Two Paths Divide
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
Robert Frost wrote a poem called The Road Not Taken. He muses about a choice - metaphorically described - as a fork in a road. He must make a choice of which he will follow. And but for possibly slightly less wear on one, they seem equal to him.
We often have a choice in life. To do this, or that. Down one road or another. Take this job, or stay where I am. And maybe one of the most asked questions in life, and also of the Bible, ‘How do I know the right choice?’
This is a question as relevant to everyone, every day as it is ancient. What is the right choice? Today, we’ll look at that exact example. There is a distinct fork in the road. What one will be taken?
Pray
A World Multiplying.
A World Multiplying.
Today Gen 10-12:9. Two sets of genealogies, the tower of Babel account, and the beginning of the family that will occupy the rest of the book of Genesis.
But it all starts with Noah, and his three sons: Ham, Shem, and Japheth.
1 These are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood. 2 The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.
The tribes / people that came from Japheth are to the north and west.
6 The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan.
South towards Africa.
22 The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram. 23 The sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. 24 Arpachshad fathered Shelah; and Shelah fathered Eber. 25 To Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided, and his brother’s name was Joktan.
From Shem, the Semitic peoples. To the east. We have more detail about this family line than the others because this is the lineage of the Hebrew people - of Abraham, Issac, and Joseph.
[World map]
More of Shem’s line, because we get to an interesting detail about a guy named Peleg. ‘In his days the earth was divided’. There is uncertainty about all what that means. But there is certainty about one thing it does mean.
In this chapter, Peleg’s line is not followed, but his brother Joktan. There’s not any more commentary in this section about who these people were; whether they followed God, or if they were wicked and violent. There’s no moral statement in this section of the genealogy.
But, immediately after this genealogy, we do have a narrative section. One commenting of the other. In Peleg’s day, the earth was divided. The account of the tower of Babel represents one road - Joktan’s road.
Rebellion - Round Three.
Rebellion - Round Three.
One road leads to Babel.
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. 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 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.” 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. 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.
The whole population of the earth with one culture and one language. That must be a good thing, right? Not so much. There are some things in this text that tell us a whole lot that’s missing because of our language and our culture.
To Fill or Collect.
To Fill or Collect.
God had given humanity, and all the living creatures, a mandate to be fruitful and multiply, filling the earth. Twice during creation, and twice to Noah. But at Babel, they gathered together. They didn’t fill the earth, they tried to fill the heavens with a tower to God.
-> This is as good of time as any to recap where we are. In Eden, both people and the spiritual world rebelled against the word of the Lord. God had said, “Do not eat of this tree or you will die”. The spiritual being represented as a serpent denied God’s word, “Shirley you wont die, God doesn’t want your best.” And Adam and Eve rejected God’s word and chose to believe the serpent. This was the first rebellion - the rebellion from God’s Word.
-> Then, after eden, we saw there was another rebellion. This time against God’s order. Genesis 6:2 “2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose.” Whatever this exactly was, it was contrary to God’s designed order; and it had consequences.
It lead to ‘Nephilim’, who seem to be part of the reason God judged the Earth with the flood. Also wickedness and violence were rampant on the earth. This was the second rebellion - the rebellion from God’s order
-> And now we get to the third major rebellion - the rebelion against God’s purpose. God’s purpose in creation is two fold. That there is order in relationship between elements of creation: between humanity, animals (that we have dominion over them), and the spiritual realm that God created. The other purpose is that we relate to God rightly - that we worship Him on His terms.
But here, the people after Noah chose their own purpose. They stayed gathered together instead of filling the earth.
Genesis 11:4 “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.””
They chose security from their own hands rather than depending on God. They chose walls instead of gardens.
Worship On My Terms.
Worship On My Terms.
In addition, they chose to worship on their own terms.
God’s purpose was that man worship God in a personal manner. That that worship was humble and acknowledged our inability to please God on our own. It required the death of an animal - a sacrifice that took the place of our own sin - not so God was appeased, but that WE might know what our sin costs.
But the people of Babel didn’t come to worship in humility, but pride.
