Genesis 10-11:9

Welcome

Good morning church, welcome to Formed For Christ!

Psalm 118:24 NASB95

This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

We are so glad that you have chosen to gather here today and worship God with us.

OPENING PRAYER

Let’s bow in prayer.  Father, as we come now to worship God, gathered here as brothers and sisters in Christ, we pray that God’s Spirit would help us focus our hearts and minds on our Creator God this morning. The author and finisher of our faith. We submit our wills to You, giving you all blessings, honor, glory, and praise.

In Jesus’s Name. Amen.

CALL TO WORSHIP

For our call to Worship, I would like to share what the late Pastor John MacArthur said about True Worship and I would like to share it with you this morning.

“To worship God in spirit, means to worship God from your inner being.  It isn’t superficial, it isn’t external, it isn’t formal, it isn’t liturgical, it’s the heart.  And that’s what the Psalmist meant in Psalm 103 when he said, “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name.” 

And what Paul meant in Romans 1:9 when he said, “For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son…”

We must also focus our thoughts on God.  Worship comes out of the heart that is thinking on God.

And lastly, for this morning, our thoughts on God are dependent on discovery and meditation out of the Word of God.  And as we look at the Word of God, and as we discover its truths and meditate on its truths we find ourselves worshiping.

BACKGROUND: Chapter 10

This morning, we are covering Chapters 10 & 11 and will jump right in, but before we do, let us consider some of the background of both Chapters.

Once again, we find ourselves at the ark. Noah and his family are, as we noted last week, the only humans alive on earth, and it is entirely up to them to reestablish the human race.

God has given them the same instruction and blessing that He gave to Adam at the beginning in the garden of Eden: be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.

As we saw in the last sermon, modern science has confirmed that all nations and people today had their origins in three distinct “people groups”—descendants of the sons of Noah.

Anthropologists and linguists have even surmised that there was originally one common ancestor.

Even evolutionists acknowledge that nations and large people groups appeared over a short period of time rather than the billions of years that they use as their safety net for all other ridiculous assertions.

This morning, we will examine what Scripture has to say about the beginnings of the modern human race; the only race: where various people and nations came from, how the earth was first populated, and what it means to us today.

The account in Genesis 11 of the Tower of Babel (which we will also get to this morning) is actually a zoomed-in detail of the larger matter contained in this chapter: the dispersion of mankind.

Let us Pray

Heavenly Father, thank you for Your Word, as we come to study God’s Word may the Holy Spirit illuminate Your truth in a way that transforms us on the inside. So that we may no longer conform to the ways of the world, but to the image of Christ and His likeness, in obedience to You.

In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Turn with me in Your Bibles to Genesis, Chapter 10.

CHAPTER 10

Descendants of Noah

Now before we begin reading Chapter 10, there are a few specific things we must consider.

When we get to verse 5, we will read “each with his own language” but why, especially considering we will not have read about the building of the tower of babel and the dispersion of the people groups which is found in Chapter 11?

This is because Genesis 10 and Genesis 11 should be viewed in a similar way as Genesis 1 and Genesis 2. Genesis 1 gave a chronological overview of the creation week, whereas Genesis 2 focused on certain details, specifically the creation of man and women on the sixth day. Genesis 10 is an overview of the descendants of Noah’s three sons who then moved away from each other according to their family groups and languages. Genesis 11 gives us the detailed account of the event (the Tower of Babel and confusion of languages) that caused this dispersion.

So think of it this way, we find that Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 does not follow chronologically. But instead, the bulk of Genesis 2 is actually a breakdown of what is going on during the sixth day of creation. If misunderstood, all sorts of theological problems arise.

The same thing has happened with Genesis 10 and Genesis 11; Genesis 11:1-9 is the chronological account of the events, and Genesis 10 is a breakdown of the language divisions and genealogies of those rebellious descendants of Noah at Babel. So, basically, what is discussed in Genesis 10 is actually the result of Genesis 11:1-9, and Genesis 11:1-9 does not follow chronologically from Genesis 10.

Additionally, Bodie Hodge in his book titled Tower of Babel: The Cultural History of Our Ancestors, further explains that there is a controversial subject regarding Nimrod, which in today’s church, many people readily repeat the claim that Nimrod was the instigator at Babel. This is not a new idea, however, and brings about theological issues as we’ll discuss.

