The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost Genesis 11:1-9 Rev. Christopher D.

White

New Hope Lutheran Church, Toledo, OH St. Pauls Lutheran Church, Monroe, MI July 1st, 2012

HOMILIES ON GENESIS: THE TOWER OF BABEL Building inspectors are known for being meticulous and finicky. Whenever any new construction is to be done, a building permit must be acquired. And once a building permit is secured, a building inspector becomes involved to ensure that the construction is done according to the established building code for that particular region. Thats the building inspectors job, to enforce the building code, which deals with safety, quality, accessibility, usability, and in some cases, aesthetics. And if those requirements are not met, then the building inspector has the authority to shut a construction project down or rule a building condemned until such changes are made that they coincide with the established building codes. Building inspectors have a lot of authority. They have a lot of power. And, even though they have a reputation for being nightmares to work with, their job is to ensure safety, knowing how much worse is can be to allow an unsafe construction to be completed than it would be to just shut it down altogether. Today were going to be talking construction by going back once again to Genesis, this time to Genesis chapter 11 and the account of the Tower of Babel. As weve said all along in our Genesis series, all of these accounts were preserved for our benefit, so that we see a bit of ourselves in the early peoples of the world with the intention that we learn how damaging sinful rebellion really is and how loving and patient God has been, and continues to be, as he steps in to intervene and to save. We see that love and patience displayed in full force in the tower of Babel account, where the divine inspector steps in and shuts down this building project that put the plan of salvation at risk of extinction due to mans continued and persistent rebellion. Aesthetically, the tower of Babel was going to be really impressive. Architecturally, it was probably going to be wondrous, something that people would flock to, something that people would go out of their way to see, like the leaning tower of Pisa or the statue of Liberty. Aesthetically, architecturally, it was planned out as a sight to behold. But there was one problemthe spiritual foundation, the purposes for which this tower was built:

They said to each other, Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughlycome, let us build for ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.
With those words, we are able to peer into the psyche of the post-flood generation, and what we ascertain from their comments is that the post-flood people were just as ungodly as the pre-flood peoples who were wiped out by the Lord in the massive 40 day/40 night flood. We, ourselves, we, ourselves, an egomaniacal, egotistical and proud generation to be sure. But the problems went far beyond simple pride and hubris. What they intended to build was most likely a ziggurat. Now for those of you who may not remember this from world history, the ziggurat was a pyramid looking structure that had steps on each side that led up to the top, where there would be an altar for sacrifice. In many pagan cultures, the altar was used for human sacrifice, specifically that of children to try and appease the wrath of a divine being, and entice that divine being to send rain on the earth. The ziggurat was constructed in such a way so that it represented a literal stairway between heaven and earth, whereby man would deem it possible to climb their way to godhood, to climb their way into divinity, a theological system that cuts the heart out of the gospel. That titanic evil endeavor was what the post-flood peoples used their common language for; not for proclaiming of the gospel of Eden, but for destruction of it. Not for the proclaiming of sin and grace, but for the

glorification of the self, in the expressed interest of leaving a legacy for future generations to revere them for and to follow. Think of the long-term damage that would cause, if God had not intervened. You know how we are by naturewe always are wanting to one-up. And each new generation naturally works to one-up the previous one. It used to be that 42 inch tvs were just HUGE! Now theres a 105 inch television you can bring home. I think of the battle for tallest building in the world, which is going to be constantly waged because of the pride people have to be the best. Pride is progressive. The ego always wants to be bigger. And if God had not intervened, yes, that tower would be impressive. It would rise above the skyline as a constant reminder of what man can achieve. And it would be one-uped by a future, even more ungodly generation, which would be one-uped by the next generation and the next and the next and the next. So, as he did over and over again in salvation history, God intervened, came down, inspected the building, saw the world-wide damage it would do, saw how unsafe it was in the way that it would damage souls for generations, and took action:

But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. 6 The LORD said, If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other. 8 So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.
In other words, he shut it down! The building inspector from above came down and saw how dangerous it would be for the whole world if this construction project was actually completed. So he condemned it! He shut it down, because the foundation was sinful pride. The foundation was flawed, it was dangerous. He shut it down! And in so doing, rescued the human racefrom THEMSELVES, and from their own sinful devices. Some say that this judgment on the post-flood generations was more damaging and more profound than the flood itself. The confusion of languages at Babel continues to have detrimental effects even in our modern era, as communication and trust are severely limited between cultures, and often result in hatred and war. But, think of how wonderful it was that God intervened at that point. Had he done nothing, would the Messianic promise had become as scarce in the world as it was in the pre-flood era, where only 8 believers were noted among millions? God knew just how far it would go if the human race was allowed to continue working together for the sake of evil, with evil intentions, with ungodly intentions and hellish results. And that wasnt his plan for the human race he loved. As we learn in 1 Timothy: God wants all people to be saved and to

come to a knowledge of the truth.

His plan was to enter history, to step in solidify the churchs foundation on the rock of Jesus Christ and him crucified. Thats the only foundation that lasts. Jesus is the only foundation for our faith and lives that isnt flawed. Not pride, not hubris, not riches, not wealth, not honor or prestige or anything else that flies away from us in a moments notice. Only Jesus! Jesus himself tells his disciples at the end of the Sermon on the Mount:

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.

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What patience! First in Eden, then with Cain, then with the pre-flood world, then with the post-flood generations who did exactly the same thing that the pre-flood world did, just in a different way. What patience with such rebellious people. And what wisdom to step in and stop the human race from sabotaging the grace that already had been shown to them time and again! What love to preserve mankind, and to save not through outward acts of hubris, but through the acceptance of humility, through the acceptance of a servants form, a humility that went even unto death on the cross, so that all people, throughout the world, of every nation, tribe and language may have their sins forgiven them for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord; what truthwhich transcends barriers, crosses linguistic and national lines, and truly brings people to God and raises them up to heaven. Amen.