I will build a tower.
I will make God know my name.
I will ascend to God’s domain.
By the work of MY hand.
Worship became about them, and not God. When God spoke about what they could accomplish with one language, it was about drawing worship to themselves rather than God.
Genesis 11:6 “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.”
Dividing the Nations.
Dividing the Nations.
That previous section - the genealogy - is known as the table of nation. It lists 70 nations, or people groups, that came out of the sons of Noah. That list follows the lineage of God’s people only to a point, then diverges.
Babel was supposed to be the gate to God. That’s what this name means in some of the surrounding languages. But the Hebrew word here is very similar to the word for confusion.
And that is what God did. He divided the nations, divided their language. without getting into it, there is also a rebellion, judgement, and charge to the spiritual realm that is happening here too. There are spiritual beings that God created that are meant to represent Him to the nations.
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.
The spiritual realm was involved in this righteous confusion - dividing the nations and languages. But the spiritual realm took what they were to steward and began to poses. They sought worship. Just as people worshiped on their own terms, so there was rebellion in the spiritual realm too.
The world before the flood was wicked, rebellious, and violent. And so it became again.
But God had an greater solution. Out of those 70 nations, none were divided for God. … yet.
Back to Peleg!
God Chooses His People.
God Chooses His People.
After the Tower of Babel, the text takes us back to the Genealogy of Shem. Hey, we’ve read this already! But this time, we take the Road Not Taken. We follow Peleg, not Joktan.
Joktan took us to The Tower of Confusion. Peleg takes us to a wandering shepherd named Abram.
Joktan took us to worship on our terms. Abram will worship on God’s terms.
27 Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot.
We get some detail about that family, and see how they moved from their homeland to the area hear modern day Syria, north of Israel. But then God Calls out Abram from the nations.
1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Abram doesn’t start out with it all together. He likely worshiped other God’s earlier in life. He messes up badly multiple times. Repeats the same mistakes. As we study through this book, we’ll see him through many growing pains.
But, when God called Abram, Abram trusted God. Abram believed God. Abram chose to worship only God, and worship Him on God’s terms.
God promised Abram that He would make him into a great nation, and bless the whole world through him.
There is SO MUCH to study and consider about this passage. It connects to so much other scripture. But there is one connection particular I want to draw our attention to.
In Babel, humanities languages were confused. We were divided. But from that division caused by sin, God chose one through whom He would bless the world. Where would we find that blessing? In the One through whom we also find the healing for the judgement of Babel.
God’s promise to Abram/Abraham was fulfilled in Jesus. The one person, who came from Abraham, who was the final sacrifice for our sins. Jesus was fully a man (fully seed from Abraham), and fully God (the very presence and character of God) - both personalities together in one person.
Jesus died for my sins.
This is the good news of God. That we can worship Him on His terms, personally choosing to follow God. Being forgiven from mistakes we could never pay for ourselves.
But what about the confused languages part?
After Jesus’ death and resurrection (a picture of the ark and Noah), He told His followers to gather and wait in in an upper room (a picture of the Tower of Babel). And what comes? Power from the spiritual realm!
1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”
Genesis tells of how sin caused the world to be divided. In language, culture, worship. But the power of God is that He can save us from that. From our sins, yes. But when He saves us from our sins, He begins to utilize us to heal the world around us. Is that a job too big for us? ABSOLUTELY! But the Spirit of God - the actual presence of God that interacts with the physical world - can heal the division between God an people, and between each other, through the forgiveness He offers. Through the renewal of His purpose in us. By the power of Him inhabiting our lives.
We all have a choice between two paths. The path of our own terms that leads to confusion.
Or the path of God’s purpose for us. That means we must choose to follow His directions, His commands, His purpose. It means we must do things God’s way, to choose loyalty to Him. But there is healing on that path beyond what we could imagine.
When we choose to follow, like Abraham, God will not only transform us, but the world through us.
I pray you choose God’s road, and leave the path to rebellion and confusion with one less traveler. Choose God’s road, it leads to life.
Pray