David Bahn – Reflections

Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. ¹¹ When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, ¹² and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me, but they will let you live. ¹³ Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.” – Genesis 12:10-13

The young family called me late that afternoon. They were traveling from New Orleans where he was in medical school at Tulane University. They had a young baby, and were stranded. Traffic was a jam-packed gridlock on US 290. They were worried about the safety of their baby. Could they spend the night at the church? Hurricane Katrina was bearing down and they were bugging out. No duplicity. No presence. Just an need that we could fill. They ended up staying with us that night, and were able to get on their way the next day.  

We can more easily identify with such acute needs than that of famine. Our food shortages may last for a week or two with the threat of disease or weather. But even when we need to leave our homes, it is normally only for a short time. We don’t typically take our family cross country in search of food. Even so, events such as hurricanes, flash floods, and pandemic stretch our resources and our sense of personal peace often to the breaking point. 

So I can understand why Abram was worried about his welfare when he entered the land of the Egyptians. He feared for his life because of his wife’s beauty. But his fear led to unbelief and distrust of God’s providential care. Matthew Henry notes:

The grace Abram was most noted for, was faith; yet he thus fell through unbelief and distrust of the Divine providence, even after God had appeared to him twice. Alas, what will become of weak faith, when strong faith is thus shaken! If God did not deliver us, many a time, out of straits and distresses which we bring ourselves into, by our own sin and folly, we should be ruined. – Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible

On the one hand we might find great comfort here in knowing that a man of such great faith stumbled in this manner. We can point to Abram and think, Well he fell, after all. I can’t be blamed for my failures. I’m not a man of great faith. Never is someone else’s failure a justification for our own. It’s true: we all sin. But it’s also true: the wages of sin is death. Thankfully we do not always bear the full brunt of our sin. God’s grace abounds to Abram and to us. 

Sadly, however, Abram’s deception not only sullied his faith, it taught his wife and even his servants that deceit and dissembly was an option in drastic times. Drastic times call for drastic actions. But the most drastic action is that of continued faithfulness in the face of temptation and fear. The most drastic action is that of loving God and relying on him in every situation. 

That’s what our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ did in the face of the most drastic time ever. When on the cross, though pure and sinless before man and God, he remained faithful. Even when God abandoned him, Jesus still called out to his God, “My God, my God, why…” [emphasis added].

God will rescue Abram and Sarai because of his grace. Because of that grace they are part of a grand story of redemption and salvation, blessing and grace that will reach through the centuries to our very times. This is the most drastic action of all, because our need, too, is drastic.

Click here or on the podcast player below to listen to an audio version of this blog post. 

Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. ¹¹ When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, ¹² and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me, but they will let you live. ¹³ Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.” ¹⁴ When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. ¹⁵ And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. ¹⁶ And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

¹⁷ But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. ¹⁸ So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? ¹⁹ Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go.” ²⁰ And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had. – Genesis 12:10-20

You might remember – if you are as old as I am – a song by Debby Boone, You Light Up My Life. It’s a compelling melody, inspiring, and memorable. Among the lines:

And you light up my life
You give me hope to carry on
You light up my days
And fill my nights with song…

It’s meant to be a beautiful love song, but there is a troubling lyric:

It can’t be wrong
When it feels so right

That is not most certainly true. Ask the cocaine addict. Ask the porn addict. Ask any addict. Some things seem so right, feel so right, provide success, safety, and satisfaction, only to evaporate into a mist of lost dreams, dashed hopes, and sad reality.

Abram had what he thought to be a great idea, a means of safety, security, and success. And for a while it worked. Initially – after Abram passes off Sarai as his sister and allows her to be taken by the king – his stock is on the rise. He gains sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels. It is going well for him. 

So if you equate success with the favor of God, beware! It might be. Or it might simply be a short-lived encounter with the permissive will of God. And there will surely come a reckoning. We think we can dodge the bullet. We think we can hedge on our taxes. We think we’ll not be caught fudging on our expense reports. We think we can just take a bite of the forbidden fruit. And we can. And we do. 

Thanks be to God, however, he intervenes. Yes, I said, “Thanks be to God.” Sometimes the affliction comes to others who provide a lesson we can learn at their expense. We don’t have to make all our own mistakes. Sometimes the consequences fall closer to home. I’ve known men who were taken to prison for embezzlement. I’ve known women who have lost their families because of unsustainable false behavior. I’ve known shame myself for things in my past that I wish I had never done. 

Honestly, we all do. Some of us are just not caught yet. 

