Scripture Introduction
In my pastry class, a student noted that everyone liked sweets. The Chef-Instructor misheard what was said and began answering the question: “Why does everyone like sweets?” She said that when we were cavemen, we saw people eating bitter things more often became sick or died. That which tasted sweet was usually safe. Over time the desire for safety became a desire for sweets, which is now a health problem.
Her comments reminded me of our study in Genesis. Understanding how things began and why they are the way they are affects the choices we make. But we need not fool with speculative ideas, because God describes the beginning of many things in Genesis. And today he tells us of the beginning of… confusion. Though I really do not know how to pronounce these strange names, I will do my best as we read Genesis 10.1-11.9.
[Read Genesis 10.1-11.9. Pray.]
Introduction
When contestants in beauty pageants are asked, “If you had one wish, what would it be?” the cliché answer is “World Peace.” The Preamble to the United Nations Charter says that its purpose is to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war….” And web pages allow people to sign petitions for world peace.
Dreams of unity, human cooperation, a one-world benevolent government, and free and universal healthcare are not new to us. People have always fantasized about coming together to make everything great. No longer would there be conflict, environmental disasters, poverty, greed, or disease. It seems we could save the world if we can just combine the money of Bill and Melinda Gates, the commitment of Gandhi, and the naïve optimism of Jimmy Carter.
But it will not happen. There will not be lasting peace between Jew and Muslim in the middle east. We will not end hunger. Nations will not sacrifice their own interests for the good of others. These things will not happen because God decreed confusion for all world orders and humanistic programs which refuse to submit to him.
Genesis 11 describes the defeat of the first man-centered world government. At a city named “Babel,” men sought glory, but God made confusion. He did this, not because he is an ogre, but because two things happen when mankind unites around something other than the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
First, any peace or progress apart from the cross inflames mankind’s lust for a life without death to self! The cross is not simply a symbol of our faith; it is the center. That is precisely why Paul preached the gospel without eloquent words, lest the cross be emptied of its power. And Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must take up his cross daily and follow him. The true faith is dying to self so that the life we live we live by faith in the Son of God who loved you and gave himself for you. Cooperation without the cross takes us away from the Christ.
A second consequence of success in godless, humanistic endeavors is the rise of tyranny. You have heard it said that, “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” That is not quite correct. The heart is already corrupt; power gives corrupt hearts the means to rule over all and eventually destroy all who oppose. God mercifully intervenes at Babel because Nimrod’s success will yield tyranny.
So keep in mind two things as we consider the many languages people speak. First, Babel shows the wickedness of our hearts and asks us to repent. Second, Babel shows us God’s grace and calls us to faith. To respond correctly, first…
1. We Must See the Need for Confusion (Gen 11.1-4)
200 or so years have passed since Noah left the ark, and everyone on earth is a near relative, speaking the same language. As they spread out from Noah’s home, they find the fertile plain of Shinar. There Nimrod, a descendant of Ham, rises in prestige and power, and proposes a central headquarters for mankind. Others rally around his vision for a great city, a hub of commerce and religion, the center of a new world order. Mankind’s wisdom and power will be proudly displayed. But God confuses their speech, thereby scatting people across the globe. Why does he do this?
A superficial reading has produced a variety of erroneous conclusions. Some assume that God is anti-urban and that this is a pro-agrarian apologetic. Others feel that God fears losing mankind’s love and devotion, so he must defend his continued relevance to the world. Some think this proves (again) Moses’ ignorance of how the universe works, including the evolution of languages. And it has even been suggested that primitive people really thought they could build a skyscraper tall enough to see God, like the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin who reportedly said from space, “I don’t see any God up here.” (Though, apparently, the quote comes from a speech by Nikita Khrushchev.) But none of those explain Babel. Why does God confuse our languages?
1.1. Confusion Was Needed Because of Mankind’s Ambition and Pride
When God does great things in a person’s life, he often names them or changes their name. God created man and named him Adam. When God blessed Jacob, he changed his name to Israel. And when God the Father honors the work of his Son, he gives him the name which is above every name.
Now notice Genesis 11.4b: “Let us make a name for ourselves.” John Calvin explains their hope: “This is the perpetual infatuation of the world—to neglect heaven and to seek immortality on earth, where everything is fading and transient.” In other words, they want to be recognized and remembered in this life, even after their death.
Doesn’t the same thing happen today? The hospital has donors’ names displayed prominently. When the new phone book comes, we look to see our name listed. Some of you may remember that Windows 98 had an “Easter Egg Program” hidden in it. If you executed a series of keyboard and mouse moves, a video launched and displayed a list of the engineers who worked on the program. How was it found? Those who wrote it wanted others to see their names. Fallen people love to make a name for themselves.
By confusing the languages and scattering the people, God rebukes our ambition and protects us from ourselves. Now no “Nimrod” will be able to unite mankind and rule the world.
1.2. Confusion Was Needed Because of Mankind’s Unwillingness to Submit to God
God gave both Noah and Adam the command: “Multiply and fill the earth.” Mankind was to spread geographically, taking God’s good rule everywhere. But at Babel a new plan is proposed. Instead of spreading, we will centralize. Instead of carry God’s rule as his representatives, we will develop our own plans. Babel would enable self-focused people to create bureaucracies more interested in survival than service, in tyranny than liberty, in oppression than freedom.
