01-42 What God Is Doing In the World
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Genesis 11:10-32
Genesis 11:10-32
Looking at the current news, one is left wondering what God is doing in the world. Earlier this week there was a major earthquake in Turkey and 28K have lost their lives. This is actually the part of the world where the ark that kept Noah and his family safe had come to rest (just a little farther to the east) and they proceeded SE to settle in the Mesopotamian valley where they began to construct the tower of Babel under the ungodly leadership of Nimrod. We wonder what God is doing?
We see other natural disasters—the south is already experiencing deadly tornados. Under the curse, nature acts violently toward humanity, often without warning.
Alongside the convulsions of the natural realm, there are disasters that are man-made—like war. The war b/t Russia and Ukraine is quickly amplifying with Russia “massing 1,800 tanks, 700 aircraft & 500k men for new Ukraine assault in 10 DAYS” (according to newspapers). We ask what is God doing in the world?
There are violent crimes committed against other people, mass shootings and the like.
Add to this the increasing perversions of the created order and it is apparent that the world under the direction of “the god of this world” (Satan) is attacking righteousness fiercely—demonstrating the reality of spiritual warfare that every believer is engaged in—What is God doing in the world?
As I was growing up, I didn’t pay much attention to the condition of the world…but I distinctly remembering my mother saying on a number of occasions “the Lord may not return in my lifetime but He might in yours.” Now, as I’ve grown I’m much more aware of the progression of evil and the fulfillment of what Paul said:
1 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.
13 But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
Just before that Paul wrote:
12 Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
It is not difficult at all to imagine that JC could come back at any moment—and we come to this conclusion b/c of the condition of the world today—so we pray Maranatha (O Lord Come!) and with John
20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
Well, what we see God doing in the world in light of imminent coming of LJC, is identical to what God was doing in the world prior to the 1st coming of the Messiah. In Genesis, we see the hand of God at work 1000s of years ahead of the birth of JC—during those years, God is working to accomplish all His good pleasure (Is 46:10). We see Him governing His creation, directing the affairs of the world—bringing everything to His intended purpose for that creation.
The Providence of God
The Providence of God
Theologians refer to this as “the providence of God.” Now, providence is not a word you find in your English translations (like Trinity, biblical, discipleship, exposition). But providence is the word that describes God’s continued relationship with His creation. The word comes from the Latin pro-vide (spelled just like “provide”) and literally means “to see forward”, “to foresee” or “to see toward.” We have an expression in English that helps us understand this “to see to it.” To see to something is to make sure it happens. This is what we mean we applying providence to God—He sees to it that everything happens according to His purpose. He says “I will pro-vide (provide).” (beautiful summary of what God is doing in the world)
10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;
Very simple definition: Divine providence is God’s preserving his creation, operating in every event in the world, and directing the things in the universe to his appointed end for them. All 3 parts of this definition are crucial to understanding God’s on-going relationship to His creation.
Just a footnote: Providence is different from Sovereignty. Sovereignty expresses God’s inherent right and power to do all that He decides to do (Job 42:2). This doesn’t explain why God does all that He decides to do—only expresses the right and power. Providence includes what sovereignty doesn’t—namely, the wise and purposeful activity of God. Providence would incorporate the truths of wisdom, justice, righteousness and grace.
John Frame The Doctrine of God discusses the scope of Divine Providence by stating “we should remember that God controls all things: inanimate creatures, the detailed course of nature, events of history, human lives, free human decisions, and even human sins.”
Frame, J. M. (2002). The doctrine of God (p. 275). P&R Publishing.
It is that last part “free human decisions, and even human sins” that has troubled most people concerning providence. No one has a problem with God’s preservation of all that He has created.
3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
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.’
7 But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
God preserves all things...as long as he wills them to exist. God preserves what he created. We can affirm this—heartily. It is the idea that God operates in every event of the world to bring about His intended purpose that has some people up in arms.
Ephesians 1:11 (NASB95)
11 [God] works all things after the counsel of His will,
Wayne Grudem Systematic Theology “no event in creation falls outside of His providence.” And He includes inanimate creation, animals, seemingly random events, the affairs of nations, all aspects of our lives. The Bible is full of examples of this:
Genesis 45:5–8 (NASB95) It was God not his brothers that sent Joseph to Egypt
5 “Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 “For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 7 “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. 8 “Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
Joshua 11:6 (NASB95) God promised to deliver the enemies of Israel but they still had to attack and the Lord gave the victory
6 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow at this time I will deliver all of them slain before Israel; you shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.”
1 The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes.
Ezra 6:22 (NASB95) Lord turned the heart of the king of Assyria to help the people in building the temple
22 And they observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for the Lord had caused them to rejoice, and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them to encourage them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.
2 Samuel 16:11 (NASB95) God has ordered evil acts, such as when he moved Shimei to curse David
11 Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, my son who came out from me seeks my life; how much more now this Benjamite? Let him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him.
Isaiah 10:5 (NASB95) He used Assyria to chastise his people
5 Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hands is My indignation,
1 Kings 22:23 (NASB95) He “put” a lying spirit in the mouths of Ahab’s prophets
23 “Now therefore, behold, the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; and the Lord has proclaimed disaster against you.”
