Understanding God: He Consults
Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” – Genesis 11:1-7
Another interesting lesson we can learn from God’s mode of operation, as seen in this passage and many others like it, is that He regularly consults His council before making a major move or undertaking an important endeavor.
It is instructive that God, who is all-sufficient and all-knowing as we know Him to be, is this way. But there are many traits and attributes of God that seem lost to humanity, even to the most ardent of His worshippers. Yes, we know Him to be the Almighty and all-powerful, but there is certainly more to Him than that, as we have been highlighting through this devotional. God is much more than what we imagine Him to be. He is more than what is preached to us at religious gatherings.
On His penchant for consulting, it is instructive that God, who has the most important decisions to make and the highest responsibility to shoulder, is also the One who arguably consults the most before making His moves. When He was about to make the most important of His creatures, He did not just declare them into being like He did His previous works. Rather, He started by first engaging His council, saying, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth” (Genesis 1:26).
From our main Bible reference today, when He came down to earth and saw the edifice that humanity was building at Babel, He also consulted His council to intimate them on what He would do. The passage reads: ‘And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language…’” (Genesis 11:6-7). This indicates that God first came down, saw what was going on and then went back to His hosts in heaven to consult them on what He wanted to do to solve the problem. Then He invited them to come down to earth with Him to execute His plan.
Of course, He could have gone ahead and done what He considered best. After all, He is the Ultimate God, and no one can question Him. But that He did not do so became an important lesson and another of His legacies for us lesser mortals: If God, who could have done without counsel, did not, why should anyone who does not have the benefit of omniscience do so?
Selah!
Also read:
- Understanding God: He Checks Up
- The Benefits of Wisdom: Creative Variety
- What Has God Ever Done For Me?
- Obedience In Spite of
- My Testimony of Victory over the Forces of Hell
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