HPC Tower Of Babel 19/8/18 Reading Gen 11:1 9 Introduction Did you know that it s God s fault entirely that in these days we have passports and need

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1 HPC Tower Of Babel 19/8/18 Reading Gen 11:1 9 Introduction Did you know that it s God s fault entirely that in these days we have passports and need visas and that travel is getting more and more difficult. We so we thought we might look at this passage of scripture today because, it is not a fairy tale, it is not just a Sunday School story, it is in the Bible, so it must be important, but what is it really all about? It must have relevance to us but how? I don t think I have ever heard a teaching on the Tower of Babel after Sunday School - and I can t remember anything from back then. And certainly it raises questions on first reading; Gen 11:6 The Lord said if as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. I thought God liked unity! I thought He wanted people working together! This story, is after the great flood. And immediately after the flood, we read; Gen 9:1 Then God blessed Noah and His sons, saying to them be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. This was in fact the first command God gave to Adam and Eve; Gen 1:28 God blessed them and said to them be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. God had a plan and it included His people spreading out and filling the earth! Genesis chapter 6 through to chapter 8 are the story of the build up to the flood and the flood itself. And we read in; Gen 6:5 The Lord saw how great man s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. All we have to do is look at the world today and see how much evil there is, to understand how bad it must have been back then. Chapter 6 continues: so the Lord said I will wipe mankind from the face of the earth. But, Noah found favour in the Lord s eyes. And so God s plan is to save Noah and his family and the animals and start again. And it is encouraging that though the multitudes of people were so wicked and irredeemable, the lengths God went through to save just a few, and through them, you and me. He waited 120 years for the Ark to be finished, and then organized all the animals so they could be on the Ark so that they would be there on the new earth after the flood, for mankind.

2 Chapter 9 is what happened immediately after the Ark came to rest in the Mountains of Ararat. Chapter 10 is the account or genealogy of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah s sons and their descendants, listing their children and children s children. Chapter 10 ends; Gen 10:32 These are the clans of Noah s sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood. And now in Chapter 11, the story of the Tower of Babel. But first we need to note here that early translations talk in this passage about the sons of men or the sons of Adam and not just men or people as seen in the NIV and modern translations. Sons of Adam is a reference to Adam s rebellion and sin against God. And so in this passage these are men who are against God. And so we find ourselves maybe one hundred years after the flood. And the sons of Adam no longer wanted to fill the earth and spread out. They thought to not go on to possess the earth in obedience to God s command, but to come together - thinking themselves wiser than God, they wanted what they wanted. Gen 11:4 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. All of this was a direct affront to God Himself - for they would build a city, and a tower whose top might reach to heaven, they wanted to make a name for themselves, and they did not want to be scattered over the face of the earth. Building a city was all about man wanting to build his own kingdom instead of the Kingdom of God. They wanted to glorify themselves, and not the name of God. They sought their safety in their own strength and their own numbers and in walls rather than in God. And the true heart of the matter is revealed in their wanting to build a tower that would reach to the heavens. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were tempted by Satan you too can be like God, why listen to Him, you can be your own gods and do as you like. And this was more desirable than perfect relationship and obedience with their Creator in the perfect place. And man s rebellious and proud and selfish heart is revealed. And it seems that before the flood and at the Tower of Babel the heart of man has not changed. Rather than allowing God to be God and the Creator and man the created man wants to elevate himself to God s level. They would be like the Most High, not in holiness,