A mandate similar to Noah’s applies to the church. We are to go to all the nations, making and baptizing followers of Jesus, and teaching people the submit to his wonderful and gracious rule. So a spirit-filled Christian cannot focus on himself and his own “needs,” but must die to self to know the power of Christ. Healthy churches look outward, are passionate about evangelism and missions, are God-centered, and are concerned about the needs of others.
The third reason God confused our languages…
1.3. Confusion Was Needed Because of Mankind’s Power In Unity
The unity at Babel was one of ungodliness. Yet of it God says in Genesis 11.6b: “Nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.” When people work together, we are able to do amazing things. Unfortunately, the ungodly unity of humanism at Babel would lead to terrible evil and, likely, the destruction of God’s people.
Matthew Henry: “If they continue as one, much of the earth will be left uninhabited; the power of their prince will soon be exorbitant; wickedness and profaneness will be insufferably rampant, for they will strengthen one another’s hands in it; and, worst of all, there will be an overwhelming of the church, and these children of men, if thus incorporated will swallow up the little remnant of God’s children.”
The last centuries testify convincingly that tyrants rise and rule; the divisions promoted by our different languages (and the resulting cultures) prevent anyone from ruling all. Thus confusion was necessary. Now, second, let us note the ….
2. We Must Know the Source of Confusion (Genesis 11.5-7)
The Bible is about God. If you only read Genesis 11.1-4, however, you might not realize it. The Governor of Babel carefully excludes God from his plans. But everything changes in verse five. You should realize that Moses uses humor to mock these people. When we stand on the ground and look up to the top of a tall building, we feel small in comparison. That is what the men of Babel wanted – to make people feel small. But from an airplane, the tallest buildings appear tiny. And from space, even the mountains look small. In fact, when standing on the moon, the earth appears to be the size of a quarter, and the 1400-foot tall Empire State Building looks less than 0.00007 (7/100,000) of an inch tall.
The men of the world held counsel and incited one another to labor and toil, to bake bricks and waste themselves in the burning sun, to build this monument, so they can say, “Look at what we have done! I am somebody now!” But when God looks from heaven on our most colossal works, he sees dust. In fact, Moses implies that God could not see the tower until he came down. This reminds me of Psalm 33.10: “The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples.”
At Babel, God has the last word as he confuses our words. Men love memorials to their greatness; God makes our monuments like dust. He thwarts the plans of the wicked; only the Lord’s plans prevail.
3. We Must Accept the Results of Rebellion (Genesis 11.8-9)
People wanted a city so they would not be scattered; God scatters them. They wanted a tower for a strong and glorious name; God calls them “Confusion,” a name of mockery and derision. The very things rebellious man fears, God causes. This is a permanent pattern.
We all want to be happy, but where will we seek joy? Will it be by our own systems and plans, or in the ways of God? Rebellion always end in misery. Sin promises to exalt the self, but results in pain and suffering.
4. Conclusion
The story of pride and rebellion is sad. But God…
4.1. But God Undoes Confusion At Pentecost
Acts 2.1-4: “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
From Genesis 11 until Acts 2, we were confused by our different languages. But God establishes his church with the miracle of language speaking. Here is a vivid parable proving that no matter how powerful a Nimrod rises to oppress, he can never overcome the confusion. There is only one King who can unite people, whose rule is perfect freedom, who wields all power with no corruption: King Jesus. Pentecost was sign, a promise that Jesus rules now and will continue to do so until all his enemies are brought to submission.
4.2. But God Undoes the Scattering In Christ
Ephesians 2.13-16: “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.”
From Genesis 11 until the coming of Jesus mankind has been scattered. The only unity was forced on us by the tyranny of fear. But in Christ, there is no longer slave or free, male or female, Jew or Greek – no longer is mankind scattered – for we are truly one, united in love by our faithful brother, Jesus.
4.3. But God Makes a Name for His People in His Book
Philippians 4.3: “Help these women… together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.”
From Genesis 11 until the end of the world, sinful men have sought and will continue to seek to make a name for themselves. But no matter how deeply that name is engraved in stone, it will one day be destroyed. There is only one way to find a name for oneself which never fades. Only from the pen of the Lord flows an indelible ink to write your name in the Lamb’s book of life.
4.4. But God Builds a Glorious City
Revelation 21.19-21: “The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass.”
From Genesis 11 until the end of time, man builds his great cities with brick and mortar, or steel and glass. But none compare to the city which God forms from the rarest of jewels, the most precious of stones, and extraordinary metals. God’s construction surpasses in every way imaginable the work of mankind.
So why do we continue to build our Babels? Because people would naturally rather be miserable and rebellious than happy and submissive. Today we build from different materials: wealth, fame, honor, education, prestige, power, intellect, social standing, acceptance. None will survive the coming judgment. The only city which can survive is the one whose designer and builder is God. Will you trust Jesus to make you a citizen of his city?
One final note. In John 13, Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” At Babel our languages were confused so that we were separated. Mankind is now, naturally, opposed to each other. We are selfish and seek our own interests. That is why the testimony of love and self-sacrifice is such a powerful proof of the gospel. Here is a new king, one who unites mankind, not to rule over one another and rebel against God, but to serve one another and submit to God. They will know we are Christians by our love. Think about that. Amen.
