The Tower of Babel
Text: Genesis 11
Core Idea: The Tower of Babel reminds us that we do not have the power to make a name for ourselves. No fame, no accomplishment, and no worldly thing can give us a name that will last forever – but God can. Then, let’s not waste our time chasing after the things that will fail us but turn to the One who promises us life everlasting.
INTRODUCTION
Well, we’re currently going through the Book of Genesis – looking at how all things started. And last week, we saw that the table of nations in Genesis 10 is not just a list of ancient tribes but a theological roadmap showing God’s commitment to redeem His people. In one sense, we were witnessing the story of our salvation unfold in detail for the very first time in human history. So, yes, reading a list of names like this may not warm our hearts or inspire us, but one thing it should do is strengthen our faith, knowing that we, too, are part of this story – that we’re the products of God’s sovereign plan that started at the beginning of time. Now, let’s quickly look at Genesis 10 again because I want to point out two things that will set the stage for our message today. First, the descendants of Peleg are omitted from the list. Genesis 10:25, “Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan.” If you remember, the name Eber is important because it’s where we get the word “Hebrew,” which is another way to describe the Israelites. Now, further reading of the Bible will reveal that it’s through Peleg, not Joktan, that the promised serpent-crusher will come. Then, considering how important he is, it’s interesting that Genesis 10 doesn’t list the descendants of Peleg – it only offers the descendants of his brother, Joktan. Why? Did the author just forget? Of course not, because the author addresses them at the end of Chapter 11. This is important to point out because it means that Chapter 11 is a continuation of the table of nations in Chapter 10. Now, Chapter 11 will feel like the start of a new section because it introduces a new story – but this was added to simply explain that obscure sentence we read in verse 25. Let me read that again, “Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg because in his time the earth was divided.” What does that mean? Well, some argue this was a geological event that split Earth’s single landmass into seven continents as we know it today. But most scholars believe this just pinpoints the moment when mankind scattered across the earth. Then, here’s the second thing I want to point out – the story of the Tower of Babel offers the backstory of division that resulted in the formation of distinct cultures, languages, and territories we read about in Chapter 10. So, think of it this way – in Chapter 11, the author takes a quick break from the table of nations to explain where we got all these different languages – and will complete the table with an important figure who will play a huge role in God’s salvation plan. Then, with that in mind, please turn to Genesis 11 – let me read this for us.
1 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. 3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” 5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” 8 So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel – because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth. 10 This is the account of Shem’s family line. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad. 11 And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters. 12 When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah. 13 And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters. 14 When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber. 15 And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters. 16 When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg. 17 And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters. 18 When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu. 19 And after he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters. 20 When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug. 21 And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters. 22 When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor. 23 And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters. 24 When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah. 25 And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters. 26 After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. 27 This is the account of Terah’s family line. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. 28 While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. 29 Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milkah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milkah and Iskah. 30 Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive. 31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there. 32 Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Harran. Amen. This is the Word of God for you today.
Let’s go through this passage under three headings:
· MAN’S REBELLIOUS AMBITION
· GOD’S MERCIFUL INTERVENTION
· GOD’S SOVEREIGN GRACE
1) MAN’S REBELLIOUS AMBITION
We’re not exactly sure when this story took place – but considering it was during the time of Peleg, we can speculate that this happened about one hundred years after the flood. And by this time, they already had the knowledge and skills to make massive constructions. Now, verse 1 explains how they were able to advance so quickly – “The whole world had one language and a common speech.” Because they spoke the same language, it was easy to communicate and work together. Of course, this was meant to be used to unite the people for the glory of God as the image-bearers of God – but, as I mentioned last week, sin was alive and well in the new world. Verse 2, “As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.” At first glance, it seems like this is a simple description of their geographical position – but there’s much more we can glean from here. Two things. First, moving east is often linked to separation from God’s presence in the Book of Genesis. So, for example, Adam and Eve were banished eastward from Eden after their sin (Gen. 3:24). Cain was sent east to the land of Nod after murdering Abel (Gen. 4:16). When dividing the land, Lot traveled eastward toward Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 13:10-13). Then, it’s no coincidence that the people were moving eastward in our passage, as it signifies that they were moving away from the Lord. Second, their settling was an act of disobedience. Do you remember God’s command to Noah and his sons after they came out of the ark? Genesis 9:1, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.” This was the mission God had given mankind after the flood – which means that to settle was to rebel against His Word. All that to say, verse 2 isn’t just a geographical description of their physical location – it’s a theological statement about their spiritual state.
