When studying through Scripture—and especially when trying to preach through a book—I often come to passages that lead me to spend a lot of time asking God, “What do I do with this?”

The answer is not always obvious, at least to me.

When I am stuck in such a situation, two verses come to mind:

2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living, so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed. (GNB)

Or, as the Geneva Bible says, “For the whole Scripture is giuen by inspiration of God.” (The “v” hadn’t been invented, yet, apparently.)

Now, some people don’t see much value in the Old Testament. They argue that the gospel message—the good news of Jesus Christ—is right there in the N.T., so why do we need the O.T? Or, they view the O.T. as quaint little stories, but not much more than that.

We need to remember, though, that when Paul wrote what he wrote, he was referring to the O.T. That was what he considered Scripture. So he’s specifically telling us that all of the O.T. is “useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living, so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed.”

I don’t think Paul is saying that every Scripture is of equal value all the time. While all Scripture always has value, it’s hard for me to see sometimes how the list of names in Genesis 10 is valuable to me today. Other days, though, I’m struggling with something, and I pick up my Bible and I start reading and I find the answer, or I find comfort. At that moment, it takes no convincing for me to think that Scripture is useful (or “profitable” as your translation may say).

So, in chapter 10 we have a list of names and a reference to some character named Nimrod. We may think of his name as an insult today, but he was apparently quite famous in his day because she shows up in several ancient legends.

And then, there’s chapter 11. It’s got its share of names and begats, but it’s also got one of those stories—like Adam and Eve and Noah, that we think we know well because we’ve heard it so much in Sunday School, or heard it referenced in other places—that maybe we read over but don’t pay much attention to because we’re so familiar with it.

I want you to remember, though, that God put all these words in here for a reason. Remember: he created man for companionship. But man blew it, got kicked out the garden, and has had to take the long way toward companionship with God. Stories like this, then (which, remember, are true stories), help us to see the path we’re on, as well as reveal the character of God.

Genesis 11:1-9
Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth."
And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech." So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth. (ESV)

Once again, I am struck by God’s patience. If you follow the chronology in chapter 10 and later in chapter 11, you’ll find that all of this takes place while Shem is still alive.

Why is that important? Think about it: the family patriarch—who rode out the flood and probably heard his father tell over and over again why the flood came—is still alive. Where was he? Was he out here on the plains of Shinar, going along with all this? Or, maybe he was standing there saying, “Don’t go against God. I’ve seen it tried before and it doesn’t work!”

What’s really going on here?

In verse 2 we find the first clue of trouble. It doesn’t sound like much, but if you recall, in chapter 9 they were told to spread out over all the earth. Here, though, they’re settling. Now, maybe the whole population of the earth isn’t here. People who study these things say the descendants of Japheth spread out over Europe and the descendants of Ham settled in Africa. Maybe they’ve already gone those directions and it’s only Shem’s people that are staying in this one spot.

In verse 3, we may find another clue as to what’s going on here and why it’s a problem? “And they said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.’ And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. ”

Why is that a problem? We use bricks now, don’t we? In the five hundred or so years since the flood, they have graduated from building out of rock to building out of brick. They are using the natural oils that bubble up to make asphalt to cement the bricks together. Again, this is not evil by itself, but look at what they do next:

Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth."

They do this to bring glory to themselves—rather than God—and to specifically violate God’s command that they spread out.

I am not against technology. I really enjoy technology. I wrote this sermon on the computer (and, thanks to the modern PC, had access to dozens of commentaries and Bible dictionaries right at my finger-tips—literally). I’m also thankful for doctors and what they can do now. I really like my Ford Escape with it’s 4WD and anti-lock breaks and 6 CD changer and automatic transmission.

Sometimes, it becomes easy for us to forget just how dependent we are on God. Why don’t the very protons, neutrons and electrons that make up the atoms of the universe start repelling each other like it looks like they should? Could that be the hand of God? Why is there enough air around us that we can still breathe?

I think the people on the plains of Shinar had become to confident in their own abilities that they didn’t think they needed God anymore. Maybe they were so confident in their own ability to explore the universe that they weren’t even confident there was a God anymore. Maybe Shem’s standing off to the side, telling them of their folly, and they’re saying, “You’re too old fashioned, old man. Nobody believes your silly flood stories anymore. We can solve the universe on our own.”

Does that sound like today? Ever try to tell a friend that you believe in God, or that you believe Noah’s flood was an actual event and you get the distinct impression that the person you’re telling this to thinks you’re either really simple or just too old-fashioned to be taken seriously? It’s not easy to remain faithful sometimes, is it? It seems easier to equivocate and say that maybe the flood was only local, or just a legend. But when we do that, where do we stop? If Noah’s just a legend, maybe Jesus is, too.

But, if this is—as I believe—the most accurate representation of ancient history and the history of God’s path for mankind, I better pay attention. Because …

Look what happens next!

Legend says, “Nebuchadnezzar repaired and beautified this tower, and it was dedicated to Bel, or the sun.” (Clarke) As a child, I used to think these people on the plains were morons. Even I knew you couldn’t build a tower high enough to get to heaven. But that probably wasn’t really their intent, anyway. They were establishing heaven on earth and setting themselves up as the object to be worshiped.

This happens in many ancient texts. The skeptics say the Bible just copied from other sources, but I’m confident that’s backwards. The fact that this story—or one very similar, where man creates a tower with which to wage war on God or “the gods” and is cast down—is common to so many ancient traditions just convinces me that it’s true.

“It was probably from this disguised representation of the Hebrew text that the Greek and Roman poets took their fable of the giants waging war with the gods, and piling mountain upon mountain in order to scale heaven.” (ibid)

Look what God does. He comes down to look around. Did he need to do that? No, God is omniscient. Why do it, then? Remember what Paul said: this Scripture is God-breathed and for our profit.

An ancient Jewish commentator said this passage was a lesson to magistrates to examine every piece of evidence before they decree judgment and execute justice. To teach us mercy, God demonstrates mercy. To teach us justice, God demonstrates justice … and how to carry it out.

What do I DO with this?

The problem with these first Babylonians was not their technology or their architecture. They had forgotten that they were completely beholden to God, for everything!

As we start a new year, resolve to live it aware of who gave it!