20241124 Genesis 11 The Tower of Babel
Genesis 1-11 tells the same story twice. Then the rest of the Old Testament is the retelling of Genesis 1-11. In Genesis 1-2 ,there is creation and we have a couple made in God’s image told to be fruitful and multiply. They eat from a fruit, become naked and ashamed and need to be covered. Then we see enmity between their children. Sin gets worse, then God judges the world.
Genesis 8 is new creation. The waters separate to allow dry ground to appear once more. Noah and his wife are commanded to be fruitful and multiply and to subdue the earth. Noah eats a fruit in his garden. He is naked, needs to be clothed, and there is enmity between his children. Their descendants gather in Babylon to defy God. God scatters them.
Gen 1-11 tells the same story twice. It is also the story of the rest of the Bible. Babel is Babylon. The Hebrew word for Babylon, is Babel. Genesis 1-11 begins in Eden and ends with the spreading from Babylon. The same way the story of Israel begins with God bringing them into the Edenic-Promised Land. Then, disobedience, conflicts between the tribes, and idolatry, leads them to Babylon. The Old Testament ends with God bringing his people out of Babylon, like Gen 11. In Gen 11, the people want to make a name for themselves in Babylon. Later in the Bible, Babylon is the seat of pride and vanity (Isaiah 13, 14, 47:8). Jer 51:53 states: “Even if Babylon should ascend to the heavens and fortify her tall fortresses, destroyers will come against her from me [i.e. God].” Referring to future Babylon, it is almost a commentary on the tower of Babel.
Genesis 11 is a story about pride. This story is in such a foundational position of the Bible. In many ways, it is the story of every age. It is our story as well.
We will look at the people’s sin and God’s Response.
The genealogy of Genesis 10 speaks of the descendants of Noah their lands and their languages. Since Gen 11:1 says the whole earth had one language, our text is a retelling of the spreading of the nations. We will look at three clues that something bad is going to happen. Then, we will look at the people’s intentions.
The second clue that something bad is going to happen is the pattern of Gen 1-11.
If we see Genesis 1-11 retelling the same story twice, Genesis 11 is parallel to Genesis 6. In the first telling, God sees the whole world is totally corrupt and he decides to destroy the world with a flood. Genesis 11 is the second telling. The Tower of Babel is a story of world-wide rebellion.
Count Zinzendorf was the leader of the Moravian church. His motto was, Preach the gospel, Die, be forgotten.
This is not what Western Culture teaches us, and wrong thinking creeps into the church. In his book, Radical, David Platt who is an American, talks about the American Dream in the church. It could probably be The Western Dream as well.
James Adams, defined the “American dream” in 1931, this way: It is “a dream…in which each [person] shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are.”[3]
David Platt offers a Christian critique. He agrees that, "hard work and high aspirations are not bad, and the freedom to pursue our goals is something we should celebrate." But, underlying this dream is a dangerous assumption and deadly goal. If we are not cautious, we will accept the assumption, and if we are not careful, we will achieve the deadly goal.
The dangerous assumption of the American Dream is that our greatest asset is our own ability. It prizes what people can accomplish when they believe in themselves. The gospel has different priorities. The gospel beckons us to die to ourselves and to believe in God and to trust in his power. In the gospel, God confronts us with our utter inability to accomplish anything of value apart from him. Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15 :5)
Now for the deadly goal of the American dream. As long as we achieve our desires in our own power, we will always attribute our achievements to our own glory. To use Adams’s words, we will be “recognized by others for what [we] are.” The goal of this dream is to make much of ourselves. The gospel’s priorities could not be more different. Christians desire to make much of God![4]
As Jesus’ following was increasing, John the Baptist rejoice in John 3:30 and said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
Some people are famous for being famous. Social media can have great uses. It has opened the door for more people to be treated like celebrities. It increases the pressure on people to look good, be seen with the cool crowd, and keep up appearances. Ultimately it has led to higher rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide. Having a simple, anonymous, God honoring life might actually be a gift after all. Being driven by making a name for ourselves is not a Christian practice.
Since human being are made in God’s image, Psalm 8, says that God has crowned humans with glory and honor. Greg Beale argues then that the spreading of humanity coincides with “spreading the glorious presence of God… and filling the whole earth with God’s glory.” God is already present everywhere, as is his glory. Choosing to make humans in his image means that God is glorified in a special way when humans fill the world, praise his name, obey his commandments and acknowledge their dependance on Him.
