GENESIS: Lesson 8 - “This Will Make Us Famous”
Genesis 10:1, 8-10 (NLT), “This is the account of the families of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the three sons of Noah. Many children were born to them after the great flood… 8 Cush was also the ancestor of Nimrod, who was the first heroic warrior on earth. 9 S ince he was the greatest hunter in the world, his name became proverbial. People would say, “This man is like Nimrod, the greatest hunter in the world.” 10 H e built his kingdom in the land of Babylonia, with the cities of Babylon, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh.”
→Nimrod’s pride leads him to build a city that would become Babylon, which is a type or picture in the Bible of human pride in rebellion against God. This idea finds its fullest description in the Book of Revelation, as God pronounces His final judgment on the pride and wickedness of mankind in the last days:
Revelation 17:1-6 (NLT), “One of the seven angels who had poured out the seven bowls came over and spoke to me. “Come with me,” he said, “and I will show you the judgment that is going to come on the great prostitute, who rules over many waters. 2 T he kings of the world have committed adultery with her, and the people who belong to this world have been made drunk by the wine of her immorality.” So, the angel took me in the Spirit= into the wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that had seven heads and ten horns, and blasphemies against God were written all over it. 4 The woman wore purple and scarlet clothing and beautiful jewelry made of gold and precious gems and pearls. In her hand she held a gold goblet full of obscenities and the impurities of her immorality. 5 A mysterious name was written on her forehead: “Babylon the Great, Mother of All Prostitutes and Obscenities in the World.” 6 I could see that she was drunk—drunk with the blood of God’s holy people who were witnesses for Jesus. I stared at her in complete amazement.”
→Babylon was a thing of beauty to the pagan world, but nothing more than an obscenity to God. Everything about Babylon is in stark contrast to the holiness of God!
Genesis 10:25,32 (NLT), “ Eber had two sons. The first was named Peleg (which means “division”), for during his lifetime the people of the world were divided into different language groups. His brother’s name was Joktan…32 T hese are the clans that descended from Noah’s sons, arranged by nation according to their lines of descent. All the nations of the earth descended from these clans after the great flood.”
→Verse 32 hints at something we see at the end of our message. God personally arranged the nations so they could see and observe His plan of redemption unfold, through one small nation called Israel.
There are three main themes in our text this morning:
1) Pride unchecked leads to rebellion against God.
Genesis 11:1-4 (NLT), “At one time all the people of the world spoke the same language and used the same words. 2 A s the people migrated to the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia a nd settled there. 3 They began saying to each other, “Let’s make bricks and harden them with fire.” (In this region bricks were used instead of stone, and tar was used for mortar.)4 T hen they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.”
→At the end of verse 4, we find the motive for their work. They wanted to be famous. They wanted to control their own destinies. Sound familiar? They were looking for security and a sense of identity apart from God.
Many Bible Scholars agree that this is an early recognition of the characteristics that have defined cultures throughout human history:
1. Underlying anxiety - the fear of losing control 2. A desire for fame - the need to feel significant through achievemen
2.)God will not allow pride and rebelliousness to go unpunished
Genesis 11:5-8 (NLT), “ But the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building. 6 “Look!” he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them!7 Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other.” 8 In that way, the Lord scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city.9 T hat is why the city was called Babel, because that is where the Lord confused the people with different languages. In this way he scattered them all over the world.”
→There is strong sense of irony here: No matter how high they towered in their efforts, the Lord still had to descend to see it. The point is clear, the tower that was to reach the heavens, fell far short!
Moses recorded this history to help teach Israel an important lesson: G od’s plans will not be thwarted by human pride and arrogance.
→The Israelites are being taught to respect God’s authority as Creator. Obedience through belief (submission and dependence) leads to God’s favor, disobedience through unbelief (pride) leads to God’s disfavor and punishment.
Life Point: It is unbelief and pride that separate us from God’s plan and purpose for our lives.
3) The Nations are Part of God’s Plan for Redemption
“T he story of ancient history reaches its fruitless climax as man, conscious of new abilities, prepares to glorify and strengthen himself by collective effort. All the aspects of this story are timelessly characteristic of the spirit of the world. The project is typically lavish; men describe it excitedly to one another as if it were the ultimate achievement—very much as modern man glories in his space projects. At the same time, they betray their insecurity as they crowd together to preserve their identity and control their fortunes. “ – Allen Ross
2 Corinthians 4:4 (NLT), “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.”
→Satan’s plan is to blind us to our own sin, blind us through pride and selfishness, make us believe we don’t need God, and to fill us with the spirit of Babylon.
Life Point: A person who thinks they are in control of their own life, is blind to the Gospel of Christ. They cannot understand its message!
Acts 17:26-27 (NLT), “From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. 2 7 “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us.”
Genesis 12:2-3 (NLT), “I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
Check out this map of the Nations in Genesis 10:
→It is set up like a giant amphitheater with Israel at the center. You could say, they are “center stage” as God’s redemptive plan through the nations unfolds. They are supposed to help make God Famous.
Jesus Christ is now the central focus. Through belief in Him, His church is formed. Now the church stands at center stage as the new light to the world. The church’s job is to make God Famous!