Biblical Essays
CLOVEN TONGUES
It will greatly enhance the grace of this lovely passage of Scripture to bear in mind what it was that rendered the cloven tongues necessary. In Genesis 11 we have the inspired record of the first grand effort of the children of men to establish themselves in the earth, to form a great association and make themselves a name. And, be it remembered, all this without God. His name is never mentioned. He was not to form any part of this proud and popular scheme. He was entirely shut out. It was not a dwelling place for God that was to be erected on the plain of Shinar. It was a city for man, a center round which men were to gather.
Such was the object of the children of men as they stood together on the plain of Shinar. It was not, as some have imagined, to escape another flood. There is not a shadow of foundation in the passage for any such idea. Here are their words, “And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.”
There is no thought here of escaping another flood. It is sheer imagination without any Scripture basis. The object is as plain as possible. It is precisely similar to all those great confederacies, associations or masses of flesh that have been formed on the earth from that day to this. The Shinar Association could compete with any association of modern times, both in its principle and object.
But it proved to be a Babel. Jehovah wrote confusion upon it. He divided their tongues and scattered them abroad. In a word, divided tongues were sent as the expression of divine judgment upon this first great human association. This is a solemn and weighty fact. An association without God, no matter what its object, is really nothing but a mass of flesh, based on pride and ending in hopeless confusion. “Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces” (Is. 8:9). So much for all human associations. May we learn to keep clear of them. May we adhere to that one divine association – the church of the living God, of which a risen Christ in glory is the living Head, the Holy Spirit the living Guide, and the Word of God the living Charter.
It was to gather this blessed Assembly that the cloven tongues were sent in grace on the Day of Pentecost. No sooner had the Lord Jesus Christ taken His seat at the right hand of power, amid the brightness of heaven’s majesty, than He sent down the Holy Spirit to publish the glad tidings of salvation in the ears of His very murderers. That message of pardon and peace was intended for men of various tongues, thus the divine messenger came down prepared to address each “in his own tongue wherein he was born.” The God of all grace made it plain – so plain that it cannot be mistaken – that He desired to make His way to each heart with the sweet story of grace. On the plain of Shinar, man did not want God, but on the Day of Pentecost God proved that He wanted man. Blessed forever be His holy Name. God had sent His Son and man had just murdered Him. Now He sends the Holy Spirit to tell man that through the very blood shed by Jesus Christ there is pardon for man’s guilt in shedding it. Matchless, marvelous, overwhelming grace. Oh, that it may subdue our hearts and bind us to Him who is its source, its channel and the power of enjoyment. The grace of God has far surpassed all the enmity of man. It has proved itself victorious over all the opposition of the human heart and all the rage of hell.
In Genesis 11 divided tongues were sent in judgment. In Acts 2 divided tongues were sent in grace. The blessed God of all grace would cause each one to hear of full salvation, and hear of it in those very words in which his infant ears had hearkened to the earliest whisperings of a mother’s love – in “his own tongue wherein he was born.” It mattered not whether the language were soft or harsh, refined or barbarous, the Holy Spirit would use it as the vehicle for conveying the precious message of salvation right home to the poor heart. If divided tongues had once been given to scatter in judgment, they were again given to gather in grace – not now around an earthly tower, but around a heavenly Christ – not for the exaltation of man, but for the glory of God.
It is worthy of notice that when God was giving the law from Mount Sinai, He spoke only in one tongue and to one people. The law was carefully wrapped up in one language and deposited in the midst of one nation. Not so the Gospel. When that was the burden, God the Holy Spirit Himself descended from heaven in cloven tongues to send the soul-stirring tidings far and wide over the whole world and convey them “to every creature under heaven” in the very dialect wherein he was born. This is a great moral fact. It comes down upon the heart with uncommon weight and power. When God was speaking in terms of requirement and prohibition, He confined Himself to one language, but when He was publishing the message of life and salvation, pardon and peace through the blood of the Lamb, He spoke in every language under heaven. When man’s duty was to be declared, God spoke in one dialect, but when God's salvation was to be published, He spoke in every dialect under heaven.
This surely tells a tale. It declares plainly which is more in harmony with the divine mind, law or grace. Blessed be His Name, He delights in grace. Law and judgment are His strange work. He has pronounced the feet of those who publish the Gospel to be beautiful. Of those who desired to be teachers of the law, He said, “I would they were even cut off that trouble you.” Thus His acts and His words show the bent of His loving heart towards poor unworthy sinners. He has left nothing undone, nothing unsaid, to prove His perfect willingness to save and bless. Therefore all who die in their sins will perish without excuse, and those awful words will echo through the regions of eternal gloom forever and ever, “I would, but ye would not!” Hopefully, each of us will think of this! Are we yet in our sins? If so, may we now earnestly flee from the coming wrath, accepting the message of pardon now sent to each of us in the language of our birth, and go on our way rejoicing.
In conclusion, we might add that Genesis 11, Acts 2 and Revelation 7:9-17 are a lovely group of Scriptures. In the first, we see divided tongues sent in judgment; in the second, divided tongues are given in grace; and in the third, divided tongues are seen gathered in glory. Well may we say, “Thy testimonies are wonderful, therefore doth my soul love them.”
