Rebels With A Cause Text: Genesis 10-11 Series: Genesis [#6] Pastor Lyle L. Wahl November 4, 2018 Theme: Man s Sinful Pride Never Defeats God s Sovereign Purpose. Introduction. Sixty-three years ago, on September 30, 1955, a 24 year-old young man was killed in a car crash. Only 24 years old. Sad. Tragic. This young man had erupted onto the public scene as a super star with a large following. He had done well in academics and sports in High School and then studied acting at University, but dropped out to pursue acting full time. His career skyrocketed with his role in a film released the year he died titled Rebel Without A Cause. 1 James Dean became an idol for many young rebels without a cause. Even today people identify with him. He is still a symbol of the rebel without a cause. This morning as we continue our journey through Genesis we are going to look at some rebels. They were not rebels without a cause, but rebels with a cause. It might be good to review the big picture of the flow of the events, the history we have seen so far in Genesis. First, of course, was the creation of the world, of man. Then the fall of Adam and Eve into sin, taking all their descendants with them. We saw God s first promise of the Savior to redeem and reconcile people. Then the first murder: Cain killed his brother Abel. Wickedness intensified and dominated mankind. Last time we surveyed the time of Noah: the time of God s judgment and mercy in the flood. When we come to chapter 10 we find more genealogies, a summary of the nations, of peoples that developed after the flood. Seventy nations are mentioned here. Chapter 11 verses 10-32 is another record. It traces from Noah to Abram, to the one God would call to become Abraham and begin the nation through which Jesus Christ would come. Tucked in between these important records we meet our rebels with a cause We meet them at a place called Babel. They were determined, organized, resourceful, proud and
powerful. But with all they had going for them, they failed. Their cause was declaring their independence from God. One of the many tragedies here was that this rebellion was just 150 to 250 years after the flood. Chapter 9 verse 28 tells us Noah lived 350 years after the flood. That means he saw his descendants rebel against God in spite of knowing about the judgment of the flood! How difficult that must have been for him. They failed, in short, because God is God. Our God is eternal. He is all-powerful. He is sovereign over all. A very important truth from this account, a truth which impacts all of our world in every age is man s sinful pride never defeats God s sovereign purposes. Man s Rebellion We Don t Need God! Let s turn our attention to their rebellion. Their claim and rallying cry was We don t need God! Does that sound familiar? We hear it today, don t we! We see their goal in verse 4 of chapter 11. 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. They were determined to build a city, tower, to acquire a name or reputation for themselves. You might ask, So, what s wrong with that? Their final goal is revealed in the last part of the verse, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth. What s the problem with this? Turn back to chapter 9 for perspective. Verse 1, So God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. It s obvious that you can t fill the earth as God commanded by staying clustered in one area. They knew God s plan and purpose for them was to move out and fill the earth. But they rejected that. Their goal was not to spread out, but to stick together. But isn t it natural to prefer staying with familiar people and places over striking out to new, unknown places? Yes, but that is not what God commanded them to do. This leads us to the next point in this rebellion: their motives. Let s back up one verse to see the entire statement. Verse 3. 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 2
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 (verses 3-4). We see some of their organizational and building skills here. There was much more than the fear of spreading out away from familiar people and surroundings, of being pioneers. The central issue reveals their motives. God outlined His plan and gave the command. God had demonstrated both His love and holiness, His mercy and justice with Adam and Eve, as well as with Noah and the flood. The people knew the lovingkindess of God. They also knew about the seriousness of His commands and the certainty of His judgment for disobedience. They had more than enough background from the former generations experiences to know that God s plans for them were good, that His response to faith was acceptance and blessing, and that His response to lack of faith and disobedience was separation and judgment. But they said, No way! We re going to stay right here! We have the right to do what we want to do. We know what s best for us. We don t need God s directions or His provisions. We re okay on our own. You see, at the core was pride, sinful pride. Flowing from these issues and motives their plan develops. We see their tactics. Tactics are important. They are the plans and strategies for accomplishing your objectives or goals. You might identify with the writer who tells us All too often I find myself looking for the magic bullet. He goes on, I m constantly looking for that tactic that will make life easier. 2 We too at times may dream of finding the magic bullet. Most of us have discovered that practical, realistic, sound tactics are needed to reach our goals whether it be in work, finance, relationships or even to make life easier. These rebels faced a big challenge and thought they were up to it! Let s meet their leader, a man named Nimrod. Go to verse 8 in chapter 10. Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From that 3
