The Lord Came Down To See (Genesis 11:1-9)

"But the LORD came down to see..." (Genesis 11:5).

From this week we resume our study of Genesis. I had given 8 sermons from Gen 3:1-24 (The Fall of Man) to Gen 28:10-22 (The Stairway to Heaven) before I left for the Philippines for 2 months in July 2011. However, we did not study every passage from Genesis chap. 3 to 28. My plan now is to fill in the gaps and continue to the end of Genesis by early 2012.

Why do we study Genesis? What is the point of Genesis? More fundamentally, what is the Bible about? Briefly, the Bible is NOT a book of morals or instructions (even though it has both). It is a STORY. The story of the whole Bible can be summarized in 4 words:

Creation.
Fall.
Redemption.
Restoration.

Genesis is crucial to the understanding and foundation of Christianity and the Bible because it teaches us clearly about the Creation (Gen 1-2), the Fall of Man (Gen 3), and about God's plan to redeem fallen man (Gen 3:15), beginning from 1 man Abraham (Gen 12:2-3), through whom God would send the Savior of the world (Jn 4:42; 1 Jn 4:14).

What is the point of Genesis? It is NOT to emulate the patriarchs or the heroes in Genesis, for they are all flawed people. Why not? Abraham was a coward. Sarah was mean and harsh. Isaac was spiritually blind and showed favoritism. Rebekah tried to play God and taught her son Jacob the art of deception. Jacob was a nasty fellow in every way imaginable. Joseph was an insensitive sociopath in his youth before God disciplined him through slavery and imprisonment. The point of Genesis cannot be to be to be like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob or Joseph.

What does Jesus say that Genesis is about? Jesus said, "If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me" (John 5:46). Jesus also said, "And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself" (Luke 24:27). "Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” (Luke 24:44). Jesus said that Genesis is about JESUS.

From her book, The Jesus Storybook Bible, Sally Lloyd-Jones rightly explains what the Bible is not before she beautifully explains what the Bible is. She writes:

Now, some people think the Bible is a book of rules, telling you what you should and shouldn’t do. The Bible certainly does have some rules in it. They show you how life works best. But the Bible isn’t mainly about you and what you should be doing. It’s about God and what he has done.

Other people think the Bible is a book of heroes, showing you people you should copy. The Bible does have some heroes in it, but (as you’ll soon find out) most of the people in the Bible aren’t heroes at all. They make some big mistakes (sometimes on purpose), they get afraid and run away. At times, they’re downright mean.

No, the Bible isn’t a book of rules, or a book of heroes. The Bible is most of all a Story. It’s an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It’s a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne–everything–to rescues the ones he loves. It’s like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life!

You see, the best thing about this Story is–it’s true.

There are lots of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling one Big Story. The Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them.

It takes the whole Bible to tell this Story. And at the center of the Story, there is a baby. Every story in the Bible whispers his name. He is like the missing piece in the puzzle–the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together, and suddenly you can see a beautiful picture.

I pray that God may help us to see this beautiful picture and learn about Jesus as we study each passage in Genesis.

Previous/related posts: Sin, Faith and Salvation (Gen 6:1-14); Divine Judgment (Gen 6:5-13); Am I Really That Bad? (Gen 6:5).

The familiar story of the tower of Babel can easily be divided into 2 parts (Gen 11:1-4; 5-9) as Rebellion (Man's) and Response (God's), or the Sin and the Solution. Though it is an ancient story, it is quite contemporary, for man in his sin and rebellion continues to build our own towers of Babel. I had previously blogged on this: Babel: Let's Do Away With God (Gen 11:1-9). Let's think of this passage in 3 parts:

How We Sin (Gen 11:1-4)
Why We Sin (Gen 11:4)
The Solution of Sin (Gen 11:5-9): What God does

I. How We Sin (Gen 11:1-4)

Misery loves company. No one sins alone. We cooperate with others to justify our own sins, and move away (usually gradually) from God (Gen 11:1-3). Like the people of babel we sin by:

building a city (Gen 11:4).
building a tower that reaches to the heavens (Gen 11:4).

Why do we do this?

II. Why We Sin (Gen 11:4)

The love of praise (make a name for yourself; exalt or glorify self).
The love of security (build a city and not risk going out to fill the earth).

III. The Solution of Sin (Gen 11:5-9): What God does

God knows them (Gen 11:5).
God laments at them (Gen 11:6).
God confuses them (Gen 11:7).
God scatters them (Gen 11:8).

Gen 11:5 says, "But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building." God came down to see... God is omniscient. God knows and sees everything, including all the hidden secrets and inclination of our hearts (Gen 6:5,12; 1 Chron 28:9). It is the narrator's way of showing the folly of man before the all knowing God. How foolish is any man to think that he can accomplish anything and succeed against the purpose of God!

