The Tower & The Call

In seminary, when studying a particular passage, you’re taught to look at the passage that comes before and/or after to help you with the context of the passage in question. As we start the year reading through the Bible, I ran across Genesis 11 and 12. I’ve read these chapters before several times but I’ve never really put them together. Maybe it’s the genealogy at the end of chapter 11 that throws me off but John Piper pointed out the connection.

As you recall Genesis 11 is talking about The Tower of Babel where man came up with the idea to build a tower to reach the heavens. (Only men would come up with this idea. This reminds me of the Lunar Rover. Who comes up with the idea and says, “Hey guys, lets spend billlllllllllions of dollars and build a spaceship to fly to the moon so we could drive around on a piece of rock.” But if there are really Transformers there, I’ll recant the previous statement.) The people in Genesis 11 were motivated by self-recognition. In verse 4, the men said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth” (NIV). The Lord of course doesn’t allow this to happen and He comes down and confuses their language so they don’t understand each other and end up scattered anyway.

The very next chapter (12) is The Call of Abram and the covenant promise that Abram will be a great nation. Most of the times when I have heard this passage preached, it has been isolated from chapter 11. Look at the contrast between the motivation of the men in Genesis 11, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves” (v. 4) and the promise of God in chapter 12:2-3:

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; 
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; 
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Notice the repetition of the “I will(s)” from the Lord. It’s not by accident that this promise was made immediately following The Tower of Babel account where man wanted to “make a name for themselves.” The Lord was making it clear to Abram that he would be great but only by His grace and sovereign power so that the Lord alone will receive the credit.

What is Abram’s role in all of this? The Lord commanded Abram in 12:1, “The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you” (NIV). Abram’s role was obedience. The Lord said, “leave” so Abram left. That’s pretty simple and I like simple.

Lets recap:

Obedience = Blessing, direction, and greatness/purpose

Seeking one’s own glory = confusion, scattered (no direction), stopped building the tower/city (shame/purposeless)

I think I’ll take door number one.