Pastor Dan Eddy
Genesis 11:1-9
Confusion leading
to clarity
5-23-10
I.
Introduction – Being understood
When you can’t
understand someone…it’s tough. When
you’re not being understood…that’s frustrating.
A few years ago,
the electric charger on my computer (hold
up computer charger cord) was about ready to give out. Getting a new one
became an international incident, talking to technicians and customer service
representatives over the phone from
There were
problems with ordering the right part, getting charged the correct price, and
confusion over when the part would arrive and how. And much of the difficultly
came down to they couldn’t understand me and I was confused by them…because they
barely spoke English and I didn’t speak their language.
I eventually did
get my replacement charger, but not without a lot of confusion.
How about you? Have
you had recent experiences where communicating with someone was difficult? A
spouse, sibling, co-worker, or a customer service representative from
Being understood
and communicating well makes life go so much easier. Receiving clarity from confusion brings peace to our lives.
So when we look
at the
II. The problem at
As with understanding
any communication…context is imperative.
In Genesis 9:1 (NIV), after the Great Flood the Lord blessed Noah, his
children and their descendents to “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.” In other words, have lots of kids and spread out through
the globe.
But
they didn’t want to do that. It didn’t make sense to them. So, they went
against God’s command and wanted to unify as one people against Him. So after the Flood they migrated together from
Mount Ararat (Modern day turkey) southeast to the plain of Shinar (modern day
Now
from our human perspective this seems like a good idea. I mean, at this time, the
planet had been recently destroyed and my guess is they had to redevelop the
land. So instead of trusting in the
Lord, they wanted to do things their own way. They wanted their own identity.
So they
took common stone, making it stronger by baking it into bricks using fire, and taking mortar and greatly enhanced it
by turning it into tar. The combination of those two technologies allowed for
better materials to erect higher structures. They were building a massive city. They
wanted to make a name for themselves. They were proud of themselves. Their successes fed their pride. And
the symbol of their identity, power and strength apart from the one Lord God
was that tall tower, raised up for their glory. They wanted to establish
themselves as gods, thinking they could control their own destiny. It made sense but it’s not what God wanted.
In
the Lord’s view (and His view is the only one that really counts) this Tower
was part of a continuing pattern of rebellion from Noah’s descendents. And for that rebellious spirit He could
have justly destroyed them all. But He didn’t.
Instead, God loved them…by confusing their
language so they would stop sinning against Him. He acted in compassion. He did this by taking away the
very thing that was allowing them to succeed….their one language. He humbled them
and saved them from their egos, which, left unchecked, could brought have led
to their destruction.
III.
Our problem – trying to make a
name for ourselves using our technologies
For
us today the Lord is not against human achievement or progress. All our life's
blessings and scientific and technological advancements come at His Hand, not
ours. Almighty God determines how much we understand about things in life. But when these things are not
done for His glory but for ours, He can bring confusion to our lives, humbles
us in the process, and decimate our pride.
Think
of the famous quote attributed to a deck hand aboard the famous Titanic vessel:
"God himself could not sink this ship.” The sinking of
the Titanic humbled the arrogance of men who placed boundless faith in modern
technology.
We
live in pretty miraculous times. Who
would have thought just less than 30 year ago that you could take a whole
library of music and books and (Hold up
iPhone) hold them in the palm of your hand? The speed and accuracy of
obtaining information through the Internet…unheard of just 20 years ago. Look
at the advancements in medicine, in treating all sorts of cancers. Cures that
even 10 years ago were thought impossible.
And
yet how often is the Lord credited for these advancements? How often do you hear inventors or users of
these technologies give glory to God—Who
made us and gave us all our intellects?
We should ask
ourselves: Are we, at times, building our own
So when our own technology doesn’t perform the way we want it to, maybe
the Lord is using that to confuse us—to remind us that we are not masters of
our worlds, no matter how many gadgets we have at our disposal. Maybe He’s
reminding us of how dependent we are on Him.
