Genesis: Lesson 4

Overview

Babel, Abraham, and the Faith That Comes by the Word

After the flood, humanity once again displayed its rebellion. With one common language, the people of Shinar gathered to build a city and tower "with its top in the heavens" so they could "make a name" for themselves and avoid being scattered Genesis 11:1-9. The motive was not human ingenuity but human sin—ego, self-exaltation, and the desire for security apart from God. They also directly defied the command, given first to Adam and Eve and then to Noah, to fill the earth. God's confusing of their language was therefore an act of grace as much as judgment: He scattered them so that sin would not compound, and so that His purposes for creation would go forward. What was broken at Babel is gloriously reversed at Pentecost, where the Spirit gathers people from every nation and they hear "God's deeds of power" each in their own tongue Acts 2:1-12. Babel's division of tongues becomes Pentecost's unity of faith.

Genesis 12 then introduces the most important figure of the Old Testament—Abraham—whose name is still remembered in Mary's song and Zechariah's prophecy (Luke 1:54-55; Luke 1:72-73). God called Abraham, a moon-worshipper from a pagan land, to leave his country, his people, and his father's house—a progressively more difficult demand Genesis 12:1-3. Against the prideful name-making at Babel, God Himself promises to make Abraham's name great, to bless him, and to bless all the families of the earth through him. That blessing finds its fulfillment in Abraham's greatest descendant, Jesus Christ, through whom every nation is reconciled to God.

Abraham's response is described by one repeated phrase: "by faith" Hebrews 11:8-12. He set out not knowing where he was going, trusting the promise. This is the pattern for our own walk. Our challenges in life are often progressive—some we can manage, others press hard against our faith. Faith does not rest on our resolve, our cleverness, or our strength; Scripture compares us not to lions but to sheep. Faith rests on the Word: "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ" Romans 10:17. When we drift away from preaching, teaching, and devotional reading of Scripture, we starve the very faith God grows by those means.

Yet Abraham, like us, was a sinner in need of a Savior. Almost immediately after receiving the promise, he panicked in Egypt and lied about Sarah being his sister to save his own skin Genesis 12:10-20. The same mixture of faith and fear marks our own lives. The good news is that God does not grow weary of His people. He keeps coming with His promises, keeps washing us in the waters of baptism connected with His Word, and keeps assuring us that His covenant rests on His faithfulness, not ours. Through Abraham's seed, the Lord Jesus Christ, the confusion of Babel is finally answered by the clarity of grace: in Him, all the families of the earth are blessed.

