God Scatters His Enemies

Genesis 11:1-9
Gary Wassermann | Sunday, February 20, 2022
Copyright © 2022, Gary Wassermann

In the days of Israel’s travels in the wilderness, whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Rise up, O Lord!  May your enemies be scattered; may your foes flee before you” (Num. 10:35).  God is in the business of bringing down the proud and the lofty.  He scatters those who are proud of their numbers.  He confounds those who are wise in their own eyes.  He shames those who are self-assertive because he and he alone will be exalted in all the earth.

The flood destroyed many sinners, but it did not destroy sin.  Noah’s descendants multiplied, and before long, the majority had rejected the God of their forefather Noah.

The setting for Genesis 11 is in the plain of Shinar, which is in the region of Mesopotamia, and more specifically, it is Babylon.  Babylon is “Babel” with a Greek ending.  In fact, in the Hebrew Bible, the word for Babylon is “Babel.”  Babylon was founded as a place of pride and rebellion.

As to the time, it is often supposed that the building and the subsequent scattering described here took place around the time of Peleg.  Genesis 10:25 says, “One [son] was named Peleg, because in his time the earth was divided.”

This passage naturally divides into two.  I will cover verses 1–4 under the heading “Engines of Evil,” and I will cover verses 5–9 under the heading “The Lord Came Down.”

Engines of Evil (vv. 1–4)

“Engines of evil” are what sinful men are.  There are passages in the Bible that state general principles, principles of God’s assessment of what sinful man is.  In Genesis 8:21, God says after the flood, “Every inclination of [man’s] heart is evil from childhood.”  Other passages illustrate the same truth by what people did.  That is the case with Genesis 11:1–4.  I have four subpoints.

1. Spontaneous Sin

These people that we read about here decided to build a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens.  The purpose was not protect or defend themselves in case of another flood.  If they had wanted to do that, they would have started out on the top of a mountain to get in the best position possible.  But they built on a plain.  Their purpose was to make a name for themselves and not be scattered over the face of the earth.

There was nothing around them to suggest such a project.  They had come to an open plain, and as relates to this city and this tower, there was nothing there.  That makes this sin different than many of the other sins we read about.

Adam and Eve were set in the Garden of Eden, and in the midst of the garden was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, so that as Adam and Eve went about their normal day and their normal activities, they would regularly pass by it and they would see it.  And every time they saw it, naturally the thought would come their minds, “It has good fruit. Perhaps I could eat it.” And it was their job to tell themselves, “No, God said, ‘Don’t eat that fruit,’ and so I won’t.”  Eventually, of course, they did eat that fruit that was there in front of them.

In relation to Achan, we have Achan’s own words that give us the classic statement of the anatomy of sin.  He said, “When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them” (Josh. 7:21).  “I saw . . . I coveted, [I] took.”  It was there, and it looked really good, and he gave in to his evil desires.

King David was not where he was supposed to be, doing what he was supposed to be doing, but from the roof of his palace, he saw a sight that caught his eye.  Through that sight, an evil thought sprang into his mind, and he acted on it.

The people on the plain of Shinar had nothing to prompt them.  There was no blueprint.  There was no poetic description of a city and a fantastic tower.  There was no such tower elsewhere that they were trying to copy.  They had before them a blank canvas, and what they put onto it came from nowhere but their own hearts.  As Jesus said in Mark 7:21–22, “From within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.”  The sinful heart is a factory of sin.  Psalm 36:4 says, “Even on his bed he plots evil.”  Even when no one is provoking him, when everything around him is peaceful and still, evil thoughts come to man’s mind.  He is rolling them over and working them out.

This is true of people today.  The very young child sins in ways no one taught him to do.  The student is sitting in class, but he’s not thinking about chemistry; he’s thinking about how to sin.  One person is swelling with arrogance when he hasn’t actually achieved anything.  Another person is working up suspicion of someone else when there is no basis for it.  This is what we do naturally.  The sinful heart comes to a blank canvas and creates something grotesque on it.