God came down to see... This also hints at the heart of God toward his fallen children. Man, who is of the earth, foolishly thinks that he is able, by his own meager effort, to reach heaven or to find his own happiness. God, who occupies the highest heaven and lives in everlasting light and security, has no reason to leave his domain. Yet he came down to see the folly of man and live among them (Jn 1:14). God came down and became like the foolish, so that we who are foolish, may be enlightened. God, who lives in an ivory palace, descended to the lowest depths, so that we, who are mired in the valley of sin and shame, may be rescued. We are too low to ascend, due to our sins. God is too high to descend, due to his holiness. But heaven down and glory filled my soul.

When God came down, he confused their language and scattered them (Gen 11:7-9). God did so to prevent their escalation of rebellion (Gen 11:6), which would warrant God's severer judgment. What hope is there for man in such a world of rebellion and arrogance? God confuses and scatters the inhabitants of Babel in order to restore his kingdom of earth. Out of this world of rebellion and idolatry (Josh 24:2), God would call one man Abraham (Josh 24:3), and through his seed, Jesus Christ, God would save the world (Gal 3:16). When Jesus died at Calvary, he took away "the sin of the world" (Jn 1:29). After Jesus rose again, he commanded his disciples, "Go and make disciples of all nations" (Mt 28:19).

The people of Babel will never ultimately succeed, but be totally destroyed (Rev 18:2,10). In this passage, God scatters the inhabitants of Babel in order to restore his kingdom on earth. This gives hope to God's people today that our sovereign Lord is able to break down secular kingdoms in order to restore his kingdom on earth.

God's promise to bless the nations (Gen 12:3) was initially fulfilled at Pentacost when Jesus' followers "were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven" (Acts 2:4-5). This resulted in amazing unity among people from different nations (Acts 2:41-47). Pentacost reversed the judgment of Babel, which is the city of man, the city of autonomy and rebellion. One day, the new Jerusalem, the city of God, will replace Babel entirely when Christ returns (Rev 21:1-4).

How can I know this? Only through the gospel. Like Babel, we are confused and scattered wanderers because of our willful rebellion and sins. Truly this is our destiny. "But the LORD came down to see..." Ultimately, God's coming would be costly. He would go to the Cross, where our sins were laid on him. God's full wrath fell upon him. Jesus was not just confused and scattered, but he was ripped apart and deconstructed (Mt 27:46; Mk 15:34). In this way, Jesus descended from the highest heavenly light to deepest depth of destruction. Why? So that we who are confused and scattered may be enlightened and brought home. Jesus became completely lost so that we may be found (Lk 19:10).

Do you understand this? To the degree that you do, you will no longer live in confusion, but live in everlasting light (Isa 60:19-20; Jn 8:12). Your heart will be transformed by the grace of Jesus that is greater than all our sins. We can become people of the gospel. We can become a gospel community. We can respond to all others in grace, because we have tasted and know of the grace of Jesus who lost all things, so that we who are lost can gain and obtain all things.

Questions:

What is the advantage of a common language (Gen 11:1)? Why did people move east (Gen 11:2; 3:24; 4:16)? In Gen 11:4, notice 2 expressions of rebellion and 2 underlying motives (sins) of man (Gen 3:5; Dan 4:30)?
Why is "making a name for oneself" defying God (Isa 14:13; 63:12,14; Jer 32:20; Neh 9:10)? How can a man's name become great (12:2; 2 Sam 7:9; Phil 2:9-11)? Why is "not wanting to be scattered" a sin against God (Gen 1:28; 9:1; Isa 12:4)?
Notice God's 4 responses to man's rebellion (Gen 11:5-9). Think about the irony of God who "sees" them "reaching for the heavens" (Gen 11:5; 6:5,12; Ps 2:1-4; Isa 40:21-23). Notice the phrase "Come, let us..." (Gen 11:3,4,7). Whose "let us" prevailed (Gen 11:8-9)?
The Hebrew for "confused" is "balal," while Babel means "gate of the God." What is the narrator communicating in this wordplay?
What is the message of hope for Israel (Num 13:28; Deut 1:28; 3:5; 9:1; Jer 51:53)? For us (Gen 11:10-32; 12:1-3; Jn 1:29; Mt 28:19; Rev 18:2,10)? How is Pentecost at Jerusalem the initial reversal of the judgment at Babel (Acts 2:4-6,11,41-47)? How is the new Jerusalem the final fulfillment (Isa 2:2-4; Rev 21:1-4,10,23-24,26)?