Gen. 11: “Nimrod, Babylon, And The Tower Of Babel”

By

Jim Bomkamp

Back          Bible Studies                Home Page

1.                  INTRO:

 

1.1.         In our last study we looked at chapters 9-10 of Genesis.

 

1.1.1.  We studied about the covenant that the Lord God made with Noah and his descendants, as well as all of the other land creatures on the earth, to never destroy the earth by water again.  The Lord gave mankind the token of the rainbow in the sky as a reminder of His promise to never again destroy the earth by flood.

 

1.1.2.  Noah got drunk and uncovered himself and his son Ham discovered his father’s nakedness and did something inappropriate to his father, then when Ham told his brothers about this they came and cover up their father’s nakedness without looking on him.  However, when Noah found out about what Ham had done to him he pronounced a curse upon Ham’s son Canaan, and a blessing upon his other two sons Japheth and Shem.

 

1.1.3.  Finally, in chapter 10 we studied what is called, “The Table Of The Nations.”  We saw that it is detailed for us how that it was the Lord who caused each of the sons of Noah spread out over the face of the earth and form the various nations and people groups that exist to this day.  We saw how that God’s word teaches that God determines every nation’s boundaries and establishes all of the authorities that are on the earth.  We saw where each of the people groups on the face of the earth today came from and this chapter was a link from the prehistory chapters 1-11 of Genesis, to modern history.

 

1.2.         In our study today, we are going to look at chapter 11 of Genesis.

 

1.2.1.  In our last study, we saw that after getting off of the ark that the Lord commanded Noah and his sons in Gen. 9:1 to “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.”  All of the wicked people on the earth, which means all but 8, were destroyed, the rest were to now spread out all over all the earth and repopulate it.  However, what our study today reveals is that instead of following through with that commandment that what mankind did instead was to stay together and try to build a big city and even a huge tower for worship.  The worship was probably initially propounded to be worship of the Lord however it soon became an idolatrous worship that ensued.  Amazingly, all of the occultic practices and beliefs still present in our world today can be traced back to Babylon.

 

1.2.2.  The man we were introduced to in our previous chapter, Nimrod, the son of Canaan the son of Ham, being a son of Canaan was a rebel against the Lord and the founder of the city of Babylon.  However, he was under the curse of Canaan’s descendants pronounced by Noah (Gen. 9:25) to be a “servant of servants to his brothers.”  Nimrod decided to rebel against the Lord and try to reverse the curse of God over his life.  Instead of dispersing Nimrod was very ambitious and decided to build the cities of Babylon, Ninevah, and Resen. 

 

1.2.3.  Not only did Nimrod decide to rebel against God’s command to disperse and populate the earth by building cities, in Babylon he also instituted a false system of worship which he probably at first told everyone would be true worship of the Lord God.  Claiming to mankind’s savior, Nimrod then took for himself the name of “Baal” which means “lord” and instituted what they called “the mysteries” which included supposed new knowledge of a spiritual sort and rites.  Thus began “Babylon Mystery Religion.”  Nimrod married his mother, “Semiramis,” and eventually demanded that everyone worship him.  Josephus, the Jewish historian for Rome wrote of Nimrod that he had excited the people “to an affront and contempt of God” and that he had made himself a tyrannous dictator.  All of the false belief systems and practices on the face of the earth can be traced back to the beliefs and worship that came out of Babylon at this time.

 

1.2.4.  Babylon is an important symbol in the scriptures for false religion and mankind in rebellion against the Lord and thus it is found 290 times in the scriptures.  Not only was Babylon the first nation to form it was also the first nation to rebel against the Lord.  It could be considered Satan’s city.

 

1.2.5.  Paganism in all of its forms dominated the world when the church was birthed on the day of Pentecost after Jesus’ resurrection when the Holy Spirit fell upon the church.  However, the church soon began to suffer great persecution, first at the hands of the Jews and then at the hands of 10 Roman emperors.  However, in spite of the persecutions (or maybe because of it), Christianity continued to grow and flourish in the world.  Finally, by 300 AD it was said that if the Christians in the world took up the sword they could conquer the world.  The persecution of the church could not exist much longer.  Then, in 312 AD at the Battle of Milvian Bridge the Roman emperor Constantine claimed to have had a vision in the sky which included a cross and the words “Conquer in this name.”  He claimed to convert to Christianity at this time.  Therefore, in his Edict Of Millan in 313 AD, Constantine made Christianity legal for every citizen, putting an end to almost 300 years of horrible Roman persecution of the church.  This made Christianity legitimate and the church of Rome began to grow strong. 

