Sermons – Grace Evangelical Free Church // Wyoming, MN

Genesis 16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. 4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. 5 And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me!” 6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.

7 The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” 9 The angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel of the LORD also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” 11 And the angel of the LORD said to her,

“Behold, you are pregnant

and shall bear a son.

You shall call his name Ishmael,

because the LORD has listened to your affliction.

12 He shall be a wild donkey of a man,

his hand against everyone

and everyone’s hand against him,

and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.”

13 So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.” 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered.

15 And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

INTRODUCTION

I know I say some version of this most weeks, but this is truly a remarkable passage. On the surface, it’s a two scene act in the larger story of Abram, it’s a description of a couple taking the fulfillment of God’s promises into their own hands, and it’s a tremendous display of God’s mercy and kindness toward a distraught foreigner. Even on the surface then there is a great deal of glory for us to see, savor, and share. Just below the surface, however, there’s an even greater reservoir of glory, sufficient to power God’s people into eternity. With just a little digging we gain great insight into both human and divine natures, glimpses into how God means His plan of salvation to unfold, powerful explanations for much of our suffering, God’s heart for the vulnerable, and the perfect reign of God over all.

To help you grasp and hang on to all of that, there are two parts to this sermon. In the first part I’ll quickly retell the simple story contained in the chapter. I’ll highlight a few things that might not be obvious in the text, but mostly I just want to help you see the basic story line. In the second part we’ll dive a bit deeper into a handful of Christian-life-critical themes that are embedded by God into this story.

Would you pray with me that God would use all of this to fill us up with glory and grace and then ignite us for true, powerful, gospel-driven, and risky kingdom-life and ministry?

THE STORY

Again, this strange and sad, yet hopeful story has two basic scenes.

Genesis 15:7-21 And he said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” 8 But he said, “O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” 9 He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. 11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, 19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”

INTRODUCTION

If you were here last week you’ll remember that Genesis 15 tells of two encounters Abram had with God. In the first, which came through a vision, we are given the first covenant promise and the key to understanding God’s covenant with Abram—namely that the children of Abram (the true heirs of the covenant) were those who would share his faith in God, not those who shared his DNA (last week). In the second encounter, then, which came through a dream, God gave the second covenant promise and the actual terms of the covenant—namely that God would bless Abram and his descendents in spectacular physical and spiritual ways (this week).

What’s more, you may also remember that these two encounters (which give us the key and the covenant) were critical for the Apostle Paul’s understanding of salvation in Jesus. In particular, he argued in Romans that the Jews’ failure was not in clinging to this covenant, but in missing the key that unlocked its meaning. That is, Paul wasn’t arguing against esteeming the contents of Abram’s second encounter with God, but in failing to understand it in light of the first. For that reason, once again, this passage is absolutely critical for us to grasp God’s promise to save His people and His promised means of doing so. These two encounters together help explain why Christianity is the fulfillment of the OT promises rather than a new religion altogether.

The main point of this passage/sermon then is that God made a covenant promise with Abram to bless him and his descendents in spectacular physical and spiritual ways if they would trust in Him. The main prayer is that we’d understand, receive, and share its implications for the world today.

THE SECOND ENCOUNTER (7-21)

This second encounter that Abram had with God (which almost perfectly parallels the first in shape and the one God would later make with Moses in language) gives further clarification to God’s intentions for Abram and his offspring. To really understand and appreciate it we need to recognize what it says about 1) the nature of the God of the covenant, 2) the promises of the covenant, and 3) the terms of the covenant.

Genesis 15:1-6 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” 4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” ‘’

6 And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

INTRODUCTION

Genesis 15 is one of the most pivotal passages in the entire bible. The second section (7-21; next week) forms the foundation for the Jewish understanding of what it means to be the people of God. For centuries (and even on to today for many) the descendents of Abram put their hope almost exclusively in the covenant God made with Abram in this passage. More importantly, the first section (1-6; this morning) forms the foundation of Paul’s argument on salvation in Romans (chapter 4 especially). In particular, v.6 gives one of the first and clearest indications that God’s redemption would come by grace alone through faith alone. V.6, Paul argued, because the Jews missed it, is the interpretive key to the covenant; for it defines what it means to be a child of Abram. That’s a lot obviously. It’s quite a passage.

All of this is communicated through two encounters that Abram had with God. In these encounters God promised Abram a “very great” reward. Specifically, He promised Abram protection, countless descendents, peace, and fertile and abundant land. What’s more, though these things would be received through hardship, God guaranteed all of them by making a unilateral covenant with Abram—a covenant dependent only on God’s faithfulness. Again, we’ll look at the first encounter this week and the second next week.

