His Mercy & Wisdom
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The Lord’s Legacy of Mercy
6.5.22 [Genesis 11:1-9] River of Life (The Festival of Pentecost)
(Gal. 1:3-4) Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
From a distance, good discipline can be confused with a bad temper.
Maybe it’s that mom that refuses to give her children money for the ice cream truck. To you, she might seem cheap and cruel in saying no. But she says no because her kids refuse to ear their dinner.
Sometimes, good discipline can be confused with a bad temper.
Perhaps it’s the dad on the video conference call, shouting at his kids to quiet down or he will come down the stairs. Some may wonder how he could be so mad. Kids make noise, right? But his sharp response stems from a chat he’s had with his kids more than a few times already that day.
Sometimes, good discipline can be confused with a bad temper. That isn’t to say that moms and dads don’t lose their patience and temper. Even the most loving parents make selfish, sinful choices. But good discipline, when you’re not up to speed on everything that’s been going on, can be confused with a bad temper. So we must be extra careful not to jump to any conclusions or make any hasty accusations against our heavenly Father in what he says and does in Genesis 11.
The whole account can leave us scratching our heads, right? Because of all the things that would make the Lord come down to earth, a civil engineering project seems like small potatoes, doesn’t it?
(Gen. 10:25; Gen. 11:10-16) Less than 200 years after the flood, (Gen. 11:1) the whole world had one language. Noah & his 3 sons—Shem, Ham, & Japheth—are all still alive. Some of Noah’s great-grandkids found a (Gen. 11:2) plain in Shinar and settled there. But they didn’t have stones, there. So they looked at what they had—clay—and with some skill and ingenuity, they cooked up some bricks. It was quite the feat.
Then they cooked up something bigger. They got together and said to one another (Gen. 11:4) Come on, now! Let’s build a city, with a massive tower. Then we’re told why. These people give us their dream and their nightmare, their hopes and their fears. (Gen. 11:4) So that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth. This was their mission.
So they got to work. And it seems like it was working. They had the necessary supplies. Everyone seemed to be on the same page. They were working their plan & working together & things were working out.
Until God made his way (Gen. 11:5) down to see the city and the tower the people were building. And for reasons that are not immediately clear in v. 6, the Lord is none too pleased with what they are doing. He says: (Gen. 11:6) If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. That’s no “atta boy”. No thumbs up from the big guy upstairs. No, instead of coming down for the ribbon cutting God comes (Gen. 11:7) down to confuse their languages so they won’t understand each other. And that seems strange. Cruel, even.
But it’s crucial we understand why. Immediately after getting off the ark, God blessed Noah and his sons and told them: (Gen. 9:1) Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. God’s desire & command was that these people do the very thing they feared, scatter over the face of the earth. So that is what he made them do.
So why didn’t people want to do this? Think about what this city could do for them. A city, with its walls, could provide peace & protection. A city, with its dense population, could generate economic opportunity & growth. A city, with its great tower, could create a lasting legacy for them. The people who were constructing this city wanted peace, protection, prosperity, and legacy. And you don’t have to be a brick baker to get that.
Because we, too, have our city projects and our tower dreams. Our dreams may even change or shift gears at different stages in life, but they’re always geared toward peace, protection, prosperity, & legacy.
Some city projects and tower dreams are career-focused. The bricks we bake are our accomplishments. Promotions and pay-raises. The tower might be the corner office, but it is just as likely to be your own boss or work from home. We must search our hearts & motives.
As with all these cities and towers, they are not intrinsically wicked. Working hard and being rewarded are good things. But it doesn’t take much for these goals of ours to supplant God’s desires & commands. In pursuing prosperity, our commitment to fear, love, and trust in God is frequently challenged. Will we tell the truth if it might impact our career? Will we do what is right even if it costs us “everything”? We have far more control over our work schedules and locations than any generation before us, yet how many times has work schedule, pace, and location led us to forsake weekly worship or the study of his Word?
Don’t assume this is the only city project or tower dream that captivates hearts. Many spurn career aspirations, building a different tower.
Maybe its the pursuit of slow-living. You want to have the time and energy to appreciate the little things in life. The bricks you bake are the memories you make with those you love. Does that city make the name of the Lord known? Or do you choose temporary peace at the expense of doing what God commands? Do you neglect the people God has called you to serve, so that you can keep your easy care-free pace?
