Genesis 11:1-26 NKJV Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. (2) And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. (3) Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. (4) And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” (5) But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. (6) And the LORD said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. (7) Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” (8) So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. (9) Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth. (10) This is the genealogy of Shem: Shem was one hundred years old, and begot Arphaxad two years after the flood. (11) After he begot Arphaxad, Shem lived five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. (12) Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, and begot Salah. (13) After he begot Salah, Arphaxad lived four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters. (14) Salah lived thirty years, and begot Eber. (15) After he begot Eber, Salah lived four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters. (16) Eber lived thirty-four years, and begot Peleg. (17) After he begot Peleg, Eber lived four hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and daughters. (18) Peleg lived thirty years, and begot Reu. (19) After he begot Reu, Peleg lived two hundred and nine years, and begot sons and daughters. (20) Reu lived thirty-two years, and begot Serug. (21) After he begot Serug, Reu lived two hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters. (22) Serug lived thirty years, and begot Nahor. (23) After he begot Nahor, Serug lived two hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. (24) Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and begot Terah. (25) After he begot Terah, Nahor lived one hundred and nineteen years, and begot sons and daughters. (26) Now Terah lived seventy years, and begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
- We now get to the last historical accounts in Genesis before we start talking about Abraham.
- The remainder of Genesis Thirty-Nine-And-A-Half chapters deal with the life of Abraham and his children. The many events and doctrines found in those chapters are foundational to the Christian faith, as is all of Genesis… so I am excited to dig into them… But for now we need to talk about the city of Babel and it’s tower.
- YOU DON’T NEED A TOWER! That is the message today. The takeaway is this: You don’t need a tower, God has already given you enough. You don’t need a tower, Christ is enough.
- Let’s pray, and then dig into these verses.
- Now, I wanted to go into detail about the fascinating history of the tower and city of Babel, how it was created about 130 years after the flood, how it was founded by Nimrod, who was likely a Giant… and how he was rebellious against God.
- There is tons of information out there, and If you are interested you can study it and I would love to point you in the right direction… but for today I really want to focus on application… what we can learn from these events.
- Because, yes, Genesis is a history book, but it is also the living breathing word of God, and it is intended to be applied to our lives. God recorded the events of the tower of Babel not just to show us where languages came from, but to teach us today, some 4,000 years later, how to live holy and righteous lives.
- So, to get into the application we need to learn what exactly the sins of Babel where… I mean they were clearly egregious sins… because God scattered the people and confused their language because of them…
- Now I was always confused by this, because I thought the sin was that they were trying to reach heaven with their tower… but if that was the case, why do we have MUCH taller towers today, that God has not hindered?
- Well, that’s not the case, that’s not the sin… I was wrong, and maybe you have had some misconceptions about the sin of Babel as well, so before we get into our three points, let me highlight for you the three sins of Babel…
The three sins of Babel:
- Let us worship false Gods.
- Let us make a name for ourselves.
- Let us not be scattered.
- Interesting that the people of Babel start their sentences with “Let us”… it’s never “Let God” or even “let us seek God”… it is always “Let us do it… let us make brick… let us build a city… let us build a tower”… never seeking God’s will or help, just their own. Remember, those who build the house without the Lord’s help labor in vain!
Genesis 11:3-4 NKJV Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. (4) And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”
- So these men in Babel, seemingly teeming with pride, say “Let us” do all of this… and I love how God responds to the “Let us”…
Genesis 11:7 NKJV Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”
- Man says “Let us, Let us, Let us rebel against God…” and God says “Let us put an end to it!”. Showing that God has a sense of humor, He is just, and He is triune… three persons in one God. “Let us”.
- So again there are three sins…
The three sins of Babel:
- Let us worship false Gods.
- Let us make a name for ourselves.
- Let us not be scattered.
- three sins of rebellion that the people of Babel committed… and I am going to explain each of these three sins and then encourage you as to why you don’t need them… You don’t need a tower!
Point One – You Don’t Need a Tower of False Gods
Exodus 20:3-4 NKJV “You shall have no other gods before Me. (4) “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
- One thing I find really interesting about the tower and city of Babel is that there is quit a bit of extra-Biblical historical texts that talk about it.
- Babylonian tablets, and the writings of ancient Babylonian kings describe the tower, and how it was used to worship false God’s.
- In 1876 and ancient Babylonian document was found with detailed descriptions of the tower and it’s surrounding structures.
- It was surrounded by dozens of shrines and temples to false God’s.