 

1.2.6.  Constantine continued to implement various legal reforms in the government such as ending the practice of crucifixion and the holding of the gladiatorial games.  Though he basically allowed the church autonomy he convened the first council of Nicea in 325 AD to deal with the Arian controversy.  Out of this came the very important statement of Christian faith called, “The Nicean Creed.”  There have been speculations about the genuineness of Constantine’s salvation, especially because of the things that happened at his deathbed.  The Eastern Orthodox church which began alongside of the Roman Catholic Church at this time and has never had a reformation, claimed Constantine for the highest order of a saint.

 

1.2.7.  The problem in the Roman empire though was one of unity for in addition to the large group of Christians there were still many idolaters who practiced all of the arts and pagan rites that had been passed down from Babylon.  Finally, through subsequent Roman emperors the idea was birthed to synchronize the pagan rites and holidays with Christian themes and beliefs so that they could have one big happy empire.  The various pagan rites then were infused with Christian themes and made to be Christian holidays, all through what was now termed the Roman Catholic (universal) church, comprised of every citizen.  Here are some of the religious holidays and traditions that have come from Babel or Babylon and infiltrated themselves into the Christian tradition traditions today:

 

1.2.7.1.The priesthood and confessionals.

 

1.2.7.1.1.A priesthood was established where the people were encouraged to come and enter into confession booths and speak with the priest. The priests were actually there to control the city or town.  When the people would tell them things they would have the low-down on what was going on with the populace, and thus they could control civic affiars. This was a cultic and ANTI-GOD movement.   

 

1.2.7.2.Celebration of Christmas first adopted in 336 AD:

 

1.2.7.2.1.When Jesus was born it was not during the cold of winter for the shepherds were out sleeping with their sheep.  However, in ancient Babylon the pagans would celebrate the birthday of the god Mithra on December 25, and also observe rites for the “Winter Solstice.”  In Babylon they would cut down trees and nail them inside their homes and decorate them.  The government implemented the trading of gifts to keep the economy strong in the winter months. 

 

1.2.7.2.2.December 25 was also the Day of Saturnalia, which was pagan day of celebration to the Chief god, Saturn.

 

1.2.7.2.3.This pagan practice of cutting down a tree and decorating it was prevalent in Israel and the Lord condemned its practice in Jeremiah 10:2-4, “2 Thus says the Lord, “Do not learn the way of the nations, And do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens Although the nations are terrified by them; 3 For the customs of the peoples are delusion; Because it is wood cut from the forest, The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool. 4 “They decorate it with silver and with gold; They fasten it with nails and with hammers So that it will not totter.”.

 

1.2.7.3.Celebration of Easter:

 

1.2.7.3.1.The name of “Ishtar,” from which came “Easter,” is one of the titles of Beltis, the queen of heaven, who was worshipped.  Istar, Artemus, Venus, Diana, Semiramis, all were similarly worshipped by the various nations as being the god of fertility.

 

1.2.7.3.2.In the spring the pagans worshipped the rabbit because it was a sign of fertility and they were a very sexual society.  They would color eggs because eggs were a sign of new birth and fertility, and they also made hot cross buns.  There was also a myth about a giant egg that had fallen down from heaven.

 

1.2.7.4.Tim Lahaye, who wrote the Left Behind series as well as a very good commentary on the book of Revelation, writes about how that the worship of Mary originally was the pagan worship of Semiramis who miraculously conceived Tammuz, and then he goes on to speak of the origin of the other beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church, “The worship of Mary was set up in A.D. 381.  All of the outstanding festivals of the Roman Catholic Church are of Babylonian origin.  Easter is not a Christian name.  It means “Istar,” one of the titles of the Babylonian Queen of Heaven, whose worship by the Children of Israel was such an abomination in the sight of God.  The decree for the observance of Easter and Lent was given in A.D. 519.  The “Rosary” is of Pagan origin.  There is no warrant in the Word of God for the use of the “Sign of the Cross.”  It had its origin in the mystic “Tau” of the Chaldeans and Egyptians.  It came from the letter “T,” the initial of “Tammuz,” and was used in the Babylonian Mysteries” for the same magic purposes as the Romish Church now employs it.  Celibacy, the Tonsure, and the Order of Monks and Nuns, have no warrant or authority from Scripture.  The Nuns are nothing more than an imitation of the “Vestal Virgins” of Pagan Rome.”