The path to restoration begins with sincere repentance. It ends at the cross of Jesus. It finds comfort and healing in his mercy. Abram is not yet there. We’ll have to wait to see if he ever truly repents. But we do see God acting. And his intervention prevents a train wreck that could have thwarted Abram’s and Sarai’s part in God’s amazing story of redemption. 

If you’re on that wayward path, thank God when he intervenes. Whether through the suffering of others, the full stop  of circumstances allowing your continued dalliance, or the tug of the Holy Spirit calling you back to the true love and life in Jesus. The greatest sign of success is seen by God alone. It is the sign of a broken and contrite heart, taking refuge in God’s goodness and mercy. 

Click here or on the podcast player below to listen to an audio version of this blog post.

For your personal edification and reflection on this Lord’s Day

Psalm 134:1-2
Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD,
who stand by night in the house of the LORD!
Lift up your hands to the holy place
and bless the LORD!

Psalm 104:33-35
I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the LORD.
Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more!
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
Praise the LORD!

Psalm 74:1-3
O God, why do you cast us off forever?
Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?
Remember your congregation, which you have purchased of old,
which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage!
Remember Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.
Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins;
the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!

Psalm 44:1-3
O God, we have heard with our ears,
our fathers have told us,
what deeds you performed in their days,
in the days of old:
you with your own hand drove out the nations,
but them you planted;
you afflicted the peoples,
but them you set free;
for not by their own sword did they win the land,
nor did their own arm save them,
but your right hand and your arm,
and the light of your face,
for you delighted in them.

Psalm 14:1-3
[Note: That there is none who does good is a hard reality to face if we believe that none means none. But it puts us in a position to seek God’s mercy, forgiveness, and grace. That is found in Jesus alone. ]
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
there is none who does good.
The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man,
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek after God.
They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one.

So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. ⁵ And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,⁶ Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. ⁷ Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. ⁸ From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. ⁹ And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb. – Genesis 12:4-9

I grew up in a mom and pop motel. Our family had a living quarters adjacent to the front office. There was a small “lobby” which was really more of an entry area where the registration desk was located. We would yell, “Me!” whenever we came in the door so other family members wouldn’t have to jump up and come to the desk. It was a family business and we all pitched in. We were all directly part of the successes and struggles of those years. 

Some people think of the Christian faith as an intensely personal matter. It’s true, “God has no grandchildren.” Our faith in Jesus is a personal faith. I cannot believe for you, nor you for me. Except that’s not totally true.

An example: Years ago I was providing pastoral counseling to a member of the church I served at the time. She was struggling deeply in her faith. She had doubts and spiritual struggles that plagued her. She told me that she just couldn’t believe that God would help her, that he loved her, or that he listened to her prayers. I told her, that I would believe for her. I prayed for her. I believed for her. And over time God’s Holy Spirit revived her faith. She took hold of the promises of God. She saw God’s work in her life. She embraced faith and continues to do so today. 

Perhaps Sarai had her doubts. Lot, too, and his wife. No doubt the servants who traveled along with Abram as he set out had their own degree of faith in God or in Abram. But they were in the throng of followers. And sometimes you must follow before you believe. Sometimes faith follows obedience. 

Studies continually show that the most important factor in a person’s faith is the nurture of parents and family. There are exceptions no doubt. Some come to faith despite their families’ faithless foundations. Others grow up in a family of faith and abandon it altogether. But the impact of fellow family members in the faith formation of a person is powerfully important. 

Abram takes his family along on this trek of faithful obedience. That included servants as well as immediate and distant relatives. If we seek to extend the boundaries of who we think of as family we will perhaps also extend the reach of our witness and impact of God’s grace into more lives as well. Lutheran Hour Ministries has an excellent in depth study on this that is well worth exploring. 

Where are you taking your family? Are you seeking to help them follow God, believe in Jesus, and declare his goodness? Whom do you need to thank within the family of which you are a part for their influence and bolstering of your faith?

Click here or on the podcast link below to listen to an audio version of this blog post. 

So Abram left, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran. ⁵ Abram set out for Canaan. He took along his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the servants they had acquired in Haran.

⁶ They arrived in Canaan, and Abram traveled through the land to the oak tree belonging to Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. ⁷ Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I’m going to give this land to your descendants.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

⁸ He moved on to the hills east of Bethel, and he put up his tent—with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. He also built an altar to the Lord there and worshiped the Lord. ⁹ Abram kept moving toward the Negev. – Genesis 12:4-9 [GW]

“Rejoicing Along the Way.” That was the theme of the message Pastor Robert Lange preached at our wedding. We were headed for the seminary in Springfield, Illinois with stars in our eyes and hopes for a rich and full life of service to God. Looking back, I’m certain that our parents were concerned about our future. I had no job. She had a degree in biology (a completely un-marketable degree). We had little furniture an less than $1,000 to our name. But we were off! Rejoicing along the way.