Transcript

Well, good morning. 3s

What a gorgeous day the Lord has given us today. 5s

Ha, beautiful. 8s

Let us pray, please. 9s

Gracious Heavenly Father, we do indeed thank you 12s

for the beauty of today, unique day and all of history, 14s

and the day in which we gather to, once again, 19s

hear your word as it goes forth. 23s

In reading and proclamation, in music, in liturgy, 27s

with one another as we minister to each other, 31s

we praise you for your word, for your grace, 35s

for your power, for your love. 39s

Bless we pray now, this study to your glory in Jesus' name. 42s

Amen. 47s

Well, we studied last week about Noah, 48s

and we saw how God gave 120 years warning 52s

that the flood was going to come. 60s

That's an example of, as we studied God's patience there, 62s

as God desired the people to come to repentance 66s

prior to the flood. 69s

We saw how Genesis chapters six through 10 there 72s

is as much about God's grace as it is about his wrath. 77s

From the perspective of God, 84s

as God looks at creation and sees the sinfulness 86s

of humanity, would it not make sense 90s

that God would simply say enough and not save anyone, 95s

would simply wipe out all of creation, 101s

but we see God in his grace, expressing that in saving 103s

Noah and his family, and that promise continues on, 109s

as God lives out his love and his grace. 115s

We saw though that Noah was certainly in the line 119s

of Adam and Eve here. 122s

We saw Noah's sinfulness and that Noah needed a savior. 125s

And lastly, we took a look at the parallel between 130s

the waters of the flood and the waters of baptism. 134s

How the waters of the flood killed, 138s

and it also saved in the sense that the ark 141s

floated upon the waters. 144s

We see in the waters of baptism 147s

that the waters of baptism kill. 149s

In other words, our old Adam and old Eve 152s

is drowned in the waters of baptism 155s

and that water connected with the word 159s

is that a salvific act where God takes that, 163s

which has been one on the cross and the empty tomb, 167s

that word of victory puts it with the tangible of the water 170s

and we are washed then in his promises. 175s

Remember what Luther said in a small catechism? 179s

It's not the water that does these things, 182s

but God's word with the water 184s

and our trust in this word. 187s

And so we took a look there at those incredible chapters 190s

an incredible story of Noah. 194s

And today I want to examine with you Genesis 11 through 13, 197s

Genesis 11 to 13. 201s

After the flood, the world enjoyed a common speech, 203s

a common language and a common vocabulary. 208s

So let's go to Genesis 11th chapter, please. 213s

Genesis 11 and we'll start right with verse one. 216s

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words 228s

and as they migrated from the east, 234s

they came upon a plane in the land of Shinar 236s

and settled there. 239s

And they said to one another, come, 241s

let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly 244s

and they had brick for stone and bitumen for mortar. 248s

This shows that when the ordinary building materials 253s

like stone and mortar were lacking, 256s

there was some solutions that they came up with 259s

in terms of the building. 262s

And verse four gives us the purpose here 265s

for their building. 267s

Then they said, come, let us build ourselves a city 269s

and a tower with its top in the heavens 273s

and let us make a name for ourselves. 278s

Otherwise, we shall be scattered abroad 282s

upon the face of the whole earth. 285s

What was the purpose of building the tower? 291s

The purpose for building the tower? 294s

Was to make a name for themselves. 298s

It's their ego. 303s

They want to have fame and security apart from God. 305s

It's an attempt on their part to elevate themselves. 312s

Verse five, the Lord came down to the city and the tower 319s

which mortals had built. 324s

And the Lord said, look, they are one people 326s

and they have all one language. 329s

And this is only the beginning of what they will do. 332s

Nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible 337s

for them. 341s

Come, let us go down and confuse their language there. 342s

So that they will not understand one's speech. 347s

God knows a group of ungodly people 353s

banding together here is only going to increase the sin. 357s

And so God then moves to scatter them. 363s

It's really an act of grace here that God is doing. 367s

He's forcing the people to move out. 371s

He's forcing the people to fill the earth. 375s

Remember, what did they want to do? 379s

They wanted to make a name for themselves 380s

and wanted to stay right there. 382s

What is it that God had told Adam and Eve? 385s

Fill the earth. 389s

Remember that same promise then that was echoed 391s

to Noah there in Genesis. 393s

Herbert Luppolt puts it so succinctly and so well. 398s

He says this, quote, 401s

not to human ingenuity, but to human sin. 410s

That is succinct and capsulating of truth, isn't it? 416s

That the multiplicity of languages here, 420s

that's not human ingenuity. 423s

