Read Genesis 11:1-12:9.

Introduction⤒🔗

During the railroad-building boom of the late 19th century, a wealthy capitalist name James J. Hill had a dream of colonizing the Pacific Northwest. He purchased a small railroad line centered in St. Paul, Minnesota, and began laying track across the Great Plains, through the Rockies, and all the way to the Pacific.¹

Now let us suppose that James J. Hill sponsored a special train for the purpose of transporting colonists to the Pacific Northwest. Many would-be colonists board the train in St. Paul for the long journey of some 2,700 miles to the Pacific Ocean. When the train makes a stop in the Red River Valley of North Dakota, some of the would-be colonists decide this is the end of the line for them; they then proceed to defiantly build a city right across Mr. Hill’s tracks. But Mr. Hill is a determined man who will tolerate no mutiny; his locomotive picks up speed and smashes right through the newly constructed town, leaving it a scattered shambles.

When the train reaches the Rockies, it must stop for repairs. At this point, some more of the would-be colonists forsake the venture; they are weary of the long, arduous journey and they just give up. Mr. Hill urges them to get back on board, but when they don’t, his train presses on without them, and they are never heard from again.

It is those colonists, and only those, who stay on board the train who make it all the way to the paradise of the Pacific Northwest. Mr. James J. Hill was a determined man; he accomplished the goal he set out to achieve; and those who stayed with him shared in his success.

There is a spiritual application to our parable surrounding that historic railroad builder, James Hill, an application that pertains to the passage presently before us: we need to be faithful to the God who fulfills His purposes. Because we have no legitimate reason to withstand Him, and abundant Scriptural reason to trust Him, let us see that we are faithful to the LORD. Genesis 11:1-12:9 provides us with three reasons for faithfulness to the LORD.

Be Faithful to the LORD, because He Overthrows Those Who Oppose Him←⤒🔗

In Genesis 9:1 there is recorded the LORD’s commandment to Noah and his sons: “be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth.” For emphasis, the same commandment is repeated in Genesis 9:7. Genesis 9:19 informs us that by these three sons of Noah “the whole earth was populated.” This summary statement indicates that God’s purpose was accomplished; despite the opposition men gave to the divine will.

Genesis 11:1-9 records an episode of such opposition to the divine will. At this time in history, the whole of mankind still spoke the same language (vs. 7). This made possible human cooperation in a concerted project, but one that was in defiance of God’s purpose, namely, that men spread out and populate the whole earth. As the descendants of Noah’s sons journey east they come upon a plain in the land of Shinar. Upon reaching that point they decide to stop migrating, band together, and dwell in a city of their own making (vs. 2).

Verses 3-4 reveal their plan and the thoughts of their hearts:

³they said to each another, Come, let us make bricks, and bake them thoroughly. They used bricks instead of stone, and tar instead of mortar. ⁴Then they said, Come, let us build a city for ourselves with a tower whose top shall reach unto heaven; so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.

Their intention is to build a structure that is durable and will be permanent, they are going to build using bricks. They are intending to build a city for themselves, (i.e. here is a man-centered, rather than God-centered endeavor). In their city planning they include “a tower whose top shall reach unto heaven.” The tower of the ancient city was a place of refuge from enemy assault, note Judges 9:50-51,

⁵⁰Then Abimelech went to Thebez and besieged it and captured it. ⁵¹But there was a strong tower within the city, and all the men and women fled into it—even all the inhabitants of the city. They locked themselves in and climbed up to the roof of the tower.

Their intention to build a tower to heaven may have been an effort to protect themselves from another great flood. They know they are in opposition to God’s will, they view God as their enemy, and they seek to construct a “defense” against God! They form a humanistic alliance to pursue their own purpose and promote their own glory—in direct defiance of God—proclaiming their intention to “make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the whole earth.”

