Review of Genesis 11

by Victor Fawole

Oh what a beautiful study we’ve been having in the book of Genesis! And oh what a damage the sin of Adam has done to humanity! Welcome to Chapter 11, where God used chaos for the preservation of humanity in spite of their rebellion. Let us review this chapter together…

1. UNITY CAN BE DANGEROUS AND DESTRUCTIVE!

Genesis 11:1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

Unity is one of the pillars that every community needs to succeed and flourish. However, unity becomes dangerous when its motivation and goals are dangerous. Let us check in what ways these people were united:

A. United in Dialect
Actually, there is nothing wrong with speaking the same language. It is not evil, and it is not the cause of evil. Language is a tool of unity and easy communication. But instead of bringing these people together in the worship and work of God, it was perverted to promote disobedience and unbelief. This is how sinful man misuses the gifts of God’s grace.

B. United in Decision
They had a consensus. They decided to build a tower. Nimrod led this project (Gen. 10:9-10). He very likely used force to influence them.

C. United in Dealings
They didn’t just decide; they followed up with actions! They contributed massively to the funding of their project. They volunteered themselves, using their time and energy to make bricks.

D. United in Desires
Verse 4 highlights four sinful desires that motivated their unity.

• Impressive Residence: Their desire was to build a magnificent city for themselves.
• Impudent Religion: Their desire was to build a tower in the city that will be an object of worship.
• Important Recognition: Their desire was to make a name for themselves.
• Improper Restriction: Their desire was contrary to God’s instruction to “scatter abroad” to fill the earth. (Gen. 9:1,7)

2. DIVINITY CAN BE DESCRIBED and DISPLAYED!

Genesis 11:5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

Let us note that the action “came down and to see”. What could it mean that God “came down” and “saw”? There are two possible ways to explain this.

The first way is to see this as anthropomorphism (the attribution of human characteristics, emotions, and situations to God). We know that God does not need to “go anywhere to see” because He is both omnipresent and omniscient. This figure of speech is commonly used in the Bible. For example, the bible says that God has “body parts” (Zech. 4:10, Deut. 2:15, Exo. 6:6; 15:16; Num. 11:18), does “physical actions” (Gen. 1:3, Gen. 3:8, Gen. 7:16), and even has “emotions” (Exo. 32:14, Num. 11:10, Deut. 4:24). Anthropomorphism helps us to describe Divinity, especially in His actions and reactions towards man.

The second way is to see this as theophany (an appearance of God in visible form). Theophanies often occurred in the Old Testament before the incarnation of Jesus. God appeared to Abraham as a man (Gen. 18:2), came down to speak to Moses, Joshua, and Gideon (Exo. 3, Jos. 5:13-15, Judg. 6) in a similar manner. This is a display, a physical manifestation of Divinity on earth.

So, whether we see it as anthropomorphism or theophany, we are sure that God paid attention to the building project led by Nimrod, and that brings us to the next point.

3. TRINITY CAN BRING DIVISION AND DISPERSION!

Genesis 11:7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.

From Genesis 1 to this point, we have seen, repeatedly, how God responds to the sins and evils of men. God will never give man the autonomy he desires, for that would be very destructive, even to other creations of God. It is beautiful to see how the Triune God used the tool of division for the good of His will, and to keep man in check. We will notice:

A. God’s Awareness
“And the Lord said, Behold… Go to, let us go down…” Who was God speaking to, here? Apparently, the Trinity were “reasoning” the matter (another anthropomorphism at work here). God’s awareness of their project is not as though God just learnt a new thing. It is for us to understand that, while God knows everything that will ever happen, He still “does” things in response to everything that happens.

B. God’s Analysis
God identified three major problems in their building project:

• They had made a tool of communication into a tool of conspiracy.
• They were on the path of rebellion and were determined
• They will become emboldened to do more evil if left unchecked

C. God’s Action Plans
The building of the tower of Babel is an indication of human pride and arrogance. Because of this sinful demonstration, God directly intervened and caused diversity in language. They began to speak languages that they never learnt before. They got very confused. The few ones who understood one another came together and these many subgroups scattered themselves all over. God’s divine punishment led to divine prevention of the tower and earthly progression of the people.

4. CALAMITY CAN BE DISSOLVED AND DEESCALATED!
In the New Testament, the Pentecost opened a new chapter of this story, as the gospel was preached in many languages (tongues). At Babel, “tongues” was for confusion; at Pentecost, “tongues” was for understanding. At Babel, they wanted to build a tower; at Pentecost, they were in the “upper room”. At Babel, they were working (flesh); at Pentecost, they were fellowshipping (Spirit). At Babel, language was used to promote a human agenda; at Pentecost, language was used to announce the mighty works of God. At Babel, God judged the people; at Pentecost, God blessed the people. At Babel, God scattered the people in judgment to the four corners of the earth; at Pentecost, people then scattered to spread the Gospel.

Dear Gogolights, Pentecost is the reversal of Babel, as we are empowered to go out to gather in the scattered nations of the world, and bring them into one united Body. Babel is self-reliant and self-exalting, let us not go back to Babel. Let us live in the Pentecost, for it relies solely on God and exalts God only.

Grace to you, Church!