The main message for us is that God promised to bless Abram and his offspring beyond imagination; especially in providing the righteousness that God required of Abram (which we now know would come in Jesus). And the main prayer for us is that we’d join Abram in believing God’s promises that we might receive the righteousness of God in Jesus by faith.

ABRAM’S ENCOUNTER WITH GOD (1-6)

Hebrews 1:1 says that “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.” Another way of saying this might be that God used many different means of communicating with His people prior to Christ (which is the point of the very next verse, Hebrews 1:2). We see one such way in our passage for this morning. This new Genesis scene opens up with God speaking to Abram through a vision.

1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision…

After everything that had taken place in Genesis 14, which Pastor Mike preached on two weeks ago, and in which there is no mention of God communicating with Abram, God came again to him; this time in a vision. We don’t know exactly how this works or what form it took. Thus, while we might like to know some more particulars they are not the point of this passage. The point is the content of the vision and Abram’s response to it.

The Vision

What, then, did God communicate to Abram in the vision God gave him?

1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”

In this simple opening line God promised protection and reward for Abram. We’re not immediately told how God would shield Abram or what would Abram’...

Hebrews 6:19-7:28 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

7:1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. 3 He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.

4 See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! 5 And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham. 6 But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7 It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. 8 In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives. 9 One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, 10 for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

11 Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? 12 For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. 13 For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. 14 For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.

15 This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, 16 who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. 17 For it is witnessed of him,

    “You are a priest forever,

        after the order of Melchizedek.”

18 For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness 19 (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.

20 And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, 21 but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him:

    “The Lord has sworn

        and will not change his mind,

    ‘You are a priest forever.’”

22 This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.

23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. 28 For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath,

Good morning Grace. Lauren, thanks for reading. It seems like every time I preach lately, the scripture reader gets to work overtime.

Pastor Dave and the VanAcker clan are on vacation for the next two weeks, but we are continuing our way through Genesis. Starting in Chapter 12, the focus of the Genesis has shifted to one particular family, which at this point isn’t even family yet. But God has chosen Abram to become the father of God’s people and makes Abram promises. Now we come to chapter 14 and on the surface it sounds kind of out of place from what we’ve seen so far. In previous chapters God is speaking or at least a visible character. He doesn’t speak or act explicitly in this chapter. That gives the chapter, especially the first 16 verses a very earthly feel to it. What I mean is that it sounds like a story you might find in a book outside the Bible. It’s just the natural way things happen. Have you ever felt that way about your life? It’s a series of small, insignificant, natural events that add up. You did the next thing because it made sense, but there wasn’t any real deep meaning to it. We don’t see God show up in visions, he doesn’t speak audibly to us or lead us by a pillar of fire. We just get up, make breakfast because that makes sense, take care of the most pressing things for that day. But one thing this passage will show us is that God is at work even if we don’t always get to see how.

A few warring clans fight, Abram is brought into the fight and despite long odds, he defeats 4 ferocious kings. But then the last seven verses present us with an interesting and glorious glimpse into heaven. It’s like the curtain gets pulled back on these “normal” events and we get more understanding. It’s a glimpse of things that are happening all the time, but here we have the privilege of understanding exactly what is happening.

After Abram and Lot separate and dwell in different parts of the land, we get to this story of two groups of warring kings. It almost sounds like a footnote in the Bible until Lot gets pulled into the action and is taken captive. This sets Abram and his small forces to action to rescue Lot. But how do we make sense of it all? Is it just luck, shrewd battle strategy or is something else going on in this passage? The key, as we’ve seen before with Abram, is in his ability to trust the King of King’s promises and receive blessing despite the circumstances around him. We’ll also see this mystery man named Melchizedek and his role related to Abram and blessing.

Pray that we would understand this text, feel the weight of it, see the glory of Christ, and how it all relates to us today.

Prayer

Father God, we love you, but only because you loved us first. We would have no way of even knowing you as God if you didn’t reveal yourself to us. Thank you for your Word and what is revealed in it. Help us to see it as spiritual food to sustain us at all times. Thank you for a congregation that values your Word and wants to know it well.

Thank you for our building, thank you for sound equipment, internet and all of the moving pieces that we count upon daily and weekly for worship. Thank you for the people who tirelessly help behind the scenes. We are dependent on you for all things, including the logistics of our worship service.

Father, I pray for Pastor Dave and his family. Give them rest this week. May they delight in your creation, one another and have joy in your salvation. May you strengthen them to return to ministry with even greater desire and joy.

Lord, I also thank you for our older saints. Please comfort them and remind them of your presence. We miss them, please strengthen their faith, keep them healthy and may we find ways to love them well during this season.

God, we also pray for wisdom in how to move forward with ministries and gatherings. Grant us unity in our body. Grant us charity in our opinions, convictions and consciences.