In Gen 11, when humanity wants to be gathered in one place they defy God. They are refusing to worship God and spread his glory. I remember a professor lamenting after talking with graduates from seminary. He was lamenting how many future pastors were prioritizing comfort near family. The professor wanted them to value the great commission. He encouraged students to consider serving in places that needed pastors and more churches. I have heard to many people say they want to go on a mission trip, or be missionaries for a season for the life experience they will get…
Now positive examples. I knew a family when I lived in Toulouse, France. They were American, she taught English, and he was a Software engineer. They chose to live in France and be part of a church just because they wanted to strengthen the church in France. We are not all called to do this specifically. Christians are all called to live with the great commission in mind. We want to live to spread the gospel. We want the world to be filled with more worshippers of God, that God’s worship would increase. In Gen 11:1-4 we’ve seen the sin at Babel/Babylon.
They wanted to be like God by their own effort. They wanted to make a name for themselves. They disobeyed the commandment to spread and fill the whole earth.
The people united in their evil work. It is in the span of doing evil works, that they will know no limits.
This account began with a desire to all be in one place, and now they end up doing God’s will and spreading across the earth. The irony in the passage is that that the people want to go up to God, but he still had to come down to them. The people wanted to be in one place, but God spreads them. Once more we have a text that shows the bend of our human hearts towards evil and defiance. We are glad that our Bibles do not end with Gen 11:9.
To show the unifying effect of this miraculous event, it occurred once in Jerusalem to unite all the Jews from abroad who had gathered in Jerusalem. It then occurred among Gentiles (Acts 10:46), and once more among God-Fearers in Acts 19:6. While the Lord responded to the sin at Babel by confusing the language to limit evil and spread humanity. The miracle of tongues helped unify humanity to work together to spread the good news of Jesus.
We cannot miss how Genesis 10-12 work together around the theme of “name” and we must remember that God is the one who causes peoples names to be great. He gave Abraham a great name. According to 2 Sam 7:9, he gave David a great name. Their names are great because of how they connect to Jesus. Philippians 2 teaches that Jesus became a servant, and humbled himself and was obedient even unto death, and so God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name.
Christians bear the name that is greater than any other name because we bear the name of Christ. Pursuing a name on our own strength is sin. When we bear the name of Christ, he covers our sin, we live in his strength, we live for his name. Christians do not need to pursue a great name, because we have a great name in Christ. And then, we have the freedom to preach the gospel, die, and be forgotten.
Genesis 8 is new creation. The waters separate to allow dry ground to appear once more. Noah and his wife are commanded to be fruitful and multiply and to subdue the earth. Noah eats a fruit in his garden. He is naked, needs to be clothed, and there is enmity between his children. Their descendants gather in Babylon to defy God. God scatters them.
Gen 1-11 tells the same story twice. It is also the story of the rest of the Bible. Babel is Babylon. The Hebrew word for Babylon, is Babel. Genesis 1-11 begins in Eden and ends with the spreading from Babylon. The same way the story of Israel begins with God bringing them into the Edenic-Promised Land. Then, disobedience, conflicts between the tribes, and idolatry, leads them to Babylon. The Old Testament ends with God bringing his people out of Babylon, like Gen 11. In Gen 11, the people want to make a name for themselves in Babylon. Later in the Bible, Babylon is the seat of pride and vanity (Isaiah 13, 14, 47:8). Jer 51:53 states: “Even if Babylon should ascend to the heavens and fortify her tall fortresses, destroyers will come against her from me [i.e. God].” Referring to future Babylon, it is almost a commentary on the tower of Babel.
Genesis 11 is a story about pride. This story is in such a foundational position of the Bible. In many ways, it is the story of every age. It is our story as well.
We will look at the people’s sin and God’s Response.
First, we look at the People’s Sin (Gen 11:1-4)
The genealogy of Genesis 10 speaks of the descendants of Noah their lands and their languages. Since Gen 11:1 says the whole earth had one language, our text is a retelling of the spreading of the nations. We will look at three clues that something bad is going to happen. Then, we will look at the people’s intentions.
