Sunday Sermons
The One Tower
The One Tower
Genesis 11
This chapter describes how the descendants of Noah became divided into various ethnic groups. Thus the events at the Tower of Babel happened prior to the formation of the nations in chapter 10. The nations in chapter 10 are the result or aftermath of what happened in this chapter. We are not told how long this event took place after the flood, but if this chapter happened during the lifetime of Peleg (10:25), who lived for 239 years, then the bare minimum is 100 years after the flood (11:10-16). Note, the earth was divided, not when Peleg was born, but at some point during his lifetime. Concerning the Tower of Babel, Derek Kidner notes, “Man, conscious of new abilities, prepares to glorify and fortify himself by collective effort. The elements of the story are timelessly characteristic of the spirit of the world. The project is typically grandiose; men describe it excitedly to one another as if it were the ultimate achievement---very much as modern man glories in his space projects. At the same time they betray their insecurity as they crowd themselves to preserve their identity and control their fortunes” (Commentary on Genesis p. 109).
11:1 This verse makes perfect sense when we realize that everyone born after the flood was from the same extended family, thus everyone used the same words, vocabulary and pronunciation. Once again, contrary to the claims of Evolutionists, ancient man far from being primitive is very advanced. According to Evolution, the earliest languages should be the most primitive, but such is not the case. Ancient Chinese is more complicated than modern Chinese and the same is true with the Greek language. One of the most difficult of all written languages is Sanskrit, which goes back to 1500 B.C. Each verb had about 500 parts.
11:2 Initially all the descendants of Noah stayed together. From Ararat to the land of Shinar is a southeasterly journey. The land of Shinar (SHIGH nahr) is already defined in the Bible for us (Genesis 10:10; Daniel 1:1-2). This is the territory surrounding the city of Babylon. Here they found a fertile plain (which no one wanted to leave), in addition they found two huge rivers, which apparently they named the Tigris and the Euphrates, after two of the streams that had proceeded from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:14). Imagine what this journey was like! To know that you were the only people on the entire face of the planet! Over every hill, around every bend, was first time that human eyes had seen the aftermath of the great Flood in a particular area.
11:3 The Flood had not erased the human memory. Man still had his technology. In this plain timber and stone wouldn’t be readily available, but there was plenty of mud, clay and mortar. “To burn them thoroughly” means the bricks would be furnace-treated, that is, kiln-fired brick. Archaeology has only confirmed for us that this type of building material was very popular in ancient Babylon. From Genesis 4:16-22 we know that man had technology prior to the flood and in this chapter we learn that man is still advanced and very capable of building and manipulating their environment after the flood. Yet technology or “science” never saves man from himself. The idea that people will behave themselves only if they have a good education is seen to be false both in the biblical account and in our modern society as well. Sheer knowledge or skill never saved anyone, in fact, without a biblical foundation it can turn into arrogance and actually get in the way of accepting the truth (1 Corinthians 1:26; 8:1 “Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies”). “We must not think of the pre-Flood age as one of primitive crudity. The indications are that it was the most remarkable civilization our race has ever known. Human longevity in that era, uniformity of language, nearness to the original Divine revelation, and the freer communication between God and men—think what these must have meant. We get significant hints as to the arts and industries of that time in Genesis 4. But that first civilization, with its accumulations of knowledge and experience, its treasures of art and literature, its agriculture and industries, is now gone” (Explore the Book pp. 42-43). I believe that the writer is right. Yes, the civilization prior to the flood must have been remarkable. Its achievements must have been tremendous! Yet, the end result was complete evil (Genesis 6:5). This reminds me of our civilization. We have built wonderful cities, and there have been so many advances in technology and medicine, yet at the same time our culture is rapidly advancing in the wrong direction morally. Mere earthly success is never the final determination concerning whether a culture survives (Jeremiah 18).
11:4 Sadly even such an event as the Flood had not impressed these people with the need to obey God. In defiance to the Divine directive to fill the earth (9:1), they would rather glorify themselves or their generation then God.
“A name for themselves”
Someone noted that the less faith we have the more we want to glorify ourselves and the more faith that we have the more we will want to see God get all the credit. The Pharisees did all their religious acts to be seen of men (Matthew 23:5). Here we find an entire generation focused on earthly fame and that succeeding generations would remember them. This really reminds me of our present society. It seems like a good number of people have pressed for the acceptance of abortion, homosexuality, pornography or feminism from the motivation of “making a name of themselves”. That is, that all succeeding generations will remember them as being pioneers and those who secured such “rights”. In fact, young people in our society are often chastised for not “appreciating” the rights that were won by such activists.
The tower seems to have been the focal point of the city, something that could be seen for miles around. In the Babylonian region to this day various multi-storied ziggurats (temple towers) are found. One stands over 297 feet high. I’m not sure if the builders were truly trying to build a staircase all the way to God (man has thought and done some pretty foolish things!) One writer suggests that part of their motivation might have been to build a tower higher then the surrounding mountains, so they would be safe in case another flood came, that is, they would be safe from Divine judgment in the future, even though God had specifically promised that another flood the magnitude of Noah’s would not come again (Genesis 9:15). Obviously, these people were filled with pride and wanted to make a name for themselves. To this day man is still trying to erect various “towers of Babel”. Many are looking for a fortress in which they can find safety from God and the claims found in the Bible. The attitude seems to be, “If we can just extend our lifetimes, get off this planet”, and so on, then, “finally we can get God off of our back”. Alfred Edersheim comments: “Such words breathe the spirit of ‘Babylon’ in all ages. Assuredly their meaning is ‘Let us rebel!’” (Explore the Book, Baxter, p. 44). Centuries later the Babylonians would take great pride in their city of Babylon; they boasted by Babylon was not only impregnable, but also it was the heavenly city, the “gate of God”.