That's a reflection of the sinfulness of humanity. 426s

Because what was it after the flood that people had, 429s

the same language, the same words, they had the common speech. 433s

Let's go to verse 8 now. 438s

So the Lord scattered them abroad from there 442s

over the face of all the earth, 446s

and they left off building the city. 448s

Therefore it was called babble, 452s

because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth, 454s

and from there the Lord scattered them abroad 459s

over the face of all the earth. 463s

God was going to make sure that His command 467s

to fill the earth was going to be heated. 472s

The confusion that resulted from the many languages 478s

led to the people moving into different parts of the earth. 485s

Now with babble as the background on that, 493s

let's go over to the book of Acts chapter 2, 496s

please, Acts of the New Testament. 499s

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and then Acts. 502s

Acts chapter 2, and we'll pick up in in verse 1. 508s

When the day of Pentecost had come, 521s

they were all together in one place, suddenly. 523s

From heaven, there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, 526s

and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 530s

Divided tongues as a fire appeared upon them, 534s

and a tongue rested on each of them. 537s

All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit 539s

and began to speak in other languages 542s

as the Spirit gave them ability. 545s

Now there were devout Jews from every nation 549s

under heaven living in Jerusalem, 552s

and at the sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered 555s

because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 558s

Amazed and astonished, they asked, 564s

are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 566s

And how is it that we hear each of us 569s

in our own native language? 572s

Prathinians, Meeds, Elimites, and residents of Mesopotamia, 575s

Judea and Cappadocia, Pontius and Asia, 579s

Frigia and Pemphilia, Egypt in the parts of Libya, 583s

belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 586s

both Jews and proselytites, Creetans and Arabs, 590s

in our own languages, we hear them speaking, 595s

here's the phrase, about God's deeds of power. 598s

Old were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, 606s

what does this mean? 609s

But others sneered and said, 610s

they're filled with new wine. 612s

Seeing that as the act of God, they thought they were drunk. 617s

Pentecost is oftentimes understood and correctly so 623s

as the reversal of Babel. 626s

Pentecost is the reversal of Babel. 630s

Babel's division of tongues was transformed 633s

into Pentecost's unity of faith. 638s

I always love to pair. 645s

You remember when we went through the series on the Old Testament 647s

and it was a couple of years ago where all the texts were 653s

from the Old Testament. 655s

If memory serves me correct, the text that I chose for Pentecost 657s

was the Babel text. 662s

Because you see it then undone. 664s

You see the reversal of it in Acts the second chapter. 668s

So after the flood, you see once again this 673s

infulness of humankind. 676s

Their first thoughts here of how can they make a name for themselves? 678s

How can they draw attention to themselves here? 682s

You see here the attempt to not fill the earth. 685s

You see God then moving them out to fill the earth. 689s

Transition point then occurs in Genesis the 12th chapter. 693s

This is a key verse in the Old Testament. 697s

Genesis chapter 12. 701s

And here we run into the most important figure in the Old Testament. 704s

The most important figure in the Old Testament. 710s

2000 years after Abraham was introduced. 719s

Mary mentions him. 725s

In fact instead of going back to Genesis chapter 12, 727s

let's turn to Luke chapter 1 and see that. 730s

Matthew, Mark, and then Luke. 733s

Luke chapter 1 verse 54. 737s

Luke chapter 4. 745s

Luke 1, 54. 748s

And here we have a part of Mary's song of praise. 756s

Picking up in verse 54. 763s

He has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy. 764s

According to the promise he made to our ancestors, 772s

to Abraham and to his descendants forever. 776s

Notice what the father of John the Baptist says. 783s

Jumping over into verse 72 of chapter 1 of Luke. 786s

Here's the father of John the Baptist Zechariah. 794s

And Zechariah says, verse 72, 797s

Thus he has shown the mercy, promise to our ancestors, 800s

and has remembered his holy covenant, 804s

the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham to grant us. 807s

The most important figure in the Old Testament narrative, 815s

it's Abraham. 819s

It's Abraham. 821s

Okay, now let's go to Genesis chapter 12, please. 821s

Genesis chapter 12, and we see God establishing a covenant 827s

with Abraham. 832s

Verse 1 of chapter 12. 837s

Now the Lord said to Abraham, 840s

Go from your country and your kindred 843s

and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 848s

What three things here is Abraham being asked to do. 855s

He's being asked to leave his country, his people, 860s