3 but in height! They forgot their place and resolved to climb to heaven to take their place from God. They wanted to make themselves a name and yet today we do not know any of their names. And God shows His true nature. Of course God is everywhere and can see everything all the time. But the story reads that the Lord came down to see the city and the tower. Man s greatest efforts in defiance of God are so tiny that it s as if God has to stoop right down to see them. And yet God also humbles Himself by coming to our level to sort out what would only have ended in total disaster - man, ruling himself! When has that ever worked out well?! We have to believe and understand that, God is the Creator, and He knows what is best for what He has Created you and me. God s will for human beings is not that we find our joy in being praised, but that we find our joy in knowing and praising Him. His will is not that we find our security in cities but in God, and in our obedience to Him. The flood, was a massive warning against sin for Noah and his descendants - it turns out that we are no better after the flood than we were before. The human condition is just like it was with Adam and Eve. Man will decide for himself what is best, and they conspire against God, and against God s people. Because if you can t fight God, you fight His people! And so God confuses their language and scatters them across the face of the whole earth just as He always wanted. God did not do this out of spite, but as always, for very good reason. This means that the peoples and languages of the world are not an afterthought. Yes they are the judgment of God on sin, but at the same time they are designed by God for His intended special purposes, for His Glory and obviously for the good of that which He loves the most, you and me. The sons of Adam wanted to band together under one leadership or government, they wanted a tower to show they were equal to God, and they stood against God and therefore against God s people. God s division of the world into different languages hinders the rise of a global power that would inevitably wipe out His people. We often think that the diversity of languages and cultures and peoples and political states is a hindrance to world evangelization and the spread of Christ s Glory. That is not the way God sees it. We humans are obviously far too evil to be allowed to unite in one language and one government if it is not solely to Glorify God - because we would turn astray to wickedness.

4 The Gospel of the Glory of Christ spreads better and flourishes more because of 6,500 languages, not in spite of it. But make no mistake, man is determined to do it man s way. The Bible talks in Revelation s about the anti-christ - a new world order, a one world government and religion, the nations coming together, and that can only be for wickedness - for one purpose and one purpose only, to come against God, to come against God s people! It s the same old story - it s happening right now, today. But in the meantime the Gospel is spreading to the very ends of the earth. And yes, God s people and Christians will be persecuted by those against God, but we are told that in the end God will wipe out their efforts in a single hour, and we will have eternity with Him in Glory. The nations and governments set themselves up but there is only One Lord of Lords and King of Kings - and His is a Spiritual Kingdom that actually has no boundaries. The word babel is also translated many times in the Bible as Babylon and it s an amazing study to see the links between the OT and the NT use of these words and the links between the Old Babylon and the New Babylon as mention in Revelation s. But for today we need to be encouraged by; Ps 133:1,3b How good and pleasant it is when God s people live together in unity for there the Lord bestows His blessing and even life forevermore. When God s people and not the sons of Adam live in unity, we can only assume it is because their unity is in God and His Purposes and His Will. When man lives in unity, we can assume it will always be to man s end, against God and that is never good. But as we ve said, God has His plan in all of this, in the nations and languages. Just before Jesus ascended to Heaven, He met with His disciples; Matt 28:18 19 Then Jesus came to them and said all authority in Heaven and on earth has be given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations. In response to sin, God has divided the languages and the nations. But in the end, this magnifies the authority and power of Christ to make disciples in every language. His power is all the more Glorious because it breaks into so many different languages and peoples and brings salvation. There is also great beauty in the diversity of the different peoples and languages of the world. Can you imagine a world where we all are the same - one language, one culture? And we are told what it will be like in the end. Rev 5:9 10 And they sang a new song: you are worthy to take the scroll and to open it s seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God

5 from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a Kingdom of priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth. Rev 7:9 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne in front of the Lamb. A great part of the Glory of the Gospel is that it is not local. It is not a tribal religion - it is universal. It breaks into every language and every people over the whole earth. It is this diversity of peoples and languages that protects the Gospel - salvation for those who would receive it. And so, in Christ, we can celebrate our diversity and not let it divide us. We can celebrate our nationality and our cultures. But our culture should never be our identity - our identity can only be in our Creator God. And as the confounding of tongues divided the sons of Adam and scattered them, so the gift of tongues, given at Pentecost, gathering together the children of God, uniting them in Christ, that with one mind and one spirit we might Glorify God. God wants us united in Him, not in ourselves. And He really does hold all things in His hands, He really does have the perfect plan and it really is very very good. So next time you need to travel and have trouble with visas etc - praise God that it is for the good of the Gospel of Christ. The people in this story built their tower as a monument to their own greatness. But it was a monument to the people themselves rather than to God, and would only have resulted in great wickedness. We may build monuments to ourselves expensive clothing, big houses, fancy cars, important jobs, business empires, families to call attention to ourselves and our achievements. These things may not be wrong in themselves, but when we use them to give ourselves identity and self-worth and self-importance, they take God s place in our lives. We are free to develop in many areas but we are not free to think we can replace God. And so we need to ask; What are you seeking your security in? What kingdom are you building? What towers have you build in your life?