Three Clues
The first clue that something bad is going to happen is the word “East” in Gen 11:2. The ESV says people migrated from the EAST, most other translations say the people moved to the east. This is a red flag. Following the first sin, Gen 3:24 God drove the man East of Eden. Following Cain’s sin, in Gen 4:16 he goes away from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. It is not a good sign that they are moving East. (A few chapters later Abraham and Lot separate and Lot goes East towards Sodom and Gomorrah). The pattern in Genesis is that when you go East, bad things happen.The second clue that something bad is going to happen is the pattern of Gen 1-11.
If we see Genesis 1-11 retelling the same story twice, Genesis 11 is parallel to Genesis 6. In the first telling, God sees the whole world is totally corrupt and he decides to destroy the world with a flood. Genesis 11 is the second telling. The Tower of Babel is a story of world-wide rebellion.
The third clue that something bad is going to happen is the location. According to Gen 11:2, the people settled in the land of Shinar, this is Babylon (Dan 1:2). Babylon is associated with pride and hostility against God in the Bible.
Now for the people’s intentions.
The people say three things in Gen 11:4. First, they say “Let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens.” Second, they say, “Let us make a name for ourselves.” Third, they say “Lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” Now, one by one.They want “A city and a tower with its top in the heavens.”
This sin is similar to the sin in the garden. God is the one who provides knowledge of Good and Evil. He sets the terms for how humanity will flourish in dependence on his revelation and enjoyment of his provision. In Genesis 3, the people wanted to become like God by attaining his knowledge. In Genesis 11, they want to be like God by accessing his realm by human effort.[1][2]The reasons, “and let us make a name for ourselves” is interesting given the use of the word “name” in the context.
The word, “name” in Hebrew is “Shem.” Just before the story of the Tower of Babel we have the genealogy of “Shem” (Gen 10:21). The tower of Babel is a story about people wanting to make a great “Shem” for themselves. Following the account, the genealogy of Shem continues (Gen 11:10). Then in Gen 12:2, God promises Abram that he will make his “Shem” great. When taken together, Gen 10-11-12 teach God is the one who makes people's name great. "Making a name for yourself" is trying to take God's place.Count Zinzendorf was the leader of the Moravian church. His motto was, Preach the gospel, Die, be forgotten.
This is not what Western Culture teaches us, and wrong thinking creeps into the church. In his book, Radical, David Platt who is an American, talks about the American Dream in the church. It could probably be The Western Dream as well.
James Adams, defined the “American dream” in 1931, this way: It is “a dream…in which each [person] shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are.”[3]
David Platt offers a Christian critique. He agrees that, "hard work and high aspirations are not bad, and the freedom to pursue our goals is something we should celebrate." But, underlying this dream is a dangerous assumption and deadly goal. If we are not cautious, we will accept the assumption, and if we are not careful, we will achieve the deadly goal.
The dangerous assumption of the American Dream is that our greatest asset is our own ability. It prizes what people can accomplish when they believe in themselves. The gospel has different priorities. The gospel beckons us to die to ourselves and to believe in God and to trust in his power. In the gospel, God confronts us with our utter inability to accomplish anything of value apart from him. Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15 :5)
Now for the deadly goal of the American dream. As long as we achieve our desires in our own power, we will always attribute our achievements to our own glory. To use Adams’s words, we will be “recognized by others for what [we] are.” The goal of this dream is to make much of ourselves. The gospel’s priorities could not be more different. Christians desire to make much of God![4]
As Jesus’ following was increasing, John the Baptist rejoice in John 3:30 and said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
Some people are famous for being famous. Social media can have great uses. It has opened the door for more people to be treated like celebrities. It increases the pressure on people to look good, be seen with the cool crowd, and keep up appearances. Ultimately it has led to higher rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide. Having a simple, anonymous, God honoring life might actually be a gift after all. Being driven by making a name for ourselves is not a Christian practice.
The third reason for the tower was, “lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”
The first command in the Bible is God’s blessing to them to be fruitful and multiply to fill their earth and have dominion. God gave it in Gen 1:28 and then again to Noah after the flood in Gen 9:1-2.Since human being are made in God’s image, Psalm 8, says that God has crowned humans with glory and honor. Greg Beale argues then that the spreading of humanity coincides with “spreading the glorious presence of God… and filling the whole earth with God’s glory.” God is already present everywhere, as is his glory. Choosing to make humans in his image means that God is glorified in a special way when humans fill the world, praise his name, obey his commandments and acknowledge their dependance on Him.