Imagine how confusing your life would be if the Internet went out
tomorrow. Gas for your car was no longer available. The medicine you take
wasn’t working, anymore. Look how much we were humbled on 9-11 when all air
transportation was grounded, because of terrorist attacks. Even four inches of
water in my basement twice from a “100 year flood” reminded me of how much I am
attached to our material possessions. The Lord can take away the things that
are keeping us from having a clear relationship with Him.
IV. In the
confusion, The Lord offered clarity through saving us by His name
In verses 5-7, The
Lord came down to bring confusion so He could offer clarity on His love for the
human race. If He wouldn’t have forced the people at
If God hadn’t
dispersed the people from their godless city then the bloodline leading to
Abraham may have never come about. God’s chosen bloodline where He made His
name known from the Chosen People of Israel. If it weren’t for that bloodline
to King David, and from David’s bloodline, we would never know the God made
also man, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It may have not made sense at the
time, but today God’s purpose in these events is clear.
God’s Spirit who
brought confusion to the city of
The Spirit of
clarity conceived, in Mary, the Son of God and the Son of Man. And yes, at
first the events of Jesus’ life seemed a bit confusing. A king born to a peasant
carpenter’s family. A prophet, without a Pharisee’s education. A priest from
the tiny town of
But the events of Pentecost reverse the
The coming of the
Holy Spirit brings true unity to humankind, united in Christ. Language barriers
were broken down on that Pentecost as the Apostles proclaimed the wonderful
works of God to people in their own native tongue. Today, the Bible is one of
the few books translated into more languages than any other book in the world.
Through the
preaching of the Cross, the Holy Spirit draws people from all nations into the
one, holy, Christian, apostolic church. The Holy Spirit teaches and brings to
our remembrance the words of Jesus, which are the words of the Father who sent
Him. These words bestow forgiveness and peace on you. As Jesus said in our
Gospel reading, “let not your heart be
troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
God’s Word is one
piece of communication that when you trust Him always brings clarity from
confusion, bestowing on us true peace.
In Acts 2: 21
Peter clearly says, “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be
saved.” He makes His name in us. By faith alone in Christ Jesus, humans
are not desiring to make a name for themselves, but God is making His Son’s
Name known in the Church through the Holy Spirit.
As a result, Christ clarifies who you are, whose you are, and how you
are to clearly live. That way we won’t get confused and risk building our own
V. An
application story to tie all the parts together
So at this point in the sermon, you might be asking “Pastor Dan what does this have to do with my life today? How is God
asking me to live from this sermon?” Maybe I can answer that by telling you
about my own
A year before I left for sem, Berta and I began to save money expecting
that once I left my sales job, we would not have as much income to live and pay
our expenses. As a result, we severely cut our tithe to the church. I mean it
made sense. I was going to be going to school for the Lord. That costs money.
Like with Noah’s descendents, it made sense but it’s not
what God wanted. He wanted Berta and me to continue giving back a portion of the
rich blessings He gave us.
I had
turned my future seminary education into my own
Then one day I was sitting in P-101 the introductory class to be a
pastor, some six months into my schooling, and my professor encouraged us to
give a tithe to our home congregation…a percentage of our income…meager as it
was. He said, just because we were in school, just because we were studying to
be pastors didn’t excuse of from giving our tithe back to God.
At first we looked at each other like he was crazy, but it was a moment
of humility and clarity. Berta and I made adjustments in our budget and began
regularly giving our offerings again. The Spirit of clarity gave us much peace.
I know some of you in this congregation have shared similar experiences.
I wonder how many of Noah’s descendants learned from the confusion the
Lord brought them. I wonder how many were humbled, leading them to a clearer
understanding of the Lord.
VI. Conclusion
My prayer is that
the confusion God may create in your life can bring you to humble repentance in
order to receive, in faith, the clarity the Holy Spirit gives with peace in
Christ Jesus. Amen.