With a proper understanding of the timing of the events between Genesis 10 and Genesis 11, we can deduce that Nimrod did take over Babel, it just makes more sense that it had to be after the scattering occured, which debunks the idea that Nimrod was the instigator and leader behind the rebellious revolt to build the Tower of Babel.

We’ll discuss this more as we get to the verses within 10 and 11.

Let us begin reading in Chapter 10, verse 1.

10:1 Now these are the records of the generations of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah; and sons were born to them after the flood.

2 The sons of Japheth were Gomer and Magog and Madai and Javan and Tubal and Meshech and Tiras. 

We read last week in Chapter 9, verse 26: “May God enlarge Japheth, And let him dwell in the tents of Shem; And let Canaan be his servant.”

I mentioned from one commentary that most of the worlds people today are descended from Japheth, which may or may not be the case, and we will discuss this a little later as we progress in our Starting Point Series in Genesis.

10:2. We do know, from historical accounts, that JAPHETH’s descendants settled to the north and west of the Middle East, in what we would today call Asia and Europe.

In verse 3, we see the list of:

3 The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz and [a]Riphath and Togarmah. [and] 4 The sons of Javan were Elishah and Tarshish, Kittim and [b]Dodanim. 5 From these the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.

10:5 were separated … according to his language. This act describes the situation after the Tower of Babel account in chapter 11 that I mentioned earlier.

6 The sons of Ham were Cush and Mizraim and Put and Canaan. [we also see the sons of Cush here]7 The sons of Cush were Seba and Havilah and Sabtah and Raamah and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. 8 Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.” 10 The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 From that land he went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh and Rehoboth-Ir and Calah, 12 and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city. [and in verse 13, we see Mizraim’s sons] 13 Mizraim [g]became the father of Ludim and Anamim and Lehabim and Naphtuhim 14 and Pathrusim and Casluhim (from which came the Philistines) and Caphtorim.

10:6–20 The sons of Ham. Many of these were Israel’s enemies.

10:8–10 Nimrod. Here you can see why many believe this powerful leader was labeled as the the force behind the building of the Tower of Babel (see 11:1–4).

However, we read that it is more accurate to consider he built up the city of Babel following the dispersion of the people groups, which this verse tells us where Nimrod went to: Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

10:10 Babel. This city was the beginning of what later would prove to be Babylon, the eventual destroyer of God’s people and His city Jerusalem, nearly six hundred years before Christ is born (c. 605–539 B.C.).

10:11 to Assyria and built Nineveh. This was Israel’s primary enemy from the East. Nimrod was Israel’s prototypical ancient enemy warrior, whose name in Hebrew means “rebel” (cf. Mic. 5:6).

15 Canaan became the father of Sidon, his firstborn, and Heth 16 and the Jebusite and the Amorite and the Girgashite 17 and the Hivite and the Arkite and the Sinite 18 and the Arvadite and the Zemarite and the Hamathite; and afterward the families of the Canaanite were spread abroad. 19 The territory of the Canaanite extended [across the territories listed here in verse 19] from Sidon as you go toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; as you go toward Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. 20 These are the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, by their nations.

10:15–19 Canaan. A notable shift occurs in this section away from place names to the inhabitants themselves (note the “ite” ending). These are not only the cursed people of Canaan’s curse for the scene at Noah’s drunkenness, but also they are those who possessed the Promised Land which Israel as a nation needed to conquer. But the Noahic curse alone did not determine their guilt, for God said to Abram that the iniquity of the Amorites must first be complete before his descendants could occupy the Promised Land (15:16).

21 Also to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, and the older brother of Japheth, children were born. [In verses 22, we read about The sons of Shem] were Elam and Asshur and Arpachshad and Lud and Aram. 23 The sons of Aram were Uz and Hul and Gether and Mash. 24 Arpachshad became the father of Shelah; and Shelah became the father of Eber. 25 Two sons were born to Eber; the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan. 26 Joktan became the father of Almodad and Sheleph and Hazarmaveth and Jerah 27 and Hadoram and Uzal and Diklah 28 and Obal and Abimael and Sheba 29 and Ophir and Havilah and Jobab; all these were the sons of Joktan. 30 Now their settlement extended from Mesha as you go toward Sephar, the hill country of the east. [Jump down to verse 31], These are the sons of Shem, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, according to their nations.

10:21–31 The sons of Shem are known as Semitic people.

