Sermon Tone Analysis

Tower of Babel

Ch. 10 Table of Nations...divided in 3 parts with genealogy of the 3 sons of Noah.

Shem, Ham, Japeth...normally think of the oldest being the line...Shem is the middle.

Often in Genesis...the youngest is the line of the blessing.

Note in Japeth’s line v. 5 nations for gentiles...coastland people.

,

Note Ham’s descendant Nimrod (v.

8-12) means “we shall rebel” a mighty man...powerful king figure.

His kingdom included both Babel and Nineveh.

His Uncle Canaan fathered the clans of the Canaanites.

Shem 10:21-32 then picks up again in 11:10-26.

At some point during the generations of the tower of Babel takes place.

Why would I say that?

see , , Quote v. 20 5 From these the coastland peoples spread in their lands, each with his own language, by their clans, in their nations….20

These are the sons of Ham, by their clans, their languages, their lands, and their nations.

And v. 31 31 These are the sons of Shem, by their clans, their languages, their lands, and their nations.

The solution is to recognize that the author has not put these two stories in chronological order.

He first describes the spread of the peoples and languages in chapter 10 and then he describes the origin of that diversity in .

Sometimes, when you have something shocking to say about why an event happens, you put it at the beginning of the event, and sometimes you wait and put it at the end of the event.

- Piper

Pride of Man

1 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.

2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.

3And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.”

And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.

V. 1 one language..same words.

V. 2 east away from Eden...note Cain & Lot go east.

Bricks technology and innovation...attempted permanence.

4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”

Illus: similarities of the world we live in…

Since 9/11 Top 10 tallest buildings in the world have been built, the tallest of which is 2 times higher than the world trade center...2,717 feet tall--the Burj in Dubai (by the way the building that replaced the World Trade Center is called the One World Trade Center...yet another attempt of man to say we are together when we are far apart.

Why keep building taller buildings...same reason...make a name for ourselves.

Providence of God

Yahweh--LORD...the LORD “came down”.

He will accomplish the purposes for which he created the world.

He has said that human beings should fill the earth...He will see that his purpose is carried forth.

LORD comes down

5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built.

6 And the LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do.

And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.

“Came down to see” Lord sees all and knows all...play on words to point to the actual insignificance of the the city and the of man...further note “children of man”

Man is about to go places that will not be for his good but for his harm.

Illus: atomic weapons

For the good of man and ultimately to accomplish his will...

LORD confuses and scatters man

7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech.”

8 So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.

9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth.

And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.

Babel means confused or mixed up.

Babylon they proposed meant “gate of God”

Zephaniah 3:9

So What?

The Gospel genuinely brings people together.

Danger: when we make the work of the gospel about us...illus: highest steeple in Gastonia...largest attendance...The gospel of Christ is and will be the only thing that unites people.

Illus: large church building in the Dominican Republic that sits empty with a large sign in english Built by _____ baptist church.

While living in the midst of the city of man, we seek the city that is to come.

(Genealogy leads to Abraham)

He is Lord and He will accomplish His will!

Humbled people...humbled by the gospel who take it to the nations...instead of being consumed with city of man, we seek the city of God by taking the Gospel of God to the nations.

Sermon Theme: The Lord scatters rebellious humankind by confusing their language in order to accomplish his plan to restore his kingdom on earth.

Sermon Goal: To give hope to God’s people today that our sovereign Lord is able to break down secular kingdoms in order to restore his kingdom on earth.

Instead of relying on God, many still seek their security in their own ingenuity.

They look for security in “towers” such as that of the UN, trade-center towers (money and stocks), global communication satellites, the internet, spy satellites, weapons of mass destruction, and missile shields.

(Greidanus, 130)

Babylon will be thrown down.

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The irony is that as long as man tries to come together...the farther apart they become.

Why? Someone has to make their name great.

Man does not do shared fame.

Jeff

Chapter 10

.

In order to appreciate the full significance of that future scene, this section of Genesis is vitally important.

It also provides the background to so many of the Bible’s references to the nations.

(Eveson, 211)

All of the nations have their origin in the sons of Noah.

(Belcher, 103)

Sin is still a problem which shows the need for God to make a new start with the family of Abram in order to accomplish His purposes for the restoration of creation (11:10-26).

(Belcher, 103)

It is also significant that names are used in a variety of ways in .

Some names are of persons (Japheth, Nimrod), some names are of people groups (Ludites, Caphtorites), and some names are of place names (Mizraim, Sidon).

Thus the sons of Noah are divided by ethnicity, geography, and language.

The fact that there are seventy nations in the genealogy shows that the table of nations is representatives of the totality of all peoples.

(Belcher, 104)

Chapter 11

Intro The narrative is tightly structured and filled with repetition, wordplays, and irony.

The irony of mankind’s attempt to ‘make a name,’ to overreach itself and immortalize its achievements, is reinforced by the tightly coiled acoustical sound track of the text, which plays back the initial achievements as failures.

(Greidanus, 124)

At Babel the Lord counters human efforts not to be scattered by scattering them “over the face of all the earth,” thus accomplishing his original plan that human beings should “fill the earth.”

(Greidanus, 125)

At Babel God halts the unbridled human efforts to build a united, secular city, which would leave no room for the kingdom of God.

(Greidanus, 125)

The Lord scatters humankind, which in disobedience seeks to build its own, secular kingdom, in order to accomplish his plan that they “fill the earth.”

(Greidanus, 125-126)

Ultimately Babylon stands for secular human kingdoms, which Jesus will judge and overthrow when he establishes his perfect kingdom on earth (see ). (Greidanus, 127)

It is the will of God, so long as sin is present in the world, to employ nationalism in the reduction of sin.

(Stigers via Ross, 234)

The action of God is both punishment and a preventive measure; it prevents men from going too far in their pride.

(Ross, 234)

What drives them is hubris.

What calls out the nemesis of the Lord from heaven and scatters them from there is also hubris.

(Ross, 237)