And, in fact, it is even worse than that, because it is not even correct to call it a blank canvas.  For the people on the plain of Shinar, the reality of God was all around them.  God had revealed his wrath powerfully in the great flood, which was not all that many generations removed from them.  They were well aware of it.  Even today, Romans 1:18 says, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men.”

But God’s wrath is not the only dynamic at work in the world now, and it was not the only dynamic at work in the world then either.  God was good to them.  In spite of the ongoing sinfulness of men, he had preserved their lives.  Not only that, he had brought them to this plain.  It was an open and fertile plain. It had rivers around it that would flood seasonally and made the plain fertile and fruitful.  So also today everyone benefits from God’s goodness.  Jesus said in Matthew 5:45, “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”  Or as Paul said to the people at Lystra, “[God] has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy” (Acts 14:17).  How much more is God good to us his own people, to whom his mercies are new every morning!

Yet, in spite of this, that is what the people did in Genesis 11.  In spite of God’s wrath, that should have given them some fear, and in spite of God’s goodness, that should have made them thankful, they contrived to build this city and tower to promote themselves.  And all sinful imaginations that fill the minds of people today come in spite of God’s wrath and God’s goodness.  How great is the corruption of heart that the Holy Spirit must deliver each and everyone of us from!  What is it that we come up with?  When we have time for our thoughts to wander, what do we think about?  What is it we plan and pursue?  When we act without a lot of deliberation, what do we quickly do?  Do we quickly go into sin?

Jesus said in Matthew 12:33, “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good.”  What fruit does your heart produce?

2. Zealous Sin

Look at what these people planned to do.  This was an extremely ambitious project.  They would build a tower that reaches to the heavens.  “To the heavens” is probably figurative language to describes an edifice of impressive and monumental proportions.  When the ten unbelieving spies returned from the land of Canaan, they reported in Deuteronomy 1:28, “The cities are large and fortified to heaven” (NASB).  These spies were wrong in what they chose to focus on, but they were not wrong in their description.  God himself said in Deuteronomy 9:1 that the Israelites were going to enter a land that had “great cities fortified to heaven” (NASB).  This was what the people intended to build.  To see this tower would be like standing at the base of El Capitan.  It would take your breath away.  It would be a skyscraper.  To construct such a thing would be a huge endeavor of time, resources, and work.

But their zeal went further.  The plain where they were living did not have a natural supply of building quality stone, sort of like the area that we live in.  So they had an ambitious idea, but no materials to carry it out.  What did they say in the face of that situation?  “No problem.  We can find a way.  We can make a way.  We’ll build a brickworks and produce the materials that we need.”  There was no obstacle that could deter these people.  The mountains in their way seemed like molehills.  For every problem, they had a solution.  Their pride was so consuming that they drove themselves to arduous work that nothing but their pride compelled them to do.

The same is true of us today.  When our desires and passions carry us along, nothing is difficult for us.  Some people skip eating and drinking because they are so singularly focused on a goal that will bring them renown and glory.  They give up enjoyments and pleasures and don’t even give themselves sleep at night.  This is true especially of the greedy.  John Calvin said, “There is no greater misfortune in the world in this weak life than to desire to do evil.”[1]  Enemies would not do half as much to us as what we do to ourselves in the pursuit of evil.  The devil drives the reprobates on in the way that seems right to them all the way to death.

It is not just the thoughts and intentions and words we speak that show what is in our hearts.  It is what we actually set ourselves to doing that shows what is in our hearts.  How do you respond when God commands you to do your duty?  Some people will respond, “That’s too hard for me.  I know my limitations.  I just don’t have the time and energy to do it.”  It takes only a slight inconvenience to stop them in their tracks.  Some are lethargic when it comes to God’s will, but they are all energy when it comes to their own interests.  Some leap over mountains to serve the devil, but nothing is easy when it comes to doing duty toward God.

Stir yourself up to serve God.  Don’t give in to laziness and procrastination.  First, that means to set your sights high in serving God and in what can be done for him.  Think big.  Think as big for God as the people on the plain of Shinar thought for evil.  William Carey, the missionary to Calcutta, India, said, “Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God.”  Don’t dismiss ideas that will take a lot of diligent work.  Then go forth and do them.  Proverbs 15:19 says, “The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway.”  He whose heart is in it will make progress.

