IN THE BEGINNING Genesis from the Creation to Abraham

GENESIS CHAPTER ELEVEN Theme of chapters 7-9: “Noah, build Me an ark” Theme of chapter eleven: PS. 127:1 Unless the LORD builds the house They labor in vain who build it. Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain.

GENESIS CHAPTER ELEVEN There is a great spiritual contrast in the Bible between the tower of Babel (man built) and the events at Pentecost (God built) At Pentecost in the early part of the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit comes down to earth –Coming this time, not just for judgment, but also for salvation At Pentecost the disciples are granted the ability to speak in foreign languages that can be understood in the tongue of the Jews from around the world that have come to the Feast of the First Fruits

GENESIS CHAPTER ELEVEN Acts 2:6-8 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, "Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?”

GENESIS CHAPTER ELEVEN The coming of the Holy Spirit resulted in the Church having the opportunity to offer the world God’s grace –But also God’s truth which will conflict with the world’s cities and the world’s worldview John 16:8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment –Sin and judgment for the sinner –Righteousness with its the vast possibilities for the righteous

GENESIS CHAPTER ELEVEN When men try to organize without God, He confounds them –When God gathers men for God’s purpose, He helps them overcome language and cultural barriers (God built) Ps. 18:25-26 With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; with a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless; with the pure You will show Yourself pure; and with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.

GENESIS CHAPTER ELEVEN But even Christian attempts at unity, ecumenicalism, tend to fail. Why? Because unity will not come by seeking unity; it can only come by seeking Jesus and walking in the Spirit –Unity only come indirectly as a bi- product of our unity with Christ “Unless the Lord builds the house..”

GENESIS CHAPTER ELEVEN The genealogy of Shem is reviewed again in Genesis to set the stage for the next important figure in the Old Testament, Abraham

GENESIS CHAPTER ELEVEN Life spans began to decline at this point after the Flood, just at God predicted Ps. 90:10 The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Life expectancies in history: –In the Iron Age: 35 years –Medieval England: 30 years –Current world average: 67 years Japan: 85 years / Angola: 40 years

GENESIS CHAPTER ELEVEN Gen. 12:1-5 Now the Lord had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, from your family, and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

GENESIS CHAPTER ELEVEN Gen. 12:1-5 (cont.) …So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan.

GENESIS CHAPTER ELEVEN The sons of Terah: Abram, Nahor and Haran lived in Ur Ur was a great city –Excavated by Sir Charles Leonard Woolly in 1922 and 1924 –A far-advanced civilization and culture –Houses were made of brick: some two stories high, some with up to 20 rooms –Homes had quipped kitchens, plumbing systems and sanitation

GENESIS CHAPTER ELEVEN The people were an idolatrous culture, worshipping the goddess of the moon It was from this nice (but idolatrous) place that Abram’s father Terah left with his family Later, even after his father dies, Abraham chose to not to return because of instructions he received from God The date of Abraham –Not firm, but 2100 BC for his birth is a good estimate

GENESIS CHAPTER ELEVEN Summary of the first chapters of Genesis: the beginning of the Bible, Genesis, clearly demonstrates that God is: –Creator –Provider –Sovereign, the ruler over the affairs of men –Righteous and just (He remembers our good) –Savior (He forgives and forgets our sins) –The deliverer of those who trust Him

GENESIS CHAPTER ELEVEN What should our response be? To accept Him as creator, provider, sovereign, righteous, just, and the source of our redemption and rescue from sin in our own lives and in the world around us Heb. 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him

GENESIS CHAPTER ELEVEN Our reasonable response is to glorify and magnify Him How do we magnify something: we make it larger, easier for others to see –The best way, of course, is to live our lives in a way that others see Jesus, see the Lord in us –And when we have opportunity, to tell others about Him

GENESIS CHAPTER ELEVEN Our reasonable response is to imitate Jesus: –Trusting His Father’s Word –Showing compassion to others (unlike Cain) –Remembering the good others have done for us and forgiving them for their sins against us –Building a boat of spiritual and physical safety for our family, friends, and acquaintances –Seeking to work with the Lord to build our houses –Experiencing life as under the blessing of Abraham, who was justified by faith in God

GENESIS CHAPTER ELEVEN Rom. 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

GENESIS CHAPTER ELEVEN Phil 2:3-4 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

GENESIS CHAPTER ELEVEN Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

GENESIS CHAPTER ELEVEN We have the opportunity see ourselves as one small thread in a tapestry that is being woven by God that includes and touches everyone else in the world We may be a small thread, but we are nevertheless attached to the rest of the tapestry, and if our thread starts to unwind, it truly threatens the rest of the cloth

GENESIS CHAPTER ELEVEN This tapestry that God is sewing invites a God-given perspective that urges a humility on our part, and that values the needs, concerns of those around us It is a world-view that calls for a life reasonably lived for God and others, not for ourselves

GENESIS CHAPTER ELEVEN Finally, if we grasp the greatness, the marvel, of God, there is hope that we could begin to see God as the center of all things, and not us...not me. In God’s Presence we will occasionally get outside of ourselves and see the world as it really is...and see others as they really are (flawed but loved by God and redeemable)

GENESIS CHAPTER ELEVEN With a new confidence in the truth of the Word –And a deeper trust in the Creator of the World –(Who is also our Father, our Advocate, our Comforter and Friend) Perhaps we could yet be known as the fellowship “ who has turned the world upside down” for the Lord.