Bible Commentaries
Genesis 9

Introduction

THE JUDGMENT OF COD

(Genesis 9-11)

The Bible shows that we are utterly dependent upon God. The air we breathe, the water we drink, the

food we eat, even the heartbeat that keeps the blood circulating in our bodies are beyond our control.

God made this world. He made man. He keeps and maintains everything. God created all things and is

sovereign over the whole world. He planned the laws men must follow. In some limited ways men make

up their own rules for guidance, but there are things in nature, in the universe, and in humanity that no

one can change.

Living in this world is a good deal like living in a countryside where each road and each path leads

somewhere. One highway leads north to Winnipeg, Canada; another leads to Chicago, Illinois. So one

road leads to New York while still another goes to California. All such highways have destinations. They

lead somewhere. This country road leads to the farm where the Smiths live, but another road leads to the

Browns’ farm. Even paths in the yard lead to a garden or to the barn or to the house. Even so, a man’s

conduct leads to certain consequences. The law of harvest never changes. Just so, in the wisdom of God

the laws of nature do not change. The first mile of the highway to Chicago remains the highway to

Chicago after ten or twenty, a hundred or three hundred miles. Chicago was the destination of this

highway from its very beginning. Conduct is like that. (p.77)

Action may take time to arrive at its consequence, but God knows from the beginning when I act in a

certain way where my conduct will lead. God does not have to figure this out; He knows my every

thought. He knows all things. In my living I may think of many things I never get to do, but God knows

them all. A wrong thought can lead to a wrong act. John writes, "He that hateth his brother is a

murderer." Hating is not specifically murder, as we know, but hating can lead to murder. God knows

where our thoughts can lead us. He knows the significance of our thoughts.

It is emphasized in the Bible that God will destroy evil. Does this mean He is arbitrary? When we

plant a rosebush, we know that it will need proper soil and water and sunshine in order to grow. If we

give it no moisture, it will die. Did God kill it? No, not in that sense. Or let us consider a growing tree. If

its roots are attacked by some rodent, the tree will die. That’s a law of nature. Does this make God

arbitrary? We never saw a flower that did not wither or a blade of grass that did not dry out. Death is

universal in nature. It is a law of nature that if I take poison into my body I will kill my body, even if I

had no intention to do so.

So far as my soul is concerned it too needs certain conditions under which to prosper. One of these is

the favor of God. This I receive through obedience to Him. When my soul is obedient to God, I will be

like a tree planted by rivers of water. If my soul is not obedient to God, if I live contrary to His will, it

will be with me like cutting off a tree. "The soul that sinneth. it shall die." Now the consequences of sin

are just as real for the soul as the breaking of natural laws are for the body. Suppose a man climbs a

mountain in stormy weather and falls three hundred feet to his death. Does this mean that God killed

him? No! The man need not have climbed under these conditions. God does not violate the processes of

nature or the laws of the universe that He has established. Consequences in the spiritual realm are

equally real.

It was in the plan of God that Adam and Eve should obey Him in order to live in the Garden of Eden.

The way (p.78) a fish needs water in which to swim, the way a bird needs air to fly, or a man needs air

to breathe, so man needs to obey God to live in harmony with his Creator. When Adam sinned, death

became inevitable. In the case of Cain and Abel we saw that worship of God must come from a willing

heart. Why? Because God created man in this way. When we come into the presence of God, He looks

into our hearts. If our hearts are not right in His eyes, God will not accept our presence nor what we

bring. No gift will clear us. When God looked at Abel, He accepted his offering. When He looked into the

heart of Cain, his offering was not acceptable. God said to Cain, "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be

accepted?" Envy is wrong, jealousy is wrong, and murder is wrong. The judgment upon Cain was not

imposed on him arbitrarily. The judgment of the Flood was an inevitable result of the wickedness and

evil which was rampant in the world. It only proves again that the "law of the harvest" can never be

broken.

In the same way, trust in God inevitably brings with it blessing and salvation. This is the spiritual law

of harvest. Trust and obedience bring life and blessing, just as surely as disobedience brings death.

Another important revelation of truth is found in the building of the Tower of Babel.

And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from

the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another,

Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for

mortar. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let

us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth (Gen. 11:1-4).

One thing to be noticed in this story is that the building of this tower was the original classic

community enterprise on record. All the people were engaged in this building project. This was certainly

a wonderful example of cooperation and unity. Even today, if people in this world got (p.79) together

and agreed with one another, they could accomplish a whole lot more than they can when they are

separated. There is no doubt about that. These people who proceeded to build a city and a tower were

inspired by potential mutual benefit. They wanted to make a name for themselves by a monument which

would be notable. They wanted to dwell in this city and avoid being scattered throughout the whole

world. All were challenged by this ambitious plan. "Let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may

reach unto heaven." These people were guided by practical efficiency. They planned for the bricks and

the mortar they would use. In other words they made all the necessary preliminary arrangements to

achieve their purpose.

Then we read, "The Lord came down to see the city and the tower" (11.5). God knew their thoughts

from afar. He knew that if they succeeded in this ambitious enterprise, their pride and arrogance would

know no bounds. They would feel no desire to worship Him their Maker, but rather the creature. Their

pride would separate them from the only true source of all blessing. Then it is written, "Let us . . .

confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech" (11:7). This act of God

caused men to disagree "and they left off to build the city," and were scattered throughout the world.

It is important and vital that men understand the same language if they would work together. Yet it is

so universal to have difference in speech. Even in one country many dialects may be spoken. There are at

least seventeen different dialects spoken in China. When I was in Taiwan, I was told that ten aboriginal

tribes lived in the mountains, and each tribe spoke a different dialect. They cannot understand each other.

When it comes to world affairs it would be a boon to all who work for unity among nations if there were

no language barrier. Here in this country we have the common problem of getting along with the various

organizations, because even though they speak the same common language they do not agree in their

thinking. Actually disagreement can take place even in the home, because this is (p.80) human nature.

This is true all over the world. We may note in passing the striking fact that at Pentecost (Acts 2:6-11)

all nationalities were able to hear the Gospel in "their own tongue." What a blessing to be had in Christ!

There is a real contrast between these people who wanted to vaunt their own superiority by building a

city and the man Abraham, who was called to obey God in the next chapter. It is written of him in the

Book of Hebrews that "he looked for a city which hath foundations whose builder and maker is God."

Whereas the men of Babel planned to build a city, this man looked for one whose builder was God. This

is very significant, for it points to a man whom God called out from all that he had in himself, and who

obeyed God. This was the man to whom God promised that in him all the nations of the world would be

blessed. It is noteworthy that when men tried by their own efforts to insure their unity the result was

that they were scattered abroad; but when this individual man was called to leave all he had in himself

that he might receive what God would give him, he received the promise that "in thee and in thy seed

shall all nations be blessed."

The men of Babel set out to achieve in their own strength and failed; Abraham yielded everything that

he might receive what God had prepared to give to him, and he was blessed.