The Tower of Babel

16 - Tower of Babel Gen. 1-9

Wednesday, April 05, 2017

5:02 PM

A few years ago the Arizona Republic carried this local profile by columnist E. J. Montini:

It is dusk. Gordon Hall stands at an overlook on his 55,000-square-foot mansion in Paradise Valley, a structure built by Pittsburgh industrialist Walker McCune and now owned and being renovated by Hall. He is 32 years old and a millionaire many times over. He stares at the range of lights stretching before him from horizon to horizon and breathes a deep, relaxed sigh.

The lights of the city are like the campfires of a great army to Hall, who sees himself as its benevolent general. They are like the flashlights of the world's fortune seekers, and Hall is their beacon to riches. They are, for Hall, like the stars of the firmament. And he is above them.

He is worth more than $100 million, he says, because it was his goal to be worth more than $100 million before the age of 33... There are other goals. By the time he is 38, he will be a billionaire. By the time his earthly body expires—and he is convinced he can live to be 120 years old—he will assume what he believes to be his just heavenly reward: Gordon Hall will be a god.

"We have always existed as intelligences, as spirits," he says. "We are down here to gain a body. As man is now, God once was. And as God is now, man can become. If you believe it, then your genetic makeup is to be a god. And I believe it. That is why I believe I can do anything. My genetic makeup is to be a god. My God in heaven creates worlds and universes. I believe I can do anything, too."

He looks to the horizon, and then he looks behind him, where his great dark house seems to drift like a ship in the night sky. [1]

Today as far as I know Gordon Hall is still sitting in a Federal Prison cell somewhere on tax scams and ponzi schemes. His money? there is no telling where it is at today. This is not too different from the lesson these people learn in the passage tonight -

Pride, rebellion will always lose when it stands up against God.

Four great events are recorded in Genesis 1-11:

the creation of the universe, the fall of man, the Flood, and the attempted construction of the Tower of Babel.

These chapters reveal that where mankind disobeys God, the Lord judges sin, and then in His grace makes a new beginning.

Adam and Eve sinned, but God clothed them and promised to send the world a Redeemer. Cain killed Abel, but God sent Seth to carry on the godly line. The Sethites intermarried with the godless Cainites, and God had to wipe the earth clean with a flood; but Noah and his family believed God's Word and were spared. After the Flood, the descendants of Noah's three sons repopulated the earth. But the new beginning with Noah eventually led to one of the most arrogant revolts against God recorded anywhere in Scripture.[2]

One Language - This chapter opens by saying that the descendants of the flood survivors had one language and one speech.Genesis tells us not once but three times, that mankind already had multiple languages (5,20,31 "their languages" or "tongues") This is an example of deliberate dischronologization. Chapter 10 was obviously written after the events of chapter 11. This "one language" means a common universal language - this language was lost with the dispersion. This chapter opens with the assertion that the entire world had one language and one speech. How are we to square this information with Gen. 10, which tells us, not once but three times, that mankind already possessed multiple languages (vv. 5, 20, 31, "their languages")? We have suggested an answer to this question in our discussion of ch. 10—we are dealing here with a case of deliberate dischronologization.[3]

Two Reasons - I don't think as many have taught that these people were trying to reach outer space, or reach God, or heaven. I think this whole debacle is a huge rebellious revolt against almighty God.

The Bible gives a two-fold purpose for the building of the Tower of Babel. Make a name for ourselvesSeeking a form of immortality based on achievement. The name they desired probably refers to the reputation or fame they were seeking. Their action was a manifestation of their independence from God. By embarking on a massive building project, rebellious mankind hoped to create such a reputation that future generations would remain in the region and continue to honor the original builders. Humans want to make a difference in the world in some way so they will be remembered. [4]

We cannot forget that one characteristic of the God of the Bible is that he names people. He gives them names symbolic of what he is going to do with them or make of them. God named Adam (Gen. 5:2), Abraham (Gen. 17:5), Israel (Gen. 32:8), even Jesus (Matt. 1:21). In each case, the names point to what God has done or will yet do. The people of Babylon wanted none of this. They wanted to establish their own reputation and eliminate God entirely.[5]