This speaks of Divine “concurrence”, God’s cooperation with created things, causing them (whether acting directly or ordaining them through secondary causes), through their properties, to act. But note: this does not implicate Him in sin—for God cannot sin and He Himself does not do evil. He is not responsible for the sin of men.
Biblical Doctrine: A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth Divine Concurrence in All Events
Men sin according to God’s predetermination in his decree but by secondary causes, so God does not directly and effectively cause the acts of sin
So God is truly in control—He directs the actions of 2nd causes (created things) to His intended end…but not so as to violate or coerce the human will.
Louis Berkhof “This divine activity accompanies the action of man at every point, but without robbing man in any way of his freedom. The action remains the free act of man, an act for which he is held responsible.”
An example of this would be Judas Iscariot…prophesied that he would betray the Messiah for 30 pieces of silver (Zech 11:12). That was going to happen, but Judas was not forced to take the payment for betrayal but willingly choose to take it according to the predetermined plan of God. Judas was therefore held accountable for his own actions b/c he was completely free in regards to his actions—but God was in complete control directing that betrayal so that payment for redemption would come to pass.
I know this is a lot to chew on. In 1563, a professor of theology at Heidelberg university (Germany) developed a catechism for instructing the youth and guiding pastors and teachers. It contained 129 questions divided into 3 parts. Question 27:
Question: What do you understand by the providence of God?
Answer: The almighty, everywhere present power of God, whereby, as it were, by his hand, he still upholds heaven and earth with all creatures and so governs them that herbs and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, meat and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, indeed, all things come not by chance, but by his fatherly hand.
That really is the key to understanding providence: all things come…by his fatherly hand. That intimates the character of God expressed in
28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
Divine providence is God’s preserving his creation, operating in every event in the world, and directing the things in the universe to his appointed end for them.
This should be greatly encouraging to you today. God has every detail of your life under His providential care and sovereign control. God has ordered the day of your birth into this world. He has ordered the day of your departure, the means of that departure…so Jesus:
27 “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
God has determined who your parents would be—for some you were born into Xn families who loved Christ. For others, you were3 brought up by godless parents and didn’t come to know the Lord until later in life. All of this has been part of the providential purpose of God—under His almighty control—not 1 thing is left to chance.
We see this in Gen 11. We see providence in the unfolding story of redemptive history. We see it in vv 10-32 (the link b/t Noah and Abram). We see it later on in the Messianic line—ultimately fulfilled in LJC. Even the Lord’s family tree has knots on it—Abram is born into a polytheistic family of moon worshipers.
But this is the roadmap by which God would bring Messiah into the world and thru which the King of glory would descend from heaven into the world, taking the form of a bondservant (Phil 2).
It actually began:
Gen 3—born of the seed of a woman
Gen 16—born of the seen of Abraham
Gen 21—born of the seed of Isaac
Gen 25—born of the seed of Jacob (and down the line)
Ps 132:11 “11 The Lord has sworn to David A truth from which He will not turn back: “Of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne.”
Is 7 14 “14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”
1 The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:
This specific line that ends in the 1st coming of Messiah is not left to chance. God’s providence is demonstrated over the course of human history to guarantee to fulfillment of His good pleasure. We ask what is God doing in the world? Well, He is directing all things (inanimate creation, animals, those things which seem random, nations, every aspect of our lives-including successes and failures) all things…are governed by God and directed to God’s appointed end in those things. God’s ultimate purpose—to bring glory to His name—and always for your good (for those who have trusted LJC).
Gen 11:10-32 has 2 divisions (see vs 10 & vs 27—toledots (ch 2, 5, 6, 10): this is our outline…It has to do with God’s providence over human history and specifically what He is doing in the world at that time—directing the affairs of the world to their appointed end. In this case as history moves toward the chosen people and toward the promised land.
1. Toward the Chosen People
1. Toward the Chosen People
We begin with the line from Shem to Terah. Humanity had become idolatrous (tower of Babel) showing that even the line to Messiah is not free from pagans. God can/will use whatever He chooses to bring about His purpose.
We begin with Shem (listed 1st but not the oldest—most important). Shem begins to have children after the flood and Moses is very specific about the timeline. At the age of 100 (2 years after the flood) he becomes the father of Arpachshad. Then notice this little phrase “he had other sons and daughters” (repeated thruout).
There is one phrase that is omitted from this genealogy that was included in Adam’s genealogy in chapter 5: “and he died...” The difference in Shem’s lineage (not that they didn’t die but the emphasis is dif.) “and he lived” (every vs from 11-26).
These descendants of Noah will all encounter death and you can note that their life-spans will begin to decrease. Noah lives 950 years. Shem lives to be 600, Arpachshad (438), Shelah (433), Eber (464), Peleg (239), Reu (239), Serug (230), Nahor (148—less than Abraham’s 175 years). One of the effects of the post-flood world is the increase in solar radiation that reduces lifespans significantly. You also see that they being having children earlier and earlier.