1 So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negeb. 2 Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the LORD. 5 And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, 6 so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together, 7 and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land.

8 Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.” 10 And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. 12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD.

14 The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, 15 for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. 16 I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. 17 Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” 18 So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the LORD.

INTRODUCTION

Last week’s sermon—you may recall—was called, “The Folly of Taking Matters into our Own Hands.” This week’s sermon is called, “The Glory of Leaving Matters in God’s Hands.” Abram, just like you and me, spent his life coming in and out of both—living faithlessly and faithfully. Last week (12:10-20) we saw that he tried to go his own way. This week, once again, he acts in a way that demonstrates remarkable faith in God. There’s a lot that we can learn and grow from as we consider Abram’s struggles and successes. It’s my prayer, and I hope it is yours too, that God would help us get everything we can out of this text for His glory.

Before we get to the text itself, and before I pray, in order to help with both, I want you to consider two things. First, when I say that it is wrong to take matters into our own hands I don’t mean that we can actually take matters into our own hands—that we have some kind of ability to override God. And second, when I say that it is right to leave matters in God’s hands I don’t mean that we actually have a say in what God holds in His hands and what He doesn’t—that we could actually snatch something from His grip. What I mean is this: Without exception God is sovereignly reigning; all things are always fully in His hands. He is entirely and perfectly in control of every atom in every corner of the universe He created. That never changes. What changes, and what we see clearly in Abram throughout his life, is merely our recognition of and response to that reality.

Genesis 12:10-20 Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11 When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, 12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.” 14 When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16 And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

17 But the LORD afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18 So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go.” 20 And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.

INTRODUCTION

We saw last week (in 12:1-9) that the major promise of the OT was given to Abram…

Genesis 12:1-3 Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

The main questions going forward in Genesis and the entire OT, then, concern the fulfillment of that promise. Would it happen? If so, when and how? Abram obeyed God initially, but would that continue? Could Abram botch the promise or would God be faithful no matter what? With those questions ringing in our ears we’re left wondering what would happen next.

The main point of this passage and sermon is that God’s promises never fail. Though Abram took matters into his own hands—even in the way of deception and abandonment—God preserved Abram, his wife Sarai, and His promise to Abram. God remained faithful even when Abram didn’t. To help you see all of this in our text for this morning we’ll consider a pair of problems that Abram faced along with his “solutions” to those problems. Then we’ll contrast that with God’s unwavering faithfulness. Would you pray with me then that God would help us trust in Him more and more even as Genesis helps us to see His faithfulness more and more? And would you pray with me that the Spirit would be pleased to help us see the folly of taking matters into our own hands?

ABRAM’S PROBLEMS AND FAITHLESS “SOLUTIONS” (10-16)

The last section of Genesis ended with Abram worshiping God and continuing on to the land God had promised to him—it ended in Abram’s obedience and praise. As we’ve seen several times before in Genesis, everything seems like it was going just as God intended. God had made awesome promises and His chosen representative was living by faith in those promises. But as we’ve also seen several times already in Genesis, it didn’t take long before Abram encountered a problem—a test of his faith.

Abram’s First Problem (10)

We don’t know for sure how much time passed between 12:9 and 12:10, but evidently it was enough for a severe famine to take hold.

10 Now there was a famine in the land…the famine was severe in the land.

Before we get to Abram’s solution to this problem, I’d like to invite you to really try to put yourself into his shoes. That is,

Genesis 11:10-12:9 These are the generations of Shem. When Shem was 100 years old, he fathered Arpachshad two years after the flood. 11 And Shem lived after he fathered Arpachshad 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

12 When Arpachshad had lived 35 years, he fathered Shelah. 13 And Arpachshad lived after he fathered Shelah 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

14 When Shelah had lived 30 years, he fathered Eber. 15 And Shelah lived after he fathered Eber 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

16 When Eber had lived 34 years, he fathered Peleg. 17 And Eber lived after he fathered Peleg 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

18 When Peleg had lived 30 years, he fathered Reu. 19 And Peleg lived after he fathered Reu 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

20 When Reu had lived 32 years, he fathered Serug. 21 And Reu lived after he fathered Serug 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

22 When Serug had lived 30 years, he fathered Nahor. 23 And Serug lived after he fathered Nahor 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

24 When Nahor had lived 29 years, he fathered Terah. 25 And Nahor lived after he fathered Terah 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

26 When Terah had lived 70 years, he fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27 Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot. 28 Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 29 And Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah. 30 Now Sarai was barren; she had no child.

31 Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there. 32 The days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran.

12:1 Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD. 9 And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.