10:21 Japheth the elder. This is better translated “the elder brother of Japheth” which would make Shem the oldest of Noah’s three sons. 10:25 we read of Pegleg…the earth was divided. This looks ahead to the dispersion of nations at Babel (11:1–9).

32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, by their nations; and out of these the nations were separated on the earth after the flood.

What more can we learn from Chapter 10 and the descendants of Shem not only in this Chapter but earlier in Genesis and later in both the Old and the New Testaments?

With the help of Pastor John MacArthur we can draw out at least three key truths from this Scripture.

The first, being that the line of Shem was the line of the promised Deliverer, who would bring salvation to the whole world.

It is worth noting that this genealogy lists numerous nations that would turn against Israel in the coming generations.

The lesson here is that there is only one chosen people (ethnic Jews), descended through Shem alone, down through Abraham and David, and culminating in the person of Jesus Christ.

The enemies of God’s people, however, are descended through all three sons of Noah.

In Christ, the people of God are no longer made up of just ethnic Jews. The church (chosen too as His elect, yet unique from the Jewish Nation) consists of those from all nations and language groups (including those nations that were historically enemies of Israel), because the gospel transcends cultures and borders.

Yet just like the saints of the Old Testament, those who belong to Jesus Christ can expect to receive persecution from the unbelieving world.

Secondly, that Mankind did not evolve; we are all descended from Noah.

Once again, we find that Genesis rejects the modern notions of evolution—which, in fact, are not modern at all, but ancient.

Evolution teaches that mankind slowly grew out of the lower orders of creation and that he gradually developed the skills needed to thrive in civilized communities.

Yet even evolutionists are forced to confess the truth of what we read in Genesis 10—that those civilized communities appeared on earth suddenly and all began in the area we call the Middle East.

The Bible answered this question thousands of years ago when Moses wrote his history of the human race. He focused deliberately on the line of Shem because he was teaching the Israelites about their personal family history.

The Holy Spirit guided Moses to write these things, because He knew what Moses did not know: that the Messiah would eventually arrive on earth through that genealogical line.

If we refuse to believe that Moses’ accounts are true and accurate in the book of Genesis, we put at risk our very belief in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

And thirdly, that God is always at work fulfilling His promises.

When God makes a promise, it is absolutely and completely certain that He will fulfill it. However, this may take a long time—from man’s perspective, at least.

God promised Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden that He would send a Deliverer to release mankind from the curse of sin and death.

From that moment on, He began to unfold His plan for man’s salvation. Even when He, because of man’s sinfulness, had to destroy the earth, He still preserved a remnant through whom He would keep His word.

In Chapter 10, we can see another step in that fulfillment, as God deliberately separates His chosen people from the rest of the world.

It has taken a long time in human terms to reach this point—probably around 1,800 years—and it will be a longer time still before Jesus Himself appears to fulfill the promise. But God has been working faithfully the entire time.

And now we pick up in Chapter 11.

But before we do, let’s do a high-level review, as we did for Chapter 10.

BACKGROUND: Chapter 11

The years have rolled forward, and Noah and his family have now settled into their home in the “new earth” after the Flood.

They begin to repopulate the planet as God has instructed. Over time, the descendants of Noah begin to build towns and villages and cities.

At this point in history, and we must remember what we discussed earlier about Chapter 10 being the results of what happens here in Chapter 11, all mankind speaks one language—probably the language that Adam spoke with God in the garden of Eden.

Having one common language made it possible for mankind to unite together in carrying out great projects. Here in this chapter we will see how they would use that gift: to build a great city that would bring glory to themselves rather than continuing being fruitful and multiplying across the whole earth as God instructed.

So, God looks down and sees that mankind has not changed since the Flood. Man is still intent on becoming a god unto himself, excluding the lordship of his Creator.

This time, however, the Lord does not send a great flood to destroy mankind from the face of the earth. Instead, He confuses man’s language, making it difficult for humanity to join together in an effort to become “like God.”

This confusion of languages will also lead to the dispersion of mankind throughout the planet—which is what God had commanded man to do in the first place.

CHAPTER 11

Universal Language, Babel, Confusion

Turn your attention now to Genesis 11:1

11:1 Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words. 

This is critical to explore a little more. God, who made man as the one creature with whom He could speak (1:28), was to take the gift of language and use it to divide the human race, because the apostate worship at Babel indicated that man had turned against God in pride (vv. 8, 9).