land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (that is the principal city) (verses 8-12). His name, Nimrod, comes from the word, we rebel. So here is the rebel. Nimrod, the rebel with a cause. He set up his center at Babel, in the Tigris-Euphrates river area, south of modern Baghdad in Iraq. He was a brash and probably also very charismatic leader. How did he get people to follow him and his plans? There were three keys to his tactics. First, he developed a strong, central power base. Chapter 11 verse 4, Let us build for ourselves a city. He wanted a large, well-organized, reinforced city He wanted security. The place was called Babel. In the later language of the Babylonians the word meant gate of God. So the idea could be We are the gate of God not just an entrance, the place of authority of a city, but of a god! We re that great! But God makes it clear that the city was named Babel because He confused their speech there, their common language. And so to this day babel means to be confused, to be confused by mixing, mixing up. 3 The second key part of his plan was developing a distinct religion to unite the people. The challenge here was, verse 4, to build a tower whose top is in the heavens, or whose top will reach into heaven (NASB). Rejecting God, they knew the people needed something to try to fill that place. That central focus point would be the tower of Babel. Archaeologists have found many ancient towers or ziggurats in that part of the ancient world. At the top were shrines, altars, and other elements of man-made religions. They were made in different shapes and sizes. They developed ramps and stairways that circled or zig zagged up the side to the top. Of most importance is that they were developing their own religion to unite the people. There is an old saying, Sins always come in twos. The first sin is in turning away from God; the second is trying to replace Him. 4 The third key in his tactics was to develop a reputation and identity for pride, for unity to replace God. Verse 4 again, let us make a name for ourselves. A new focus would unite them on their own terms and so they would not look to God. How did it turn out? How effective were they? We know. Look at verse 8 in chapter 11. So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord 4
confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth (verses 8-9). How effective were they? They found out the hard way that man s sinful pride never defeats God s sovereign purpose. Yes, today people may appear to doing that even as these rebels appeared to be getting away with it as they gathered together and began their project. We look around us and might wonder at times with all the conflict, problems, evil in our world if God really is in control, if He really will bring about His purposes and plans. Remember the Bible clearly and repeatedly tells us that God is in control. It tells us, For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back? 5 Again, as Job tells God I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. 6 The book of Proverbs tells us, There are many plans in a man s heart, nevertheless the LORD S counsel that will stand. 7 Once more, in the Psalms, The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations. 8 Do not be discouraged. In God s timing He will bring about His purposes. Nothing and no one will defeat His sovereign purpose. God s Response I Am God! God is rich in grace and mercy, but He does draw lines for people and their sinful actions, lines which He determines. His response to these rebels was to declare I am God! And He demonstrated that He is God, that He is the Sovereign One. God had a goal here with these rebels. God has goals? Yes! He has goals, purposes for His glory and for us. God calls people to come to Him for salvation, to share a relationship with Him and inherit a blessing. We see His goal here in verse 6 of chapter 11. The LORD said, Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them. The people had determined to stay one people and language, united in rebellion, centered in Babel. God s purpose for them, as we saw in chapter 9, was to move out and fill the 5
earth. In fact, this went back to creation, as God told Adam and Eve, Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth. 9 They were to move out and rule over the entire earth. This also would dilute the depths of unified rebellion and sin. What were God s motives in this plan? Let s look again at the few verses which describe God s action, chapter 11 picking it up at verse 6. 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. So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. (verses 6-8). this is what they began to do Willful rebellion against God, His purposes, commands. They asserted their independence, We don t need God! This is what they began to do! It was just the beginning! Nothing they purpose to do will be withheld from them, or, will be impossible for them (NASB, ESV, NLT). This displays the progressive, destructive nature of pride, of sin. Once committed, the deep, degrading sin would continue to expand its devastation. It would. It did. That ziggurat may have been rather simple: a simple altar, place of worship for their self-made religion, whatever nature it took. But, we know from history that before very long there were altars on those spots which were used for sacrificing little children. What were God s motives? To restrain their sin and wickedness and to check their pride. To give them a clear warning of judgment and mercy. God did not have to do this. He did, however, because of His unchanging, everlasting lovingkindness to people. That brings us to God s tactics in responding to these rebels. Verse 7 tells us He confused their language. Remember, Babel in the language of the Babylonians meant gate of God but in Hebrew, to confuse. Don t miss the irony here. They thought they were it! But in reality, all of their thoughts and self-described wisdom was just a confusion of thoughts, ideas and directions. 6
What God wanted them to do voluntarily in faith, He now made them do. Take note of two important lessons here. First, it is often said, God doesn t make people do what they don t want to do. That is a common statement that is true in some senses, but not all. For example, the Bible tells us there is a day coming when God will force all beings to acknowledge Jesus Christ. Paul wrote, at the name of Jesus every knee should bow [in that day], of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 10 This is total submission, whether voluntary or not. It includes the fallen angels or demons who are forever locked into opposition to God, who are referred to here as those under the earth. But when it comes to salvation, in ways that go beyond our ability to completely understand and put together, while God chooses, calls and urges people to believe in Jesus Christ, 11 each person also must make the choice to believe 12 He does not force them to believe. These people were living examples of God forcing people to do something they did not want to do, even though they had marshalled their energy, time and resources to prevent God made them scatter! He scattered them. A second lesson here is that God was merciful in His judgment. After the flood God pronounced the imagination [or, intent] of man s heart is evil from his youth. 