- The tower itself was a temple to a false God, with a giant couch in its center foyer to entertain giants and the false God Bel-Merodach.
- The tower stood some 300 feet tall, and on the top of it was astrological signs, signs of worshiping the stars and looking to the stars for prophecy.
- Ancient Babylonians even know the tower was destroyed, but they attribute it to there false God’s instead of the true God.
- One archaeological fragment was translated to say “The building of this temple offended the gods. In a night they threw down what had been built. They scattered them abroad, and made strange their speech. The progress they impeded.”
- So from this we know the tower really existed… of course it did, because God said it did… but even historians who don’t believe in God know the tower existed… but we also know it was a place of false God worship. So let me hit you with application
- Church… please hear me… YOU ARE CHRISTIANS. YOU HAVE GIVEN YOUR LIFE FULLY TO CHRIST.
- You don’t need any other form of religion in your life… you don’t need a tower of false God’s to make you whole.
- No Christian should ever look to fortune tellers for help…
- We should not look to the stars to find out what our future holds… that is nonsense… when I am asked “Are you a cancer? Are you a Pisces?” I say every time “I AM A CHRISTIAN” I don’t serve the stars, I serve the God who created the stars.
Psalms 147:4-5 NKJV He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name. (5) Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.
- But the Bible says God made the stars for signs… YES! Signs of which way NORTH is… signs for where to find the baby in the manger… not signs to be printed in the newspaper.
- Look, here is the first line for Aries in the horoscope for May 10th when I wrote this “Start your day off with positive thinking, sharpened wits, and a bright disposition”… WHAT? This applies to EVERYONE… Everyone should start of with positive thinking, sharpened wites, and a birght disposition… WHO DOES THIS NOT APPLY TO? Who are you telling “Start your day off as dumb and dull as possible… try to have a dark outlook on life”… IT IS FALSE RELIGION, CHURCH, AND GOD HATES IT.
- Yoga, Tai-Chi, Crystals, Tarot Cards, Zodiac Signs, Horoscopes… All things that the Lord hates… all things that I have known professing Christians to partake in.
- Church ask yourself… why is God so lacking that you need something else.
- Is God not powerful enough? Not wise enough? Not good enough.
- Is the Bible so empty that you need other writings to help you?
- Is the Bible so short that there just isn’t enough for you to read? In my 10 years as a full time pastor I have never once heard someone complain that the Bible is too short!
- CHURCH… stay away from false gods… from false worship… if you delve into these areas and you want to know more, please reach out to me, or a deacon, or your discipler… let us reason together and get you free from this nonsense, amen?
Isaiah 43:10-11 NKJV “You are My witnesses,” says the LORD, “And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me. (11) I, even I, am the LORD, And besides Me there is no savior.
- You don’t need a tower of false god’s you just need Jesus, amen? That brings me to point two… you don’t need a tower to Make a Name For Yourself.
Point Two – You Don’t Need a Tower to Make a Name For Yourself
Genesis 11:4a NKJV And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves…
- “Let us make a name for ourselves” in other words “We need to be important… people need to know us”.
- Let me ask you a question, and it is an honest question, and a difficult question.
- Do you NEED people to know you?
- Do you need to have some kind of fame, so kind of notoriety… some kind of reputation…
- Do you need to be known by many people… or is it simply enough to be known by God?
- Do you need people to know your name? Or is it enough for God to know your name?
- Do you need to make a name for yourself… or is the name God gave you enough?
Galatians 4:8-9 NKJV But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods. (There is that false god’s bit again) (9) But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?
John 10:14 NKJV I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.
- Listen, before you were even in the womb, God knew you and called you. He gave you a calling… what is it?
- And hear me… most peoples calling are unseen… most people are not called to be prophets, or preachers, or mega-church pastors…
- Most people have very humble callings… and God has called you by name… what has he called you to do?
- Well this much I know for sure… you are not going to win the Nobel Peace Prize for being a good father… but you are called to be a good father… a good mother… a good husband… a good wife.
- You are called to raise your children up in the way that they should go.
- You are called to serve and worship the Lord your God.
- You are called to gather together in the church, to read the word, to grow in Christ, to worship, praise, pray, tithe, offer, confess and reconcile corporately, as well as privately.
- You are called to be a good employee, wherever you are employed, to labor as unto the Lord… in other words, do your work as if Jesus was your boss, your manager directly above you.
- YOU ARE CALLED TO LEAVE A LEGACY OF CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN AFTER YOU WHO SERVE AND LOVE THE LORD.
