Sermon Tone Analysis

The Setting

1. Genesis 10:6-10 Tells us that Ham’s son Cush fathered Nimrod who was a “mighty one on the earth.

He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, ‘Like Nimrod a might hunter before the Lord.”

v.8-9

NOTE: The word mighty is “gibbor” and the word for mighty in the Genesis 6:1-4 account referring to the Nephlim is the plural “gibborim”.

2. “The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

From that land he went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh and Rehoboth-Ir and Calah. .

.” v.10-11

NOTE: The Land of Shinar is in the Mesopotamian region which is modern day Iraq.

Nimrod was the originator of the Assyrian and Babylonian empires.

This is no accident that Nimrod’s story is in Genesis 10.

Genesis 11 links us back to Genesis 6.

This story explains the rest of the history of God’s people.

A Towering Problem Genesis 11:1-9

NOTE: After the flood in Gen 9 God blessed Noah and his sons and said “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the whole earth.”

The Creation mandate from Gen 1:28 to be fruitful and to rule over all creation.

Instead the people decide to build and preserve themselves.

1.

With innovative techniques they build a structure to communicate with the gods.

V.1-4a

ILLUST: Building a tower that reached to the heavens is to literally reach the realm of the gods.

The general meeting place with god’s in their realm was on mountains.

Heiser says that “The tower of Babel is regarded by all scholars as one of Mesopotamia’s famous man-made sacred mountains- a ziggurat.

Ziggurats were a sort of temple where the divine realm and the earth met.

2. They begin to desire a name for themselves instead of calling on the name of the Lord.

V.4b (Gen 4:26)

NOTE: Nimrod and the people where “making a name for themselves” by bringing the divine to earth.

3. God sees this organization of language and worldview (connect with the divine) and says “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.”

v.6

NOTE: We can speculate what was not impossible but if Genesis 3 and Genesis 6 are any indication as to what can happen when Humans begin to listen and worship the kingdom of darkness then “nothing . . .

impossible” Human disobedience?

Spiritual and human mingling?

Ruling the earth with self in mind.

Building nations with greed?

War, famine, disease, abuses of all kinds, . . . . . .

.”

4. God stalls this problem by “confusing” their language andwhat will continue, is the battle that began in Genesis 3 and will rage until Jesus returns.

5.

These new languages are nations that God has given over.

a.

The list of these nations originating from Shem Ham and Japheth is found in Genesis 10.

Notice verse 5 says that the coastlands inhabited by Japheth’s sons were nations that were separated “according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.”

Verses 6-20 Ham’s highlight is Nimrod v.8-14 followed up by all the “ites” “according to their languages, by their lands, by their nations.

Shem, same thing is seen in verse 31.

b.

What makes this more interesting is Deuteronomy 32 worldview, “Jacob will be My portion”.

NOTE: According to the Septuagint the phrase “Sons of Israel” is translated “Angels of God”.

In the dead sea scrolls the phrase is translated “Son’s of God.”

NOTE: Because these people did not want to call on God but on other god’s it appears that he separated them and gave them over to be ruled by other lesser gods.

ILLUST: Heiser makes the connection with a similar “giving over” in Romans 1 when people who knew God didn’t honor him and worshipped and served the creature rather than the creator.

Rom.

1:18-26.

This Deuteronomy 32 world view is foundational to understanding the spiritual war that rages.

God has now done a redo for a third time.

1. Genesis 3 with hope and promise of a seed that would crush the head of the serpent.

2. Genesis 6 where He would flood the earth but through Noah (Gen.

5:29) and his sons the seed would continue.

The corruption of humankind continues and in Gen. 11 He would not destroy them but give them over, while calling one people, Jacob, His portion.

God begins this new family through Abraham and his dysfunctional family.

Gen. 12-50 Abraham is literally called out of idolatry and called from Ur in Mesopotamia, the very land where Genesis 11 took place.

6.

Some examples of these nations being ruled by other god’s while God’s Kingdom is Supreme.

Daniel 2 Daniel interprets King Nebuchadnezzer’s dream of a statue with a head of gold, breast and arms of silver, belly and thighs bronze, feet of partly clay and iron.

Daniel interprets the dream that kings of kingdoms will rise up after king Neb who was the head of gold.

The Medo-persian empire and Greece i.e. the silver breast and arms and the bronze belly and thighs, while finally Rome which was the iron and clay feet.

Daniel 7-11 Speaks of beasts he saw in visions concerning kingdoms that are future and even related to kingdoms and rulers that Paul speaks about in 2 Thess. 2 and John in Revelation.

An interesting experience in Daniel 10:10-20 explains an angel comes to Daniel in his distress and explains why it took him so long to come.

Daniel 10:13

Revelation 11-12 We see more spiritual cosmic battles taking place with results on the earth.

CLOSE: Yet in the midst of this battle God’s plan is to redeem the world and make right every wrong both spiritual and physical.

Acts 2:5-21 “Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven.

And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language.

They were amazed and astonished, saying, “Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans?

“And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born? . . . .

Ephesians 6 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Revelation 7:9 “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands;”

He has made a way for all to be a part of His family, a Kingdom where Christ and His righteousness dwells forever.

And although their is a spirit realm at work among the nations God offers any one who will to be a citizen of His nation and member of His family through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5, Revelation 7:9, 13:7,11-12, 16-18; 19:11-19 (Matthew 24:28, Luke 17:30)