Rebellious hearts seek to violate God’s commands:

Genesis: 11

11 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.

3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.

4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

6 And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.

8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.

9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

When I was a little girl and first learned the bible story of the tower of Babel, in my mind I did not understand why God punished the children of Israel for building this tower, the way I saw it, it was a good thing that they were seeking to be closer to God, or inquisitive enough to want to know more about God and heaven.

  I’m just being honest lol!!!  But isn’t it funny how our carnal minds perceive things pertaining to God.

However, when I got older and I began to study more of the bible as a whole I began to see why God responded the way that He did.

The first thing I would like to point out is that in the natural it is  impossible for us to see things in the fullness of the wisdom of God, our minds cannot comprehend the awesomeness of our Father and the magnitude of His wisdom.

  Also from the very beginning from the time of the fall of Adam and Eve, Rebellion against God and His ways have been embedded into the hearts of man.

 But as we will see in this study His grace is always greater than our sin.

What God saw about this account in the building of the tower of Babel was the four characteristics that had been displayed time and time again by His creation since the fall of Adam and Eve, and was the reason why He destroyed the earth saving only Noah and His family.

 Gen 10:32 -11:2

1. Their rebellious heart showed disdain for God and His commandments; 

#1.   Since His instructions were given for all of the descendants of Adam and Eve and to Noah, to fill the earth and multiply.  But following the flood they all gathered together in one place – the land of Shinar.

These details foreshadow the coming events that will show humanity stubbornly refusing to follow God’s commands in favor of following the sinful example of Adam and Eve.

You see the earth in those days had become so full of evil men, God chose to cleanse the earth and start completely over.

 In settling in Shinar rather than filling the earth, the Babylon community demonstrated the nature and persistence of human rebellion against God.  Just as Adam and Eve had rebelled at the tree of Knowledge of good and evil. So too the family of Noah chooses it’s own wisdom over the faithful submission to God’s commands.

 The fact that they gather themselves together  against God’s instructions demonstrates that they are seeking their own self interest instead of being willing to obey God.

Seeking self interest and self pleasure is #2.

Sound familiar yet?  

In Genesis 11:3-4 we can clearly see the intentions of the people of Shinar especially reeks of rebellion against God and not only that but also they are seeking to make name for themselves which shows the hidden desire to Rob God of His Glory.

Why?

Because the people propose that they might ascend up to heaven by their own efforts and thereby make a name for themselves for their own glory.

This kindled God's anger against them and may I just say that things are the things today that still angers God, the circumstances may have changed and the time on His calendar has for sure changed but these same sins continue to repeat in the hearts and lives of many in our world today.

Isaiah 65;1-2  

65 I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name.

2 I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts;

3 A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick;

4 Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;

5 Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.

6 Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom,

7 Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the Lord, which have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom.

8 Thus saith the Lord, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them all.

9 And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.

10 And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me.

11 But ye are they that forsake the Lord, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number.

12 Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not.

13 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed:

14 Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit.

#3 is worshiping ourselves more than worshiping God and seeking mortal worship from others.

Hedonistic Worship:

Hedonistic means engaged in self-pleasure, sensual in self indulgent ways on living, loving pleasure more than lovers of God.  

Over excessive in doing the things that please ourselves instead of striving to live to please God and honor His commands.

Relating this to us today, we must all be careful to examine our heart and it’s motives, sometimes even believers can get lost in seeking God’s will for our own life and it's easy to get pulled off-track especially when we get caught up in ministry that God is blessing or even at a job where God elevates us and gives us promotions, or when God blesses us financially, or we have special gifts that may elevate us so that others may see us as prosperous and successful.

It is so easy to get caught up in our own self glory and that is a dangerous place for us to be.

We must always stop and realize that God gives and God takes away.

It is always God who covers us with His great mercy and Grace and showers us with His blessings.Even in our times of chastisement His love can is still manifested to us, as He may allow the trials and tribulations, but it is always meant for our good.

Just like He was watching over the hearts of the descendants of Noah, and sovereignly intervened in a way that actually made them to do what He was asking them to do anyway….

Why?

Because God saw the whole picture of His plan down thru eons of time.   

He knew that the only hope for the salvation of mankind did not depend on our ability to save ourselves but His plan of Salvation, by sending His son Jesus Christ to pay the penalty for our sin, and birth the plan of salvation for every man, woman, boy, and girl.

Just like God did to the children of Noah, sometimes when He sees our heart is getting full of pride and self worship, He pulls the rug out from underneath us, so to speak, and He may break our heart but He knows how to fix our vision.

