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Song: The Way That He Loves
Scripture: Genesis 11:1-32
Genesis 3-11 describes the consequences wrought by sin’s spread, consequences summed up in one word: separation. Sin separates man from God—“I heard the sound of Thee… so I hid myself.” Sin separates man from peace in his labor—“thorns and thistles it shall grow for you.” Sin separates man from beast—“the terror of you shall be on every beast of the earth.” Sin separates man from family—“Cain rose up against Abel… and killed him.” Sin separates the soul from the body—“Adam lived 930 years, and he died.” Sin separates man unto final judgment—“Then God said to Noah, ‘The end of all flesh has come before Me.’” Sin separates all men—“Noah found,” notjustice, but “grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Sin separates man repeatedly—Noah’s fresh start became a fresh start for sin.
From the tower of Babel, we learn that sin separates man from real progress. Civilization doesn’t make man better. It makes man faster, fatter, richer, busier, cozier, smarter, haughtier, and so a more stubborn sinner. So God at times mercifully blunts man’s worldly progress to remind him of what’s really important. At Babel, God separated men from men, so that men left on their own might seek God. And from the families at Babel, God separated Abram. From Abram He raised a Savior who on Pentecost preached a message to unite the divided peoples by separating them from their sins.
Jason Moore
