A good book seems always to have the hero in desperate trouble before he breaks through to victory, the danger reach its peak just before there is deliverance, or the tension reach its height just before it breaks and everything settles down. When you read these kinds of books, it is exciting. They stretch you from one emotional extreme to another. They paint the backdrop as dreary as possible so that the brightness of the glory will be seen most clearly.
Though the Bible is true, and not fiction, it tells the story of humanity and of salvation in much the same way. It is easy to see from Genesis 3-8 that the Fall has had great effects on mankind. Men had become depraved and utterly wicked in their nature (before and after the flood – i.e. Genesis 6:5 and 8:20-21). The wrath of God had been poured out on man in the flood. And men were in a constant state of rebellion against God – even after the flood.
This rebellion against God reaches somewhat of a climax in Genesis 11. Man truly exalts himself in an attempt to be as God. Genesis 11:4 records the event as they say, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name; lest we be scattered abroad over the face of ht while earth.” And so we see that after the fall, man sees himself as independent of God. But, again, this is one of the many consequences of the fall.
As the men begin work on this tower that reach the heavens, God puts a stop to their efforts. Genesis 11:5-8 tells us that God saw the tower, confused their language, and scattered them over the whole earth. Then verse 9 adds, “Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth.”
Therefore, where once their had been unity and order, there was no confusion and disorder. And yet this was something that man had brought on himself in his rebellion against his Maker.
However, the advent of many languages and the scattering of the people is not the first thing we see in this story that points us to man having a problem. First, we see that man has a desire to make a name for himself, and, second, we see that he is fearful of being scattered over the whole earth. These point us to a reality of man outside of God.
Because man is created and defined in relation to God (i.e. “created in the image of God”), he does not fulfill his purpose apart from God. He is not complete or whole. He is not content. In fact, man sacrifices all security and stability in the Fall, for we rebel against the very One who created and sustains the world. Thus, in the words of one author, we have lost our “center.” And in doing so, “they no longer have anything that binds them to each other,” either. Therefore, in the garden, man’s relationship with God and one another is ruined. So, Babel may be seen as an attempt of empty man striving to substitute that which he has deposed in his life, namely, God. After this point, Babel may not have been repeated, but surely the idea has been manifested many times over.
As we have read of the events that have transpired in Genesis up to this point, there seems to be a cycle. In the garden, Adam and Even sinned and judgment and curses were pronounced, but within that, there is a promise of coming redemption (3:15). In the midst of judgment there is hope. The same is true with Abel’s death as Eve has another son, Seth, through whom the Messiah would come (4:25-26). Finally, though God destroys the world with a flood, he sets apart one family whom he preserves and with whom he makes a covenant.
In the story of the Tower of Babel, however, there seems to be a lack of hope. The cycle of judgment that ends in a pronouncement of coming salvation seems to fall short. The story of confusion and disorder is surrounded by a genealogy; and there seems to be no pronouncement of hope for salvation. We are left simply to wonder with hopelessness as to what will happen with this mixed up world.
However, as we look at the genealogy, we soon realize that the story is ordered this way for a purpose. It is inserted chronologically out of order, as events in chapter 10 obviously occur after chapter 11. So what is the purpose of this? I believe the purpose is the climax in chapter 11: the epitome of man’s sinful, rebellious nature in Babel leads us to the coming redemption.
As we look at the genealogy that follows Babel, we see that it ends with Terah, the father of someone named Abram, whose wife was barren (11:30). Of course, this is important, for if we peek into chapter 12, we find that the whole world would be blessed through him (12:3). But how exactly does this point to redemption?
We find the answer to this question in Galatians 3:13-14. Paul writes there, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us … in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”
So the way that God would bless the whole world through Abraham is by blessing them through the one who would come from the line of Abraham – Jesus Christ. Therefore, though the genealogy points us to Abraham, it is meant to point us beyond Abraham, further down the line, to David, and, ultimately, to Joseph, who was espoused to Mary, who gave birth to her first-born Son, Jesus.
Thus, we are already seeing in the scattering and confusion of mankind in Genesis 11:1-9 that God is planning on blessing the world through one man, Jesus Christ. In the midst of seeming hopelessness, we see that God is quietly fulfilling his plan of redemption for his people.
When Christ comes, dies on the cross, raises from the dead, and ascends to the Father’s right hand, his work is not finished. Acts 2:33 tells us that it was he who poured out the Holy Spirit on his people at Pentecost. And with that, he started a work that closes the judgment of Babel.
Jesus (ultimately) undoes what sin does. Where sin separates us from God, he reconciles us to God (Romans 5:8-10). Where we distort God’s image in us, he allows us to be conformed to his image (Romans 8:29). Where we reap the wages of our sin – death – he gives us eternal life (John 3:16). Where we deserve God’s eternal wrath in hell, he gives us eternal blessing in him (John 3:36).
But what about Babel? Does Jesus have a work that undoes the consequences of man’s sin brought on by the events in Genesis 11? Yes.
Jesus Christ is now calling out one people from every tribe, people, nation, and language to be his people. This is what is so miraculous about Pentecost. As men hear in their own languages the mighty works of God, it is God’s pronouncement that he is reaching out to those cursed, confused, and scattered at Babel. Therefore, where people were scattered and confused at Babel, now, out of the scattered, are being brought the people of God, unified in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And God’s salvation, redemption, and restoration of a community of his people will ultimately be seen in the New Creation, as we read of that heavenly scene:
“And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy art Thou to take the book, and to break its seals; for Thou wast slain, and didst purchase for God with Thy blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And Thou hast made them to be a kingdom of priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth … To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever” (Revelation 5:9-10, 12).
Because of the restoration in Christ of that which man brought on himself at Babel, we have blessed opportunities as the church of God. I’ll list two:
1) We have the privilege of being a part of God’s work in gathering a people for himself from every tongue, tribe, people, and nation.
What a blessing we have been given! God is now gathering for himself a people unified in him from every language that resulted in Genesis chapter 11, and we can join him in doing that. In fact, we are called to join him in doing that.
Therefore, I appeal to us to join in this work out of joy. If we are not able to give our lives to this cause (as many have this summer that we have sent out), then give of yourself to this cause in prayer, giving, and in encouraging those who are being sent out. Let’s join in this work simply because we are invited to join in it.
2) We should strive to be unified as the people of God in Christ.
Because those outside of Christ are separated from God, they have lost that which allows them to be complete and to relate to one another as we were created to do. However, in Christ, we have the ability to live in unity and love. Perhaps this is why Jesus says that they will know we are his disciples is by the love we have for one another. This is not something the world can do, for they are outside of the reconciliatory work seen in Christ Jesus.
Do we realize the great power the gospel shows as the Christian community relates in unity before the world? We, by loving one another and being unified are showing that we have the very thing for which the world vainly tries to offer a substitute.
Therefore, pray for one another, love one another, encourage and exhort one another, for we are in Christ and have been given the blessing of being unified in the gospel.
Grace be with you. Amen.