#4 building Total Trust and Total Reliance on God.

How many times has God allowed you to be put into a position where you knew without a doubt He was your only hope.

I cannot count the times He has allowed this in my own life.

We always tend to question these times; 

God why is this happening to me,  however, when I study the journeys of the children of Israel, I see the same picture over and over again, we see each time they stray away from God, He may allow them to go through times of trial and failure, or times of silence where it almost seems He has forsaken them, for example, when you study the story of Moses and their deliverance out of Egypt all the way to their entering the promise land, we see times of miracles, times of punishments, times of losing and times of winning.

That is such an accurate portrait of our own lives still today don’t you think?

 What God is trying to do in us is build and unwavering trust in Him and in His ability to save us, and as we let go of our selves and our own selfish motives and desires, we can see that He is using these obstacles, trials and tribulations to purify and cleanse our hearts and our desires and molding them more into submission to Him so that He can ultimately bring us to our place of destiny in Him.

  His ultimate desire is that we can fulfill our calling that He has upon our lives.   

We all have a work to fulfill in Him, He created us all with the plan that His purpose would be fulfilled in our lives and He is daily cutting away the sinful nature in our hearts to bring us closer and closer to Him.

#5 Last and final point:

We get a glimpse of God’s redemptive plan for humanity through the redemption of Christ on the cross and the birth of the church in Acts chapter 2.

  When the spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost, we see that the very languages of the nations that gave evidence of God’s divine punishment in Genesis 11 actually becomes the vehicle to communicate the gospel as Acts 2:5 records. 

We see God's hand as He turns the tide of this same miracle.Instead of confounding the language, He actually allows the people representing all of the different nations and tongues to hear and understand Peter's message of salvation through Jesus Christ.

This miracle wrought by the hand of God through the power of the Holy Spirit is signifanct in that it is birthing God's new covenant with His children. 

The birth of the church of Jesus Christ, His Bride, and the next chapter of God's salvation to His chosen people.

Acts 2

2 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.

7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?

8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?

9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,

10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,

11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.

12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?

13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.

14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:

15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.

16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:

20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come:

21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:

23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.

25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:

26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:

27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.

29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.

30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;

31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.

32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.

33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.

34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,

35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool.

36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.

41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.

44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;

45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.

46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,

47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

The miracle of this story is that these people with different histories and languages actually heard the very first gospel message in their own native tongue.

 These details are important because it meant more than just a mere reversal of Babel’s curse but it also laid the foundation for the gospel  of repentance through the redemptive blood of Jesus Christ to be proclaimed to all peoples and nations in the very tongue that at one time gave evidence of God’s judgement, now proclaiming His plan of salvation for all of mankind.

We now recognize that our great redeeming God demonstrated His curse reversing power by allowing the languages of the world to become vehicles for the gospel to be proclaimed worldwide, but now let us consider the end to which History is now headed and how eternity will prove God’s redeeming work complete.

Though evil of our day is more rampant than ever before, still we are living in the day and time that the preverbal handwriting of the plan of God as laid out in the book of Revelations.

Revelations 7:9-10 will soon be manifested.   

God has given us to the precious road map of His word, His comprehensive plan of salvation, and the vehicle of our own language that was one time used as a curse against us has now become our vehicle to manifest our praise and worship to God.   

Every People, Of Every Nation, Every tribe and Every tongue will surround God’s throne and shout Glory To God and to The Lamb.

Revelations 7

 ⁹ After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

¹⁰ And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

Just as God hath designed every single word in His book called the Bible to continue His plan down through eons of time, your story too has been written in His book in heaven.

Therefore, I urge you dear brother and sister, to seek Him with all of your heart, soul and mind, and desire to walk after His spirit and His Word that you may fulfill His most Holy calling and election through faith and through grace in all humility, serving one another as Christ has called us to do. 

 As we move forward in studying the path of God's chosen people and the men and women He chose to lead them, let us learn the valued lessons of the importance of walking in obedience.

Also how easy it was for our enemy ( Satan ) and the deception and desires of our own flesh to be lead astray from the valued lessons He has given us in His Word.

We need to understand that our heavenly Father is in complete control of our journey and as long as we walk in alignment with His precious Word, we can fulfill His desire and  His purpose and live out His plan for our life.

Be diligent in honoring Him and giving Him praise and glory in all things concerning you and your ministry now and forever. 

 May you accomplish great and wonderful things through our mighty God as His plan begins to unfold in you.