The Tower of Babel 2 – Fired Bricks

Continuing with some observations about the Tower of Babel,

"Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth." Gen 11:3-4 NIV

Peter tells us that we are being built, as living stones, into a spiritual house.

As you come to him, the living Stone-rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him- you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 2:4-5 NIV

Paul teaches us that we are the temple, the dwelling place, of God.

Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple. 1 Cor 3:16-17 NIV

For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people." 2 Cor 6:16 NIV

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. Eph 2:19-22 NIV

John the Revelator records this statement.

Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. Rev 21:3 KJV

That tabernacle is the dwelling place of God, His habitation. God no longer dwells in structures made with human hands. He does not inhabit the Holy of Holies behind the curtain in the temple because that veil was rent when Jesus died to symbolize that man could now be reconciled to God.

With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.

The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son of God!" Mark 15:37-39 NIV

God does not dwell in anything constructed with human hands. He only dwells within His creation which we are. As Peter stated, we are building built together as living stones into the dwelling of God in very much the same way that those at Babel were using bricks. They, however, fired their bricks in order to make them as hard as stone.

Here in Mexico where we live, there are many who make a living by making bricks. They haul in dirt and manure, mix it with the sand that is everywhere and water. They lay out the forms on the ground and fill them, four at a time. When these bricks are firm enough, they are stacked on end and allowed to air dry. In many cultures, this type of brick is used for building and is known as adobe. However, as with the builders of the tower, these bricks are then stacked in a particular way to allow them to be fired. The Mexicans use anything they can get their hands on the burn – pallets, construction scrap and tires. The smoke is black and acrid. The bricks come out warped and discolored nothing like the solid, uniform bricks manufactures in the States.

The point here is in the “firing”. It takes the brick from clay to stone. Although, I hope the bricks they used at Babel were of better quality than those produced here. Anyway, back to the “firing”.

There is a “firing” under which we as Christians must pass as well.

For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver. Ps 66:10 NIV

The word “refined” used in theis verse is explained in this manner:

tsarap, "to refine, try, smelt, test." This root with the basic meaning of smelting and refining is found outside the Old Testament in Akkadian, Phoenician, and Syriac. In Arabic an adjective derived from the verb means "pure, unmixed," describing the quality of wine. Tsarap has maintained the meaning "to refine" in rabbinic and modern Hebrew, but lost the primary significance of "to smelt" in modern Hebrew.

Tsarap is also used metaphorically with the sense "to refine by means of suffering." The psalmist describes the experience of Israel in this way: "For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried. Thou... laidst affliction upon our loins.... We went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place" Ps 66:10-12. God's judgment is also described as a process of refining: "And I will... purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin" Isa 1:25. Those who were thus purified are those who call on the name of the Lord and receive the gracious benefits of the covenant Zech 13:9. The coming of the messenger of the covenant (Jesus Christ) is compared to the work of a smith: "But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire.... And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver..." Mal 3:2-3. The believer can take comfort in the Word of God which alone on earth is tried and purified and by which we can be purified: "Thy promise is well tried, and thy servant loves it" Ps 119:140, RSV; cf. Ps 18:30; Prov 30:5.*

One of the benefits of the “smelting process” is that we are purified, sanctified if you will.

For the Philippians, Paul prays this prayer.

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-to the glory and praise of God. Phil 1:9-11 NIV

He prays that they may be pure - eilikrines signifies "unalloyed, pure"; (a) it was used of unmixed substances; (b) in the NT it is used of moral and ethical "purity,"*

Unalloyed – having no foreign substances or impurities that would affect the quality or value. That is what the Father wants of us and therefore He brings fire! Fire to test – will we obey? Will we be faithful? Fire to cleanse - as the heat rises, so do tempers and frustrations.

Summer is in full swing here in Mexico. We are in the Arizona-Sonora Desert, the second largest desert in the world – second only to the Sahara. The temperatures are just starting into the hundreds, but it gets the hottest not at noon but at 6 or 7 in the evening. Fortunately, it still cools off into the high 70s at night but soon we will be having 120º days and 100º nights. We have able 345 days of sunshine a year. Now, those of you in the North might think that’s wonderful but day after day of unrelenting heat and unyielding sunshine wears on you. You get irritable very quickly. Tempers flare. Frustrations run high and that’s before you mix in dealing with the Mexican culture!

Then you mix into that whatever the Lord happens to be dealing with you on and “Welcome to the mission field!” However, we recognize that this comes to purge, to purify, to cleanse our hearts, reveal our motives and lay bare our souls before the One who can and will cleanse, who longs to be gracious, who seeks out a people who will worship Him in spirit and in truth.

In his letter to the church at Corinth, Paul gives us this analogy of building and testing.

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. 1 Cor 3:10-15 NIV
You must understand that this was written to Christians about Christians. Paul is not speaking of the judgment of the sinner but of the believer – how well he or she built. In other words, how are we living are lives? Are we walking in obedience, seeking to do His will or are we doing whatever we feel is best and the least uncomfortable? Remember, Jesus came to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable!

Are we building His kingdom by serving others or are we building our own empire by serving ourselves?

Are we implementing Jesus’ words?

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Luke 9:23 NIV

Or do we pursue our own goals and toys?

Do we “press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” Phil 3:14 NIV

Or are we pressing on toward retirement and the chance to finally “relax”?

One day, all will be revealed by fire. Personally, I believe that this is what we encounter when we die. Paul told us that when we are absent from the body, we are present with the Lord. (2 Cor.5:8-9 NIV) Unlike other denominations, I do not believe in a holding place or waiting until “the Day of the Lord”. Immediately after death, we stand before God.

Scripture tells us that our "God is a consuming fire." (Heb 12:29 NIV) Nothing unholy or impure can abide His presence; therefore this testing by fire that Paul speaks of must take place as we arrive before God. We face the terrible judgment of God for

“It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Heb 10:31 NIV

You might ask the same question that some asked of Jesus.

"Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?"

To which He replied, "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.” Luke 13:23-24 NIV

The word that is translated “make every effort” is agonizomai; to struggle, literally (to compete for a prize), figuratively (to contend with an adversary), or genitive case (to endeavor to accomplish something)** Look familiar? It is the root of our word “agonize”.

The same word in used in these verses.
Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 1 Tim 6:12 NIV

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 2 Tim 4:7-8 NIV

The write of Hebrews encourages us to “let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Heb 12:1-2 NIV

And again,

Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. Heb 9:27-28 NIV

And this from Paul,

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. 2 Cor 5:10 NIV

Yet, it is after this purging, the cleansing this judgment that we will hopefully hear these words,

'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' Matt 25:23 NIV

After this we enter into that place where “God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Rev 21:3-4 NIV

Timothy received this useful advice.

In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. 2 Tim 2:20-21 NIV

We choose to cleanse ourselves. We give ourselves over to the fire of God’s Spirit to be made pure, to be unalloyed, unmixed – no ungodliness, no worldliness.

John the Baptist warned the people of his day and us as well,
"I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” Matt 3:11-12 NIV

Do you want all of God? Then expect the fire!

Send Your fire, Lord!

*(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright (c)1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

**(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.)