Week 2: Creation in Alienation

Here is the manuscript from tonight's Bible study lesson, just in case anyone is interested to see what we're studying. Since I bother to write the thing, for my own benefit, I might as well post it, I guess. Keep in mind that this is just my notes, and that the study is discussion oriented, so this isn't some kind of serious treatise or anything.

Genesis 11:1-9 The Tower of Babel

Last week, we talked about the creation of the world, and this picture in Genesis 1-2 of man in perfect fellowship with God and each other. We discussed our created purpose as creatures who are designed to be in fellowship with God, and thought about ways that this perspective could help change the way we view our nonbelieving friends and family—that is, to help us view them as people who are missing out on the only thing that can fulfill them and give them purpose, both in this life and in eternity.

Sunday, Dusty talked about the isolation effect of sin upon mankind. As a result of Adam and Eve’s sin, a fracture was created, both in man’s fellowship with God and in relationships between humans. It is in this broken world that we live today. God responded to this fracture by promising a great plan of restoration and redemption that will someday restore humanity back to its original and perfect state of union, both with God and with each other. This great promise has already seen fulfillment in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and at Jesus’ second return will come to full fruition in the new Heaven and the new Earth. Dusty also pointed out that, unless we feel the sting of our treason against the Creator, we cannot understand or receive the grace and restoration that is offered. Our sin is real, and we must take responsibility for it.

This week, we will be looking at another passage illustrating sin and its ability to separate men from God and each other. Read Genesis 11:1-9, the story of the Tower of Babel. This story is one of my favorite Old Testament passages, mostly because of my interest in ancient languages and cultures. It’s easy for me to focus on the “facts” of this passage as a battle against modern anthropological models of language dispersion and so on. Just as it’s dangerous to view creation only through the lens of combating Darwinism, it’s also not a good idea to view this story in such a limited way. Let’s think about what this story would have meant to the Israelites at the time it was written. The Israelites would have approached this passage as a.) an explanation of how mankind got from Adam to their present, that is, their connection to the past, b.) an explanation of who all the other nations on the earth were and where they came from, and c.) an example of what happens as a result of a people’s unified rebellion against God. Since we skipped some chapters in between, let’s situate the passage in its context within the book. This story occurs after the great Flood. God, in judgment against the growth of mankind’s sin, wiped out all the earth except for Noah and his family. Thus, all these people are Noah’s descendants, and in chapter 9, verse 1, God charged them to multiply and “fill the earth.” This story apparently happens several generations later, when they’ve multiplied quite a bit but apparently haven’t spread out much.

Obviously, God was not pleased with the people’s choice to build a tower. But why was building the tower a sin? Was it the tower itself, or what? Well, first of all, let’s make sure we know what sin is. What does sin mean, exactly? Is it an action? Does it simply mean “doing bad things”? Sin is, quite simply, any attitude or action that goes against God’s will or His nature. Paul says in Romans 14:23 that “whatever does not proceed from faith is sin;” in other words, doing things that are not motivated by a desire to glorify God is sin. Augustine wrote in the 3rd century AD that he saw sin, or evil, not as a thing in itself, but as the absence of God’s goodness. So as you can see, sin is not merely confined to individual acts; it is a way of thinking that leads to acts that go against God’s stated will. So how does this definition of sin affect the way we view or deal with sin in our own lives? In the lives of those around us? Does it change the way we approach evangelism?

So now that we’ve defined sin, let’s look at why the building of the Tower of Babel was a sin. Buildings aren’t sinful objects in and of themselves; but motivation is everything. (I think it’s important to interject here that they were not trying to literally build a tower that reached heaven, despite the fact that we often hear that in Sunday School. They were, however, trying to accomplish something great.) What were the people motivated by? They state a desire to make a name for themselves, and a fear of being dispersed in the whole earth. These motivations are actually very natural to humans: they wanted to establish an identity for themselves, and they wanted a sense of community and civilization as protection against loneliness. Although these desires are not necessarily wrong, the people at Babel are going about it all wrong—they’re in unified rebellion against God. Instead of finding their identity in God, they seek to set up their own name, and establish their own importance. And instead of spreading out in the earth like God commanded them to, and trusting Him to meet their needs, they are refusing point-blank to do as they were told. Just like Adam and Eve in the garden, they’re convinced that God is holding out on them, and they are therefore making much of themselves, and trying to make their own way, instead of worshiping the God of creation.

So how does God respond to this rebellion? Do you think He felt threatened by the power of this civilization? Verse six sort of makes it sound that way, but we know that the Creator of the universe is not threatened by anything we humans can do. Why then did God decide to stop the construction of the tower and confuse the languages? Was He just “playing the language card” since He had already used up the whole flood idea (and had promised never to do that again)? God knew that such a work was only the beginning of what a unified, rebellious culture would seek to do. A humanity that believed nothing was impossible for them would be motivated to explore all kinds of new ways to glorify themselves. God knew the totalitarian evil that would result in such a situation. He knew that the people of Babel would eventually self destruct! Therefore his decision to stop the construction of the tower was an act of mercy. By making His name great again in the minds of the people, he prevented them from killing themselves in an evil civilization. Have you ever experienced God’s discipline in your life? Has He ever had to do something drastic to get your attention and divert you from a destructive path?

It’s important to realize that God’s creation of the different languages and cultures was not an afterthought or something He came up with off the cuff. The theme of God’s heart for the nations is a major one that we see throughout the entire Bible, starting here. God had a plan for nations from the beginning, and the diversity of mankind, along with its eventual reunion at Jesus’ second coming (Rev. 7:9-10), brings great glory to God and is an essential part of His plan of redemption, in which He used one nation as a means of blessing the others (we’ll see this idea coming up next week, when we talk about Abraham and Jacob).

So how does this concept of “the nations” affect our lives as Christians today? It’s a huge part of our calling as New Testament believers! Let’s look at Matthew 28:18-20. Does this Great Commission affect the way we live, on our campus and in our world? God has a heart for the nations, and so should we!