The QUAGMIRE Of MANKIND’s SEPARATION-III—Genesis 10:1-32 & 11:1-9
Attention:
Caught in traffic—My experience in Atlanta—the day I had to go thru Atlanta twice...
Separated from family.
Separated from obligations.
Can’t fulfill obligations. Caught up in the momentary events bringing separation. Quagmire caused by separation.
Need:
Mankind became separated into various nations following the Flood.
Genesis details the origins of the nations following the Flood.
Genesis concisely details the separation of the nations following the Flood.
Genesis concisely details a separation of nations following the Flood.
*The separation of mankind is concisely documented/recorded.
*What defines the quagmire of mankind’s separation?
9 concerns in mankind’s separation.
The quagmire in mankind’s separation is in his...
1. CLIQUISH DIVERSITY(10:2; 10:6ff; 10:21ff) Family
2. CONFLICT(10:13-14; 10:15-19) Contention
3. KINGDOM CONSTRUCTION(10:8-12) Built on flesh
4. CAMARADERIE(11:1-4)Worldly Cooperation
5. CREATIVITY(11:3)Worldly Innovation
6. CONTRAST(11:5)Compared Motivations
7— The quagmire in mankind’s separation is in his...
CONTROL(11:6)
Explanation:(11:6) Governance
:6—“And the LORD said, “Indeed the people are one & they all have one language, & this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.”
Thirst for control.
Greater Governmental control =Loss of personal control.
God reckoned the building as wrong. Men were able to accomplish their desires—outside of God’s will— by pooling their resources. This was done because they had a common language & thus an unhindered appeal to one another in godlessness. Thus they had effectively become “one people,” united in their idolistic endeavors.
God informs us that if men will use His provision to make for themselves a name, then they will attain even greater levels of selfishness & will thwart His desire to repeople the earth by remaining in the city(being self-sufficient).
It is not as though mankind’s efforts are a physical threat to God, but that they are indeed a true spiritual threat to themselves & others, of their own generation as well as generations future.
“One”2X(“Same”)(See :1)—dxa ekh-awd'—1) One (number). Strong—properly--United, i.e. One; or (as an ordinal) First.
“People”—Me am—1) Nation, people—1a) People, nation, 1b) Persons, members of one's people, compatriots, country-men; 2) Kinsman, kindred. Strong—A people(as a congregated unit); specifically--A tribe(as those of Israel); hence (collectively) Troops or attendants; figuratively--A flock.
“Begin to do”—llx khaw-lal'—Hiphil Inifinitive—1) To profane, defile, pollute, desecrate, begin—1d) (Hiphil)—1d1) To let be profaned, 1d2) To begin. Strong—properly--To bore, i.e. by implication--To wound, to dissolve; figuratively--To profane (a person, place or thing), To break(one's word), to begin(as if by an "opening wedge"); denom. (from lylx) To play(the flute).
“Nothing”—lk...al— “None of the Whole”
“Propose/Imagined/Purpose/Plan”—Mmz zaw-mam'—1) To have a thought, devise, plan, consider, purpose. Strong—a primitive root; To plan, usually in a bad sense. Used 13X.
“Withheld/Impossible/Restrained”—rub baw-tsar'—Qal Imperfect—1) To gather, restrain, fence, fortify, make inaccessible, enclose. Strong—a primitive root; To clip off; specifically(as denominative from ryub) To gather grapes; also To be isolated(i.e. Inaccessible by height or fortification).
Argumentation:
Gen. 3:16—“To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow & your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire(hqwvt tesh-oo-kaw') shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.””—Sexual desire & Control?
Gen. 4:7—““If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire(hqwvt tesh-oo-kaw') is for you, but you should rule over it.””—Control.
SoS. 7:10—“I am my beloved’s, And his desire(hqwvt tesh-oo-kaw') is toward me.”—Sexual desire?
The woman will seek mastery/control over her husband...her desire is to possess the ‘headship’ granted by God to the man.
Gal. 5:19-25—“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, & the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions & desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
2Pet. 1:2-8—“Grace & peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God & of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life & godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory & virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great & precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, & to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours & abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Illustration:
Mitt Romney’s ‘newsworthy’ statement/There are 47% of Americans who suppose they are entitled to be taken care of by the govt/‘Entitlement’ the word of the day/Presented by the media & in commercials as if it represents some kind of horribly aberrant thought!/Actually speaks to those of us who believe that less govt. control is better!/CONTROL
On Sept. 17—In a video ‘leaked’ by Mother Jones, Mitt Romney said that 47 percent of voters are dependent on the government & will vote for Obama no matter what—“There are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it, & that's an entitlement & government should give it to them.”
Application:
?You caught up in the Quagmire of CONTROL?
?You caught up in the Quagmire of what separates you from God?