2 It came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 

11:2 as they journeyed from the east. God had restated His commission for man to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (9:7). It was in the course of spreading out that the events of this account occurred.

3 They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. 4 They said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” 

11:3, 4 let us make bricks … build ourselves a city, and a tower … make a name for ourselves. While dispersing, and some would conclude that only a portion of the post-Flood group, under the leading of the powerful Nimrod (10:8–10), decided to stop and establish a city as a monument to their pride and for their reputation.

However, this is an area I would disagree as I do not see this in Scripture at all. However, we do see, post-dispersion, that Nimrod would be responsible for building upon the city of Babylon and the surrounding area.

Now is it possible that Nimrod led the rebellion and building of the tower, possibly, but take note of the events after Babel, Nimrod is not mentioned, and the Bible clearly reveals that the people were rebelling in unison against God’s command to fill the earth as given in Genesis 9:1 and reiterated in Genesis 9:7.

Furthermore, the people knew the command and were intentionally trying to defy it because verse 4; Genesis 11:4 tells us that “They said, ‘Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

This verse indicates they were resisting the imperative to be scattered abroad. And think about it, Nimrod gets rewarded to build-up and lead the city he directly disobeys God in? It doesn’t seem to make clear sense to me that Nimrod would be the leader of the revolt and God not reveal it to us.

The point is that the people collectively resisted God, and the people collectively received this mild judgement of confused languages. Nimrod was not forcing the people to do this; but they were acting of one accord (verse 6) to make a name for themselves (verse 4), which is reminiscent of the rebellion prior to the flood where people had their own interests in mind to be men of renown, as we read in Genesis 6:4.

Back to the tower, this tower, even though it was a part of the plan, was not the singular act of rebellion. Human pride was, and it led these people to defy God. They were refusing to move on, i.e., scattering to fill the earth as they had been instructed. In fact, this was the people’s effort to disobey the command of God in Genesis 9:1 “And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” and, thus, defeat the counsel of heaven. They had to make bricks, since there were few stones on the plain.

11:4 whose top is in the heavens. The tower would not actually reach to the abode of God and the top would not represent the heavens. They wanted it to be a high tower as a monument to their abilities, one that would enhance their fame. In this endeavor, they disobeyed God and attempted to steal His glory.

5 The Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. 6 The Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them. 

11:6 nothing … impossible. They were so united that they would do all they desired to do.

7 Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” 

Hear the similarities of this verse to the one in Genesis 3:22 “Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”—” Again, it is not their intelligence or crafty ways, it is in fact their disobedience that results in God having to do what he did.

8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth.

11:8 scattered them abroad. God addressed their prideful rebellion at the first act. They had chosen to settle; He forced them to scatter. This account tells how it was that the families of the earth “were separated, everyone according to his language” (10:5) and “were divided on the earth after the flood” (10:32).

11:9 its name is called Babel. This is linked to a Hebrew word meaning “to confuse.” From this account, Israel first understood not only how so many nations, peoples, and languages came about, but also the rebellious origins of their archetypal enemy, Babylon (cf. 10:5, 20, 31).

scattered them. Because they would not fill the earth as God had commanded them, God confused their language so that they had to separate and collect in regions where their own language was spoken.

We must also consider here that humanity could have and most likely did, based on what we read here, started in an advanced state, regressed to a more primitive state, and then progressed back to an advanced state.

Why would this happen, you might ask?

Good question.

Dr. Nathaniel Jeanson, author of a book titled Traced: Human DNA’s Big Surprise and who serves on the Answers In Genesis ministry team, writes:

“Consistent with the history-and-spread-from-Babel, the earliest cradles of civilization arose in close proximity to the Near East. Those at greater distances arose later. There, these dispersed families would have restarted their lives with only a portion of the technological knowledge they once had as a larger community at Babel.

They also would have had to start economically from scratch without any prior infrastructure, manufacturing, planted fields, or other aids to their survival. Hunting and gathering becomes a necessity when you’re fleeing to an uninhabited place. In other words, once they landed in a new place, their immediate way of life would have been simple, or “primitive.”

He goes on to further explain, which debunks much of what we have learned of history’s timeline and people,

“Presumably, these cradles [of early civilization] arose shortly after Babel. This would have placed them within a few centuries after the beginning of human history.