INTRODUCTION

We’re going to consider three different sections of Genesis this morning. Each serves a different immediate purpose, but all three are ultimately in Genesis for the same reason: to help tell the story of God and His faithfulness to rescue His people. To that end we’ll consider the genealogy of Shem (11:10-26), the brief section on the descendants of Abram’s father, Terah (11:27-32), and finally, God’s call on Abram and Abram’s response (12:1-9). In each of these sections I want to invite you to be on the lookout for glimpses of the glo...

Genesis 11:1-9 1 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”

5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. 6 And the LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth.

INTRODUCTION

If you’ve ever spent time around people who speak a different language you know how much we take for granted the ability to understand one another when we talk. I’ve accidentally ordered cheese instead of cheese cake. I’ve tried to say I was sick and needed a bathroom only to (embarrassingly) stare at a blank face. I’ve had an airport official try to get me to pay a bribe without being able to really understand him or know how to report the behavior. I’ve caused a great deal of confusion while trying to hand out free bibles. I’ve tried to get a pharmacist to explain to me the right dosage of allergy medicine (because my eye was twice the normal size) with very little success. I’ve said things that I was sure would be helpful to my wife that somehow got lost in translation. Most significantly, I’ve tried to share the gospel and teach the bible many times in great frustration.

Being able to easily and clearly communicate with others is a real gift. Our passage begins with the whole earth possessing that gift. Because of their fear, idolatry and pride, however, our passage ends with the whole earth forfeiting that gift. To help you understand what happened to bring that about, we’ll consider the people’s hearts and actions, God’s response, and then a few implications for us today. Please pray with me that God would help us see the folly and deadliness of fear, idolatry and pride. Please pray also that God would help us long for the day in which those things will be no more and we will all be reunited in one language with which we will forever sing God’s praises.

THE PEOPLE’S HEARTS AND ACTIONS (1-4)

If we are to understand the significance of this passage we first need to understand the relationship between it and chapter 10. 10:1 and 11:1 start in the same place—one family with one language. The rest of chapter 10, then, describes the scattering that was caused by the events in our passage for this morning. That is, chapter 11 provides the explanation for the things we read in chapter 10. Why in chapter 10 do we read that the “coastland peoples spread in their lands, each with their own language…” (10:5)? Likewise, why is it that in the day of Peleg “the earth was divided” (10:25)? Why did Shem’s sons speak different languages (10:31)? And why were the descendants of Noah’s sons scattered further and further over the course of generations? What caused those things to happen? Again, 11:1-9 answers those questions for us.

Let’s begin at the beginning, then, as we consider the hearts and actions of Noah’s offspring.

Genesis 10:1-32 These are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood.

2 The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. 3 The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. 4 The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. 5 From these the coastland peoples spread in their lands, each with his own language, by their clans, in their nations.

6 The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan. 7 The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan. 8 Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD. Therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.” 10 The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 From that land he went into Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, and 12 Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city. 13 Egypt fathered Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, 14 Pathrusim, Casluhim (from whom the Philistines came), and Caphtorim.

15 Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn and Heth, 16 and the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, 17 the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, 18 the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterward the clans of the Canaanites dispersed. 19 And the territory of the Canaanites extended from Sidon in the direction of Gerar as far as Gaza, and in the direction of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. 20 These are the sons of Ham, by their clans, their languages, their lands, and their nations.

21 To Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth, children were born. 22 The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram. 23 The sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. 24 Arpachshad fathered Shelah; and Shelah fathered Eber. 25 To Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided, and his brother’s name was Joktan. 26 Joktan fathered Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 29 Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab; all these were the sons of Joktan. 30 The territory in which they lived extended from Mesha in the direction of Sephar to the hill country of the east. 31 These are the sons of Shem, by their clans, their languages, their lands, and their nations.

32 These are the clans of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, in their nations, and from these the nations spread abroad on the earth after the flood.

Good morning, it’s good to see so many of you. Thanks to Jen for reading this passage. You might be thinking, “great, another genealogy, what can we get out of this?” I would ask that you would join me as I pray for this passage. We as a church are convicted that the Bible is true and that all of it is breathed out by God, including genealogies. Further, all scripture is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. Those are the things that scripture does to us. All of this is for the goal of being complete and equipped for every good work.

As I’ve studied this chapter, I’ve been able to see and profit from it. My prayer, and I ask you to join me know, is that we would profit from this passage and it would equip us for good works. Let’s pray:

Father of Heaven, we thank you this morning that we can gather. We pledge our allegiance to you as LORD. We gather with other churches around the world to proclaim your word, sing of your mercy and love. I ask that you would remind us of your presence this morning. Please remind those who can’t join us as well. Would you also give us increased chances to gather as one body with all of our members as soon as possible? Please comfort those who are unable to join us.

We also pray for Jen Blevins in Haiti and all of our...