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Sermons from the
Book of Genesis |
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If you have ever visited a foreign country then you know that at times it can be difficult communicating. If you have had such an experience, let me say that you can blame it on a fellow named Nimrod. If you are frustrated because you have to take or had to take Spanish or French, blame it on this fellow. I have read that there are over 6,700 known languages and dialects among the human race.1 You can blame that on Nimrod as well, for in Genesis 10-11, we see the beginning of languages and it is traced to Nimrod.
This fellow Nimrod is an interesting character. We meet him in Genesis 10, where we are given an ethnological table of the human races. Genesis 10 divides mankind into 3 basic races: Semitic, Aryan, Turanean. We find that in Genesis 10, that from the 3 sons of Noah, and their sons, all the human races emerged. We see that from Japheth, the Indo-European family emerged which takes in the principal races of Europe and the Asiatic Aryan races.
We see that from Shem, the Semitic family emerged which takes in the Assyrians, the Hebrews, and the Joktanite Arabs.
We see that from Ham, the Egyptians, Ethiopians, Southern Arabs, and early Babylonians emerged.2
We also see in Genesis 10, the beginning of a city and kingdom that is often mentioned in the Bible. That is the city and kingdom of Babylon, called Babel in Genesis 10:10. Babylon in the Bible symbolically and prophetically stands for the "consummation of all evil."
Now let's look at the story of Nimrod and Babel and glean 3 lessons for our own hearts. First, we see:
1. A RULER THAT WAS POWERFUL
Notice Genesis 10:8, “And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.” Nimrod was called a “mighty one in the earth." Three times in verses 8-10, he called "mighty." The word is the usual term to describe a great soldier.3 It means, "champion." He was a man of great strength and power.
As we consider Nimrod we see that he was:
A. A Mighty Ruler
We read in Genesis 10:10, “And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.” Up to this time, we do not read about anyone having a kingdom. Nimrod seems to be first ruler and dictator in history. He started, organized, and ruled over Babel (Babylon) that was in Shinar (the land that we call Iraq today). Notice carefully that in verse 10, that it was the beginning of "his" kingdom." He set himself up as the ruler of all mankind. He made himself a one-world ruler. He was the first Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, and Saddam Hussein in history.
Verse 8, says that he "began" to be a mighty one in the earth. The word suggests that he used what ever means necessary to gain this power. Nimrod grew in power and as he grew in power he began to dominate and dictate, establishing his own kingdom over which he ruled and reigned.
Furthermore, we see that he was:
B. A Mighty Rebel
The name Nimrod means, "We shall rebel."4 He was a mighty ruler and he was a mighty rebel. Now how was he rebellious? Notice Genesis 10:9, “He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.” The Bible is not saying that he was a great deer, turkey, or foxhunter. It is not suggesting that he often appeared in Field & Stream. It was not a matter of having his own line of hunting equipment and apparel; "The Nimrod Hunting Equipment and Accessories." The word "before" is the key. The word literally means "against." He was a mighty hunter against the Lord.
He was a man in defiance of God. He wasn’t a hunter for animals; he was a hunter for men. The Jewish Talmud reads "a hunter of the souls of men." He was a rebel against God and sought to turn those he ruled over away from God as well.
Now Nimrod as a mighty ruler and a mighty rebel is a picture of the work and aim of Satan. This world has been called his kingdom. Satan is a rebel against God and his desire is to turn men from God and keep men from God. We read in Job 1:7, “And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.” Also in I Peter 5:8 we read, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."
If you don't think Satan is a powerful ruler look around. If you don’t think he is hunting the souls of men open your eyes. Satan blinds men and he binds men. He deceives men and he destroys men. He controls men and he corrupts men. He rules men and he ruins men. His methods are many, but there is one particular method that has been extremely successful.
Notice secondly, for we not only see a ruler that was powerful, but also:
2. WE SEE A RELIGION THAT WAS PERVERTED
Notice Genesis 11:1, “And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.” Everybody spoke the same language. The phrase "one speech" literally means "few words." It is not like the woman who said that she was of few words but used them frequently. Everyone had one set of words. There was only one language and one set of words for everyone.
Someone may say, "That's sounds nice. I wish everyone spoke the same language." The problem was not in how they talked, but how they walked. Notice 3 things about the people. First:
A. They Were Sinfully Disobedient
Notice Genesis 11:2, “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.” Many times in the Bible geographical notations are important. For example, when the Bible talks about going up to Jerusalem, that is a true geographical statement. Jerusalem is on a mountain; so to go to Jerusalem you had to go up. But it also had spiritual significance. Going up to Jerusalem represented being in the presence of God and the worshipping of God.
You take Egypt in the Bible. The Bible always speaks of going down into Egypt. That is true geographically. From the land of Israel, Egypt would be south. One would say they were going down. But it is also symbolically true. Egypt is always a type of the world.
We read in Genesis 11:2, they journeyed from the east. When a person journey's east it is symbolic of a person turning their back to the light. The sun rises in the east. These people were turning their back to the light.
Verse 1, speaks of the "whole earth" which simply means all mankind. Verse 2 tells us "they," that is, the "whole earth," all mankind settled in the land of Shinar. This was in direct disobedience to what God had commanded. Notice Genesis 9:1, “And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.” God had told them to replenish the earth. His plan was for them to scatter and replenish the whole earth. Yet here is all of mankind dwelling in one place. They were disobedient to the light.