Therefore, events dated even earlier [before biblical creation] in the mainstream secular version of history, such as the rise and fall of the Neanderthals, the Stone Age, and the Agricultural Revolution, all would have transpired within these early centuries.

Viewed from this perspective, the slow-and-gradual narrative for human history disappears. Humanity still progresses from “primitive” to advanced, but the transition is a rapid one, consistent with the needs and trials of recently dispersed bands of people [all from one race; the human race; descendants of one of three sons of Noah] arriving in previously uninhabited areas”

Think about this for a moment, mainstream science invokes a single explanation for all of human pre-history and history: Slow and gradual evolution from simple to complex. In their non-biblical view, fast forwarding to the 15th century (around A.D. 1400 to the present), the last 600 years of rapid technological advancement are the culmination of millions of years of progress.

This is simply not true at all. We have advanced quickly over thousands and more recently, hundreds of years.

We even see advancement within the beginnings of creation and the early centuries of Noah, but then a fall back to a more primitive state.

This occurred because of the dispersion of people groups after the building of the Tower of Babel, and then a springing forward in advancement before Christ and after Christ’s ascension occurs.

With technology advancing rapidly over the past half century, this would only have built upon what was already learned and available to humankind from the beginning and through not only historical science (unseen) but also operational, or observational science.

Again, our brains need to be reprogrammed to get rid of the millions and billions of years…there are so many bad ideas and unbiblical secular and worldly junk that we have to unlearn, and the later we come to Christ and read the Bible in our own lives, the harder it is going to be to unlearn years of bad information and thinking.

Trust me, I know.

RACE

And while discussing the reprogramming of our brains, we live at a time when we hear accusations of prejudice and racism, where people choose to celebrate someone based on the color of their skin and not their character, like George Floyd, who was a drug attic and a criminal. A tragic death, but mis-characterized and spun for sinful racial and social justice reasons.

Prejudice is still alive, which we see in a reversal sense, orienting against what we all know to be “white” people and the founders of our Nation. And of more recent anti-semitism and hate toward the Jewish people.

Why? Ken Ham explains this well, because racism is a consequence of sin in a fallen world infused with evolutionary thinking; where Darwin and his followers spoke of a more advanced, favored, and better race over the others.

We even saw Hitler, who bought into this, through systematic genocide, murdering millions of Jewish people thinking his race was more superior and better.

This is non-sense and the world, and many in America bought into it as well! The consequences of racism on a personal and social level are huge.

But what do we do about it? What do you do about it?

Ken Ham gives us three very practical and personal application points. Like any true biblical conviction, however, these actions should start from a changed heart and a changed understanding about what is real and true.

One, We need to do away with race!

We must do away with the term “race” when discussing the different groups of people in the world. It sounds hard to do, doesn’t it.

We have been brainwashed and even have laws today that force this term upon our society.

The Bible is clear (and science confirms) that there is only one race: the human race (Adam’s race). The root of “race” is rooted in the thinking of the early evolutionists, even well before Darwin.

We all need to treat every human being as our relative. We are of one blood:

We read in Acts 17:26 “and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,”

All of us are equal in value before our Creator God.

Any descendant of Adam can be saved, because our mutual relative by blood (Jesus Christ) died and rose again. This is why we are commanded to preach the gospel to all people groups and nations.

However, this does not mean that we pretend persecution is not real, that many muslims around the world want to kill and destroy the nations of America and Israel.

Likewise, a worldly perspective of shallow love, peace, and happiness is anti-biblical and persuades many to ignore evil and allow people to do wicked things, even within our own immediate families.

This doesn’t mean open borders either. We must remember that there are still fools, criminals, murderers, and a Holy War taking place, and so much more.

We should and disagree without violence or returning evil for evil at the individual level. But we must stand firm and hold fast to Biblical truth and apply equally to all people, of varying skin colors.

God allows and Nations will go to War and protect their borders, and push back on and at times, destroy evil. It is a necessary reality in a fallen world. We even see this at the end of time, upon Jesus’ second coming in Revelation.

And remember Truth is not Hate Speech!

Two, We need to be reprogrammed and yes, even though it may be hard to accept, in the U.S. culture, we are racially programmed, particularly in regard to the skin color issue.

Because of our culture’s racist roots, because, of the way the world thinks, because of the influence of Darwinian thinking, we have been reprogrammed to look at the exterior rather than the interior of a person, and to make broad judgements based on what we see.

