Pentecost and the Tower of Babel

Tim Davis

How does the Old Testament background help me understand this passage? 

If you want to deepen your Bible reading skills, this is a great question to ask every time you sit down to read the New Testament. 

So for example, I would imagine that most Christians want their “spiritual gifts” questions answered when they read about the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost in Acts 2. Questions like, “Is this the same kind of ‘speaking in tongues’ Paul was addressing in 1 Corinthians?” or “Does this spiritual gift still exist today?” Now don’t get me wrong, these are great questions! 

But to remind you, this passage (and every other New Testament passage) is part of an ongoing story that started all the way back in Genesis 1.

So how does the Old Testament background help us better understand the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2? 

THE TOWER OF BABEL

Humanity tries to make a name for themselves in Genesis 11.

So what does God do?

·      He goes down

·      He confuses their language

·      He scatters humanity

In the very next chapter, God calls a man named Abraham. And he tells Abraham that he’s going to bless the nations through his offsprings.

Well the time of blessing is here.

Jesus is the promised offspring (Gal. 3:16). It’s through Jesus that all the nations will be bless. So what happens on the day of Pentecost?

·      The Holy Spirit descends

·      God gathers humanity

·      Each are able to hear in their own language what God has done

·      God makes his name great

 In other words, Pentecost reverses Babel. 

And with the reversal, this early Jesus community is empowered for mission to take the good news of salvation to the ends of the earth. But you might be wondering…

How are Jesus’ disciples empowered? Answer: “Divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them” (Acts 2:3). 

What does “divided tongues as of fire” mean? Back to the Old Testament we go!

GOD’S PRESENCE IN EXODUS

God’s presence is a key theme in the book of Exodus.

But here’s why this matters for our discussion on Acts 2. His presence in Exodus is presented with fire imagery. Here are a few examples:

·      Exodus 3:2 – God appears to Moses in a burning bush

·      Exodus 13:17-22 – God led the Israelites by night with a pillar of fire

·      Exodus 19:18 – God descends on Mt. Sinai in fire

·      Exodus 40:38 – The tabernacle was filled with the fire of the Lord

Here’s the link: in Exodus fire signifies God’s presence among his people, but here in Acts, fire signifies God’s presence in his people. 

The overwhelming presence (Ex. 40:35) that filled the tabernacled—that “mobile Eden”—now resides in you and me. We are now the ‘hotspots’ of God’s presence here on earth. Every Jesus followers is empowered for mission by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.

A BIBLE-SATURATED WORLDVIEW

Let’s create a habit of asking, “How does the Old Testament background shed light on this New Testament text?”

As we do, we’ll start to cultivate what I’m calling here a Bible-saturated worldview. And if we want to begin with Acts 2, here’s what we learn:

You and I are key players in the drama of Scripture; we’re continuing the story of God’s mission to extend his presence to the ends of the earth.