And the LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them (Genesis 11:6).

In his book, “In The Steps of St. Paul,” Henry Morton relates the following ancient Arab story:

Once upon a time there was a king who wished to capture a certain town. He summoned his Grand Vizier and ordered him to go in disguise as a pilgrim to spy out the land. The Vizier went through the bazaars of this town to the shops which sold food. “I wish to buy bread,” he said. The shopkeeper said: “Friend, my bread is stale, but my neighbor has good fresh bread.” He asked for olives. “My olives are nothing,” cried the merchant, “but my neighbor has olives that are fat and oily.” So the Grand Vizier returned to the King and he said: “O king, we cannot conquer that town.”

In ten years’ time the King ordered his Grand Vizier to go again to this town. He went to buy bread in the bazaars. “My lord, I have the best bread, and no man in this town can equal the quality of my olives and cheeses,” said the merchant, rubbing his hands together and bowing to the ground. “Look around, my lord, what rubbish do you see in the other shops?” So the Grand Vizier returned to the King and he said: “O King, the time has come for us to conquer that town, because the people are no longer of one heart.”

Most ancient Arab stories have a moral and this one should be obvious: A united people are unconquerable. God said it early in the Bible story. Unity is a divine trait (“God is one” – Deuteronomy 6:4), and the people of God, though they may have differences, are called to be a united people. To paraphrase Paul: May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give us a spirit of unity among ourselves as we follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth we may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 15:5-6).

Tune’s Notes
February 16, 2020