Genesis 11:1-9: How to Find Real Victory

Introduction

The pride of LSU - So glad to see the Tigers fall… People devoting time and money to a game with no guarantee of victory.

We want life to give us victory… We want to get to the end of life and be able to say, “I won! I got what I wanted out of life. I had the job I wanted, the family I wanted, the friends I wanted, etc.”

Problem: this world doesn’t always give us victory. It gives us a lot of losses. Real victory is in Jesus.

Gen. 11 - A story about people who wanted victory… To ascend to the top of the world and say, “We won! We’ve mastered life!” Reality: they didn’t find victory at all.

How do you find real and lasting victory?

Two truths that you must embed deep in your heart if you are going to find real and lasting victory in this life.

Your plan will never be greater than God’s plan.

Chapter 10 - The descendants of sons of Noah - after flood. “The Table of Nations”

Japheth - Gentile nations...

Ham - Canaanites...

Shem - Hebrews, Israelites…

70 nations - a purposeful number - the whole world came from the sons of Noah and eventually the whole world will be reached by a descendant from the lineage of Shem - fulfillment of Gen. 3:15.

Two names: Nimrod…(10:8) A powerful hunter… (Elmer Fudd) Name means rebel. Builds kingdom of Babel or Babylon. (Land of Shinar - the location of ancient Babylon. In Bible Babylon is the anti-Kingdom. Revelation - The Kingdom that stands in opposition to God’s Kingdom.)

Nimrod rebels against God’s Kingdom and leads people to establish a kingdom in opposition to God’s kingdom. (He’s like Cain.)

vs. 24 - Shem’s line: Eber has two sons: Joktan and Peleg - (Remember, Shem carries the Name of God; Gen. 9:26). During the days of Peleg, the earth was divided. And that’s all Moses tells us about Peleg. Most lists the descendants of Joktan but not Peleg. Why?

Gen. 11 - a flashback to a historic event that happened as Noahs sons were populating the earth. Moses zooms in to focus on what happened when Nimrod led a rebellion against the Kingdom of God - what happened during the days of Peleg.

World repopulating and together moving east. East = Moses’ way of telling us that the people are moving away from God.

Flood had destroyed humanity, but it hadn’t destroyed sin. We’re right back to what it was like before the days of the flood.

Humanity united in a plan - to establish a kingdom. “Let’s make a city and a tower. Let’s make a name for ourselves.”

Note: “Otherwise, we will be scattered throughout the earth.”

Competing kingdoms: At Babel, the people wanted to build a Kingdom. God wanted to build a kingdom as well. Gen. 1:28: “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth…” After flood, Gen. 9:1: “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth...”

God’s people to fill the earth, representing the King wherever they went, having dominion - ruling under the authority of God.

NOT what happens… “We have a better plan. We’ll establish our own kingdom apart from God. We’ll come together so we don’t have to scatter all over the earth. We can rule over ourselves WITHOUT God.”

Ultimately, their plan crumbles and falls. For you, all of your self-centered, self-seeking plans will as well.

Think about the plans you have for your life… for the next month… for the next year… for the next five years… Ask yourself:

Are your plans full of selfish ambition? “I want to make my life better vs. I want to see God’s Kingdom come.” Isn’t that typically our primary concern?

Are your plans full of pride? “I don’t need God to have the life I want vs. I can’t have any quality of life without God.” For you… “God gets in my way” vs. “I desperately need Him.”

Will your plans ultimately hurt someone else? Nimrod took everyone down with him… It’s bound to happen. When you are full of selfish ambition and pride, you’re going to hurt people you love in your attempt to get what you want.

As much as you might think it’s true, there’s no victory in your plans.

Your name will never be greater than God’s name.

Let’s make a name for ourselves… This statement is an outright attack on God.

The people: “Our name is greater than God’s name. We can be the gods of our own lives.”

The tower: Perhaps a ziggurat - a religious tower. Literally a stairway to heaven. “We can bring God down to us, and we can ascend to Him.”

