Genesis 11 - Consequences of Unified Rebellion and Introduction to Abraham

Intro:

Good morning.

We’ve come to the last sermon in our series on Genesis this morning.

I have enjoyed studying these first eleven chapters of Genesis in depth.

Sometimes we tend to rush through them, but going through them a little more methodically, to me, has helped to realize just how important these chapters are.

We’re going to spend the majority of our time this morning in chapter 11, if you want to turn there in your Bible.

The sermon title this morning is - “Consequences of Unified Rebellion, and Introduction to Abraham.”

But before we do get into chapter 11, we said last week that we would just very briefly touch on …

Chapter Ten:

This chapter is often called the “table of nations” — the reason being, because it is a list of names that shows us where the various nations of men came from.

That is, it shows us which descendent of Noah was the father of which nations (in a lot of cases) (there is some piecing together you have to do on some of them; others come right out and say, “The Philistines came from him,” etc.).

We’re told a lot of names and some places, and historians have tried to piece together which names go with which ancient historical nations.

It can be a pretty interesting story, but to summarize it very simply:

The descendants of Japheth end up being the European nations and nations of the Caucasus Mountains of Northern Asia Minor and up around the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, and north of the Mediterranean Sea.

The descendants of Ham end up being the African nations as well as some of the nations in the land of Canaan.

And the descendants of Shem end up being some of the middle eastern nations including the Hebrews and the Arabs, as well as East Asians and Native Americans.

There is some guesswork to this because it’s not an exact science (and there was, of course, plenty of inter-mixing of the different nations going on through history) …

But it is pretty interesting when you try to piece together which name in Genesis 10 goes with which nation on an ancient map (if you enjoy history like I do).

But other than that, there isn’t really a lot that we want to take note of here in chapter 10.

So let’s move on to chapter 11.

A Rebellious Plan:

You may remember that God had said in Gen. 9:1

Genesis 9:1 NKJV

So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.

FILL the earth.

That is, spread out and fill it!

I find it interesting that we’re going to end up reading in verse 4 that the people did not want to “be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” (Thus, rebelling against God’s plan).

Why do you think that was?

Laziness? Maybe that it was more convenient for them all to just stay put?

Regardless, they aren’t obeying God, and they are about to suffer the consequences!

Further, Gen. 9:7 says:

Genesis 9:7 NKJV

And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; Bring forth abundantly in the earth And multiply in it.”

Bring forth ABUNDANTLY in the earth and multiply in it.

Well, we see the multiply-part taking place, but NOT the spreading out and FILLING the earth taking place.

So the people decide that they would rather stay put, united together, and do something to satisfy their PRIDE.

Shortly after the flood, we see humanity at it again, rebelling against God!

Gen. 11:1-2

Genesis 11:1–2 NKJV

Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there.

Gen. 11:3

Genesis 11:3 NKJV

Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar.

Gen. 11:4

Genesis 11:4 NKJV

And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

Notice that it’s not just a tower they’re building, but a city as well!

(And if you go back and read Genesis chapter 10 all the way through you’ll see mention of city-states that were being built).

But this one is different!

They want this one to be such a model of human achievement, that apparently in their minds they want it to achieve GOD-LIKE status, it seems!

Again, the early part of Genesis chapter 11 is about human PRIDE.

“Let us make a NAME for ourselves” was their rallying cry!

Why? Because of pride! (Don’t miss that when you read about the tower of Babel)

(There is a connection between Babel and Babylon, by the way! That general area).

Also, it’s important to realize that the capability of man to attempt to build such a prideful landmark as the tower of Babel was made possible by the fact that (v. 1) “the whole earth had one language and one speech.” (See slide)

Gen. 11:1 (Just show on screen)

Genesis 11:1 NKJV

Now the whole earth had one language and one speech.

So God is going to do something about that!

God Foils the Plan:

(We know the story).

Gen. 11:5

Genesis 11:5 NKJV

But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.

Gen. 11:6

Genesis 11:6 NKJV

And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.

Gen. 11:7-8

Genesis 11:7–8 NKJV

Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city.

Gen. 11:9

Genesis 11:9 NKJV

Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

Mankind was not content to do what God said — “fill the earth!” (Have to spread out to do that!)

So God forces them to do so by creating different languages, which solidified the need to form nations of people that spoke the same, had the same customs, etc.

And that really leads into “the rest of the story,” as we like to say, regarding human history.

Up till this point, history looked a certain way (everybody speaking the same), and after this watershed moment, history looks a lot different because you have nations with different languages, values, cultures, etc. — And sometimes those nations do what? (Go to war with each other, oppress each other, etc. — The story of history)

And so this was a very important moment in history (as was the flood, as was the first sin, as was the creation itself, etc.)

Well, we see some more genealogy here next — This time focusing on the descendents of Shem.

Why?

Because from the descendents of Shem come a very important man, theologically speaking, by the name of Abraham (Or Abram as he is first called), who we are now introduced to.

Introduction to Abram:

(As you read through the genealogy beginning in verse 10, by the way, it is interesting to note that lifespans start getting a lot shorter — [Which is exactly what we would expect, given a vastly different environment after the flood!]).

Well, let’s pick back up with the reading in Gen. 11:26

Genesis 11:26 NKJV

Now Terah lived seventy years, and begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

Gen. 11:27 - (We’re introduced to some major players for much of the rest of Genesis here).

Genesis 11:27 NKJV

This is the genealogy of Terah: Terah begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran begot Lot.

Gen. 11:28-29

Genesis 11:28–29 NKJV

And Haran died before his father Terah in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans. Then Abram and Nahor took wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and the father of Iscah.

Gen. 11:30 - (This is going to be a major part of the continuing story).

Genesis 11:30 NKJV

But Sarai was barren; she had no child.

Gen. 11:31-32

Genesis 11:31–32 NKJV

And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there. So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran.

Conclusion:

Well, we have to end the sermon series somewhere.

There’s much more we could continue to cover in the book of Genesis, but I want to move on to some other things.

But I will just show you real quick the first few verses of chapter 12.

These first few verses of chapter 12 are CRUCIAL to the entire theme of the Bible!

Gen. 12:1

Genesis 12:1 NKJV

Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you.

Gen. 12:2

Genesis 12:2 NKJV

I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.

Gen. 12:3

Genesis 12:3 NKJV

I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

“In you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed!”

This is the Seed promise — The promise that a descendant of Abraham would come and would be the Messiah, the Savior of the world!

And you can tie it back together with Gen. 3:15 — Remember?

Genesis 3:15 NKJV

And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”

These promises are tied together to show that the Savior, Jesus Christ would come!

The rest of your O.T. you can read about Him in prophecy in many places, and then in your N.T. you can read about His life, His teachings, His struggles, His temptation, His death, His burial, His resurrection, His ascension to the right hand of God, His church, and the fact that He’s coming back!

Will you be ready when He comes back to claim His own?!