God redeemed us so that we would be a people of his very own, eager, zealous, to do what is good.  That does not mean everything will be easy.  We must struggle to serve God.  But God promises to strengthen us when we are weak.  Isaiah 40:31 says, “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.”  The Holy Spirit himself will strengthen our hands, and he will himself work with us to move mountains as we labor in serving the kingdom of God.

3. The Sin of Selfish Ambition

So far I have only touched on the motivation behind this great building project, but now I want to look more closely at the sin of selfish ambition.  They wanted to make a name for themselves through this great tower.  They wanted people living then and in the generations that would follow to stand in awe of the men who built such an awesome structure.  It would be their immortality.  They wanted to be somebody.  This tower would be the monument to themselves, showing off their architectural ingenuity, their wealth, their strength, their work, and their persistence.  It would be a representation of themselves, that they stood high above everyone else. It would bring them glory.

Throughout the prophets, towers are symbols of strength and pride.  Isaiah says, “The Lord Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted . . . for every lofty tower” (Isa. 2:12, 15).

This sin of selfish ambition was also behind their determination not to be scattered over the face of the whole earth.  Let it be known that no force could push them around.  They had chosen their place for themselves, and that’s where they would stay.  They are like the people of Psalm 49 who named lands after themselves: This land is mine, and this land proclaims my name.  God’s command to fill the earth meant nothing to them.

This is the way of the world.  Jesus said in Luke 22:25, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors.”  Everything they do is to puff themselves up. You see, “I am a Benefactor.” And again, as Psalm 49 says, the rich name lands after themselves. Self-promotion.

This yearning for “what exalts me” is in the heart of everyone for all of life.  The disciples’ arguments about who was the greatest showed some seeds of it within them too.  In Luke 10, Jesus sent out seventy-two to go out ahead of him two by two bearing the message of Jesus.  Luke 10:17 says, “The seventy-two returned with joy and said, ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.’”  Jesus replied, “Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20).  Jesus understood that after performing miracles, these disciples were apt to start drinking in the awe of the people around them, and to start to think as though it was by their own power and godliness that they had done these things.  They were apt to start walking around as though they were some kind of demigods on earth.  So they were not to rejoice in what could be connected to them or their agency in any way.  Instead, they were to rejoice that their names were written in heaven, which is something they had nothing to do with.  God did that, and he did it before the beginning of time, and he did it when they were yet sinners.  There is nothing about that that points to you as someone impressive.

So be content to be scorned in this world.  God chooses the nobodies to shame the somebodies, so be pleased to be a nobody.  Proverbs 12:9 says, “Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant than pretend to be somebody and have no food.”  When you give or do any other acts of righteousness, do not let your right hand know what your left hand is doing.  Don’t call attention to yourself or even do it in such a way that others could pay attention to it.  But if God sees fit to make your name well-known, don’t be affected by it or love it.  Make your calling and election sure, and if indeed God has called and chosen you, rejoice in that, something that you had nothing to do with.  Christ must rule in our hearts.  We must watch diligently and seek the Holy Spirit to root out this ambition from within us or it will keep rising up.

4. Sin Fueled by Counsel

It is true that they pursued their ambition spontaneously and zealously, but it was through talking to each other that they were able to be as bold and productive in their rebellion as they were.  Verse 3 says, “They said to each other, ‘Come, let us . . . Come, let us.’”  They were not forced labor under the command of a powerful despot.  These were people who were in basic agreement.  But that is what makes their counsel all the more significant.  They all had this inclination within them, but it was when one brought it up that it landed and found a place in the hearts of the others.  They said, “Yes, let’s do that.”  And they expanded on it and they would build upon it.  Again, they would say, “Yes, let’s do it.”  They would encourage one another and strengthen one another on in doing so. The sinful heart receives an evil suggestion like a tinderbox receives a spark.  At the same time, they didn’t have to graduate from a teaching program to be teachers to one another in the ways of evil.  It came naturally.  We are natural-born teachers in this area.