his household. 867s

That is a progressive move here 870s

in terms of progressively more challenging. 875s

To leave one's country is one thing. 879s

To leave one's people is another thing. 883s

To leave one's family is another thing. 887s

There's progressive challenge here on the part 892s

of what God is spelling out to Abraham. 896s

We all in our lives have challenges that are 900s

progressive. 904s

All have things that are progressively more challenging. 905s

And things that challenge our faith. 911s

Just reflect on your life today. 915s

Whatever challenges there are in your life, 918s

whatever subject, whatever topic is, whatever the challenges are, 923s

I think you could probably, if you had to write them down 928s

and lay them out on a table, you'd probably be able to prioritize those. 931s

Probably be able to prioritize them and say, 935s

this is the most challenging. 938s

And this is the least challenging. 940s

And it's the most challenging that can be challenging to our faith. 943s

I think of the guy who turned to this crowd that gathered there 950s

looking at Niagara Falls and the guy was standing there. 954s

He was an acrobat. 957s

And he said, do you think that I could string the wire across from one side 961s

to the other there and cross over that wire safely? 966s

No net? 973s

Nothing. 974s

Just be able to cross over that wire from one side to the other. 975s

And the crowd said, absolutely, absolutely. 979s

We would love to see that. 981s

Love, please do that. 982s

Please do that. 983s

Please do that. 984s

He then turned and he said, do you think that I could cross this wire 985s

from one side to the other, crossing over Niagara Falls while pushing a wheelbarrow? 992s

And he said, fantastic. 1000s

Of course, do that. 1002s

Do that. 1003s

We would love to. 1004s

We have absolute confidence in you that you can do that. 1004s

Cross over on this wire and push that wheelbarrow. 1008s

He said, do you think? 1012s

Do you think that I could cross over this wire pushing the wheelbarrow 1015s

with somebody in the wheelbarrow? 1021s

And the crowd said, fantastic. 1024s

Of course, you can do that. 1027s

You're a famous acrobat here from the circus. 1029s

Of course, you could put something in the wheelbarrow and push them across. 1032s

Niagara Falls there on the wire. 1038s

Please do that. 1040s

Please do that. 1042s

He said, who wants to go into the wheelbarrow? 1043s

And not one person. 1048s

Not one person. 1050s

Volunteer. 1052s

You see, there are challenges to which our faith can run up against. 1054s

And it can be challenging, right? 1064s

Faith, of course. 1067s

It does not rest on thin air. 1069s

Faith does not rest on the talent of someone like an acrobat. 1072s

Faith is in God's Word, where God says, 1081s

I'm going to make of you a great nation I want you to go from here. 1090s

I want you amidst this progressive challenge here. 1094s

I want you to leave your country. 1098s

I want you to leave your people. 1100s

I want you to leave your family. 1102s

And follow me where I will show you. 1108s

I'll make of you, he says, a great nation. 1114s

Here is Abraham and his wife, Sarah, who were not the youngest at this point, right? 1117s

They had been unable to have children. 1124s

God calls them, what's their background? 1128s

Their background is they were wonderfully devout and faithful people in the triune. 1132s

God, absolutely not. 1141s

They worshiped the moon. 1143s

That's what they did. 1145s

They worshiped the moon. 1147s

So God calls these moon worshippers and says, 1149s

guess what, you're it. 1152s

You're the one here that I'm choosing. 1156s

And you're the one through whom I'm going to make a great nation. 1158s

And there's the challenge and the promise for the challenge. 1165s

Let's look at that. 1173s

Genesis chapter 12, verse 2. 1175s

I'll make of you a great nation. 1179s

And I will bless you that word there in Hebrew is peel. 1183s

It's peel. 1191s

And it encompasses success and prosperity, even children. 1192s

And we look at that promise. 1201s

And we see it's all played out and it's all gifted here to Abraham. 1203s

Abraham, by the way, Genesis 24 tells us, he became an incredibly wealthy person. 1212s

Incredibly wealthy person. 1218s

Now, this is not prosperity gospel preaching here. 1220s

All right? 1224s

This is just the promise that God has said for him that indeed these would be the blessings. 1225s

I'll make of you a great nation. 1234s

I'll bless you. 1236s

Success, prosperity, and children was the word that was used. 1238s

And make your name great. 1243s

Who does Mary mention in her song of praise? 1247s

Abraham. 1250s

Who does Zechariah mention? 1251s

Abraham. 1255s

Whose name here continues to be mentioned to this day? 1256s

Abraham. 1261s

Who's the most important figure in the Old Testament? 1263s

Abraham. 1267s

I'll make of you a great nation. 1269s

I'll bless you. 1270s

I'll make your name great so that you will be a blessing. 1271s

The greatest blessing, of course, is that from Abraham and Sarah's line is going to come forth the Messiah. 1276s