Only we weren’t. Rejoicing along the way that it. We were rejoicing in being newly married. We were rejoicing at meeting new friends at the seminary. We were rejoicing to be on our own. I was rejoicing in no longer working at the brick factory. But we were fully devoted to rejoicing once we got much further along the way. We were living in the future. Won’t it be great when we have our first call? Won’t it be wonderful when we have children? Won’t it be a blessing to buy our first house? 

All these were in the future. And all of them would be realized. We look back and thank God for the many blessings we have enjoyed over the years. But, along the way…what blessings might we have missed? Blessings of others not received. Blessings to others not given. Some received and given, but not recognized. That whole along the way thing is sometimes more difficult than we would wish. 

Abram’s response and Moses’ record of that response gives us some insight to rejoicing along life’s way. I notice that Abram goes. In obedient faith he takes his family and leaves for a place unknown. God will show him when the time comes. But for now he simply goes. It’s a family affair. The whole extended family and all they had were part of the convoy. Abram was apparently wealthy so this was no little caravan. This was a major move. Abram was all in, with his family and able to enjoy the wealth he had accumulated along the way. 

Abram also looked for God along the way. How many days go by without any awareness on our parts of God’s place in the day-to-day events? How many divine appointments have we rushed by in a mindless quest for lesser things or distractions? Seems clear to me that rejoicing along the way involves looking for God and listening for his voice. Clearly that will include looking to God’s word to shape our hearts and hopes. Setting our hearts on his truth, grace, provision, and blessings will sustain us in true joy.

Abram also prayed. This is the second time in the Bible that the phrase, “called on the name of the Lord,” is used. The first (Genesis 4:26) is connected with Enoch’s sons. Now Abraham does the same. This phrase has a formal and informal meaning. Formally it means public worship. The Good News translators even translate it as such (see above). The phrase also means to pray. Whether this was a more formal manner of prayer or a more spontaneous expression, it signifies both an acknowledgment of God’s blessings and our continuing need for his provision. 

All this is instigated by God’s initiative in calling Abram, and his promise to him and his descendants. We, too have been called by God’s initiative and grace. Promises abound for us as well. And just as Abram kept moving along, so we do. There will be tests. Abram will fail some and pass others. In it all remains a faithfulness on Abram’s part and a great example for us to follow if we want to live in faith in rejoice along the way. 

Click here or on the podcast player below for an audio version of this blog post.

Now the Lord said to Abram,

I was riding bareback on a horse, on the way to the barn to saddle him and enjoy a day of horseback riding. I had worn a pair of brand new white jeans. And (you can see this coming, can’t you?) as we trotted up a small incline, I steadily bounced backwards on the horse’s back. Without a saddle or reigns I wasn’t able to keep my grip on the horse’s main or my legs tightly enough around his belly. And (here it is…) I bounced right off the back of the horse…wait for it…right into a fresh pile of horse apples (not the hedge apple kind either)!

I don’t recall much of the rest of that day’s horse riding adventures. I do wish, however, that the horse I was riding hadn’t gotten so much giddy-up-and-go at that particular few moments. 

Abram is not given a giddy-up-and-go command, but he is commanded to go. I notice that he is to go…

• From his country
• And from his relatives
• And from his father’s house

This would be a significant distancing from comforting customs and supportive people and familiar places. It was a call to go to a place that God would show him. This would be a walk of faith: away from earthly visible support, to a place God had not yet revealed to him. It would be a walk with God.

This is our daily calling: to leave the familiar safety of our own will and ways, and follow Jesus to a place he will show us. Matthew tells us, “Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:234-25) We abandon our own self interest and self-dependence in deference to Jesus’ better way. This is the life of faith, by which we show ourselves to be children of Abraham (cf. Galatians 3:7).

We’ve been watching The Chosen, an incredibly impactful portrayal of Jesus’ ministry, set in the context of possible human interactions with his disciples and others. It is very true to Jesus’ identity and teachings, but necessarily provides imaginative settings and circumstances for these interactions. Jesus calls his disciples to leave family, home, and (even country occasionally as they venture into Samaria). They don’t know where he’s leading them – though they think they do! But they are simply to follow him. It feels very real as we watch it. 

We may not be called to leave home and family, country and safety in order to follow Jesus in our daily lives. But we are called to giddy-up-and-go with Jesus into each day. Jesus is on the move – in your heart, in your home, in your family, in your neighborhood, in your workplace, and in your church. He has immeasurably wonderful blessings in store for those who do follow him. 