Don’t underestimate the power of speech to give ideas and to embolden people to pursue a sinful course.  King Ahaziah of Judah did evil in the eyes of the Lord because of the counsel he received.  His mother, Athaliah, counseled him in evil.  Her relatives from the house of Ahab were earnest in ensuring that Ahaziah would not turn from the path of idolatry that his parents had followed.  By their counsel, they even induced him to join Ahab’s son Joram in a war that led to Ahaziah’s downfall.  The companion of fools always suffers harm.

In Isaiah 41, the outlying Gentile nations feared and trembled when they saw the works of the Lord.  They were probably on the verge of being overwhelmed.  Some of them were probably inclined to give up and cast aside their worthless idols.  (GMW)  But Isaiah 41:6–7 says, “Each helps the other and says to his brother, ‘Be strong!’  The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, and he who smooths with the hammer spurs on him who strikes the anvil.”  With such mutual encouragement, they continued on in their futile idolatry.  No transgression will be too far for those who have one another’s counsel to spur them on.  Nothing will be impossible for them.

We all will be influenced by the counsel we listen to.  Don’t take this matter lightly.  Many Israelites were stirred up to rebellion by the report of ten spies.  We can find ourselves going further in sin than we ever expected when we listen to evil words because they naturally find a place in our hearts.

We have a responsibility to speak differently.  As Ephesians 4:29 says, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”  We are to speak in a way that builds up and benefits.  If those people on the plain of Shinar were able to do so much because they talked to each other, consider what will be possible for the church if we encourage one another in righteousness.  Nothing will be impossible.  Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the remnant of Israel listened when Haggai spoke in the name of the Lord, and they set themselves to building, in spite of every obstacle.  Their situation had not changed.  Everything that had delayed and prohibited them before was still there, but they listened and they went and they did the work.

The pulpit ministry has a unique place in preparing God’s people for works of service.  First Corinthians 14:3 says, “Everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.”  But there is also a role that every one of us has in our ordinary conversations with one another.  Hebrews 10:24–25 says, “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.  Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Recognize the powerful effect that your words can have.  You may think that you can do nothing.  You may think, “People don’t listen to me, and my words do not amount to anything.”  And you may not be impressive as a speaker.  But a word spoken in season can have a great effect. Psalm 122:1 says, “I rejoiced with those who said me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’”  You see, something so simple brings joy and encouragement to the people of God.  What a blessing is a good word spoken in season!  Above all, we must hear and receive the word of Christ himself. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Col. 3:16).  First John 2:14 links together “You are strong” with “The word of God lives in you.”  You see, the word strengthens us, the word cleanses us, the word empowers us, and we can strengthen and empower one another through it. Therefore, comfort one another with these words.

The Lord Came Down (vv. 5–9)

God responds.  These people had been conspiring together and building their city and their tower, but God also had something to say.  He arose, he took counsel, and he confused them and put them to shame.

The story of these people is people is very much the story of Psalm 2.  “Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?  The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.  ‘Let us break their chains,’ they say, ‘and throw off their fetters.’  The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.”  Then he strikes them down.

Genesis 11:5 says, “But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building.”  This does not mean that God had to go from one place to another to find out what was going on.  God is omniscient and omnipresent.  He fills heaven and earth, and he knows all things completely.  Nothing is done in secret from God.  Rather, “the Lord came down” signifies two things.

First, God mocks human pride.  They were building a tower that reaches to the heavens, a colossal structure that would strike awe into the hearts of everyone who saw it.  It would tower over everything else.  It would perhaps give them access to the realm of the gods themselves.  Surely, it should rise up as a challenge to God himself!  How will God ever be able to handle such an awesome achievement?  But before God, it is so puny that it is as though he has to come down even to see it.  He comes down and says, “Oh, this is the great tower you are so proud of?  Well, I will be careful not to touch it so that it doesn’t fall over.”