Verse 4, “Then, they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.’” Let me point out three things. First, they decide to build a city. They wanted a place to belong – a place they could call home. Now, as much as that sounds harmless, this should trigger some concerns, considering that the first city, built by Cain in Chapter 4, was a symbol of self-sufficiency and defiance against God. If you remember, after Cain had murdered his brother, God cursed him by saying, “You’ll be a restless wanderer on the earth.” So, for Cain to build a city and settle there was his attempt to reverse God’s curse – it’s as if he was saying, “God, if You take away my rest, I’ll just acquire it myself by building a city.” In the same way, the building of a city in our passage was also a direct act of rebellion because it went directly against God’s plan for them to spread over the earth. Second, they decide to build a tower that reaches to the heavens. They wanted to do something significant in life. They wanted their lives to matter somehow – and they thought that doing something great, building something that would last long, could help them achieve that. Now, when we think of a tower, we usually think of a structure that is tall and narrow – like the CN Tower. But a tower in the ancient world wasn’t like that – it was more like a ziggurat. I prepared a picture to help you visualize this. As you can see, it had multi-layers of brick that reached the sky – almost like a stairway to heaven. Now, a ziggurat in the ancient Near East often served the purpose of providing a place to meet with their gods – in other words, it was a temple where people worshiped and offered sacrifices. Then, we can’t help but wonder, “Did they build this tower because they just wanted to be in the presence of God? If so, what’s wrong with that? Doesn’t God want us to be with Him?” But the next point exposes their true intention. Third, they did this to make a name for themselves. They wanted to display their greatness by building this massive tower – they were basically saying, “Look what we can do if we set our minds to it. We don’t need God. We can be just as strong, wise, and capable as God.” Does that sound familiar? It should, because that’s exactly what the serpent said to Eve – Genesis 3:5, “You will be like God.” Richard Philips writes, “The aim of the Tower of Babel was not to reach physically into heaven. Rather, with its top-level high above the plain and painted blue, it represented the realm of the gods and allowed man to be master there. In this way, the tower asserted that man, not the Lord, dwelt in the realm of heaven. The point was to displace God.” They thought they didn’t need God. They didn’t want God. They wanted to make it on their own. In fact, they wanted to be God. They wanted to call the shots. They wanted the glory for themselves. They wanted to make a name for themselves, for they thought fame would make them feel more significant. But ironically, it only left them feeling lost and restless as they scattered across the earth. Now, the greatest tragedy about this is that what they’ve been seeking after had already been offered to them through their communion with God. They already had a home in the garden where they had an intimate fellowship with God – where they felt safe and rested. They were already cherished and treasured by God as the children of God. They were already given a promise of redemption through the serpent-crusher. But they chose to throw them away and tried to gain all those things through their own effort.
What can we learn from this? That we do not have the power to make a name for ourselves. The truth is that we’re no different from these people who were building this tower in that we, too, are driven by the fear of being forgotten. We all want to be remembered. We want our lives to matter. So, we work hard, we pursue fame, and we make every effort to achieve great things at home and in the workplace because we think that though death may claim us, our legacy will keep our names alive. Now, there’s nothing wrong with working hard or wanting to leave a lasting legacy. There’s nothing wrong with desiring greatness, security, and a place to belong. The problem is that we’re trying to obtain them without God, almost to prove we don’t need God. Friends, does this describe you today? Are you trying to make a name for yourself on your own – to reach the heavens apart from God? Well, this passage tells us that we will fail. You and I don’t have what it takes to do this – but God does. This passage doesn’t just show us our powerlessness. It also points us to the One who has the power to achieve this – to give us all that our hearts truly long for. Then, I pray that the Spirit will open your eyes to see that we can’t do it so that we’ll stop wasting our energy on pursuing something that will ultimately fail us. Instead, may we turn to the One who is able to give us all that we need. Let’s build our lives on the One who is all we really need. St. Augustine said, “Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in Thee.” May our hearts find rest as we see that He alone is our hope and life.