Sometimes we may need a pause. Whether it’s at the end of a long week, a particularly trying season, or even a career. But those down times are not to become a resting place. And as God leads us we follow in the confidence of his goodness, in anticipation of his blessing, and in dependence on his daily provision. Even when we don’t feel like giddy-upping and going. 

Click here or on the podcast player below to listen to an audio version of this blog post.

The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. ² I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. ³ I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” – Genesis 12:1-3 [NLT]

We were in Oyugis, Kenya. My colleague was teaching:“You may think that because you are a pastor that you are entitled to special treatment. But that’s not the posture of Jesus. Those who are great must be servants.” My colleague was teaching pastors at a PLI training event for pastors and their wives in Kenya. “You might think that you would be honored, have a privileged parking spot, special access to events and the best seats at the gatherings you attend,” he continued. “But this is not what Jesus teaches. He calls us to serve others. Ministry is not a position of privilege, but of service. 

Many folks think only of the privilege and not the responsibility and burden of leadership. I’m not certain Abram realized this when he was first called. But he would soon live out that reality. His life of blessing would be filled with incredible challenges and difficulties. He will stand in the gap for the cities of Sodom and Gomorra. He will climb a mountain with his son to offer an impossibly difficult sacrifice. He will offer his nephew Lot the choice of the best land when the time came. It was his to keep or give. Abram will be a blessing to many nations. 

But he was blessed…to be a blessing. And in that phrase is a powerful lesson. For many people want to be blessed to be blessed. We want the benefit without the responsibility. We want the blessing without the need to steward it well. More money? Let’s take a grand vacation. Let’s dine on the finest foods and enjoy the richest wine. More success? Back up the Perk Truck! New company car, corner office, country club membership, tickets to the opera. The list goes on. 

It seems, however, that there are few perks offered Abram at this point in time. Perhaps one: He would be the father of a great nation. But all this is not solely for his own benefit. Abram learns that he is to be blessed to be a blessing. The enrichment is not to start and stop with him and his family. He will have the name by which all the nations of the earth will be blessed. 

Somewhere in the recesses of my mind is the idea that the word blessing is related to the word for weight. It’s as though the mantle of blessing is a physical weight on the shoulders of those who receive it. Unfortunately, however, this idea must live in our imaginations only, for I am not able to find a reference to back up that idea. Surely, however, there is a weightiness to this blessing of God to Abram. He will wear the yoke of God’s blessing and favor to the glory of God and to our great benefit. For we who believe – according to the Bible – are the true children of Abraham. As such we, too, are blessed to be a blessing. It’s not just for our own benefit, but for the benefit of others. 

Click here, or on the podcast player below to listen to an audio version of this blog post.

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. ² And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

⁴ So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. ⁵ And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,⁶ Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. ⁷ Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. ⁸ From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. ⁹ And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb. – Genesis 12:1-9 [ESV]

The landscape became more and more barren as we drove our 1974 Ford Pinto station wagon across the west slope of the Colorado Rockies. Gaig, and Steamboat Springs were well in the rearview mirror. Rangely – the second point of the dual parish to which I was called – was 20 miles to the south. Vernal, the place we would live for the next four years was 30 miles ahead. We were in the middle of nowhere. A year later, when Diane’s parents visited, I asked her mother what she thought of this beauty. She remarked, “It’s interesting.” It wasn’t her kind of beauty – although it had a majesty and beauty all its own. 

We’ve lived in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Wyoming, Utah, Arkansas, and Texas. We were both born in Missouri, and every state and place we’ve lived since Missouri has been directly connected to our calling. Having determined that God was leading me to become a pastor in the Lutheran church meant moving for school, vicarage (internship), and various congregations in those states (plus the one in Colorado when we lived in Utah).

With all this in mind, you might think that a vocation (calling) is unique to pastor types and their families. And to some extent a pastor has a very unique and specific calling. It is clear and obvious when a church extends a Divine Call. They vote and send a specific document called a, “Diploma of Vocation.” That document explicitly charges one to serve as a pastor. I have accepted calls to serve in the six churches I have served over the past 42 years. 

But vocation is not the providence only of called and ordained servants of Christ. In fact, we’ve all been called to faith by the Holy Spirit. The Gospel message has come to us, and God calls us to repent and believe in Jesus. Fully believing the Good News of Jesus is to follow him. That is a calling that accompanies us wherever we go. 

For Abram (he is yet to become Abraham by God’s renaming), it meant a move to a strange place. Even more challenging than our trip across the western slope of Colorado, it was to a land that God would show him. It’s like this:

God: Abram, get up, take your family and go to a place I will show you.

Abram: OK…where, exactly, do you have in mind?