 

1.2.7.5.Now, the reason why I am stating these things about Nimrod and Babylon is not only to explain how all of our Christian holidays originated, but also because the city of Babylon is mentioned often times in Bible prophesy.  I mentioned earlier that Nimrod is a type of the anti-Christ who is coming, and there are really two cities constantly in conflict in the scripture:  Babylon and Jerusalem.  One is the city of Satan and the other is the city of God. 

 

1.2.7.5.1.In the book of Revelation, Babylon is mentioned 6 times.  Many think that Babylon simply refers to Rome and the Roman Catholic system, however I think that interpretation is a bit contrived.  The anti-Christ is seen as having Babylon as his capital, and many have thought that the anti-Christ when he comes will be over the false church of Rome (of which Babylon is a symbol), and this may be true.  The anti-Christ is also spoken of as taking his place on the throne in the rebuilt Jewish temple in Jerusalem in 2 Thess. 2:4.  I personally believe that all three views are true.  The anti-Christ when he comes will have a throne in and rule from Rome, Babylon, and Jerusalem.

 

1.2.7.5.2.In Revelation chapter 17, Babylon is called “The Great Whore AND MOTHER OF ALL OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH,” and she is the woman who rides the Beast with 7 heads and 10 horns.  She is also seen as being drunk with the blood of the saints.  Babylon symbolizes here all of the world’s false religions which will culminate in the one world religion that will be established by the anti-Christ and exist when Jesus Christ returns to the earth.  At His Second Coming Jesus Christ will overthrow false religion and the kingdom of the Beast.


Revelation 17:  “1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality.” 3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality, 5 and on her forehead a name was written, a mystery, “BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” 6 And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered greatly. 7 And the angel said to me, “Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. 8 “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come. 9 “Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, 10 and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. 11 “The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction. 12 “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. 13 “These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast. 14 “These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.” 15 And he said to me, “The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. 16 “And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire. 17 “For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled. 18 “The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.””

 

 

1.2.7.5.3.In Revelation chapter 18, she is called Babylon the Great in whom are the great kings and merchants of the earth.  Babylon symbolizes here the world’s ungodly economies and businesses, that which will also culminate in the kingdom of the anti-Christ, whom the Jesus Christ will overthrow at His Second Coming. 

 

Revelation 18:  “1 After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined with his glory. 2 And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird. 3 “For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.” 4 I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues; 5 for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. 6 “Pay her back even as she has paid, and give back to her double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her. 7 “To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.’ 8 “For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong. 9 “And the kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and lived sensuously with her, will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning, 10 standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’ 11 “And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more— 12 cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from very costly wood and bronze and iron and marble, 13 and cinnamon and spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and slaves and human lives. 14 “The fruit you long for has gone from you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and men will no longer find them. 15 “The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, 16 saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, she who was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls; 17 for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!’ And every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea, stood at a distance, 18 and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What city is like the great city?’ 19 “And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she has been laid waste!’ 20 “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her.” 21 Then a strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will not be found any longer. 22 “And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer; 23 and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery. 24 “And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.””

 

1.2.7.5.4.So, I believe before Christ returns that Babylon will arise and become a great city and financial empire on the earth.  The anti-Christ will therefore be coerced into having a throne and rule there in that city.  Another reason for believing this way is because in the scripture the Lord promises that Babylon will be destroyed to such an extent that no one will ever dwell there again.  This has not happened to this point in time.  In fact, the book of Daniel tells us the story of how in 539 BC Babylon fell without a battle when it was taken over by the Persians the night after the party when the writing on the wall appeared to Belshazzar, the Babylonian emperor, telling him that his kingdom had been taken away from him.  Babylon has always had some people living on it and according to Tim LaHaye throughout history at least six other cities have been formed from people living on that site:  “It is reliably reported that at least six cities bear the marks of having used parts of ancient Babylon in their building, including Seleucia, buit by the Greeks;  Ctesiphon, by the Parthians;  Almaiden, by the Persians; and Kufa, by the Cliphs.  Hillah, just a twenty-minute walk from the Babylonian ruins, was built almost entirely from the ruins of Babylon.  The builders of Baghdad, fifty miles north of the site of ancient Babylon, also used materials from the ancient city.”  Here are the verses that declare prophetically the complete destruction of Babylon:

 

1.2.7.5.4.1.Isaiah 13:19-22:  “19 And Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, the glory of the Chaldeans’ pride, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.  20 It will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation;  Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there, Nor will shepherds make their flocks lie down there.  21 But desert creatures will lie down there, And their houses will be full of owls, Ostriches also will live there, and shaggy goats will frolic there.  22 And hyenas will howl in their fortified towers And jackals in their luxurious palaces.  Her fateful time also will soon come And her days will not be prolonged.” 

