Peter Misselbrook's Blog

Jan 12 2019 - Genesis 9:18-27; 11:1-9 – Same old problems; Babel

The world after the flood was still a fallen world as God's words to Noah made quite clear.  Noah was given laws to control the violent tendencies of men (see Genesis 8:6). The relationship between mankind and animals which seemed so wonderfully perfect in the ark would soon be marked by fear and slaughter (see Genesis 9:2-3).

The fallen nature of this new creation is also made abundantly clear by the events which we read of in Genesis 9. We read of Noah's drunkenness and Ham's shamelessness; Noah's new world is going the same way as the old. In the chapters that follow we read that as men and women again increased in number so also they increased in wickedness.

Genesis 11 records how the development of new technologies was used in rebellion against God. People discovered how to make bricks and how to stick them together with bitumen. They now had the means of building up great structures from small elements. So they built a city, creating a civilisation rather than remaining nomads or subsistence farmers; they have discovered the power of working together. Now they can settle and build and have a history. So they began to build a tower in the centre of their city, "with its top in the heavens". They wanted to make a name for themselves and ensure that they have a permanent future – that they might not be scattered across the face of the whole earth.

I do not think that this is an effort to climb up to God by human effort so much as it is an attempt to displace God. They want to make a name for themselves; to become masters of their own destiny. It is the story of the Fall all over again.

But so puny is their tower that would reach to the heavens that God has to come down to see it. In judgment he confuses their language with the result that they can no longer build their city; they separate from one another and wander off in every direction. The very fate they had feared has become the consequence of their own actions.

And yes, they have secured a lasting name for themselves; that name is Babel – babble, confusion.

In confusing the language of mankind at Babel and scattering them over the face of the earth, God acted both in judgement and in grace. The divisions between mankind, fundamental to so much of the Old Testament story, is evident still in our different linguistic and ethnic groupings. It is a graphic reminder of the divisive nature of sin. It is only through the work of Christ and of his outpoured Spirit that these divisions between humankind will be healed (see Acts 2).

There are those who still think that their science has displaced God – that they can make a name for themselves and become masters of their own destiny. He who sits in the heavens laughs at their folly.

In the chapters to come we will read how God gives a name to a man and to a people, and through them begins to gather a people for himself from all the scattered nations of the earth. He is the one who will build a city for them.

O Lord, you are very great. Keep me from imagining that I can make a name for myself and become master of my own destiny. Help me to see that my hope and my secure future are to be found in the one to whom you have given the name which is above every name. Help me, together with all your people, to build up the city of God, a city that has foundations.

Jan 12 2020 - Luke 6:12-38 – Prayer

Luke tells us that Jesus often withdrew to lonely places to pray (Luke 5:16). Today we read of him going out to a mountainside to spend the whole night in prayer before choosing the twelve who would become the apostles – those who would share in his mission (6:12). Jesus was a man of prayer. Prayer was important to him: it was communion with his Father. By it he sought wisdom for the decisions he was to make. Through it he gained strength for the ministry the Father had given him.

I suspect that I am not alone when I say that I find prayer difficult – particularly prayer on my own. I don't find it difficult to pray with others, but when I am on my own my mind seems to go blank or to wander down a thousand different side-tracks. A quick 'arrow prayer' for this or that person or situation is simple enough, but I find it difficult to focus for any extended period upon the business of just talking with God. The idea of spending a whole night alone in prayer seems quite terrifying.

And yet, if prayer was so very important to Jesus it surely cannot be less needful for us. We also need wisdom for the decisions of the day. We also need strength for the ministry that the Father has for us to do. We need the presence and power of the Spirit within us to live as Jesus calls us to live: to love those who treat us badly; to be generous to those in need; to avoid a critical spirit; to be merciful as our heavenly Father is merciful. And then there are friends and family who need our prayers and a broken world crying out for the healing touch of the Lord Jesus. There is so much need for prayer; why do we find it so difficult?

Prayer cannot be separated from the ordinary business of our daily lives. We find it difficult to pray because we live so much of our life without conscious thought of God. Then, when we withdraw to pray, prayer seems so artificial; our thoughts and words are stilted. We need to learn to live consciously in the presence of God in all that we do – to practice the presence of God – then extended times of prayer will seem natural and easy rather than strange and artificial.

You may also find a journal or prayer diary helpful. The day will bring many blessings for which you can offer thanks and praise; do so as they arise but note them down for continuing praise and thanksgiving. Each day will bring to your attention many matters for prayer. You may be asked to pray for someone; pray for them at that moment, but also note it down for later petition. Many things you hear about during the day, including items on the news, will touch your heart; pray for them as you hear of them, but also note them down to bring before the Lord. Each day is packed with reasons for praise and prayer.

But we need also to learn to be still before God. Prayer does not require a torrent of words. It’s not about making sure God knows what’s going on; there is nothing we can tell him that he does not know already. Moreover, the deepest prayers well up from the Spirit of God within us; he sets us praying and joins our hearts to his own.

Lord Jesus, teach me to live close to you and to follow you in all things. Teach me to pray.

Father, I abandon myself
    into your hands.
Do with me what you will,
whatever you do, I will thank you,
I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only your will be done in me,
    as in all your creatures,
and I'll ask nothing else, my Lord.

Into your hands I commend my spirit;
I give it to you
    with all the love of my heart,
for I love you, Lord,
    and so need to give myself,
to surrender myself into your hands
    with a trust beyond all measure,
    because you are my Father. (Charles de Foucauld)

Peter Misselbrook