In Gen 11, when humanity wants to be gathered in one place they defy God. They are refusing to worship God and spread his glory. I remember a professor lamenting after talking with graduates from seminary. He was lamenting how many future pastors were prioritizing comfort near family. The professor wanted them to value the great commission. He encouraged students to consider serving in places that needed pastors and more churches. I have heard to many people say they want to go on a mission trip, or be missionaries for a season for the life experience they will get…
Now positive examples. I knew a family when I lived in Toulouse, France. They were American, she taught English, and he was a Software engineer. They chose to live in France and be part of a church just because they wanted to strengthen the church in France. We are not all called to do this specifically. Christians are all called to live with the great commission in mind. We want to live to spread the gospel. We want the world to be filled with more worshippers of God, that God’s worship would increase. In Gen 11:1-4 we’ve seen the sin at Babel/Babylon.
They wanted to be like God by their own effort. They wanted to make a name for themselves. They disobeyed the commandment to spread and fill the whole earth.
Second, we look at God’s Response (Gen 11:5-9)
Gen 11:5 The Lord Came down
The people wanted to go build a tower with its top in the heavens. But the irony is that no matter how high they had built their tower, God still had to come down to them. This is an absolute truth. God is always greater. Nothing we can ever do will ever allow us to reach his level of greatness, holiness, mercy, and justice. For Him to relate to us, he always condescends. He needs to come down to us. He graciously does.Gen 11:6 The Lord evaluates.
In Gen 11:6, God comments on the tower, “This is only the beginning of what they might do. And nothing that they propose to do will now by impossible for them.”[5] We must read this statement in light Gen 8:21 after the flood. Humanity’s tendency toward evil was not wiped away. “The intention of man's heart is evil from his youth.”The people united in their evil work. It is in the span of doing evil works, that they will know no limits.
Gen 11:7-9 The Lord Scatters them by confusing their languages.
Because together, the people’s evil will know no limit, the scattering at Babel must be seen as an act of grace. It is a preemptive strike against the escalation of evil. If God allowed evil to escalate once again, his holiness would demand universal judgment.[6] This world-wide cooperation was possible because they spoke the same language. In Gen 11:7 the confusing of the languages means they no longer understand each other. They can no longer work together which forces them to spread.This account began with a desire to all be in one place, and now they end up doing God’s will and spreading across the earth. The irony in the passage is that that the people want to go up to God, but he still had to come down to them. The people wanted to be in one place, but God spreads them. Once more we have a text that shows the bend of our human hearts towards evil and defiance. We are glad that our Bibles do not end with Gen 11:9.
Pentecost
We see in the NT a kind of reversal of Babel. Jesus came to bring the forgiveness of sins, healing, and restoration to the world. In Gen 11, God confuses the languages to spread the people. In Acts 2, God acts on languages to spread the gospel. One of the ways Jesus’ restorative work is seen is with the gift of tongues at Pentecost. The Holy Spirit allowed people of different languages to hear the gospel. The feast of Pentecost drew Jewish people from all over who spoke different languages. At this gathering in one place, the Lord temporarily reversed the confusion of languages, so that the gospel would start spreading with the people who would return home (Acts 2:7-11).To show the unifying effect of this miraculous event, it occurred once in Jerusalem to unite all the Jews from abroad who had gathered in Jerusalem. It then occurred among Gentiles (Acts 10:46), and once more among God-Fearers in Acts 19:6. While the Lord responded to the sin at Babel by confusing the language to limit evil and spread humanity. The miracle of tongues helped unify humanity to work together to spread the good news of Jesus.
Conclusion
There aren’t many stories in the Bible with no names. It is fitting that no one’s name was made great in the story about trying to make a great name for themselves. Some countries do not reveal the name of notorious criminals to avoid giving them the gift of fame.We cannot miss how Genesis 10-12 work together around the theme of “name” and we must remember that God is the one who causes peoples names to be great. He gave Abraham a great name. According to 2 Sam 7:9, he gave David a great name. Their names are great because of how they connect to Jesus. Philippians 2 teaches that Jesus became a servant, and humbled himself and was obedient even unto death, and so God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name.
Christians bear the name that is greater than any other name because we bear the name of Christ. Pursuing a name on our own strength is sin. When we bear the name of Christ, he covers our sin, we live in his strength, we live for his name. Christians do not need to pursue a great name, because we have a great name in Christ. And then, we have the freedom to preach the gospel, die, and be forgotten.
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