I'll make of you a great nation. 1285s

I'll bless you. 1287s

I'll make your name great so that you will be a blessing. 1288s

Those who believed the word that Abraham and Sarah were saying, 1293s

they would also be blessed spiritually. 1298s

He goes on to say in verse 3, I will bless those who bless you and the one who curses you, 1303s

I will curse. 1308s

The rejection of God's Word then would bring the judgment of God upon the people. 1311s

And in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 1316s

Through this line comes the Savior. 1323s

Through this line comes through the Virgin Mary comes the Savior. 1327s

We can trace then and he could trace the genealogy back then to Abraham and to this promise. 1333s

Abraham faced challenges that were progressively more challenging, 1345s

but his faith was in the Word. 1351s

And there's the rub, isn't it? 1359s

There's the rub for us. 1362s

Because we are tempted to continually turn away from the Word of God. 1364s

Continually to turn away from it. 1371s

The devil is at work to continually say to us, 1375s

to God really say, we're continually tempted to start to live on our own initiative, 1378s

our own ingenuity, our own power we were never created to live like that. 1385s

Remember the animal that we are compared to in Scripture is the sheep. 1390s

There's not, I don't know how to put this kindly here. 1395s

There's not a dumber, more defenseless animal than the sheep. 1399s

And that's the animal that we are compared to. 1407s

We're never meant to live on our own power and our own strength. 1411s

It is only by God's grace and promises. 1419s

You see, save for the cross of God. 1424s

We would be separated from God forever. 1427s

But all of our sin and all of our rebellion has been paid for by the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. 1431s

Look at verse 4, please, of chapter 12. 1439s

Right after God comes with his promises to him, to these challenges that he has. 1443s

Verse 4 said, So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. 1451s

Abram was 75 years old when he departed from Heron. 1461s

So Abram went. 1467s

Abram, verse 5, took his wife, Sarah, and his brother's son, Lot. 1470s

And all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Heron. 1476s

And they said forth to go to the land of Canaan. 1483s

Let's go now over to the Book of Hebrews, please. 1490s

Book of Hebrews in the New Testament. 1493s

A good way to find book of Hebrews is to go to Revelation, slowly work your way backwards. 1496s

You're going to cross over the John's, the Peters. 1501s

You'll hit James, and then you'll hit Hebrews. 1504s

Hebrews chapter 11, verse 8. 1509s

By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive his inheritance. 1524s

And he set out, not knowing where he was going. 1531s

By faith, he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised as an afforned land living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 1536s

For he looked forward to the city that has foundations whose architect and builder is God. 1548s

By faith, he received power of procreation, even though he was too old and Sarah herself was barren, because he considered him faithful who had promised. 1557s

Therefore, from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, as many as the stars of heaven, and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. 1568s

Hear the theme? By faith. By faith. By faith. 1584s

Here's the challenges. Here's the promise. 1592s

And faith is born of the promises to meet the challenge. 1599s

See, we can say that to ourselves all week. Whatever challenges we're facing, say, what are the challenges? 1605s

Now, what's the promises of God to meet these challenges? And what's the result of the promises? The result of the promise is faith. 1615s

It's faith. Take a look, please. It Romans the 10th chapter. 1629s

Romans chapter 10 verse 17. Matthew Mark Luke John, Acts and Romans. Romans 10, 17. 1635s

So faith comes from what's heard and what's heard comes through the word of Christ. Faith comes from what's heard and what is heard comes through the word of Christ. 1655s

The disciples, they cried out and they said, Lord, increase our faith. And how did the Lord increase the faith? Through the proclamation of the word, through the means. 1673s

It's the same way he does it for us. When we are faced with the challenges, what do we need? We need more doses of the word, because as the word is proclaimed, God uses that word to build our faith. 1684s

It's not a sense of saying, here's the challenges that I face. Here's the progressive challenges that I face. Now, I just got to go about getting enough faith. Have you ever said that to yourself? 1703s

Okay, I got to pull myself up by the bootstraps here. I got to have faith in that. 1716s

