Sermon Tone Analysis

Context

This is the final transition from the history of early humanity as a whole into the pointed history of Israel.

We have just come out of the Noahic covenant and flood and the Table of Nations

The Tower of Babel

Verses 11:1-9

Notice what the text says in verse 1, “the whole earth” had one language.

The people have traveled to the land of Shinar and they desire to make a name for themselves (V1:2-3)

So they

What’s the problem we find with the Tower of Babel?

Pretty obvious that it’s that the people try to make a name for themselves and then that confounds language and people are scattered.

This was not God’s design.

This makes me think of the verse that says “Man was not meant to live on bread alone.”

This is the same problem that occured in Genesis 3: wanting to be like God.

Think about our own day.

We have really high anthropology of ourselves and our capabilities, thinking we can sustain ourselves and build our own lives.

The outcome is always confusion, a scattering of thoughts emotions, and even lives.

I think this is a great side lesson that we must learn.

We are not God.

We are the creation, not the creator.

We were meant for worship, not to be worshipped.

We have to keep this orientation right or everything will be off.

If we begin to think that we are capable of handling ourselves on our own, everything will become disorienting as if we had the wrong contact in the wrong eye.

I think there is a great reversal of the confusion of Babel in Acts 2.

“The Lord scatters humankind, which in disobedience seeks to build its own, secular kingdom, in order to accomplish his plan that they “fill the earth.”

- Greidanus

Why is Israel hearing this story?

Why is it significant?

Think of when they were about to enter the Promised Land.

“Here they would confront several city-states (similar to Babel) and be tempted to copy their neighbors and establish city-states.

The narrator’s goal then might be to warn Israel not to rely on their own ingenuity for their security but to rely on their transcendent, sovereign Lord.

But since Israel feared the well-fortified city-states in Canaan, the narrator’s goal with the tower of Babel story may also be somewhat different.

The first set of spies had returned with discouraging reports: “The people are stronger and taller than we; the cities are large and fortified up to heaven (wbṣwrt bšmym)” (Deut 1:28).

Now Israel hears the story of the Lord scattering the people who sought to build a tower “with its top in the heavens (wrʾšw bšmym)” (Gen 11:4).

The narrator’s goal, then, is to give Israel hope that the Lord will indeed scatter the Canaanites living in their “great cities, fortified to the heavens (wbṣwrt bšmym)” (Deut 9:1) and give Israel the Promised Land.” - Greidanus

Think of when they were being taken into exile in Babylon.

Babylon, which seemed so powerful, was lifted up of bricks, mere clay compared to solid stones used in Israel.

Moreover, Israel’s Lord had to “come down” to see their loftiest accomplishments.

In the tragedy of exile, the narrator’s goal would probably not be to warn but to give hope to Israel that their sovereign Lord is able to break down the secular city (Babel/Babylon) in order to restore them to the Promised Land.

- Greidanus

Shem

Good question to ask: Are there any names in the geneaology that we need to pay attention to?

Verses 11:10-26

Notice the general decline in the lifespan in the geneaology of Shem.

It seems that Moses is emphasizing the prominence of death.

Terah

Verses 11:27-32

In these closing verses we find the final shift from history of all humanity to focusing on Israel’s history.

We see this with Terah’s son Abram!

V30 provides tension that we will need to take note of in Chapter 12

God has yet to give his promised blessing to Abram, but we find a tension in Sarai’s barenness.