- Even if you don’t have kids of your own, this church is a family, so YOU HAVE KIDS entrusted to you to raise up.
- You also have a calling to ministry… to serve God in a special way… and that calling may be to teach, or to prophesy. It may be evangelism… it may be service… doing what needs to be practically done in the church.
- I have met men who are called to be businessmen, so they can financially bless they body of Christ.
- I have met people who are called to live modest and humble lives, simply raising their family well and serving where needed in the church.
- I have met people who are called to be intercessors… a special calling to pray and pray and pray some more for the body of Christ and the Kingdom of God.
- Your calling may not seem special… but GOD GAVE IT TO YOU… is that not enough? Do you need to add on to it? Do you need to try to impress God or others by starting 15 new ministries or killing yourself at work so you can have more money to give?
- When you do that you are trying to build a TOWER of ministry, a tower of calling, a tower of giving so that everyone can see what you are doing… so everyone can see how great you are… Don’t you see the sin in that?
- The Bible tells us to do good in secret… our job is not show people how great we are, but how great our God is!
- Can we simply trust God, and His calling, and the name HE gave us? Do we really need a tower?
- NO! YOU DON’T NEED A TOWER TO MAKE A NAME FOR YOURSELF!
- Now, this brings us to the final point… You Don’t Need a Tower to Be Unified.
Point Three – You Don’t Need a Tower to Be Unified
Genesis 11:4-6 NKJV And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” (5) But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. (6) And the LORD said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.
- Let us make a name for ourselves lest we be scattered abroad over the whole earth…
- Well that is a problem… because God’s command was to be fruitful and multiply and FILL THE EARTH.
- This spirit that was in man was a spirit of rebellion to God’s command.
- And what happened was that man got more and more wicked, and they became unified in their evil.
- So much so that whatever evil they wanted to commit, they could do so without any problem.
- God said “nothing they propose to do will be withheld from them”… in other words, no one is powerful enough to stop their evil, they are so unified and numerous that the few Godly people left will not be able to oppose their evil.
- If they want to murder children, they will be able to without opposition.
- If they want to get drunk every night, who will stop them?
- If they want to chase sexually abhorrent sins, none will be able to restrain them.
- It was a fully wicked and corrupt society, and there were not enough people of God to stop the evil. SOUND LIKE ANY NATION YOU KNOW TODAY?
- Well, no-one could stop them, except for God… God could and did stop them.
- They wanted to gather, against God’s command, so God scattered them… His discipline brought them back into alignment with His will… that’ a whole ‘nother sermon though.
- For today, let me suggest this. CHRIST IS ENOUGH.
- Christ lifted up on the cross… Christ risen into heaven… that is the only tower we need to be unified.
- We don’t need sports to be unified.
- We don’t need politics to be unified.
- We don’t need hobbies or shared interests to be unified… we just need Christ.
- Christ and Him risen unites us… We don’t need a tower to Be unified.
- And this is the important part… if we would get this, and the previous point, the world would be changed for Christ.
- We don’t need a tower to be unified.
- We don’t need a new church denomination.
- We don’t need a new Megachurch establishment.
- We don’t even need another Charles Spurgeon, Billy Grahm, or John Wesley.
- We just need to honor God’s word.
- We need millions of small, local churches, who are just content with being who God created them to be… who are just content to minister as God has called them to minister.
- We need people who are planted in churches, who are not easily offended, who are willing to stick it out through the generations.
- We don’t need a tower to draw the world to us… we need to send missionaries out into the world… because Christ unifies us.
- I have been to mega churches and felt like it was foreign ground… at the same time I have been to churches inside of mud-hut homes where I don’t even speak the same language as anyone else, thanks Babel, where I don’t speak the same language, but because of Christ… because of the Spirit I fell so OVERWHELMINGLY unified… brothers and sisters that I would die for… never once speaking a word to them… because of Christ.
- Guy’s we don’t need a tower to be unified… we just need Jesus. Amen?!
- So let’s wrap this thing up, if someone want’s to come and play.
Conclusion
The three sins of Babel
- Let us worship false Gods.
- Let us make a name for ourselves.
- Let us not be scattered.
- We don’t need any of these sins… but what we do need is Jesus… and that starts with being born again.
Join us this Sunday at either 8:30AM or 10:30AM for worship followed by this message from the Word of God. Christian Life Church of Cedar Rapids.
2808 Schaeffer DR SW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52404. www.CedarRapidsChurch.com
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