THE DIVINE INTERVENTION | Segun M. Alonge Jr

CHAPTER FIVE
“Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech” Gen 11:7
“And suddenly, there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind...” Acts 2:2

THE DIVINE INTERVENTION

MANKIND WAS ON A ROAD to self-destruction by her quest to live apart from her source. We would here consider the stepping in of the community of the God-head.
You would recall that at the event of man’s creation, the same conversation ensued. “Then God said, let us make man in our image...” (Gen. 1:26)

This erection is needed to be stopped by a loving Father. Every structure not founded on the Eternal Rock will surely be pulled down. The pathway to the restoration of man would never be blocked. We find here the answer to why there are so many languages on the earth and why the human race spread so rapidly across the earth after the flood. In both cases above, there was a divine intervention - as well as a descending from above.

The sound from heaven was not a wind, but like the sound of a wind, suggesting the mighty but unseen power of the Spirit. Tongues, as of fire – not fire, but like fire. John the Baptist foretold how the Spirit baptism would be accompanied by wind and fire (Matt. 3:11, 12).

How often we are quick taken away by signs at the expense of focusing on the core of what the Lord has in store for us. The core of what happened in this chapter was the coming of the Holy Spirit. He was released for all and he came to stay. The only power on earth resisting the forces of darkness is the power of the Holy Spirit, withdraw or take him away and we all would be faced with gross darkness and sheer wickedness.

Jesus was praying for us in the seventeenth chapter of John and he said, ‘I do not pray that you should take them out of this world, but that you should keep them from the Evil One’. How are we to be kept from the Evil One? We are kept by the sealing of the Holy Ghost (Eph. 4:30)

So far, we have been able to discuss these closely related passages in line with God’s plan and purpose for mankind. I would here like to conclude by rehashing the major differences between the two passages as well as their similarities.

There was a release of diverse tongues – People have often asked why the Lord would have to scatter the congregation of men by releasing among then diverse tongues/languages. But we can now clearly see that the core of this account was in the Spirit. The release of the diverse tongues in Acts 2 united the brethren as they magnified God with one heart but different tongues. This also indicates that the gift of the Holy Spirit cannot be limited by tribe, culture, and race.

The other tongues here refer to spoken human languages, unknown to the speakers but known by others.
Erections were made – When prayers are offered with a united heart by the brethren, structures is being erected. But they are erected in the name of the Lord. Mankind came together to erect a structure/monument apart from the Lord which necessitated its being pulled down.

The geographical location – The disciples decided to settle at a location – Jerusalem. But the mandate was not to be limited to a location, but to spread abroad – still proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom with power and great unction.

(culled from the book, Gaining More Grounds by Segun M. Alonge Jr with Olufemi T. Olayinka)