This is why, even today, our government leaders, local, state, and even at the federal level, and people in our education system, and so much more still shout racism and racist remarks, and judgements in the present for past actions, and demand benefits and reparations, and employment opportunities, and so much more based on the color of a person’s skin.

And why many would consider me to be a white, priveledged man, who deserves to have things taken from me and to set me aside so that other people with different skin colors can walk to the head of the line for employment, business loans, etc.

Though I come from a very low income family, parents who came from nothing, financially that is, a father who was enlisted in the Army, a mother who worked multiple jobs, many times at night and a Father who spent many years overseas without us, I was a minority in High School, having to work hard and perform for everything I got in life.

Look, this is not about me, but any of us who are white are coming under attack. And many who are “labeled’ in the white race category, can be just as prejudice and racist.

Working hard is what God comands and the way it should be in America, for all of us, and for most of us, it is that way…but the media and our leaders will tell a different story. Even pastors from the pulpit tell the same story, screaming about social justice, etc.

Our inner cities are broken, many darker skin people and minorities in our Nation kill one another way more than what media and our leaders lead us to believe, if you fall for it that is.

But they would lead us to believe it is the police who are doing it and primarliy by white people. It is non-sense and no matter waht skin color you are, Justice must be applied equally when you break the laws, badge or no badge.

No one wants to talk about it and most of us ignore it.

But I approach and ask, pastors of lighter skin and pastors of darker skin, why is your church all one race?

Why is it that most of our churches are segregated by choice?

Why is it that many darker skin people and minorities vote democrat? Even those in the Church?

Boy do people get uncomfortable really quick and some never come back.

And we should ask ourselves these hard questions

It is very hard to see through the programming because as Ken Ham says, it seems to be such a natural part of the way we think. No one likes to admit it.

It is the same with our sin in our world, we get programmed really quickly nowadays and many want to ignore and not talk about it.

One day, it is a little hidden step toward sin, and then before we know it we are enslaved by sin….pornography, alcohol, drugs, gluttony (over eating), adultery, lying, cheating, stealing, physical abuse, being racist, false teaching, materialism, coveting, and we can go on and on….

Or worse allow for it and go more lienient in executing our criminal justice system becasue of the color of someons skin or their suffering in another country. Release them from local jails or prisons, and even hand out cash to them, to see the true reality of enslaving sin and high recidivism rates seek, kill, and destroy the lives of families across the Nation.

And finally, number Three, Its time to take action.

James 1:22 “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”

Christians must be people of action and these actions come from the heart. The issues of racism, from a determined conviction, need to be confronted with truth and integrity. It’s time to look past the small percentages of our DNA, the minor outward appearances, but to get to know someones heart; their character.

God tells Samuel in 1 Samuel 16:7 “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’” This is in reference to Eliab, King David’s older brother; Jesse’s oldest son who was not chosen by God to replace King Saul.

By choosing to act, we are pulling out the weeds of evolutionary thought and replanting; rewiring our brains with seeds of truth, love, understanding, and compassion as we are taught to do in God’s Word. The renewing of our minds as Paul tells us.

Sin knows no color but only the human race; the law should know no color either, and Christianity is not bound to any skin color or group of people.

But again, many people, on the sliding scale of lighter to darker skin colors and vice versa, reject Christ and do evil and wicked things. And therefore, God’s judgement therefore knows no color.

I urge all brothers and sisters in Christ, to look past color and the “race” labels in our nation and society. Let our cultural norms slip through our fingers as we grip hold of God’s Word and worship Him as He commands us to.

And Christians, stand up against racism, especially within the church, and speak up and out about all people are of one race, the human race, and that we all, believers and non-believers come from one blood, Adam, who started the human race, and our race was continued through Noah, by God’s power, grace, love, mercy, and justice. And that we are all sinners in need of a savior.

And remember, there is no Christian love without judgement and justice, for all people. This judgement and justice must be in alignment with God’s Word and His commands for the church. Equally applied regardless of the color of anyones skin.

And outside the Church, here in America, this occurs in alignment with the laws of our land, and no color of skin should prove anyone’s guilt or favor.

And no generation should have to pay for the sins of their older generations, within the world that is.

God’s will, however, may be different for a Nation

Isaiah 55:8–9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.” What God’s will is, let it be done as His ways are higher than our ways and his thoughts are higher than our thoughts.