Genesis 11:1-9 also records the LORD’s response to this secular humanistic enterprise:

⁵But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. ⁶And the LORD said, Behold, they are one people and they all have the same language; and this is what they begin to do. In their present condition nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. ⁷Come, let us go down and confuse their language so that they may not understand one another. ⁸So the LORD scattered them from there over the whole surface of the earth. And they stopped building the city. ⁹That is why it was called Babel—because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world and from there the LORD scatter them over the surface of the whole earth. vs. 5-9

The LORD discerns that this present building project is only the beginning of their ungodly endeavors, and their common language is what enables them to undertake this enterprise (vs. 6). He now takes action to frustrate their human purpose and cause His divine purpose to be accomplished (vs. 7-8). Contrast verse 4, “Come, let us build a city for ourselves,” with verse 7, “Come, let us go down and confuse their language.” The Scriptures inform us, and warn us, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (Jas. 4:6).

We must be faithful to the LORD, because He overthrows those who oppose Him. We must be careful to take to heart the testimony of Scripture:

³⁰There is no wisdom nor insight nor plan [that can succeed] against the LORD. Prov. 21:30

⁴His wisdom is profound, his power is vast; who can defy him and succeed? Job 9:4

Be Faithful to the LORD, because He Requires Steadfast Faithfulness←⤒🔗

Genesis 11:10-26 records for us the genealogy of the covenant line. Starting with Shem it eventually leads to the Old Testament patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). The patriarchs are the fathers of God’s Old Testament people, Israel; to them and their descendants the LORD pledges the land of Canaan; they are the ones God will bring into and establish in the Promised Land.

The generations of Shem eventually bring us to the patriarchs and the record of their life with the LORD. But the generations of Shem also contain the story of the “almost-patriarch,” a man named Terah.

In the light of Stephen’s remarks recorded in Acts 7:2-4 (printed below), it becomes evident that the LORD’s call was made to Abram.

²Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran. ³“Leave your country and your people,” God said, “and go to the land I will show you.” ⁴So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. Acts 7:2-4

When we couple Stephen’s testimony with the account found in Genesis, it appears that Abram in turn communicated the divine calling to his father, Terah, who thereupon initially took the initiative in complying with it:

³¹Terah took his son Abram, and his grandson, Lot, (Lot was the son of Haran), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, (who was his son Abram’s wife). Together they journeyed from Ur of the Chaldeans intending to go into the land of Canaan; but they came to the city of Haran and settled there.Gen. 11:31

Terah made a good start, but he did not persevere. Genesis 11:31b reports, “they journeyed from Ur of the Chaldeans intending to go into the land of Canaan; but they came to the city of Haran and settled there.” Following the fertile river valley in a rainbow crescent from Ur, (which was situated on the Euphrates River not far from the northwestern tip of the Persian Gulf), to Canaan (i.e. modern-day Israel), you find that Haran is situated half way between those two points.

Why did Terah settle in Haran, rather than continue all the way to Canaan? He apparently succumbed to some form of the malady described in Mark 4:19 as “the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches.” The place where he chose to settle (Haran) is known to have been a flourishing city, situated along a substantial river on a major trade route. This seems to indicate that Terah thought he had found all he wanted in life, right there in Haran. He apparently succumbed to the deceitfulness of riches, thinking they could make him happy and secure and fulfilled. Furthermore, it is very possible that Terah never overcame his personal loss. He may have allowed the burden of the pre-mature death of his son, Haran, to weigh him down and prevent him from persevering in following the LORD: “Haran died during the lifetime of his father Terah in the same place where he had been born, namely, in Ur of the Chaldeans” (Gen. 11:28).

The summary statement of Terah’s history contains one phrase that is missing from the eight generations that preceded him: “Terah died in Haran.” By way of example, contrast the summary statement of Shem’s life (Gen. 11:10-11, printed below) with that of Terah, given in Genesis 11:32: “Terah lived two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran.”