2) GOD’S MERCIFUL INTERVENTION
Verse 5, “But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building.” Do you see the irony in this statement? The people built this great tower that reached the heavens – and yet God had to come down just to see it because their work was so tiny from where He was. It’s like God had to stoop down and lower His face to see this “great” tower. Their greatest achievement, the pinnacle of their advancement, was utterly insignificant before the One who created and sustains the universe. God wasn’t intimidated by their efforts – He wasn’t threatened by their accomplishments. In fact, nothing we do will ever be able to impress God, for He accomplishes things we can only dream about. Then, this verse is not about God’s insecurity but our humiliation – to show us how futile our efforts are. Now, this doesn’t mean that God didn’t take the tower seriously. Listen to what He said in verse 6, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.” Again, God wasn’t saying, “Oh no, what am I going to do if they actually reach here?” But He was concerned that they would succeed – for their sake. Let me explain. When Eli was born, one of the things we did was cover every electrical outlet in the house with a protective plate just in case he would try to stick things in the socket. Now, at that point, I wasn’t worried about him failing to put anything in there. I was more concerned that he would succeed – that he would actually accomplish what he set his mind to. Why? Because it will kill him. So, even though I was frustrating him by making him fail at what he wanted to do, I was doing it for his good – because I love him, because I care about him, because I want the best for him. And that’s exactly what we see here as well. God intervened because He knew that if they were to succeed, it would destroy them completely. The sin of pride, arrogance, and self-centeredness would blind them and swallow them up. Their hearts would become hardened – and every inclination of their hearts would once again be only evil all the time. Then, what He did was an act of mercy and grace for His people – verse 7, “Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” God wisely perceived that simply destroying the tower would only delay the inevitable. So, by confusing their language, He broke their false unity and shattered their dream of creating a place for them to belong – again, not because He hated them but because He loved them, not because He didn’t want them to find rest, but because He knew that rest achieved with their own hands would be short-lived. He wanted to give them true rest – truly a safe place to belong. So, we read that they stopped building the city and scattered across the earth. They had great plans, but God’s will for them to multiply and fill the earth wasn’t going to be thwarted by their disobedience – His purpose prevailed in their lives.
Brothers and sisters, our God is a God who won’t hesitate to intervene in grace. Now, this means that He may frustrate your plans, He may close some doors, and He may even cause you to fail. That sounds terrible – but it really isn’t. Just as I plugged all my electrical outlets in love, God the Father will sovereignly and lovingly lead you so that you won’t fall into greater sin, so that you won’t stumble, so that you’ll grow in your character, so that you’ll bear much fruit, and so that you’ll learn to be satisfied in Him and Him alone. Friends, do you feel like God is restraining you today? If so, it could be God’s way of intervening – telling you to turn to Him and trust Him. Then, would you do that today? Don’t resist His call. Learn to trust and obey, for He will make your path straight and satisfy your heart.
Now, before we move to our last point, I want to draw your attention to Acts 2:1-11. This happened a few weeks after Jesus ascended into heaven – listen to what it says, “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: ‘Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs – we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!’” Here, we see another table of nations. But people are not scattering. Instead, they’re coming together to do one thing – declare the wonders of God. These people didn’t have anything in common. They spoke different languages. They came from different cultures. They looked different. But despite their differences, they came together – there was this unshakable unity. Something the people in our passage only dreamt about, God accomplished it through His Spirit. In fact, the day is coming when perfect unity will be restored among the nations as people from every nation, every tribe, and every language will stand before the throne and worship the Lamb (Rev. 7:9). Friends, if our unity is based on the fact that we like each other, it will soon fail us. If our unity is based on anything other than Christ, this church will soon cease to exist. Then, let’s make every effort to place Christ at the center of all our relationships here at Lighthouse, for without Him, we will scatter – but with Him at the center, we will accomplish great things for the Lord. Let’s not forget that we are one in Christ.