13 While God promised never again to destroy man and the earth with a flood, 14 there were many other means He could have used to destroy Nimrod s generation. Yes, God was, and is merciful in His judgment. We see from the Biblical record that God was effective in His response to these rebels, and sometimes assume it without question or examination. God s goal for the rebels in His response to them was that they would fill the earth and be His stewards over it as He had commanded, 15 and that their rebellion would be restrained. Let s back up a step to chapter 10 and see a summary of how Noah s succeeding generations progressed and the people came to this point of rebellion. Verse 5, the coastland peoples of the Gentiles were separated into their lands, everyone according to his language, according to their families, into their nations. As chapter 11 opens we find, the whole earth had one language and one speech. This takes us back to before the rebellion. 7
It is right after this we find the rebellion beginning with the people taking a stand against moving out farther as God had directed. As we have seen, God confused their language, creating different languages so the whole group of conspirators could no longer understand each other. His response was effective. And we know there is more. Go to verse 8 in chapter 11. So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth. They refused to move out. God moved them out. His response to their rebellion was effective. And there is yet more. Verse 10 in chapter 11 begins the genealogy of Shem, one of Noah s three sons. We won t read the whole account, but let s look at enough of it to show God s effective work toward completing His purposes. Starting at verse 27, This is the genealogy of Terah: Terah begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran begot Lot. And Haran died before his father Terah in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans. Then Abram and Nahor took wives: the name of Abram s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and the father of Iscah. But Sarai was barren; she had no child. And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there. So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran (verses 27-32). As you listen to that you may ask, Why is this important? From Noah to Shem to?? To Abram, who God would rename Abraham, meaning father of many. God would call him and move him. God would establish the nation of Israel from his line, which is the line for the Messiah, the Savior, for Jesus Christ. 8
The rebels sought their own importance, power, priorities and legacy. In spite of them God kept moving forward with His purposes. The rebels did not, could not defeat God s purposes. He was effective in carrying out His plans. Yes, man s sinful pride never defeats God s sovereign purposes. Conclusion. What does this passage and its truth mean to us? Question: Are you a rebel? Before you answer too quickly, please understand that there are rebels inside as well as outside the family of God. As believers we know God s love, His grace and yet it can be easy to presume it will be extended without a reckoning of our disobedience, our rebellion. Our own goals, desires, and aspirations can lead us to not trusting and obeying God, to rebelling against Him and even at times not recognizing it. Wherever we are spiritually remember, man s sinful pride never defeats God s sovereign purposes. Another question: Are you discouraged or fearful when you look at all of the rebellion against God which surrounds us? You look around and see basic values turned upside down, inside out, cast aside and trampled on. Asaph, one of the Psalm writers, shared his experience of this in Psalm 73. Listen to a few highlights. I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. pride serves as their necklace; violence covers them like a garment. Their eyes bulge with abundance; they have more than heart could wish. They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression They set their mouth against the heavens. (from verses 3-9). We can fast forward to our day and recognize that we have seen those things, we have felt that way. We can identify with Asaph as he went on to say, When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me (verse 16). We have felt that pain. 9
But it doesn t end there. God s Spirit directed him and he went on to write It was too painful for me until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end. Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction (verses 16-18). You see, when he came into God s presence, reflected on God s truth, he realized what he needed to remember, what we need to remember: man s sinful pride never defeats God s sovereign purposes. In these next quiet moments you spend with God, examine your own heart for any rebellion against God and deal with it here, now. Then thank God for this truth, take hold of this truth, take confidence in it for the world you live in, which you face every day. God is in control. Man s sinful pride never defeats God s sovereign purposes. 1 James Dean. See for example: Biography.,https://www.jamesdean.com/biography>. n.d. Accessed 22 October 2018. James Dean Biography. <https://www.biography.com/people/james-dean-9268866>. 27 April 2017. Accessed 22 October 2018. 2 Sean Ogle. The Importance of Strategy and Tactics. <https://www.locationrebel.com/strategy-and-tactics/>. 05 January 2012. Accessed 23 October 2018. 3 Babel. R. Laird Harris, Gleason Archer, Jr., Bruce K. Waltke. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Chicago: Moody Bible Institute, 1980. Entry 197, page 89. 4 Original source not known. 5 Isaiah 14:27. 6 Job 42:4. 7 Proverbs 19:21. 8 Psalm 33:10-11. 9 Genesis 1:28. 10 Philippians 2:10-11. 11 e.g., John 6:44; Ephesians 1:4-5; 1 Peter 2:9, etc. 12 John 3:16; Acts 16:30-31; Romans 10:9-13, etc. 13 Genesis 8:21. 14 Genesis 9:11. 10
15 Genesis 1:28; 9:1. 2018, Lyle L. Wahl Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture marked (NASB) taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. 11