Perhaps your city and tower is to see the face of the earth. Again, like working hard or living slow, there is nothing sinful about traveling. But take a good look at how that guides your time & future plans. Whether you are the type who prefers amusement parks or national parks, you know how much of your life that demands. Traveling takes planning. And time. And money. You make sacrifices to make that happen. And that’s fine to do. But are you only sacrificing other pleasures or hobbies? Or are you sacrificing opportunities to be a key driver in God’s kingdom?
Now, I’m going to pick on the national parks folks for two reasons. First, this affects my heart. I really enjoy being out its nature. So I know this temptation well. Secondly, I’ve never heard anyone claim they feel closer to God waiting in line for Splash Mountain. But I have heard people say that when they spend time in the mountains the Lord has made. If we spend most weekend away from it all, how are we encouraging one another as we see Judgment Day approaching? How can anyone rebuke, encourage, and train us if we never show up at God’s gym?
The Lord knows how our towers captivate our hearts and minds. Even if everything works out according to our plans, we will fall short of securing lasting peace, protection, prosperity, and legacy. (Mk. 10:27) With man this is impossible. (Gen. 11:6) What good is it for a man to achieve his dreams, if in doing so, he mortgages his eternal future? What good is it to live at your own pace, if each step leads you further and further away from God’s path? What good is it for a woman to see the whole world and yet lose her soul?
So the Lord came down. God came down because he understood, if we were left to proceed with our city plans & tower dreams, we would be totally unprepared for Judgment Day. Like teenage boys who played video games all night instead of studying for their final exam, frittering away crucial moments on fleeting pleasures. When the Lord came down to Babel, he confused their language. Then the thing they feared most, happened. They were scattered. But not struck down.. (Ps. 33:10-11) The Lord thwarts man’s purposes, but the plans of the Lord stand firm forever.
You see, God had planned to come down another time. (Gal. 4:4-5) When that set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law to redeem those under law. The Lord came down to win peace, protection, and prosperity for sinners like us. Peace with God. Protection (Ps. 91:4) under his wings. (Ps. 46:1) God is our refuge & strength. Dual prosperity. When we remain in him we (Jn. 15:5) will produce much fruit and we will have everything we need for body & life.
Jesus came down, not to build a tower like ours, but (Mt. 6:33) to seek first the kingdom of God. To be lifted up on the cross for our selfishness, our short-sightedness, our foolishness, all our sins. Christ crucified is our lasting legacy. His death is our death. His resurrection, our hope and joy. Jesus is the name we cling to and make known. He has given us his own name in our baptisms. He has given us his own body and blood in this Supper.
Because God came down a second time, we are not confused about who we are or what we are here for. We know we are but strangers here. (Heb. 13:14) This world is not our enduring city. Yes, there are things we can and should enjoy here. We should work hard. We should make good memories. We should enjoy the beauty of God’s creation. But we shouldn’t let any of those blessings cause us to lose sight of that great (Heb. 13:14) city that is to come. We look forward to that city, (Heb. 11:10) whose architect & builder is God.
That was the legacy that Peter and the Apostles proclaimed on that first Pentecost. That when the Lord comes down it was not to strike down, but to save. Even when he disciplines us, we know he still (Heb. 12:6) loves us. The Lord has a long established legacy of mercy.
And he has building plans, too. Not a city and a tower, but (1 Pt. 2:5) a spiritual house. First, The Lord laid (Is. 28:16) a chosen and precious cornerstone in Zion—Jesus. (Ps. 118:12) The builders rejected him, because they had other plans they thought were more crucial. They crucified him. (Acts 2:42) But God raised him from the dead and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame. Then on Pentecost, God began assembling living stones from (Acts. 2:9-10) Mesopotamia, Asia, Egypt, and Rome into a spiritual house. He continues to do the same here in the West Valley, bringing us alongside one another. You and I are hand-hewn by the Lord of mercy to stand next to and support each other.
Because God has come down and kindled faith in our hearts, we are (1 Pt. 2:9) his special possession, that we may declare the praises of him who called us out of confusion & darkness & into his wonderful light. We can see the city he has designed and built for us, from a distance. Amen.