A Low Down God

TITLE: A LOW DOWN GOD

SCRIPTURE: GENESIS 11:1-9

I am sure we are all familiar with this interesting account found in the opening chapters of the Bible. I can recall being taught this particular Biblical account as a boy attending Sunday School. I must admit to you this morning that I still find this account rather humorous – this Tower of Babel in the Book of Genesis. You likely know the basic narrative which begins with the men of that early time saying, “COME, LET US BUILD OURSELVES A CITY, WITH A TOWER THAT REACHES TO THE HEAVENS, SO THAT WE MAY MAKE A NAME FOR OURSELVES.”

• It was an image of pride

• It was an image of grandiosity

The humor comes, that when the tower is built, the great tower, with its top reaching to the heavens, the truth is, it is actually so puny that God has to come down from Heaven to see it. The text says, “AND THE LORD CAME DOWN TO SEE THE CITY AND THE TOWER, WHICH THE CHILDREN OF MAN HAD BUILT.” Now, of course, as omniscient, God clearly sees everything, and the humor in the text is not some primitive notion of God.

• Rather the humor is for our benefit

In effect it says that our Greatest – Tallest - Most Prominent and Glorious Work that we saw as reaching heaven itself, is in fact so puny that God has to stoop to “See” it.

• He has to descend to get a glimpse of it

• What ultimately does alarm God is how colossal our pride is

• He has to humble us, by confusing our language and scattering us about the planet

Think of it! A tower that reaches to the heavens. And we thought that we had big ambitions.

• This one takes the cake

• This one wins the prize

• This one earns the blue ribbon

The Tower of Babel was an ancient power game for people who felt the inner need to be number one. “LET’S BUILD A TOWER THAT REACHES INTO THE HEAVENS.” “Great idea. Let’s use bricks instead of stones. That way it will last forever.” “I’ll call the bank and set up the financing. We’ll borrow most of the money at prime plus one and the city council will float a bond issue for the rest.

• We’ll rent out the lower floor for retail

• Put families in the middle

• Reserve the top floors for multi-national corporations that need a prime location

• This tower will stand forever

• We’ll be the envy of every city in Mesopotamia

• They don’t have anything like this in Nineveh

• It’s a great idea

• People will come from everywhere to see the tower

• We can make money leading tours to the top

• I can only imagine what they must have been thinking

I remember this past Summer as Sis. Lawson and I did so much travelling that even the taller buildings of some bigger cities were hard to see from 30,000 feet. I can also recall some years ago when the Space Shuttle had taken great views from above the earth. One of the astronauts began explaining some of the features we were seeing from their lofty perspective and where on the globe we were looking as the pictures passed by.

• The view was remarkable

• But what is more remarkable is what we did not see

• Us!

It is an astonishing thing that, even though the shuttle is passing over well populated areas, there is no visual evidence that we even exist.

• No cities or buildings are visible

• No planes streaking through the skies

• Even large scale agricultural features seem lacking

• San Francisco Bridge in all its majesty is not seen

• Verrazano Bridge in NYC is not viewed

• The Great Grand Canyon no visible

• Devon Tower in OKC, nowhere to be found

We think of ourselves as so big, so impressive. And yet even in low earth orbit, we cannot be seen. It is true, at night, our cities light the view, but during the day – next to nothing says we are here. Even on that plane just 30,000 feet in the air. No sign that we are even here.

• Can’t see us sitting on our porch

• Can’t see us BBQ in the back yard

• Can’t see us standing in the neighbors yard visiting

• No sign we are even here

Look with me at PSALM 8 “O LORD, OUR LORD, HOW MAJESTIC IS YOUR NAME IN ALL THE EARTH! YOU HAVE SET YOUR GLORY ABOVE THE HEAVENS….WHEN I CONSIDER YOUR HEAVENS, THE WORK OF YOUR FINGERS, THE MOON AND THE STARS, WHICH YOU HAVE SET IN PLACE, WHAT IS MAN THAT YOU ARE MINDFUL OF HIM, THE SON OF MAN THAT YOU CARE FOR HIM? YET, YOU MADE HIM A LITTLE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS AND CROWNED HIM WITH GLORY AND HONOR. YOU MADE HIM RULER OVER THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS; YOU PUT EVERYTHING UNDER HIS FEET: ALL FLOCKS AND HERDS, AND THE BEASTS OF THE FIELD, THE BIRDS OF THE AIR, AND THE FISH OF THE SEA, ALL THAT SWIM THE PATHS OF THE SEAS. O LORD, OUR LORD, HOW MAJESTIC IS YOUR NAME IN ALL THE EARTH!”