May 1, 1994
ASSORTED THOUGHTS ABOUT A DISTORTED WORLD
(Genesis 11:1-9)
INTRO: (1) The word Babel is interesting because it is given two different meanings. Gen. 11:9 says: "Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth." In Hebrew the word Babel means confusion. The Babylonians themselves used the word to mean "the gate of God." So the Babylonians said, "We are the gate of God," and the Jews said, "No, you are confusion." Throughout Scripture, right up to the book of Revelation, the concept of Babylon stands crucial, Babylon saying, "We are the gate of God," and the Bible answering, "No, this is the place where the basic confusion of language occurred. You are confusion." Our own word Babylon is simply the word Babel with a Greek ending.
--Francis A Schaeffer (159) #13-1
(2) There was a dear black saint of God who happened to enter a fashionable church. After the service he approached the preacher and told him that he wanted very much to join the church. The pastor knew that his consent to such a request would not meet with the approval of the official board of the church and the congregation. At the same time he did not want to appear cruel and harsh. So he said to this man, "John, go home and pray for two weeks for the Lord to guide you definitely whether He wants you to join this church." Accordingly, humble John took the advice and went home. When he returned two weeks later the preacher asked him about the Lord’s direction. "Sir," John replied, "God told me that He has been trying to get in here for the past fifteen years and He hasn’t succeeded, so I had better give up trying where even God cannot find entrance." (3) 132.83
(3) The early post-flood world had some ambitious individuals. They stretched their limits and pushed beyond themselves. They looked for more than what they had and began to forget the Lord. They began to envision things they shouldn’t and soon were pursuing whatever they imagined. It is easy in such a world not only to forget God, but even to view Him as a barrier never welcome in the day’s plans.
PROP: CONFUSION WILL REIGN IN A WORLD WHERE GOD IS NOT WELCOME.
TRANS: The Tower of Babel account shows us three weaknesses of a deranged world.
I. Communication may lead to conspiracy (Gen. 11:1).
A. The earth’s entire population spoke only one language and dialect. Obviously it never occurred to them that the very gift of communication was just that, a gift. This one thing that everyone had in common was at the heart of their agreement to undertake an improper project. They took their common language for granted, assuming it was theirs completely. Today it is much the same: things in common are easily taken for granted.
B. Unity, as a whole, is a good thing. The Bible does much to cast it in a favorable light. The book of Philippians for example more than once emphasizes being "of one mind." The Psalmist mentioned how good and pleasant it was for brethren to dwell together in unity (Ps 133:1). There is no shortage of the togetherness theme in the "one another " passages. Unity is not a good thing however when it is built around a wrong purpose. Proverbs tells us not to have one purse with sinners (Pr 1:10,14). We are also advised to have nothing to do with an angry man (Pr 22:24-25). Paul left us with instruction as believers not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers (II Cor 6:14).
C. Our words put us in touch with people. When God is not considered in our communication, the words may lead to a conspiracy to do what is wrong. This develops from confusion about our accountability to Him. Words have many different angles to them. Merely speaking may bring about confusion. We certainly don’t need to add to the problem with too many words or words poorly chosen, casually spoken, or harshly shared.
The dictionary says that "...to be confused is to be perplexed or bewildered, to mistake one thing for another." Even the best and most brilliant human beings can be confused. Here are a couple of illustrations. An announcement came over the loudspeaker at the Washington National Airport: "Attention, please. Will the Piedmont passengers who have not done so, please do so immediately." Then there was a traffic sign at an intersection of superhighways near Chicago: "To make a left turn, make two right turns." Radio and TV announcers have also been confused. A TV baseball game went into extra innings and the sportscaster announced: "The ’Tonight Show’ has been cancelled, the ’Tomorrow Show’ will be seen later tonight, and the ’Today Show’ will be seen tomorrow."
(12) 53.34
Richard Armour wrote, "This I have never understood, we chop down trees but chop up wood. We draw down wrath, we draw up wills. We run down foes, we run up bills. We eat up food, we down a drink, which is a little strange I think. We turn down offers, turn up noses. Just one last thought and then this closes: We should remember, we poor clowns, that life is full of ups and downs." 132.12
TRANS: What stirred the postdeluvians to put a tower up is the very thing that tore their idea for an empire down.