 

1.2.7.5.4.2.Jeremiah 51:24-26, 61-64:  “24 “But I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea for all their evil that they have done in Zion before your eyes,” declares the Lord.  25 “Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, who destroys the whole earth,” declares the Lord, “And I will stretch out My hand against you, And roll you down from the crags And I will make you a burnt out mountain.   26 “And they will not take from you even a stone for a corner Nor a stone for foundations, But you will be desolate forever,” declares the Lord. 61 Then Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “As soon as you come to Babylon, then see that you read all these words aloud, 62 and say, ‘Thou, O Lord, hast promised concerning this place to cut it off, so that there will be nothing dwelling in it, whether man or beast, but it will be a perpetual desolation.’ 63 “And it will come about as soon as you finish reading this scroll, you will tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates, 64 and say, ‘Just so shall Babylon sink down and not rise again, because of the calamity that I am going to bring upon her; and they will become exhausted.’” Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.”.   

 

1.2.7.6.In the mid 1970s Sadaam Hussein began rebuilding the city of Babylon.  He saw himself as a reincarnated Nebuchadnezzar and built an elaborate palace over the foundation of the ancient Babylonian palace.   He also had built a hotel and a community.  During the first invasion of Iraq, several pictures were taken of the city.  Now, the city is known as Al Hillah and is about 50 miles south of Baghdad.  Here are photographs taken by American soldiers when they first came into Iraq during the first invasion of Iraq:

 

 

 

The Restoration Of Babylon

 

 

Sadaam’s Palace

 

Sadaam’s Palace

Inside of

Sadaam’s Palace

 

Inside of

Sadaam’s Palace

Rebuilt Babylon

Community

 

Babylon Hotel

 

 

 

2.                 VS 11:1  - “1 Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words.” -  Everybody on the earth at this time spoke the same language

 

2.1.         We have mentioned before the fact that the modern concept of the evolution of mankind is not true, for mankind was actually much smarter when first created than even today.  With people living for hundreds and hundreds of years, it is quite possible that if mankind all stayed in close proximity in a city and pooled their knowledge and experience, that our modern scientific era would have begun much sooner. 

2.2.         Everyone speaking the same language was an incredible asset to mankind at this point in pre-history. 

 

2.3.         The combination of the longevity of mankind at this time, everyone speaking the same language, and the native intelligence of people, the world could have not only risen to a very high level technologically and in business, mankind could have devised some horribly evil schemes.

 

3.                 VS 11:2  - ‘2 It came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.’ -  Everyone journeyed east and settled in a plain in the land of Shinar

 

3.1.         The Hebrew word translated ‘Shinar’ here means “a country with two rivers,” it was later pronounced “Babylonish.”  The city of “Babel” means “confusion” and is the root of our word meaning “to speak on and on in an non-understandable way.”

 

3.2.         With the assumption being that mankind stayed very near to where the ark initially landed before now journeying away, Chuck Missler has pointed out that regardless of the many supposed sightings of the ark on the mountains of Ararat in Turkey, that what is west of the land of Shinar where the people traveled to at this time, would be the high mountains of Iran.  Therefore, he believes that the ark most likely resides on those high mountains in Iran.

 

3.3.         We mentioned before that there is a possibility that the ark may be discovered in the somewhat near future before the Lord’s return, and if found it would provide mankind a huge testimony of the reliability of the scriptures which told us all along about Noah and the flood.

 

4.                 VS 11:3-4  - ‘3 They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. 4 They said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”’ -  The people made bricks and used tar for mortar to began to build for themselves a city and a tower whose top would reach up into heaven

 

4.1.         The people learned how to make in the kiln very high quality bricks  and used the tar that is found in this region for mortar.  Today, in this region tar dries to form an incredibly hard material to seal and glue bricks together, and the brick is also very high quality.

