CHAPTER XIX.

BABEL.

THE explanation of the incident of Babel appears to be this. It was the will of God that the descendants of Noah should spread themselves abroad and people the world. He had said, "Be ye fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth." But they had established themselves as one great community in the fertile plains of Mesopotamia, and they were unwilling to break it up and to go forth into the earth and colonise it. So they determined to build a great city and a temple-tower, which should form a centre of unity to the whole race. The popular idea that they intended the tower as a place of refuge in case of another flood, has no countenance in Scripture. The expression "whose top may reach unto heaven," is merely a Hebrew hyperbole, whose meaning is made plain by other passages, e.g., Deut. i. 28, "The cities of Canaan are great, and walled up to heaven." The purpose for which they built it is expressly stated, "lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth." When God designed to keep Israel bound together as one people, notwithstanding their tribal constitution, and afterwards their wide dispersion in other countries, He took this very course of appointing one central temple, whither they should resort thrice a year; and the city, Jerusalem, and its temple, continued for centuries the centre of their patriotic and religious enthusiasm. Now that it was God's will that the people should disperse, He frustrated their design to build such a city and

temple. The ancient tradition is, that the temple was struck by fire from heaven.

At the same time God intimated His will by another sign; He confounded their languages. The researches of philologists make it appear likely that the first divergence of language was only into three or four branches, and they differing as dialects, rather than as totally distinct languages; but the phenomenon was sufficient to serve as a miraculous sign of God's will. The further subdivision of language continued gradually, and dialects diverged more widely from one another; and thus the gradual breaking up of mankind into the nations of the world was effected.

When we see afterwards that God created artificial barriers of laws and customs, in order the more effectually to fence off the Israelites from intercourse with other nations, that their religion and morality might be handed down without foreign corruptions, we may suppose that (among others) this was one reason why the nations were so subdivided, that religious error springing up, or wicked habits prevailing among some, might not spread so rapidly among the rest of mankind, as in the world before the flood. When we see the confusion of Babel reversed, by the miracle of tongues at the great Pentecost, we understand that God now designs that all nations shall be united again into one nation and one family in the Church of Christ.

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CHAPTER XX.

THE CHURCH CALLED IN ABRAHAM.

THE previous part of the Scripture history of mankind has been, as already said, a greatly condensed summary by way of introduction to the great subject of the Holy Scriptures. That subject of Holy Scripture begins with the history of Abraham.* God in His wisdom resolved to put one man, and the nation which should spring from him, under a special dispensation, for the better preservation of religious truth, and better preparation of the world for the coming of the promised Saviour. God called Abraham out of the civilised Assyrian empire, and led him out into the thinly-inhabited country of Palestine, and caused him to lead a nomade life, isolated even from the small and thinly-scattered communities about him. The old covenant was not swept away to make place for this. The dealings of God with man have been continuous and progressive. As Noah's covenant was based upon that made with fallen Adam, and was an advance upon it, so this with Abraham was based upon its predecessor, and took another step in advance. It gave man a clearer knowledge of God's will, brought him into closer relations to Himself, and gave him greater grace; and on the other hand demanded greater devotion and holier life. It retained the rite of sacrifice, the token of the original cove

* The history of Abraham occupies more space (fourteen and a half chapters) than the history of all mankind for the previous two thousand years (nine and a half chapters), exclusive of the account of creation.

nant of redemption, and added to it the rite of circumcision, the distinctive sign of this special covenant with Abraham.

The great significance to us of this covenant with Abraham is that the Church began with Abraham. Understand what the Church means. It means a body of men whom God has been pleased to take out of the rest of mankind and to put under a special dispensation. He does not thereby cut off the rest of mankind. When God chose Abraham He did not cast off the rest of mankind. They continued under their existing relation to Him. They continued under the Noachian covenant. Under this covenant many men continued to possess great knowledge and graceand nearness to God. Job and his three friends are examples of persons under the old covenant possessing a high degree of knowledge and spiritual religion and nearness of relation to God. Other examples are the Pharaoh of Abraham's days (Gen. xii. 10-20). Abimelech, "Abraham's contemporary, to whom God appeared in a dream. (Gen. xx); Melchisedec, the priest of the Most High God; Jethro, the priest of Midian; Balaam, a true prophet of the Lord. St. Peter declares "in every nation he that feareth Him and worketh righteousness is accepted with Him." These are mentioned because they happen to come into contact with the great history with which Scripture is concerned, and are an indication of kings, priests, prophets, and peoples who knew God and served Him with an acceptable worship, and lived in His favour, outside the special covenant which He made with Abraham and his seed.

This covenant of faith made with Abraham was more fully developed under Moses; modifications in its economy were introduced by Samuel, who instituted the schools of the prophets; by David, who re-organised the public worship of God; it was revived from neglect by Josiah;

re-organised after the return from captivity by Ezra ; but it was the same covenant which God made with Abraham; the Israelites were "the children of Abraham."

Our Lord came not to destroy the law or the prophets, but to fulfil; and to throw down the ceremonial barriers, wherewith for a time God had fenced in His Church, so that all the world might enter in. He was the Promised One, on whose coming all previous covenants were based. He fulfilled all the prophecies; He was the antitype of all the types; He accomplished the work of redemption by His incarnation, obedience, and sacrifice. He brought men into still closer relations to God, purchased for them more abundant grace. But the Church of Christ began with Abraham. We are the true Israel. According to the bold exposition of St. Paul (Gal. iv.), "Abraham had two sons, the one by a bond-maid, the other by a free woman; he who was of the bond-woman was after the flesh, but he of the free woman was by promise, which things are an allegory; for Hagar answereth to Jerusalem, which now is, and is in bondage with her children, but Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise; so we then, brethen, are not children of the bond-woman but of the free." And again, "They that are of faith are the children of faithful Abraham."