II. Motivation may harm desired measures (Gen 11:2-4).
A. The tower builders made a decision to build but in order to do so they had to work with God’s creation, another thing easily taken for granted. They, in effect, exploited God’s creation (vv 2-3). First, they found the plain in Shinar as they traveled from the east. It was there before they were. They merely recognized the desirability of the land and took advantage of it. Second, they planned to "make" bricks and mortar them with slime or tar. Everything involved in their chosen process was something first made by God. They only rearranged those things for their own use. The wicked Nimrod was behind the expedition east (see Gen 10:8-10).
B. Considering their reasons for building, it is seen that they had a purpose for building (v 4). They were designing their tower for accessing Heaven. Scofield points out that the ancient zigurats of Mesopotamia were terrace towers erected for worshipping pagan deities. It is likely that the Tower of Babel was intended to serve a people who were idolatrous and who thought to create their own means for appealing to gods of their own making in a heaven as they imagined it. This is why they wanted the tower to have a top unto Heaven. They also wanted a city (a place to live) which had a "name" (hence the tower) which would prevent scattering. Wilson says this word is derived from an Arabic root which means to be high, elevated, eminent. He quotes Schultens as identifying the Hebrew word as "a mark or sign, standing out, raised up, or exposed to open view; a standing mark or title of distinction or eminence: Gen ii:4, ’and let us,’ say the heads or leaders, ’make us a name,’ a monument or token of superiority and eminence; to denote and to signify to all succeeding generations that they were the true original governors, to whom all mankind ought to be in subjection." (284) 492.4/Wi
III. Examination often results in elimination (Gen 11:5-9).
A. The Lord came down to see the work (v5). It is of interest to note that while men were going higher than perhaps ever before, and while they were erecting a city of greater significance than existed elsewhere in their world, their greatness was still below the Lord, because He came down to look at it. This was an unnecessary act for an infinite God (see Pr 15:3), so its very mention contrasts true greatness with human greatness. God comes down when He judicially interposes in the affairs of men. It also reminds us of the separation between man and God. God has to come down to talk with man because mankind is in a lowered position. The Babel project was initiated from a lower position and a case can be made for saying that it lowered man more still.
B. The desires of mankind were tainted by the fall. Consequently their appetites for things other than Divine nourishment grew and took them into greater and greater acts of depravity. Their imaginations became void of any inhibitions until the Lord finally determined that they had gone too far in their cooperative conspiracy. In verse 6 He describes a line crossed. These people would pursue whatever they imagined and they were leaving God out of their imaginations.
C. Because of this the Lord decided to scatter them by confusing their language. Because they did not welcome God in their plans, they suffered a lost project. They held hard to the life they wanted and, in the end, lost it (Jn 12:25). This very principle is seen in the words of James 4:6 where we learn that God resists the proud.
CONCL: (1) Here are three areas of weakness to examine in any enterprise or undertaking:
* How am I communicating? Am I taking anything or anyone (especially the Lord) for granted?
* What is my motivation behind what I am doing? Am I exploiting what I have been given, such as authority, talents, possessions, friendships, etc.?
* Will my project withstand the Lord’s examination? Does He have to lower His sight of blessing to look at it? Who does it really serve?
(2) The world can be a confusing place. One farmer was pulling a rope behind him as he was walking across his yard. A neighbor asked, "What are you doing with that rope?" "Well, friend, I’ve been reading the papers and listening to the radio, and with the world’s condition the way it is, I’m so confused that I don’t know whether I’ve lost a cow or found a rope." (20) 52.35
(3) Ruth Peterman, in a conversation with her college-aged son, Elliot, heard him explain his frustration with a certain professor. "Whenever I sit in that class, I get so confused. He works on the board, forever drawing charts and diagrams and illustrations. I just don’t dig him at all." Things were fine while Elliot was reading the textbook. He understood things perfectly well as long as he was in the book. Confusion would return the next day when the lectures in class began again. "I had the hardest time keeping my mind on what had been so clear to me the night before from the book," he said. "I said to myself, ’you gotta quit listening to that guy, man, or you’ll lose it all.’ " The solution, he figured in jest, was to quit going to class. (90) #16-139
Though I can’t advocate skipping out when confusion steps in, I must say that there are a lot of voices that will confuse things if they are heeded. Our solution is to get back into the book and remind ourselves and God that He is welcome in our lives. If you are confused, open the Bible and let Christ make a difference. If you are not saved, open your heart and welcome Him in.