This account also reminds me that man’s attempt to duplicate what God has made is a poor substitute for the original. This tower is nothing more than an artificial mountain that pales in comparison with real mountains. Yet the same thing is true concerning human replacements for marriage or the family, human ethical systems (like situation ethics), or human replacements for the church. They are all poor substitutes. Morris notes that the entire project may have been justified under the guise of true spirituality. That is, “The tower in its lofty grandeur would symbolize the might and majesty of the true God of heaven. The impressive beauty and sacred purpose of the tower would, in the reasonings of the people, surely please God and more than compensate for the fact that the entire project was contrary to God’s will” (The Genesis Record p. 270).
There is also the fear of being “scattered abroad”, which was not a bad thing (9:1). Man typically thinks that somehow the commands in the Bible are contrary to his best interest, and just the opposite is true (Deuteronomy 6:24 “So the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God for our good always and for our survival, as it is today”). Yet those in control may have feared what might happen if the common people became too independent in their thinking (our modern elite has the same fear). In our own time, the idea of separate nations has been ridiculed. But this chapter reveals that “unity” among sinners is not always a good thing. Kidner notes, “It makes it clear that unity and peace are not ultimate goods: better division than collective apostasy” (p. 110). There is a lesson here for those who think that the world would be a better place if every nation submitted to a common governing body. When people say, “Let’s all work together, let’s all get along, one world, one people, one mind”. We need to ask some questions, like, “What are we going to work together for?” “Were the Babel-builders attempting to establish a centralized government and an unchangeable power structure? Would not this have been a good thing? Does not a plurality of nations and languages prevent worldwide advance—cultural, economic, and religious? One world government probably would result ultimately not in human progress but in slavery” (Paradise to Prison, Studies in Genesis, John J. Davis p. 150). This reminds me of modern denominational attempts at unity which advocate that religious groups need to work together and overlook their differences, yet the “differences” that are overlooked are often something that is different from the truth. Such attempts only solidify apostasy, and those who must compromise or bend seem always to be those who are closest to the truth. And how am I going to work together with someone in reaching the world for Christ if the person I am working with is not telling people accurately what one must do to be saved?
Effort on the Wrong Project
The Tower of Babel is a classic example of man spending a tremendous amount of time and energy on some cause that is basically meaningless. Are we presently working on any such towers in our lives, that is, projects and causes that take up our time, energy and talents, all the while the real important things in life are being ignored. Let us remember that human projects are all temporary (1 Peter 1:24-25), while our work for God is eternal (1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not vain in the Lord”; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18).
11: 5 Although God already knows about this city, the text says “the Lord came down to see” because God is letting us know that He never acts on the spur of the moment and without all the facts.
11:6 God knows that this tower is just the beginning, just the beginning of projects spanned by human arrogance. God takes human rebellion very seriously. Our potential for selfishness should scare us, “Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good” Ecclesiastes 9:18). God does not view this tower as cute or a joke, and neither does God say, “Oh, how wonderful it is to see them all getting along and working together!” The truth is that in a world in which most people choose to remain sinners, too much unity often results in slavery, and totalitarianism. 11:7 Once again, we are reminded that “God” is composed of more than one person.
11:8 From the fact that all building on this tower and the city immediately stopped when the languages were confused we could conclude that the project might have been too large for a small group. Or, most of the people had been forced or intimidated into working on this project and abandoned the project when the infrastructure that held these people together collapsed. God could have simply toppled the tower, but towers can be rebuilt. If these people had followed God’s directive their languages would have naturally changed over time, but God directly intervenes. Which reveals that even in spite of human rebellion God can still achieve His purposes.
11:9 The name “Babel” means confusion. The ancient Babylonians called their city of Babylon, “gate of God”, which might have been a human attempt to upgrade the reputation of the city. Man is very talented in trying to redefine terms (Isaiah 5:20). Babylon is also a fitting symbol for centers from which ungodly influences are spread (Revelation 1:8). To this day, we continue to hear quite a bit of “babble” from the world. “Written Babylonian accounts of the building of the city of Babylon refer to its construction in heaven by the gods as a celestial city, as an expression of pride (Enuma Elish VI, lines 55-64). These accounts say it was made by the same process of brick making described in Genesis 11:3, with every brick inscribed with the name of the Babylonian god Marduk. Also the ziggurat, the step-like tower believed to have been first erected in Babylon, was said to have its top to the heavens. This artificial mountain became the center of worship in the city” (The Bible Knowledge Commentary p. 44).
Like the flood of Noah, various corrupted versions of the building of this tower have survived in various cultures. In the Armenian writings we find reference to a generation of giants who proposed to build a high tower. But a violent wind destroyed the structure and also cast strange words among the people that caused disunity and confusion (See Bible Students Commentary, Aalders, p. 252).
Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church of Christ/503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net/mdunagan@easystreet.com