8— The quagmire in mankind’s separation is in his...
CONFUSION(11:7-9)
Explanation: (11:7-9)
Genesis 11:7-9
:7—“Come, let Us go down & there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.””
Due to mankind’s resolve, God Himself resolved to “confuse” or confound the expression of man’s thoughts & intentions between one & the other. He accomplished this by bringing about a “language” barrier. The resulting “confusion” caused men to “scatter” far & wide over the face of the whole earth.
Language divergences became lodged in families(10:5, 20, 31). These in turn, grew to produce entire nations or people groups determined by a mutually shared language.
“Go down”(See :5—“Came down”)—dry yaw-rad'—Qal Imperfect—1) To go down, descend, decline, march down, sink down. Strong—a primitive root; To descend(literally, to go downwards; or conventionally to a lower region, as the shore, a boundary, the enemy, etc.; or figuratively--To fall); causatively--To bring down(in all the above applications).
“Confuse/Confound”—llb baw-lal'—Qal Imperfect—1) To mix, mingle, confuse, confound. Strong—a primitive root; To overflow(specifically with oil); by implication--To mix; also (denom. from lylb) To fodder.
“Understand”—emv shaw-mah'—Qal Imperfect—1) To hear, listen to, obey—1a(Qal) 1a1) to hear (perceive by ear), 1a2) To hear of or concerning, 1a3) To hear (have power to hear), 1a4) To hear with attention or interest, listen to, 1a5) To understand (language), 1a6) To hear (of judicial cases), 1a7) To listen, give heed—1a7a) To consent, agree, 1a7b) To grant request, 1a8) To listen to, yield to, 1a9) To obey, be obedient. Strong—a primitive root; To hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively--To tell, etc.).
“Speech”(See :1—rbd daw-bar')—tps sef-eth'—1) Lip, language, speech, shore, bank, brink, brim, side, edge, border, binding. Strong—The lip(as a natural boundary); by implication--Language; by analogy--A margin(of a vessel, water, cloth, etc.).
:8—“So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, & they ceased building the city.”
Families which at one point were unhindered due to mutual perfect understanding of one another, were now entirely hindered thru a lack of understanding.
Without the luxury of such former cooperation, the work at Babel(the city) came to a halt. Man’s plan to exalt himself & his own abilities came to an abrupt end. Such a miraculous confusion should have embedded, in these people, a minimal respect for the God who brought it about.
“Scattered abroad/Scattered over”(See :4, 9)—Uwp puwts—Qal Imperfect—1) To scatter, be dispersed, be scattered—2) (Qal) to flow, overflow; 3) To break. Strong—a primitive root; To dash in pieces, literally or figuratively(especially to disperse).
“Stopped/Ceased”—ldx khaw-dal'—1) To stop, cease, desist, forego, cease to be, leave undone, forbear. Strong—a primitive root; properly--To be flabby, i.e. by implication--Desist; figuratively--Be lacking or idle.
:9—“Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; & from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.”
Judging from the summary statements of chapter 10, the language difference(‘confusion’) was lodged/localized within families.
Gen. 10:5, 20 & 31—10:5 “From these the coastland peoples of the Gentiles were separated into their lands, everyone according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.”.....:20—“These were the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands & in their nations.”.....:31 “These were the sons of Shem, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands, according to their nations.”
“Babel” is named such because the language was “confused” there. Thus came the judgment of & at Nimrod’s first kingdom(10:10). Babel appears to be the name applied to the city as a result of God’s intervention. That name is a standing testimony to the striving of man against God.
The entirety of the nations rose as a result of God’s intervention at the city of Babel. Nimrod’s kingdoms may have also arisen as a result of this separation.
Language divergences became lodged in families(10:5, 20, 31). These in turn, grew to produce entire nations or people groups determined by a mutually shared language.
Argumentation:
1Cor. 14:26-33—“How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, & let one interpret. But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, & let him speak to himself & to God. Let two or three prophets speak, & let the others judge. But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn & all may be encouraged. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.”
If God is the Author of peace & thereby, NOT the author of confusion, then why did He “confuse” the languages?
1Kgs. 18:20-21—“So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, & gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. And Elijah came to all the people, & said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word.”
Joshua 24:14-15—““Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity & in truth, & put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River & in Egypt. Serve the LORD! And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me & my house, we will serve the LORD.””