 

4.2.         A brick city made of this material would be very durable, and mankind is already beginning to be proud of its own achievements and seeking to find expression and satisfaction in life apart from the Lord. They decided to ‘make for ourselves a name.’

 

4.2.1.  Whenever someone determines to make a name for themselves this is not a good thing.  If people will humble themselves before the Lord and serve Him in His time He will exalt them and do great things through their lives. 

 

4.2.2.  It is always a temptation for people to want to be somebody and be looked up to by people in this world.  This sort of pride needs to be eradicated from our lives as Christians.

 

5.                 VS 11:5-9  - ‘5 The Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. 6 The Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them. 7 “Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth.’ -  The Lord came down and saw the city and the tower and confounded the language of the people and scattered the abroad all over the face of the earth, and they stopped building the city, the city whose name was called Babel

 

5.1.         Notice that we see again in the book of Genesis a dialog that occurs amongst the persons of the godhead, and notice again the use of the plural, ‘let us.’  This is again an intimation of the fact that the godhead consists of a plurality of persons one in purpose and unity, three in one.

 

5.2.         Verse 5 does not imply that the Lord was not aware of what was happening on the earth prior to this time.  It simply means that the Lord was taking inventory and recognizing that now was the time to act in order to prevent mankind from advancing too far technologically at this point in time and thwarting God’s plans for mankind.

 

5.3.         The Lord realized that with mankind’s native intelligence and common language that ‘nothing which they purpose to do with be impossible for them.’  A crisis point had come and in the Lord’s grace and mercy He interjected Himself into mankind’s history in order to prevent the destruction that would occur by too much technological advancement at this point in time.

 

5.4.         We saw in our first studies of this book that the Lord had to create Adam and Eve with a built in language, otherwise Adam would not have been able to talk with God and name the animals, and Eve would not have been having her discussion with the serpent.  It is a tremendous blessing to have the Lord know your language and to be able to talk in a language that the Lord hears, knows your mind and life, and knows what you will do in the future.  Here we realize that all of the languages that are on the face of the earth didn’t just evolve over time but were created by the Lord.  Dialects eventually evolved out of these language groups but they were created by the Lord and miraculously transplanted simultaneously in people’s brains all over the world.  If God is powerful enough to create everything from nothing surely He could pull something like this off with ease.

 

5.5.         Can you imagine the confusion that must have occurred in this city when all of a sudden no one could understand each other.  There must have been huge confusion and strife, and fights.  The foremen would command the workers to do things and they didn’t know what they were being told, and the foremen couldn’t understand the workers.  The civic leaders couldn’t get anyone to hold a meeting to discuss things.  Nimrod couldn’t get anyone to follow his commands and implement his equivalent of Marshall law.  Finally, since only those of the same family understood each other, the people packed up and moved off to all parts of the world to start their lives over by themselves.  Thus, the Lord moved all of the people about and created each people group and nation, and their boundaries, just as He had planned.

 

5.6.         In our last study we saw the table of nations and where each of the descendants of Noah had gone to live in all of the world.  We saw that these ones were all separated according to their languages.  Then, we saw that in the scriptures there are a couple of places where it states that it was the Lord who set all of the nations in their habitations and boundaries.   Now we see how that the Lord determined the habitations and boundaries of all of the nations by confounding their languages, or more specifically creating individual languages for each of the families of the people on the earth.  In the book of Acts when Paul was on Mars Hill talking with those who were always coming up with new philosophies, he spoke in Acts 17:22-31 about the unknown God whose greatness is seen in that it was He who formed the boundaries of all the nations, “22 So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. 23 “For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. 24 “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; 25 nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; 26 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ 29 “Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. 30 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, 31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.””

 

6.                 VS 11:10-22  - ‘10 These are the records of the generations of Shem. Shem was one hundred years old, and became the father of Arpachshad two years after the flood; 11 and Shem lived five hundred years after he became the father of Arpachshad, and he had other sons and daughters. 12 Arpachshad lived thirty-five years, and became the father of Shelah; 13 and Arpachshad lived four hundred and three years after he became the father of Shelah, and he had other sons and daughters. 14 Shelah lived thirty years, and became the father of Eber; 15 and Shelah lived four hundred and three years after he became the father of Eber, and he had other sons and daughters. 16 Eber lived thirty-four years, and became the father of Peleg; 17 and Eber lived four hundred and thirty years after he became the father of Peleg, and he had other sons and daughters. 18 Peleg lived thirty years, and became the father of Reu; 19 and Peleg lived two hundred and nine years after he became the father of Reu, and he had other sons and daughters. 20 Reu lived thirty-two years, and became the father of Serug; 21 and Reu lived two hundred and seven years after he became the father of Serug, and he had other sons and daughters. 22 Serug lived thirty years, and became the father of Nahor;’ -  The generations which came from Shem are detained here, leading all of the way down to Nahor