¹⁰...when Shem was a hundred years old, he became the father of Arpachshad. ¹¹Shem lived five hundred years after the birth of Arpachshad, and there were born to him sons and daughters. Gen. 11:10-11

Let us be faithful to the LORD, because He requires steadfast faithfulness:

¹¹...we desire that each one of you may exhibit the same diligence right to the end—¹²that you not become negligent; but rather, that you be imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. Heb. 6:11-12

⁹Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the appointed time we shall reap a harvest if we do not give up. Gal. 6:9

¹⁰Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. Rev. 2:10

According to John 1:12-13, a genuine work of the Holy Spirit includes the grace of perseverance:

¹²But to all who did receive him [an initial act of faith, as is indicated by the aorist form of the Greek verb, λαμβανω], to those who are believing on his name [a continuing faith and commitment, as is indicated by the present participle of the Greek verb, πιστευω, to bring out the force of the tense, we may translate it: “those who are believing”], to them he gave the right to become children of God—¹³they were born, not by natural descent, nor by human will, nor by a husband’s desire, but by God. Jn. 1:12-13

According to Philippians 2:12-13, the LORD’s faithfulness becomes the means and incentive for our faithfulness: “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³for it is God who is working in you for the sake of his good purpose.”

Be Faithful to the LORD, because He will Eventually Reward Such Faithfulness←⤒🔗

Genesis 12:1 states that the LORD re-issued His call to Abram, (a call that initially was extended to him while he was still living in Ur of the Chaldeans); and in so doing, the LORD makes very clear the cost involved: “leave your country, your people, your father’s household.” He also make clear to Abram the need for complete trust and confidence in Him: “go to the land that I will show you.” It was only later, at the conclusion of the journey, that Abram discovered that the destination to which he was called was the land of Canaan:

¹⁸By faith Abraham, when called to go to a land he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. Heb.11:8

When Genesis 11:31 and Genesis 12:5 inform us that Terah and Abram were headed for the land of Canaan we, as the readers, are being supplied with an editorial comment—we are given information that Terah and Abram did not possess at the time of their initial calling.

Together with the divine call, the LORD made to Abram a great promise: “I will make you into a great nation and make your name great” (Gen. 12:2-3). Contrast Genesis 11:4, “let us make a name for ourselves,” with Genesis 12:2, “I will make your name great.” The LORD promises to bless Abram with all that the builders of Babel hoped to gain, and with far more.

Abram responded to the LORD’s call to follow Him—the call to be His disciple:

⁴So, Abram departed, just as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. ⁵And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had accumulated, and the servants that they had purchased in Haran. They departed intending to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. Gen. 12:4-5

Abram departed out of Haran with “all the possessions they had accumulated.” Abram was doing what the LORD had instructed him to do, (as recorded in verse 1): “leave your country, your people, your father’s household.”

Not only did Abram, (like Terah before him), respond to God’s initial call, but (unlike Terah) Abram persevered to the end. Of Terah it is said: “Then Terah took his son Abram, and his grandson, Lot...together they journeyed from Ur of the Chaldeans intending to go into the land of Canaan; but they came to the city of Haran and settled there” (Gen. 11:31). But of Abram it is said: “And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son...they departed intending to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came” (Gen. 12:5).

Even when Abram entered the land of Canaan there was need for continued perseverance in the faith. Genesis 12:6 tells us that at that time in history “the Cannanite was occupying the land.” So it was that “Abram pitched his tent”—a type of impermanent, temporary dwelling. But he also “built an altar to the LORD”—a testimony of faith in the promise that God would indeed give him the land (vs. 8).

Abram received the sustaining grace of Christ, as Genesis 12:7 indicates when it reports, “the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, ‘To your descendants will I give this land.’” Eventually, in company with the whole host of the redeemed, Abram will receive the fullness of the divine promise:

¹³All these people were still living by faith when they died ¹⁶they were looking for a better country—a heavenly country. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. Heb. 11:13,16

Let us be faithful to the LORD, because the LORD will eventually, but surely, reward such faithfulness.

Conclusion←⤒🔗

This is the message of Genesis 11:1-12:9, we need to be faithful to the God who fulfills His purposes. Because we have no legitimate reason not to be faithful, and abundant biblical reason to be faithful, by His grace let us be faithful to the LORD our covenant God.