God: I’ll show you when the time comes.

Abram: Ah, um, OK??? OK? OK. Got it. I’ll go.

There was, however, a very special promise to Abram. That promise would fuel a faith in him that would define him as the father of faith. It still inspires others to go places to which God calls them. And it would become a foundation for Abraham’s righteousness – a righteousness of faith. 

Some people think of vocation as their own personal multiple choice question: Shall I become a lawyer, doctor, teacher, or business person? Better we should embrace our first calling from God: a vocation to repent, believe, and follow wherever God calls us, and whatever we do for a living. 

Click here or on the podcast player below to listen to an audio version of this blog post.

For your personal reflection and edification…

Psalm 6:1-3
O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath.
Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing;
heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled.
My soul also is greatly troubled.
But you, O LORD—how long?

Psalm 36:5-6
Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
your judgments are like the great deep;
man and beast you save, O LORD.

Psalm 66:1-4
Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
sing the glory of his name;
give to him glorious praise!
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.
All the earth worships you
and sings praises to you;
they sing praises to your name.” Selah

Psalm 96:1-6
Oh sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all the earth!
Sing to the LORD, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the LORD made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

Psalm 126:1-3
When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then they said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad.

All quotes from the The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

The whole world had one language with a common vocabulary. ² As people moved toward the east, they found a plain in Shinar [Babylonia] and settled there.

³ They said to one another, “Let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used bricks as stones and tar  as mortar.

⁴ Then they said, “Let’s build a city for ourselves and a tower with its top in the sky. Let’s make a name for ourselves so that we won’t become scattered all over the face of the earth.”

⁵ The Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the descendants of Adam were building. ⁶ The Lord said, “They are one people with one language. This is only the beginning of what they will do! Now nothing they plan to do will be too difficult for them. ⁷ Let us go down there and mix up their language so that they won’t understand each other.”

⁸ So the Lord scattered them all over the face of the earth, and they stopped building the city. ⁹ This is why it was named Babel, because there the Lord turned the language of the whole earth into babble. From that place the Lord scattered them all over the face of the earth. – Genesis 11:1-9

My first Call was to Our Savior Lutheran Church in Vernal, Utah, and Trinity Lutheran Church in Rangely, Colorado. In the days of the Oil Shale boom, plans were made for aggressive development of oil-producing efforts. That required more people. And people required places to live. One such place was Parachute, Colorado. Today this is a town of just more than 1000 residents. But in the early 1980’s Exxon corporation decided to build a large residential development. As I recall, it was mostly apartments to house the large number of workers who would live there.

Construction had begun, and buildings were framed. Some were at least partially under roof. Then Exxon decided to pull the plug. It was described this way in a June 1982 Washington Post article:

The traffic rolling past Mayor Floyd McDaniel’s store is disconcertingly heavy. The small town looks alive–and when you are looking for a ghost, that can be unsettling.

More than two months ago, Exxon Corp. pulled out of the $5 billion Colony Oil Shale Project in western Colorado. Construction workers packed their families and U-Hauls and left, and Parachute appeared headed from boom to bust.

It was an amazing sight. Half-framed buildings: abandoned. Unfinished streets: abandoned. Workers just got into their trucks and left town. Plans for people to move in were abandoned. In hindsight it seems wise that we did not invest a lot of capital on a mission start there. That had been our plan. But plans change. And those plans changed dramatically and suddenly. What they thought would be an oil shale boom turned into a big oil pull-out bust!

That’s not the first time plans have changed dramatically and suddenly. Thousands of years ago plans for the city and the tower in Babel were abandoned. They left off building the city. The tower was a flop. Their goals – so lofty – had to be abandoned because God confused their speech and thwarted their efforts. 

You might wonder why God has not done this more often today. From Dubai’s Burj Khalifa to China’s Shanghai Tower to the Lotte World Tower in Seoul to New York’s One World Trade Center, skyscrapers, one after another, reach into the heavens. It appears as though there is nothing we cannot do. He stopped it all then. Why not now? 

I cannot fathom the mind of God. Nor can I suppose to answer for his actions. In fact we might take a note from Job before we ask God to give an account to us for his actions! The fact that God has not stopped these kinds of things just yet may be explained in part by 1 Peter 3:9: “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 

And before we become too quick to pull the trigger of accusation toward others, we must be careful to examine our own hearts. Is there perhaps more hubris and arrogance there than we might wish to admit? Might we need to take heed ourselves? If we do take stock, and discover in our hearts a judgmental self-righteous attitude, we can be thankful that God receives us when we turn to him in repentant faith. That’s something the people in Shinar did not do. And their project came to a sudden stop because of that.

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