The Tower of Babel

Last week, we discussed the flood story and why it is relevant to us now. We learned that Noah was a righteous man, in fact the only one who was righteous in his time. Through him, God wipes away sin and corruption from the earth and starts over. God gives Noah the same promise he gave to Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply the earth once again. God promises Noah, he will never flood the Earth again. This story as well as the story of Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel is passed down through many generations, but for some reason, people just aren’t learning from the mistakes of others. As we continue through Genesis, we see even more sin and separation from God. Before we jump to Abram, which most of us are familiar with, there is a story worth telling about the tower of Babel.

Read Genesis 11:1-9

• Why did they want to build a tower? (v. 4)

The people of Babel wanted to make a name for themselves. They wanted to bring all people together so they wouldn’t be dispersed over the earth. This is in direct opposition to the word of God spoken to Noah to “fill the Earth” (Gen. 9:1)! The people of Babel were looking to be known and famous for their works. They were full of pride. 

Read Philippians 2:1-11

In these verses, Paul tells us that we should always consider others above ourselves. Christ lived this, and in doing so God exalted his name above all other names.  God will not give his glory to another (Isaiah 42:8). He is glorified in us and through us, but we should never be seeking our own glory.

• What are some ways that we seek our own glory today?
• What did they build the tower with? (v. 3)

Bricks and tar were made by man. Stone and mortar were stronger materials that God provided from the Earth. Not only were the people of Babel seeking their own Glory, they were trying to accomplish something of their own skill.

• Are there times we try accomplish things without God?
• How can we strive to seek God’s glory instead of our own?

John 5 tells us that Christ is the vine and we are the branches and that “apart from God, we can do nothing” (v.5). A branch apart from the tree is lifeless – dead. You can’t do anything when you are dead. The people of Babel were dead spiritually. They were incapable of accomplishing anything good (full of life) apart from God. The intention of their hearts was nothing but sinful. So, he disperses them across the earth and confuses their language.

Memory Verse - 2 Corinthians 10:18

“For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.” (NIV)

"If you want to claim credit, claim it for God." What you say about yourself means nothing in God's work. It's what God says about you that makes the difference. (MSG)

The Flood and Why it Matters

Before Easter we were studying God's first human creations: Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel. Our last meeting, we discussed how Cain’s anger and jealousy led him to kill his brother Abel continuing in the way exemplified by his mother and father by ignoring God’s words. Cain is punished and sent away to be a wanderer on the earth. With Abel dead, and Cain cast out, humanity looks to have a pretty dim future, but hope comes through Adam and Eve’s third son, Seth. During Seth’s time, people began to call on the name of the LORD (Genesis 4:26). The next person we hear about is Noah, about 926 years later! We don’t know at exactly what point we started to mess things up again, but God is upset with the condition the world is in by the time it gets to Noah.

Read Genesis 6:1-8

God is going to give the human race 120 years to figure get their act together (v.3), but nothing happens. There is only one who found favor in God’s eyes, Noah. Noah was the only one considered righteous. Hebrews 11:7 tells us that is was by Noah's faith and righteousness that he believed and obeyed God. In these first few verses before the flood, we find that God has made a decision to destroy the whole earth. This is a tough story to chew on, but it’s significant to each of us in understanding God.

• How does it make you feel that God wiped out the earth?
• What do we learn about God from this story?

We rarely have all the answers, which is why scripture is so helpful. Let's take a look at what some of the New Testament writers have to say about Noah and the flood.

 

First, Jesus himself. Mathew 24:36-44. In this story Jesus is speaking to his disciples about the end times when God will come and  take his chosen people along with him. Jesus reminds us that we will not know the hour that he will return. What does this mean for us? Jesus compares us to those outside of the ark, who didn't know that the flood was coming and died as a result of their sin. He says, "so you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him" (v. 44). We must be ready for Christ to come at any moment striving to honor him and to share his story with those around us. 

Another mention of the flood story comes through Peter. Peter was the disciple who denied he knew Jesus' three times,but God uses him to spread the good news to the Gentiles. In 1 Peter 3:8-22, Peter talks about the flood as a story of our own redemption, that just as the flood completely wiped away corruption and sin from the earth, so God washes away our sin and gives us new life. Noah and his family were saved by the waters of the flood, as are we through the water of our baptism.

Sometimes, we think of the stories about Adam and Eve, Noah, David, Abraham, Paul, Peter, and others throughout the scriptures as nice stories we heard when we were younger, especially the ones in the Old Testament that don't get talked about as much, but the Bible gives us a picture of God and his work through his people. As you read and listen to God's word, think about what He is trying to reveal to you about Himself.

Luke 19: 28-44 - Palm Sunday

Every year, as the season of lent draws to an end, we celebrate Holy week. It begins with Palm Sunday, continues with Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the final celebration of Easter. The season of Lent is 40 days of fasting and prayer and mirrors Jesus’ time in the wilderness, the Israelites in the desert, and the flood story. It’s a time to draw us back to the heart of God. Holy week serves a similar purpose in that we walk through the story of the days leading up to Jesus’ death and Resurrection. Palm Sunday signifies his entrance into Jerusalem. Maundy Thursday signifies the last supper he spent with his disciples. He is crucified on Good Friday, and raised up on Easter Sunday. 

Let’s read Luke 19:28-38. Hopefully it will make Palm Sunday a little clearer.

Here we see a picture of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  This story may seem insignificant at first, but Jesus is setting in motion the road to the cross as prophesied by those before him. Zechariah was a prophet many years before Jesus was even born, but he tells the Israelites that a king is coming and he will be riding on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9) .  The crowd that sees Jesus coming is praising God and shouting, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” (Psalm 118:26). These things happen to confirm that Jesus is who He says he is. He is the one the Jewish people have been waiting for. 

Read Luke 19:39-44.

Some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, were upset that people were worshiping Jesus because they didn’t believe Jesus was the coming king. They told Jesus to rebuke those who were praising him, but Jesus tells them it doesn’t matter. If they didn’t worship him the stones would cry out. This is important, because Jesus doesn’t need us to worship him, but he desires our hearts. In the next few verses Jesus weeps over his people in Jerusalem, because they didn’t recognize that salvation was coming through Christ. Here is where it relates to us.

Many of us know who Jesus is. We have heard stories about him our whole life, but do we believe that He is the only one who can save us? Do we believe he is the only way to our Father in heaven? Do we believe that he loved us so much that he died for our sins and this was the final victory? Now we are forgiven. When Jesus meets us, we can’t turn away or ignore him like the Pharisees did. We should rejoice and worship the God who saves us.  Jesus wept over those who could not see that He was who he said he was, the king! We don't want to be the Pharisees who hear the good news and reject it. Pray that God will open your eyes to see Him. Think about that this week as we walk through Christ’s story and celebrate the freedom we have through his resurrection on Easter.