Not be scattered over the face of the earthSecond, they wanted to assure themselves of a strength that would come with unity. As a unified group they could be powerful—even without God's help. The tower was to prevent the goal that they should be scattered over the face of the whole earth. God wanted humanity to "be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it" (Gen. 1:28). The Lord repeated this to Noah and his family in Genesis 9:1. Theologically, he had caused Cain to be separated from godly mankind. Cain protested, "Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth" (Gen. 4:14). Now mankind was rebelling against God, but they were anxious to stay together.[6]

The Tower - They used bricks instead of stone and tar for mortar, because stone was scarce in Mesopotamia. Tar could have been available from the oil resources that have been discovered in this region. Using what was available, they sought to create a monument that would be majestic enough to keep mankind in the surrounding area.[7] The "tower" that they built at Babel was what is known as a "ziggurat." Archaeologists have excavated several of these large structures which were built primarily for religious purposes. A ziggurat was like a pyramid except that the successive levels were recessed so that you could walk to the top on "steps." At the top was a special shrine dedicated to a god or goddess. In building the structure, the people weren't trying to climb up to heaven to dethrone God; rather, they hoped that the god or goddess they worshiped would come down from heaven to meet them. The structure and the city were called "Babel," which means "the gate of the gods."This infamous project was an arrogant declaration of war against the Lord, not unlike the revolt described in Psalm 2:1-3. To begin with, the people were resisting God's edict to scatter and repopulate the earth. Motivated perhaps by fear as well as pride, they decided to build a city and a great ziggurat and stay together. But even more, they wanted to make a name for themselves so that others would admire them and perhaps come and join them. Their purpose statement was the devil's lie in Eden: "You will be like God" (Gen. 3:4, niv).The people had several things in their favor. They were truly a "united nations," one people (11:6) speaking one language and using one vocabulary and dictionary. They were motivated by one spirit of pride and one compelling desire to make a name for themselves. The only thing missing was the approval of God. [8]

Many Languages - The Lord Came Down - The Lord is described as coming down to see. This is a figure of speech, known as "anthropomorphic," when God is described as having a human form or attributes that belong to humans. The presence of the Lord is said to be on earth in order to obtain information. Certain theologians insinuate that this was required because God is not an all-knowing God but must seek out information. But the God of creation is an eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing God. This figure of speech is better taken as informing the readers that the transcendent God is also the imminent God who responds to man's actions.[9] Not only was the language confused but the people was scattered, either by a supernatural act or because they could no longer understand each other. It is obvious that the present world speaks different languages. Many rooms in the United Nations buildings in New York require earphones and translation booths so that modern, civilized mankind can have a measure of communication. SIL International (a service organization that works with people who speak the world's lesser-known languages) reports that their Ethnologue system of language identification has assigned a three-letter code to each of the more than seven thousand known living and recently extinct languages of the world. Their Web site (www.ethnologue.com/codes/) has a listing of the 6,800 main languages.[10]

The Call of Abraham

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[M] R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word – Genesis: Beginning and Blessing, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2004), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 167-168.[M] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary – Pentateuch, (Colorado Springs, CO: Victor, 2001), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 61-62.[M] Victor P. Hamilton, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament – The Book of Genesis Chapters 1-17, (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1976), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 350.[M] Kenneth O. Gangel and Stephen J. Bramer, Holman Old Testament Commentary – Genesis, ed. Max Anders, (Nashville, TN: Broadman Holman, 2003), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 108-109. [M] James Montgomery Boice, An Expositional Commentary – Genesis, Volume 1: Creation and Fall (Genesis 1-11), Paperback ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2006), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 421-422. [M]Kenneth O. Gangel and Stephen J. Bramer, Holman Old Testament Commentary – Genesis, ed. Max Anders, (Nashville, TN: Broadman Holman, 2003), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 108-109.[M] IBID[M] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary – Pentateuch, (Colorado Springs, CO: Victor, 2001), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 61-62.[M] Kenneth O. Gangel and Stephen J. Bramer, Holman Old Testament Commentary – Genesis, ed. Max Anders, (Nashville, TN: Broadman Holman, 2003), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 109.[M] IBID