Discussion Questions←⤒🔗

1. What command did God give Noah and his sons after the Great Flood? See Gen. 9:1,7 Of what does Genesis 9:19 inform us? What does this tell us about the purpose and plans of God? What warning should we take to heart? See Job 9:4 What assurance is there for the Christian? See Phil. 1:6.

¹Then God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth... ⁷As for you, be fruitful, and multiply; increase abundantly on the earth, and multiply upon it. Gen. 9:1, 7

¹⁹These three men were the sons of Noah; and by these three the whole earth was populated. Gen. 9:19

⁴[The LORD’s] wisdom is profound, his power is vast; who can defy him and succeed? Job 9:4

⁶Of this I am sure, that he who began a good work in you will carry it out to completion until the day of Jesus Christ. Phil. 1:6

2. When the descendants of Noah reach the land of Shinar, what do they do? What is their intention? See Gen. 11:3-4 What does this tell you about their relationship with God? Why might we describe their project as the first secular humanistic enterprise? Do you find yourself pursuing the same goal as the builders of the Tower of Babel?

³And they said to each another, Come, let us make bricks, and bake them thoroughly. They used bricks instead of stone, and tar instead of mortar. ⁴Then they said, Come, let us build a city for ourselves with a tower whose top shall reach unto heaven; so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth. Gen. 11:3-4

3. Why might we call Terah the “almost-patriarch”? What did he set out to do? See Gen. 11:31a What did he end up doing? See Gen. 11:31b What might explain his change of plans? Of what detriments to perseverance and fruitfulness in the Christian life does Mark 4:18-19 warn us? Do you struggle with these temptations in your life? How may the Psalmist’s testimony (Psl. 16:8, 11) help you?

³¹Then Terah took his son Abram, and his grandson, Lot, (Lot was the son of Haran), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, (who was his son Abram’s wife). Together they journeyed from Ur of the Chaldeans intending to go into the land of Canaan; but they came to the city of Haran and settled there. Gen. 11:31

¹⁸Still others are like seed sown among the thorns: these are people who have heard the word; ¹⁹but the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts for other things come in and choke the word, and so it becomes unfruitful. Mk. 4:18-19

⁸I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand I shall not be moved... ¹¹You will show me the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psl. 16:8, 11

4. What is unique about the summary statement of Terah’s life when compared to that of all the others mentioned in the genealogical record? What is ominous about this additional note attached to Terah’s genealogical account? See Gen. 111:32 What does this tell us about the absolute necessity of commitment and perseverance in the Christian life? See Heb. 6:11-12; Gal. 6:9; Rev. 2:10b

³²Terah lived two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran. Gen. 11:32

¹¹And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, ¹²thatyou do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Heb. 6:11-12

⁹Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the appointed time we will reap, if we do not give up. Gal. 6:9

^10bBe faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.Rev. 2:10b

5. Contrast Genesis 11:31 with Genesis 12:5. What promises does the LORD make to Abram as incentive to faith and perseverance? See Gen. 12:2-3 Compare Genesis 12:2 with Genesis 11:4 What is the truly wise investment: to join the secular humanistic cause of investing your heart and life in this present world (note Mk. 8:36), or to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and commit yourself to Him (note 2 Thess. 2:13-14, esp. vs. 14b)?

³¹Then Terah took his son Abram, and his grandson, Lot, (Lot was the son of Haran), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, (who was his son Abram’s wife). Together they journeyed from Ur of the Chaldeans intending to go into the land of Canaan; but they came to the city of Haran and settled there. Gen. 11:31

⁵And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had accumulated, and the servants that they had purchased in Haran. They departed intending to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. Gen. 12:5

The LORD said to Abram:

²I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you will be a blessing. ³I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and by you shall all the peoples of the earth be blessed. Gen. 12:2-3

⁴Then they said, Come, let us build a city for ourselves with a tower whose top shall reach unto heaven; so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth. Gen. 11:4

³⁶What profit is it for a man to gain the whole world, but to forfeit his soul?Mk. 8:36

¹³But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth,¹⁴to which he called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thess. 2:13-14