EXPLORING THE MEANING

As we wrap up this morning, let us consider exploring some themes from Genesis 11 with help from Pastor John MacArthur, one of the best biblical expositors of our time; and I truly believe this and many might not like me for saying it:

So let’s go!

First of all, Man’s greatest achievements cannot remove the curse.

From the beginning of human history, people have tried to elevate themselves above the constraints of earth and, ultimately, above the curse of death.

It was Adam’s desire to elevate himself to the level of God that brought the curse on mankind in the first place. We see the same behavior repeated at the Tower of Babel.

Mankind has not changed over time, and we are still pursuing the same futile dream in the twenty-first century. We are driven by the hope that modern science, medicine, technology, and other fields of study will enable us to one day evolve into a higher plane of existence beyond the threat of disease and death.

Even our present-day space exploration represents an attempt by people of different nations to cooperate, communicate, and work together—again in the hopes of escaping the confines of their earthly environment.

However, the Bible is clear: wherever man goes, he carries the curse of sin along with him. There will never be any escape from death until God Himself sets up His eternal kingdom:

Revelation 21:1–4 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

Amen! What glorious day it will be!!

Secondly, Man’s natural instinct is to abuse God’s gifts.

We saw this principle at work right at the beginning, when Adam abused his privileged status by choosing to disobey rather than to obey.

We see it again in Genesis 11, when mankind used the gifts of speech and creativity to bring glory to self rather than to God.

This is the natural tendency of man: to elevate self to equality with God in an effort to avoid being accountable to the Creator.

The end result is always the same: man is alienated from his fellow men and also from God.

The good news, however, is that this is not the natural tendency of regenerate man.

We are given freedom from the bondage of our sinful nature through the Holy Spirit, who enters our lives when we accept God’s gift of rebirth through the blood of Christ. Through Jesus, we gain a new set of gifts—spiritual gifts—and learn a new way of using those gifts to the glory of God and for the purpose of edifying the church body.

And thirdly, God is always working to offer grace.

God often descended to earth in the book of Genesis because the sin of mankind had reached a point of crisis.

He came down to investigate man’s wickedness. This was not because He lacked knowledge—because He didn’t know for sure—but because He was looking for a way of offering grace to sinful human beings.

Looking but already knowing, I don’t understand it fully and I am sure you don’t wither. Just like looking for the lost but also knowingt he pre-destined, His election and our responsibility of believeing that we are a sinner in need of a savior.

I have no idea how it all works out but we all should rest in not knowing and accepting His Word in Spirit and turth.

We saw this offering of grace in the garden of Eden, when God came to Adam and led him to confession of sin (see Genesis 3). God confronted Cain and offered him guidance on how to repent and avoid greater sins (see Genesis 4). He would later come to Abraham to seek a way of avoiding the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (see Genesis 18). And He came to the Tower of Babel, looking for a way to prevent mankind from completing their reckless path toward destruction.

Ultimately, God would come to earth in human form in the person of Jesus Christ.

This would be the ultimate act of grace and redemption, bought at the ultimate price: His own death on the cross.

Yet this also shows us how much God desires to be reconciled with mankind.

LET US PRAY

God, we thank you. Accept our praise and worship, O Lord.

Our slavation could never come from our sinful nature which is why You sent Jesus, the God-Man, Who would live, teach, heal, and later die, rise from and defeat eternal death, and ascend to Heaven to rule over the heavens and the earth until You send Him a second time.

But yet, you sent us a helper, Your Spirit to dwell among and within us, those who are in Your family. May we cooperate with God’s Spirit to become more like Christ through the power of Your Word and the Spirit who transforms us by Your Word.

Thank you Kink Jesus. Amen.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Bible Study

We would like to invite you to join us during our weekly Bible study on Wednesdays each week. We are finishing up in Luke this coming Wednesday and will begin in the Book of Acts in April.

Offering

And if you have any offerings or would like to drop off your welcome cards, please drop them off in the white buckets.

Additionally, if you would like to give online, you can do so on our website.

And if you are interested in serving, please speak with Melissa or me at the end of the service or sometime in the near future.

CLOSING

Thank you for joining us in worship today.

And in closing, remember as new creatures in Christ, it is Christ Who lives in us.

May we all shine the light of Christ so that others can identify Christ in and through us.

Not for our praise, honor and glory, but all to Him, King Jesus.

Have a good week in Christ everybody.