that they scattered across the earth, which was God’s original command.
Confusion then Understanding
At first, the crowd was confused. Acts 2: 6 When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers. 7 They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, 8 and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages![1] They were used to language barriers but now heard about what God had done in their own language.
Now. instead of rebellion as at Babel, the disciples were humbly obedient to Jesus’ instructions to stay in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came. At Babel, the whole point was praise for what humans could do. At Pentecost, they praised God and continued to praise Him as the people took the Good News of Jesus with them. The miracle of Pentecost allowed God’s plan to proclaim the Gospel to all cultures throughout the earth.
3000 Killed, 3000 Saved
There is also another interesting parallel between Pentecost and the Golden Calf incident. After the people received the Ten Commandments at Sinai, Moses went up to speak to God. He took so long that the people became restless and decided to make their own god, a golden calf.
They did this even after seeing a miraculous freeing from Egypt through the Ten Plagues and the parting of the Red Sea. God had provided water from a rock, manna, and quail, but they rebelled and turned away from the true God. As a result of their rebellion, 3000 people died (Ex.32:28).
Peter preached a sermon after the crowd heard God’s praises in their own language. In it, he explained the death and resurrection of Jesus and told the people how to begin to follow Him. Acts 2: 41 Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all. [2] God reversed the past rebellion as He began the church by giving the Holy Spirit.
Where does God want to reverse rebellion in your life? Repent and confess your rebellion and come humbly before God. Then, allow the Holy Spirit to work in your life to restore and guide you. To learn more about the reversal of Babel, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/pentecost
[1-2] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Tyndale House Publishers.