The Tower of Babel
HOR Book 1 Studies • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Scripture reading: Gen. 11:1-9
Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
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. 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.”
And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. 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. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.”
So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 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.
Introduction
Today we are looking at the Tower of Babel.
And we’re going to ask five questions:
What?
Where?
When?
Who?
Why?
What?
What?
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.”
Tower (מִגְדָּל / migdal)
Gadal (גדל) = to be strong, to be great, to be important
According to scholars and ancient historians, the tower of Babel was most likely a ziggurat.
What’s a ziggurat? It’s basically a manmade mountain, and there would be a stairway that went from earth to heaven, heaven was the very top, the peak of this mountain, where there would be a shrine. A place of worship dedicated to gods or goddesses, and you would have to climb stairs to get to the top. You can think of it like a pyramid but with stairs and idolatry.
Where?
Where?
So where was the Tower of Babel built? It was built in the land of Shinar. And this land of Shinar was in the east.
As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.
The Bible often makes a connection between going east, and going away from God.
The gate to the garden of Eden was on the east. When Adam and Eve sinned, God drove them out eastward.
He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
When Cain departed from the presence of God, he went east to the land of Nod.
Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
When Abraham and Lot separated, Lot went east to the Jordan Valley, near the wicked city of Sodom.
So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom.
Finally, the entrance to the Tabernacle and the temple was on the east. So if you were entering the Tabernacle, you would move from east to west. But if you were leaving the Tabernacle, you would move toward the east.
Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory.
So the fact that the Tower of Babel was built after the people moved eastward symbolizes that they had departed from God.
When?
When?
The Tower of Babel ends with God confusing the languages of the people, and they end up being divided.
So who was Peleg? There were ten generations from Shem to Abraham, and Peleg sits right in the middle.
Shem - 600
Arphacshad - 438
Shelah - 433
Eber - 464
Peleg - 239
Reu - 239
Serug - 230
Nahor - 148
Terah - 205
But what’s interesting is that not only was the earth divided during the days of Peleg, but the lifespan of people were also cut in two.
And the Bible tells us that during the days of Peleg, the earth was divided.
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.
So what we see here is that the most probable reason as to why the lifespan of the people were cut in half was most probably due to the Tower of Babel incident. And when did this incident happen? During the days of Peleg.
Psalm 55:23 (ESV)
But you, O God, will cast them down into the pit of destruction; men of blood and treachery shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in you.
Who?
Who?
So who initiated this project of building the Tower of Babel? Babel was a city. And the Bible tells us that the founder of Babel was a man named Nimrod.
Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. Therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.” The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
Nimrod’s father was Cush.
Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man.
Cush’s father was Ham.
The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan.
Ham’s father was Noah
These are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood.
So who is this Nimrod?
Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. Therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.”
The description of Nimrod speaks to his stature. He was well respected among all the people as a mighty warrior and hunter. But we mustn’t misunderstand the Hebrew words that translate into “before the Lord.”
In the face (לִפְנֵ֣י / lipeney) of YHWH
In/before/against (לִ) + Face (פנה / peneh) of YHWH
So what the Bible tells us is that this Nimrod was a mighty warrior, but also a mighty rebel who stood against the Lord, and people followed him.
Why?
Why?
So finally, why build the city and Tower of Babel?
The Bible gives us three reasons. First, they wanted a gate to heaven. Second, they wanted to make a name for themselves. Third, they wanted unity. To be unified and united, instead of being scattered across the earth.
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.”
The phrase “to make a name for yourself” was the same back then as it is now. It’s the love of human praise. And there’s not a person in this room who struggles with that. We all like it when someone gives us a compliment. None of us like to be criticized. But the problem is that that is Satan’s attitude as well.
They wanted to make a name for themselves. And here’s the thing.
They did make a name for themselves, just not the name they wanted.
And in Revelation, Babylon is the icon of everything that’s unholy and unclean.
Revelation 18:10 (ESV)
They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say, “Alas! Alas! You great city, you mighty city, Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.”
And here’s the interesting thing. About 7 generations later, 7 generations after Peleg and the Tower of Babel, God comes to Jacob, and He gives to Jacob for free what the tower builders worked so desperately to achieve.
They wanted a ziggurat with a stairway from earth to heaven. Jacob sees a ladder going from heaven to earth and earth to heaven.
And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!
The tower builders wanted unity. God tells Jacob that his descendants are going to be all over the place, but they will be unified, united in the blessing that is going to come from your seed, the Messiah.
Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
The tower builders wanted to make a name for themselves. The city of Babel later becomes Babylon, and the name Babylon comes from the Akkadian word babilu or babilim which means "Gate of God".
Remember what Jacob says when he wakes up? “This is none other than the house of God. This is the gate of heaven.”
And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”
Babylon actually means “The Gate of God.” And so Jacob is saying, “This is the gate of God. This is the doorway to heaven.”
All these blessings that the tower builders wanted, that we want, and that the whole world wants, God gives it for free. Why? Because we could never achieve any of this on our own strength. How many bricks does it take to build a stairway to heaven? It doesn’t matter. But here’s the thing. God wants us in heaven with Him. And He’s given us the gate for free.
So where is this gate? The gate is Jesus.
And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
So the vision of Bethel that Jacob saw was fulfilled by Jesus, the Word made flesh. Emmanuel. God with us. And Jesus has won for us access to the Father. That’s why He taught us to pray to our Father in heaven. All we need to do is believe and follow Him. He’s the gate to heaven.
I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
And what happens if we follow Jesus? The tower builders wanted to make a name for themselves. But if we go where Jesus goes, if we follow where He leads, we will get a new name.
Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?
Discussion
Discussion
The skyline of a city tells you about the spiritual state of its leaders, if not its inhabitants.
Since 1937, the city of London has had a policy that prevented any buildings from obstructing the view of St. Paul’s Cathedral. This was called the St. Paul’s Height’s policy. So anyone who wants to build a taller building than St. Paul’s Cathedral, you would have to go somewhere else.
The purpose of this policy was twofold. First, to protect the view of anyone who goes to the top of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Second, to preserve the skyline of the city. Because whatever a city raises up says something about the priorities, goals, and spirituality of its inhabitants.
So here are two discussion questions for us.
What does the skyline of Singapore tell you about what we value?
What does the skyline of your heart look like? In other words, what things are elevated above the rest?