Well, what's the word going forth? The only word going forth is the only exhortation that you're giving to yourself. It's the motivational talk to yourself. Right? 1724s

Motivational talk doesn't increase faith. What increase faith? The word increases faith. And so we hear it proclaimed and taught. 1734s

During the week, we're in Bible studies and small groups and we hear that proclaimed and taught. In our devotional times, we turn to the word and we hear that word. And God uses the means to build up that faith and descend us forth to meet the challenges. 1744s

How is it that Abraham met the challenges? Does it say Abraham was just a really, really tough guy? And that's how he met his challenges. Does it say Abraham was a really, really smart guy? That's how he met his challenges. 1765s

No, it says by faith, faith and Ephesians tells us that faith is a what? Faith is a gift and how does faith come? It comes through the means. You see the danger then of pulling oneself away from the proclamation and the teaching and the study of God's word. 1782s

One pulls themselves away from the very means whereby God says, this is how I keep you in the faith, how I grow you in the faith, how I sustain you in the faith. It's through these means. 1805s

It's just as if we decided not to physically eat anymore, right? We would grow weaker and we would eventually die if we starve ourselves. 1820s

The image here is how does God feed us? How does God build the faith? He does it through the word. And with the faith that He gives, then we can meet the progressive challenge. 1832s

In between where you find the challenge, you see God giving the faith to meet the challenge and through what means through His word. 1846s

Abraham experienced that by faith. At the same time, we see that Abraham comes from the line of Adam and Eve. 1865s

We see Abraham and Sarah in all their sinfulness. 1878s

Let's go to chapter 12 of Genesis, picking up in verse 10. 1884s

Now there was a famine in the land. So Abraham went down to Egypt to reside there as an alien for the famine was severe in the land. 1903s

When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife, Sarah, I know well that you were a woman beautiful in appearance. 1913s

And when the Egyptians see you, they will say, this is his wife, then they will kill me, but they will let you live. 1921s

Say you are my sister so that it may go well with me because of you and that my life may be spared on your account. 1929s

When Abraham entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. When the officials of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. 1937s

And for her sake, he dealt well with Abraham. And he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female slaves, female donkeys and camels. 1949s

But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh in his house with great plagues because of Sarah, Abraham's wife. 1960s

So Pharaoh called Abraham and said, what is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 1967s

Why did you say she is my sister so that I took her from my wife? Now then here is your wife, take her and be gone. 1975s

And Pharaoh gave his men orders concerning him and they sent him on the way with his wife and all that he had. 1984s

So here is Abraham, we know him by Abraham here. Here is Abraham. God gives all these promises. This is what I am going to do for you. 1993s

And when he is faced with the challenge rather than trusting God's word, he fashions a falsehood. 2003s

He fashions the falsehood instead of trusting in God. 2013s

Don't we experience in our own lives the same mix of faith and fear? 2021s

No, don't we experience the same thing? 2031s

Faced with the challenges, hearing of the Word of God that God indeed will strengthen us through the faith that comes through his promises here, 2035s

we can continually have this mix throughout our life of faith and fear. 2045s

And what does God say to us? Does God say to us enough already? You are really weary of me. 2053s

I am tired of it. 2064s

Tired of it. No. He keeps coming with his promise, telling us who he is, who is in control, who is sovereign over everything in life. 2066s

He keeps coming with his promises. 2082s

What we see is Abraham's seed, the Lord Jesus Christ, we see that the confusion of Babel is replaced by the clarity of the promise that all people on earth 2087s

will be blessed through you. 2111s

And he keeps coming with his promises amidst our mix to assure us of who he is. 2117s

Well, next week we are going to study Genesis 13 to 16. 2128s

We are going to study about the power and weakness and victory and defeat. 2132s

We are going to see the great faith of Abraham and we are also going to see times of human doubt. 2138s

We are going to see about God's hand in the victories of people, the caution of making an alliance with those that will lead us away from Him. 2145s

In fact, the need to avoid that in our lives. 2156s

And we are going to learn that we can trust God with the impossible. 2161s

We continue next week, Genesis 13 to 16. 2166s