Whether a ziggurat or not, this city and this tower would leave a lasting legacy. For generations to come, the tower would stand as a testimony to the ingenuity, resourcefulness, and the power of the people. Their way of saying, “We are here, and we ain’t going anywhere.”

Vs. 5 - The Lord came down. (Irony.) They could build a tower as tall as they wanted. They could never build a tower to heaven.

God bending down to look… Their greatness was tiny compared to God’s greatness.

“Nothing will be impossible for them.” Babel: Humanity united against God. How else would man unite and rebel against God?

Judgment: God confuses the language of the people and scatters the people throughout the earth. God’s desire for people to fill the earth in obedience to Him. People fail. He scatters people throughout the earth speaking different languages

The people of Babel cannot build a kingdom greater than God’s Kingdom. The people of Babel cannot make their names greater than God’s name.

As the Hebrews get ready to go into Canaan they are going to be confronted with mighty kingdoms. Tower of Babel - humanity cannot build a kingdom that will overcome the Kingdom of God. Align yourself with God’s Kingdom!

Reminder for us: our name will never be greater than God’s name. You’re saying: “I know that...” But, do you? You demonstrate that you believe you are more important than God when:

You don’t spend time with the Lord. (He’s not important enough to me to devote my time to.)

You insist on your own way when God’s way is clear. (I’m not going to forgive… I’m not going to go… I’m not going to repent…, etc.)

You idolize the comforts of the world more than you prioritize God’s will.

You care more about what people think about you than what they think about God.

What about you? Be honest. Does the way you live out your faith demonstrate that you think you are more important than God?

The tower of Babel yet another reminder of what sin does to us. Sin turns us from our loving Father. Sin causes us to think we know better than God. Sin causes to think we are more important than God.

Living for your plans and your own self-importance is not the way to victory in this life. It’s the way to judgment.

Grace: He scatters the people so He can ultimately save people.

Genesis 11:1-9 sandwiched in the middle of genealogies.

Genesis 10:24: Peleg. We pick up Peleg’s genealogy in Genesis 11:14. Gen. 11:27 - Abram.

Don’t want to get too far into Abram’s story, but Gen. 12:2. People of Babel wanted to make a name for themselves by defying God. God to Abram: Follow me, and I will make your name great.

Abraham remembered because of God’s work through him.

Gen. 11 - God scatters the people. Gen 12 - Through Abraham - “I will bless all the peoples of the earth.” Gen. 3:15 - Through Abe, God is being faithful to fulfill His promise.

Down the line: 2 Sam. 7:9 - A king - not a perfect king - but a king who sought the heart of God. To David: “I will make a great name for you...” “People will remember your name because through your lineage, I’m going to raise up a King who will sit on your throne forever...”

Philippians 2:9-11: “For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow...”

There is no King greater than Jesus because Jesus is the King who is the fulfillment of Gen. 3:15. He is the One who lived a perfect life for you, died the death you deserve for your rebellion against God, and rose from the dead to give you victory!

Victory is not found in this world. Victory is not found in you accomplishing all your plans. Victory is not found in you trying to make a name for yourself. Victory is found in surrendering your life to the One who’s name is above every name.

This One who died and rose again has given you new life, and He is reversing the curse of Babel. Acts 2 - After Christ resurrected and ascended to the Father followers of Jesus met together and waited in an upper room in Jerusalem. After waiting for days, the Holy Spirit fell on those believers of Jesus. People were there from other parts of the known world. When the Spirit fell, people were able to understand the followers of Jesus in their language. In that moment, for that short moment of time, the language barrier disappeared. In that moment, the curse of Babel was reversed as people heard the truth about the One who gives victory in their own language.

That’s the victory! One day there will be a complete reversal of Babel. One day, Jesus is going to return and call home His children from every nation, tribe, and tongue. We will live with Him forever in His heavenly city - new Jerusalem - in His forever Kingdom - not the kingdom of this world that we so desperately try to pursue - but His lasting Kingdom.

Your victory is not here. Your victory is in Jesus. So this morning:

Confess your need for Him.

Immerse yourself in Him. You don’t live for Him because you don’t know Him.

Repent of trying to find victory in the stuff of this world that will never give you victory.