 

6.1.         The third son of Shem was ‘Arphaxad,’ and here we again see the lineage that culminates in the Messiah, Jesus Christ, the one who is the seed of the woman and kinsman redeemer of mankind, who will crush the head of the serpent, Satan, upon Calvary’s cross one day.

 

6.1.1.  In our last study, we traced this genealogy from Arphaxad came ‘Salah.’

6.1.1.1.From Salah came ‘Eber’ (it is from his name that the name “Hebrew” came). 

6.1.1.1.1.‘Peleg’ begat

6.1.1.1.2.‘Reu’ begat

6.1.1.1.3.‘Seleg’ begat

6.1.1.1.4.‘Nahor’ begat

6.1.1.1.5.‘Terah’ begat

6.1.1.1.6.‘Abram’ begat

6.1.1.1.7.‘Isaac’ begat

6.1.1.1.8.‘Jacob,’ ‘Esau,’ and ‘Ishmael.’

 

6.2.         Finally, we get down to Nahor, the grandfather of Abram, the man whom the Lord shall call to Himself, along with all of Abram’s descendants after him.

 

6.3.         The Lord eventually will rename ‘Abram’ to be “Abraham.”

 

7.                 VS 11:23-26  - ‘23 and Serug lived two hundred years after he became the father of Nahor, and he had other sons and daughters. 24 Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and became the father of Terah; 25 and Nahor lived one hundred and nineteen years after he became the father of Terah, and he had other sons and daughters. 26 Terah lived seventy years, and became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.’ -  The generations are detailed from Serug down to Abram, Nahor, and Haran

 

7.1.         Here we see that Nahor became the father of Terah and that Terah then became the father of Abram, Nahor (evidently a son named after his grandfather), and Haran.

 

8.                 VS 11:27-28  - ‘27 Now these are the records of the generations of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran; and Haran became the father of Lot. 28 Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans.’ -  Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in Ur of the Chaldeans

 

8.1.         Here we are introduced to Haran, who was Abram’s uncle.  We see that Haran had come back to visit his family and ended up dying. 

 

8.2.         These verses begin to explain Abram’s relation to Lot, his nephew.  Abram becomes like a father figure to Lot after the death of Lot’s father, and thus Lot follows Abram when God calls Abram to go the place where He will call him.

 

9.                 VS 11:29-30  - ‘29 Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and Iscah. 30 Sarai was barren; she had no child.’ -  Abram married Sarai and his brother Nahor married Milcah, but Sarai Abram’s wife was barren

 

9.1.         Here we see right from the get go that after Abram marries Sarai (whom the Lord shall rename to be Sarah), that Abram and Sarai were not at this time able to have children.  This will become a very great trial for Abram until the Lord in his old age gives him the son of promise in Isaac.

 

10.            VS 11:31-32  - ‘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 out together from Ur of the Chaldeans in order to enter the land of Canaan; and they went as far as Haran, and settled there. 32 The days of Terah were two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran.’ -  Terah took Abram his son, Lot his grandson, and Sarai Abram’s wife and moved with them to Ur of the Chaldeans where they settled, then Terah died

 

10.1.    Terah took his family (including Abram, Abram’s wife, and Lot) and they went together from Ur to the land of Canaan and settled in Haran (named after Terah’s father).

 

11.            CONCLUSIONS:

 

11.1.    Recognize not only God’s ability to confound the languages but also to provide understanding to us, after all it was He who created all of the languages on the earth.  He knows how to speak to each of us in our own language.

 

11.2.    Recognize how in the book of Acts that the reverse of this miracle of confounding the languages occurred, for after the Holy Spirit fell on the church displaying phenomena and baptizing the people in the Holy Spirit, the people of the city rushed together and each one heard the disciples speaking in his own language.

 

11.3.    Recognize God’s greatness and ability to place every nation in their habitations and boundaries.

 

Back           Bible Studies                Home Page