2Kgs. 17:24-41—“Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, & from Sepharvaim, & placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; & they took possession of Samaria & dwelt in its cities. And it was so, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they did not fear the LORD; therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them. So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations whom you have removed & placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the rituals of the God of the land; therefore He has sent lions among them, & indeed, they are killing them because they do not know the rituals of the God of the land.” Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, “Send there one of the priests whom you brought from there; let him go & dwell there, & let him teach them the rituals of the God of the land.” Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came & dwelt in Bethel, & taught them how they should fear the LORD. However every nation continued to make gods of its own, & put them in the shrines on the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities where they dwelt. The men of Babylon made Succoth Benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, & the Avites made Nibhaz & Tartak; & the Sepharvites burned their children in fire to Adrammelech & Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. So they feared the LORD, & from every class they appointed for themselves priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places. They feared the LORD, yet served their own gods--according to the rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away. To this day they continue practicing the former rituals; they do not fear the LORD, nor do they follow their statutes or their ordinances, or the law & commandment which the LORD had commanded the children of Jacob, whom He named Israel, with whom the LORD had made a covenant & charged them, saying: “You shall not fear other gods, nor bow down to them nor serve them nor sacrifice to them; but the LORD, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power & an outstretched arm, Him you shall fear, Him you shall worship, & to Him you shall offer sacrifice. And the statutes, the ordinances, the law, & the commandment which He wrote for you, you shall be careful to observe forever; you shall not fear other gods. And the covenant that I have made with you, you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods. But the LORD your God you shall fear; & He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.” However they did not obey, but they followed their former rituals. So these nations feared the LORD, yet served their carved images; also their children & their children’s children have continued doing as their fathers did, even to this day.”
1Cor. 11:16—“But if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God.”
Contention with a church declares confusion to those outside of it.
Ps. 86:11—“Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name.”
1Cor. 1:4-10—“I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance & all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, & that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind & in the same judgment.”
Eph. 4:1-7; 4:11-16—“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness & gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body & one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God & Father of all, who is above all, & through all, & in you all. But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.”..... “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, & some pastors & teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith & of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to & fro & carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ-- from whom the whole body, joined & knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”
Php. 2:1-5—“Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection & mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,”
Col. 3:12-17—“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy & beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, & forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; & be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching & admonishing one another in psalms & hymns & spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
*Acts 2:42-47—“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine & fellowship, in the breaking of bread, & in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, & many wonders & signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, & had all things in common, & sold their possessions & goods, & divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, & breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness & simplicity of heart, praising God & having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”
Js. 3:13-16—“Who is wise & understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy & self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast & lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy & self-seeking exist, confusion & every evil thing are there.”
1Jn. 1:1-4—“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, & our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life-- the life was manifested, & we have seen, & bear witness, & declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father & was manifested to us-- that which we have seen & heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; & truly our fellowship is with the Father & with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.”
Illustration:
School Testing/Exposes Confusion or lack thereof regarding the true answers about the subject tested/CONFUSION
Application:
?You caught up in the Quagmire of CONFUSION?
?You caught up in the Quagmire of what separates you from God?
9— The quagmire in mankind’s separation is in his...
COMPLIANCE(11:9)
Explanation:(11:9)
:9—“Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; & from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.”
Forced Compliance
As a result of the loss of cooperation, man’s project(s) did not assume the full intention of human grandeur, but rather ironically(in man’s eyes) led him to fulfill the desire of God which had originally been expressed to Noah & his sons per Gen. 9:1. This was in fact, the very same blessing which was to be extended thru Adam & Eve’s progeny(Gen. 1:28)
Argumentation:
Mat. 21:28-32—““But what do you think? A man had two sons, & he came to the first & said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ “He answered & said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it & went. “Then he came to the second & said likewise. And he answered & said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. “Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to Him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors & harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. “For John came to you in the way of righteousness, & you did not believe him; but tax collectors & harlots believed him; & when you saw it, you did not afterward relent & believe him.”
Illustration:
A child who is reprimanded-grounded for his-her own good/Unwillingly & unwittingly/COMPLIANCE
Sam’s cat, Bazooka, came to visit during Fall Break(2012)/I caught him using the couch for a scratching post!/I reprimanded him—called him down & physically removed him/He soon refrained form scratching it/I seriously doubt that one rebuke will stop Bazooka—But consistent rebuke & replacement with a scratching post may!/COMPLIANCE
Application:
?You caught up in the Quagmire of COMPLIANCE?
?You caught up in the Quagmire of what separates you from God?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Caught in traffic...Quagmire caused by Separation.
Action:
The quagmire in mankind’s separation is in his...
7. CONTROL(11:6)
8. CONFUSION(11:7-9)
9. COMPLIANCE(11:9)
1. CLIQUISH DIVERSITY(10:2; 10:6ff; 10:21ff) Family
2. CONFLICT(10:13-14; 10:15-19) Contention
3. KINGDOM CONSTRUCTION(10:8-12) Built on flesh
4. CAMARADERIE(11:1-4)Worldly Cooperation
5. CREATIVITY(11:3)Worldly Innovation
6. CONTRAST(11:5)Compared Motivations
Presented 10/14/2012pm to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