3) GOD’S SOVEREIGN GRACE
Here, we come to another genealogy – and you’re probably thinking, “What else is there to point out?” Don’t worry – this will hopefully be brief. I mentioned earlier that this is, in one sense, a continuation of the table of nations in Genesis 10. Eber had two sons – Peleg and Joktan. We’ve looked at the descendants of Joktan already – so the author now turns his attention to the descendants of Peleg through whom the serpent-crusher will come. One detail that should jump out at you is the absence of the phrase, “and then he died,” which appeared eight times in Genesis 5. This is important because if the genealogy in Genesis 5 stressed that death prevailed in the world, the genealogy in Genesis 11 stresses a movement away from death – toward the promise. In other words, it’s meant to create hope in the hearts of readers as they witness God’s salvation plan unfold before their eyes.
Now, this genealogy ends with an individual named Abram. Undoubtedly, he’s one of the most important figures in Israel’s history. But do you know what we learn about him here – the first time he’s introduced in the Bible? Not his greatness but his humble situation. Verse 30, “Now Sarai [Abram’s wife] was childless because she was not able to conceive.” Now, the main way you gained a name and were able to leave a lasting legacy in the ancient world was through your descendants – by having as many children as possible. But Abram and Sarai could not have a baby, which means that one sure way to make a name for themselves was taken away. Then, I wonder if they said to themselves, “All is lost. There’s no other way. Our names will soon be forgotten.” And yet listen to what God says in Genesis 12:2, “I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” And that’s exactly what He did, as we’ll soon see in the coming weeks. Brothers and sisters, the world will continue to tell us, “Make a name for yourself through your career, your fame, your children, and your accomplishments. Make a tower that will lift you up and display your worth.” But God will tell us, “You can’t do it on your own. No matter how hard you try, you will be forgotten. But I can make your name great. And My way will never fail. Your name will be remembered forever.” Then, we can’t help but ask, “How will He do this?” By coming down not to judge our towers but to rescue us from our towers. Philippians 2:6-8, “[Jesus] who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross!” When Jesus came, He didn’t come in glory but in humility. He didn’t come to make a name for Himself by being lifted up on a tower but to be forgotten and forsaken by being lifted up on a cross. And yet because He endured the cross, because He bore our shame, because He received the penalty of our sin, Philippians 2:9-11 says, “God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Brothers and sisters, through Him, we’re not only forgiven, we’re not only freed from the power of sin, we’re not only made righteous, but we’re also given a name that will last forever. Friends, do you want your name to be great? Stop building a tower for yourself and place your name in Christ today. He will lift you up. He will make it great – and you will never be forgotten.
CONCLUSION
Lighthouse family, the Tower of Babel reminds us that we do not have the power to make a name for ourselves. No fame, no accomplishment, and no worldly thing can give us a name that will last forever – but God can. Then, let’s not waste our time chasing after the things that will ultimately fail us but turn to the One who promises us life everlasting.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) The people of Babel wanted to “make a name for themselves.” How does this desire manifest in modern society? In what ways do we try to achieve significance apart from God? How can we shift our focus from self-sufficiency to dependence on God?
2) Why was scattering the people an act of mercy rather than judgment? Have you ever experienced a time when God “frustrated” your plans? How did that ultimately work for your good? How can we trust God’s plans even when they seem to contradict our own desires or ambitions?
3) How does Philippians 2:6-11 (Jesus humbling Himself) contrast with the pride of the people of Babel? How does this change our perspective on success and legacy? How can we ensure that Christ remains at the center of our ambitions, relationships, and identity?