Satan wants us to disobey God. This book is God's Light, the revelation of His will. Satan wants us to turn our back to this light and be disobedient to God.
Furthermore, we see:
B. They Were Selfishly Dependent
Notice Genesis 11:3, “And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.” We often get these pictures of early man as some bumbling caveman living in ignorance and intellectual darkness (Evolution gave us these ideals). No, man in those days was very intelligent. They were in a land without the availability of stone for construction. But did that stop them. They took what they had and learn how to utilize it and make brick. They learned how to bake the bricks in fire to harden them, just as we do today. They didn't have concrete, so they utilized tar that was available in that area.
It is obvious they were a very intelligent people, but the problem was they were a selfishly dependent people. They said, "Let us make brick." Notice Vs.4, "Let us build us a city and tower." Their selfish dependence is summed up in Vs.4, when they said, "Let us make us a name." It is, "us, us, us." There is no God or thoughts of God. It is only man, man, man. They were like the modern day humanists that had no room for God or no need of God.
Their prayer probably went something like this:
Our brothers which are upon the earth, Hallowed be our name. Our kingdom come, Our will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. For ours is the kingdom, And the power, And the glory forever.5
When a man turns his back to the light, it is not long before he leaves God out altogether. Satan wants us to do our own thing. He wants to get us to the place where we think we are self dependent and have no need of anything or anyone.
Lastly, we see:
C. They Were Spiritually Distorted
Notice Genesis 11:4, “And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” There were 2 things they wanted to build. One was a city and the other was a tower. One had to do with the physical longing of their heart and the other to the spiritual longing of their heart.
The city was the answer to the physical longing of their heart. They wanted a place that would provide companionship and a place where all the needs of their body could be met. The city would provide places to trade, purchase, shop, as well as provide entertainment and pleasure.
The tower answered the spiritual longing of their heart. Even though they had turned their back on God and left Him out of their life, there was still the spirit of man that hunger to worship its creator. The city took care of the body and soul, so they decided to build a tower to take care of the spirit.
Notice carefully Vs.4. Most of us have been taught from the time we were kids that their ambition was to build a tower that reached heaven. That's not what the Bible says.
If you will notice, the 2 words "may reach" are italicized, meaning they were added there by the translators to help you understand. In this case, they created a misunderstanding. It is literally, "whose top unto heaven." You might read it, "whose top with the heavens." The ideal was not to build a tower so tall that it reached heaven, but to build a tower that was topped by the heavens, or the top of the tower was dedicated to the heavens. You might call it a “Temple Tower." It was a tower whose top was a temple, which was dedicated to the heavens. It was not a temple dedicated to the God Who created the heavens, but dedicated to the heavens that were created by God. To put it in a nutshell, it was a temple tower dedicated to astrology.
Archaeologists have found some similar towers in this region and found on the tops the zodiac. They were star worshippers. You hear people all the time asking, "What's your sign?" Here is where it all got started. Instead of looking to the God Who made the stars, they were looking to the stars God had made. The name "Babel" means, “Gate to God." They were saying that the stars were the gate to God. Later on the name "Babel" came to mean "confusion." What you have here is confusion about the way to God."
This is the beginning of all false religions It reminds me that Satan doesn't care how religious your may be, as long as you are messed up about the way to God. He is not against religion. He just wants you confused about religion.
Now let me just say a word about astrology. Some of you will not begin your day without checking your horoscope. I want you to listen to what God says about astrology. Notice Deut. 18:9-12, “When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. [10] There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, [11] Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. [12] For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.”
It is an abomination to God. Astrology is nothing short of idolatry. It replaces God. The stars were never intended to define our destiny but to bring glory to God. Astrology, tarot cards, ouija boards are all of the devil and abomination to God.
Lastly, we see:
3. WE SEE A RUIN THAT WAS PARAMOUNT
If there is one thing this people should have learned, is that you don't turn your back on God. The flood should have taught them that. But how easy we forget.
As we look at the story we see:
A. The Visitation of God
Notice Genesis 11:5-6, “And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. (6] And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.” The Lord came down, not seeking information, but for the purpose of revelation. He declared their self-sufficiency and spiritual idolatry. It was not a case of God being jealous of man's ability or man's accomplishment. It was a case of God being disturbed that man credited it to himself and left out God.
Then we see:
B. The Vindication of God
Notice Genesis 11:6-9, “And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. [71 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. [8] So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. [9] Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.”
First we see that confounded their languages. I can imagine a fellow saying, "Hand me another brick." Then this fellow answers in a language one cannot understand. Then we read that God scattered them over the face of the earth.
The whole story reminds us of the folly of leaving God out of our lives and turning our back on Him. Whenever one tries to run their life without God, whenever a nation tries to run itself without God, there will always be confusion. Somewhere God will intervene and judge. Life is always a failure if God be not in it. I am glad that my life is not filled with confusion, but each time I visit a country and have trouble communicating, I will blame Nimrod, and be reminded, you don't fool with God.
1. Jerry Vines, "Master Sermon library, Genesis 10-11" 2. John Phillips, "Exploring Genesis" (Moody Press 1980) p.96 3. Gordon J. Wenham, "Word Biblical Commentary" (Word Books 1987) p.223 4 Ibid. p.222 5. Adrian Rogers, sermon "The Rise and Fall of Babylon." |