That is how God views all monuments of human pride.  There are those who have built up huge fortunes.  I don’t know if you could even write their net worth on a check.  Look at all those zeroes!  But what is that to God?  He looks down to see such a puny amount.  “Oh, is that how much you have?”  Or look at those people who raise up edifices of intellect and philosophy.  They consider themselves giants who have removed all need for God.  They have discovered the mind of God.  They have replaced God himself.  With their superior intellect, no one can challenge them.  They have comprehended heaven and earth.  But God has to look down to observe their foolish ramblings and their Lilliputian minds.  Psalm 113:6 describes God as the one “who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth.”

What are you proud of?  What is it that has your head puffed up and sets you higher than everyone else?  Any of the things that we might take pride in are puny before God, so go ahead and bring them out.  God stoops down, and he gets out his magnifying glass, and he says, “Oh, I see that you ran a faster than the other kids in your class. Well, that is something.  Oh, I see that you got an A on the test.  That’s a historic achievement.  Oh, I can see your beauty that you are so proud of.  No doubt that face will launch a thousand ships.  Oh, I think I can read those letters.  Does it say ‘PhD’?  Oh, well.  I hear you have a fantastic family.  I suppose they must be more holy than the angels who cover their faces and their feet in my presence.  Oh, I hear you are a good person.  I am looking down.  I have my magnifying glass out. But all I can see is this stinking pile of garbage.”  God scoffs at the puny accomplishments that we are so quick to take pride in.  “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches” (Jer. 9:23), but “let him who boasts boast in the Lord” (1 Cor. 1:31).

Second, “the Lord came down” means that it seems like he does not pay attention for a while, but then he executes judgment.  “The Lord came down.”  When the Lord came down, there was a city and a tower to see, perhaps not completed, but well under way.  God had allowed them to carry on with their plans uninhibited for a long time.  They thought nothing would hinder them.  They seemed to be succeeding against God himself.

God allows the wicked to go on for a time and to grow bold and confident in their way because everything is working.  Isaiah 28:15 describes the mindset that such people take on.  “You boast, ‘We have entered into a covenant with death, with the grave we have made an agreement.  When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by, it cannot touch us, for we have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place.’”  But then, suddenly, God will bring them down.  Isaiah 29:15 says, “Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord.”  God had not withdrawn.  He was simply waiting for the right time to act.  Then in a moment, he shows that everything must come before his judgment seat, and those who have scorned him must pay for what they have done.

These mighty builders on the plain of Shinar had schemed and planned.  They had taken counsel and exhorted one another.  But there was another counsel they had not counted on.  The triune God took counsel to frustrate their plans.  In Genesis 11:7, God said, “Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other,” and he put a stop to their great project.  As Proverbs 21:30 says, “There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.”

Look at how God halted their progress.  God could have sent a great earthquake that shook the land and caused the bricks to fall and leveled all the progress they had made.  God could have sent wild animals to tear away at them and scatter them in that way.  But that is not what he did.  Neither one of those things would have been as humbling as what he did.  He confused their speech.  Of all the things that people do, speaking is one of the lightest and easiest things.  Talk is cheap.  It is easy to make glib promises and empty boasts.  It is easy to plot and scheme.  But the truth is, we cannot even speak a word unless God has given us the freedom to do so.

The implications of this are obvious.  Our lives depend on God, and we are sustained by his power.  We may have hopes and desires and plans and goals, but we cannot carry them out unless God permits.  James 4:13–15 speaks against presumptuous speaking:  “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.  What is your life?  You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’”  Again, Proverbs 16:1 says, “To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the reply of the tongue.”  The prophet Jeremiah had a right perspective on life when he prayed in Jeremiah 10:23, “I know, O Lord, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.”  This is how we also ought to pray and think and live.  We must resolve to do nothing except what God has opened for us, and by his grace set his blessing on.  As Proverbs 3:6 says, “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

If you have not been living this way, wake up to the reality of God.  Perhaps you have known for a long time what God wanted you to do, but have refused to do it.  Perhaps that thing is obedience to some command, or perhaps it is repenting of certain sins that you have left unaddressed and undealt with.  If you have not done these things that you ought to have done, but have gone on with your life, you are in a very dangerous place because whatever success or progress you have had in all this time is only likely to harden you and to make you more bold in wickedness, and to make you think, “I can go on and succeed, and there is no need for me to take God into account.”  But suddenly the time will come when your foot will surely slip.  Turn now. God will rise up against you if you don’t humble yourself first.