Shem is the great-grand father to Eber (Hebrew comes from His name)—so we see this is the lineage that is leading toward the chosen people of God. This is where the lineage breaks off and distinguishes b/t the 2 sons of Eber: Peleg and Joktan. Joktan was the father of Arabian tribes while Peleg is the father of northwest Mesopotamian families. It is this line that concerns the Shemite (semitic) genealogy as it pertains to the Messiah (confirmed in Lk 3:35).
Fast forward to the last name in this grouping (vv24-26) is Terah. Terah is Abram’s father. Nothing of this is left to chance and Scripture is not going to cover up the realities of those in the Messianic line.
Now, Terah was not a believer. He was an idolator and raised his 3 sons (Abram Nahor and Haran) in idolatrous paganism. He lived in the city of Ur. Both Ur and the city where Terah took his family to settle (Haran) were centers for the worship of the moon god Sin (or Nanna). These were pagan astrologers who brought the ungodly influence of the tower of Babel—with their sin and idolatry to produce a leading center of lunar religion. Ur was dominated by a massive 3-staged ziggurat built by Ur-Nammu. The top level consisted of a 1-room shrine to Sin. Merrill Tenney writes that the cemetery reveals ritual burials of humans who were sacrificed in this religion.
Joshua confirms the culture in which Abraham was brought up by his father:
2 Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘From ancient times your fathers lived beyond the River, namely, Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods.
Even Terah’s name is related to the word yareah “moon” and yerah “lunar month.” Nahor named his son after the chief god that he worshiped (not a good practice!).
Some of you might be able to relate if your parents were not believers. In God’s providence, that was not by mistake or chance—but according to His divine purpose so that He would reveal the glories of His grace to you and to the generations that follow you.
2. Toward the Promised Land
2. Toward the Promised Land
vs 27—from Terah to Abram (in fact, this 6th Toledot will take us all the way to Gen 25:11 when Abraham dies)
Moon religion is so prevalent in Terah’s family that other members are so named...
Victor Hamilton notes:
The Book of Genesis, Chapters 1–17 (2. Genealogy of Shemites (11:10–32))
Sarai (Sarah) is the equivalent of šarratu, “queen,” an Akkadian translation of a Sumerian name for Ningal, the female partner of the moon-god Sin. Milcah [Nahor’s wife] is the same name as the goddess Malkatu, the daughter of Sin
This is all coming from the same family tribe: Sarai is actually Abram’s half-sister (Gen 20:12); Nahor’s wife, Milkah, is actually his niece. There is in Ur a great spiritual darkness that surrounds that city.
Moses writes this account: vv 31-32
We might conclude that Terah wanted to get away from the godless influence of Ur’s idolatry, took his family as far as Haran; another center of moon religion (interesting how several thousand years, worship of gods of the moon have been so prevalent—even today Islam began by elevating the moon god above all other gods—and their symbol? The crescent moon). Then God called Abram sometime after Terah died. This is not the biblical record.
God called Abram while they were still in Ur:
7 And He said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it.”
7 “You are the Lord God, Who chose Abram And brought him out from Ur of the Chaldees, And gave him the name Abraham.
Very direct account comes from Stephen:
2 And he said, “Hear me, brethren and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Leave your country and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.’ 4 “Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. From there, after his father died, God had him move to this country in which you are now living.
There is some confusion about the age of Terah and when Abram was born and when he left Haran. Essentially, Abram was not Terah’s 1st born. Terah began having children at 70 (vs 26) but Abram wasn’t born until he was 130. Terah lived another 75 years until the age of 205 when he died in Haran. Gen 12:4 tells us Abram was 75 when he departed Haran.
Kent Hughes brings up this point:
Genesis—Beginning and Blessing The Faith of Father Abram (vv. 27–32)
it was in darkest Ur that Abram saw the glory of God and heard the call to depart and go to a land that God would show him. And he convinced Terah to leave with him. But when they got to Haran (another center of moon worship), Terah would not budge. So dutiful Abram bid his time until Terah’s death, after which he was off again to the promised land.
The whole point is that God in His providence is directing Abram toward the promised land even while Abram and his family is steeped in pagan idol worship. Abram’s obedience is a monumental act of faith—in light of the fact that he was brought up in paganism. The writer of Hebrews expresses just how significant this was:
8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.
God was at work. God is at work today. And this is how you’ve come to hear the gospel and believe—b/c God was at work in you.
Rom 3—no one seeks after God…there is only 1 seeker and that is God who sought you and brought you to Himself and thru the preaching of the gospel, you believed God, putting your faith and trust in LJC. That is God’s providence in your life. And you’re here today, b/c God has graciously saved you, having called you while you were lost (just like Abram) in darkness. And maybe you’re here today like Terah—still living in idolatry. God’s Spirit is calling you to repentance and faith.
And His providence extends to every moment of your life now so that whatever you’re going thru: the highs and lows of the Xn life: God is at work...
28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
You can rest in the truth that God is sovereign—having all right and power to rule His universe. You can also rest in the providence of God that His good, wise, righteous and perfect plan is even now being worked out for your good and His glory.