This then is how we should walk.  But what God did also instructs us in how we should view others in the world around us.  Don’t envy the mighty in this world.  They talk boastfully, they act fearlessly, they make everyone else tremble, and perhaps they seem to be unstoppable. We may look at their lot and think they have it pretty good, much better than we have it. But wait for the time when God will bring his judgments.  Proverbs 11:21 says, “Be sure of this:  The wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free.”  We will not be disappointed when we walk in the fear of the Lord and give him the honor that is due him.  We have the better portion when we have less but we have the favor of God.  We don’t need to build for ourselves a home in this world.  We are to live here as pilgrims passing through this world, seeking God’s kingdom and trusting God to provide us what we need.

Don’t fear the mighty in the world.  They rise up and they take counsel together, but God has an infinite number of ways to stop them.  At Shinar, he confused their speech so they could not understand one another’s counsel.  But God can stop the counsel of the wicked in even less miraculous ways.  In the case of Absalom’s conspiracy against David, Ahithophel gave counsel that would have secured the victory for Absalom.  But God caused Absalom and his men to undervalue it and go with another idea.  When Paul was arrested in Jerusalem, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.  But they didn’t realize that a young boy had overheard them, and that boy happened to be Paul’s nephew.  So their plot was discovered, and they were prevented from carrying it out.  Psalm 66:4 says, “They plot injustice and say, ‘We have devised a perfect plan!’”  But verse 8 says, “[God] will turn their own tongues against them and bring them to ruin; all who see them will shake their heads in scorn.”

We serve a mighty God, and we are in safekeeping.  God said to us in Zechariah 2:8, “Whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye.”  God is an enemy of the proud, and in due time he will bring them down.  Let us walk humbly and steadily when we see God’s enemies conspiring together.  Even if our enemies agree together to exterminate us, God is able to destroy and bring to nothing all of the arrogance of those who rise up against him.  The wicked may be blind to God, but by faith we see God.  So we can say in the words of Isaiah 8:10, “Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand, for God is with us.”

See the curse God brought on these people. When people rise up in arrogance and then God topples them from their lofty height, he doesn’t return them back to where they were before.  They trade their blessings for curses.  First, these builders experienced confusion.  They could not talk to each other.  God sends this same curse in other forms on the rebellious today as well.  Deuteronomy 28:28 says, “The Lord will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind.”  It is an inexplicable frustration.  There doesn’t seem to be anything preventing, and yet I cannot make things work.

Second, they were covered with shame.  They wanted to exalt themselves and make a great name for themselves through their city and their tower.  And they got a name for themselves.  Their city got the name Babel, memorializing for all time their confusion.  Sin brings shame and a bad reputation.

Third, they were scattered.  That was the one thing they wanted to avoid.  They could have spread out peaceably and covered the earth, but now there was an organic disunity among them.  They would never again be one.  God scattered them, and over and over again God scatters his enemies.

None of these curses are inevitable.  All of them will be replaced with blessings for those who fear the Lord.  Instead of confusion, God gives clarity of mind.  The person who confesses, “Jesus Christ is Lord” has the mind of Christ.  He judges all things.  He has the same basic fear of God as the rest of God’s people, so that he is able to speak freely with his brothers and sisters in agreement and in mutual understanding.

When we walk by faith in God, we don’t come to shame, no matter how the world may despise God’s servants.  God promises in Proverbs 3:4, “You will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.”  God even calls us by his own lasting and glorious name.  And in place of scattering, the humble are welcomed into the family of God.  We have a place in God’s church.  Therefore, let us learn from this, and let us walk humbly before God and let us be blessed.

[1] Jean Calvin and Rob Roy McGregor, Sermons on Genesis, Chapters 1:1–11:4 (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2009), 850.