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Exile and Exodus – The Tower of Babel and Abraham

Posted: 05 Oct 2010 08:00 AM PDT

Setting the Scene

As we move through the Scripture, we see the results of our exile from Eden. In the very next section of text after the Fall, Cain refuses to be his brother’s keeper and murders Abel. He is marked and further exiled to another land. The following geneology is contains the dirge-like refrain “…and he died,” powerfully evidencing the result of our exile. Eventually we get to Noah and the flood, where God judges all of humanity but spares Noah and his family by grace. Eventually the flood subsides, and Noah steps out onto dry land as a new Adam. He is given the same commandment as Adam (“be fruitful and multiply!”), and unfortunately, begins the process of another Fall by getting drunk.

Chapters 10, 11, and 12 of Genesis give us an account of Abraham and the Tower of Babel. The careful reader will notice, however, that chapters 10 and 11 are in reverse chronological order. This is intentional on the author’s (Moses) part—he lists the “table of nations” in chapter 10, then explains how the nations came to be in chapter 11. By so doing, he juxtaposes the Tower of Babel incident (the failure of the nations) with the call of Abraham (the beginning of the blessing of the nations).

Exile – The Tower of Babel and the Nations

In chapter 11, mankind has come together and decided to build a tower (most likely a ziggurat) in order to “make a name for themselves and not be scattered over the face of the earth” (Genesis 11:4).

Just as Noah and the flood serves as the culmination of the sinfulness of humanity from Genesis 3-6, Genesis 11 stands as the culmination of the pervasive sinfulness of humanity from Noah till the present time. In Genesis 11, mankind stands united under a common language and culture (Genesis 11:1). They begin to erect a monument to themselves—a beacon of human achievement. However, as happens so much in these first chapters, this (Enlightenment-esque) humanity worship is in direct contradiction to God’s commands. God had commanded Adam and Eve, Noah and his family, to multiply and fill the earth, that is, to scatter.

Instead, mankind attempts to build another Eden with themselves at the center. They begin to build a great city with a great tower, and instead of scattering they gather together in one place. So God responds with a new exile—he scatters mankind out of their psuedo-Eden and spreads them far and wide. He then “confuses” their language, an act of judgment that drives a wedge between these new nations.

Exodus – The Call of Abraham and the Nations

See the beauty of juxtaposition! As the story of the Tower of Babel ends with a new exile from a false Eden, Moses inserts a new genealogy from Noah’s son Shem to a man named Abram (=Abraham). Chapter 12 begins with “Yahweh had said to Abram.” Out of the chaos that results from the Tower of Babel, God again speaks order. “Leave your country…and go to the land I will show you” (Genesis 12:1).

At this point, it is helpful to remember the definition I gave for the term “exodus.” My definition was “a departure that has a destination in mind, particularly, the Promised Land [in its types and antitypes].” An exodus also typically follows an exile, as we have seen so far in this series. Isn’t this exactly what we see here?

Abram, as we know from the genealogy that ends chapter 11, is a pagan idol worshiper from the land of Ur. It was out of this land, and this paganism, that God calls Abram and tells him to go to the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:5). Abram is sent to the Promised Land before it was actually promised (which it is in verse 7). In this journey, Abraham is a picture of the future Exodus from Egypt to Canaan, where Moses leads the Israelites through the wilderness. Before Moses took this journey, Abram and his family had already traveled it.

Just like every other instance of exodus we’ll, it is important to see both the backward-pointing and forward-pointing themes. First, Abram is promised that his offspring (“seed”) will receive this land (Genesis 12:7). This is, of course, fulfilled to some degree in the Exodus of Moses. But what is it about this land that is so important? It’s not so much where this land is, but what it represents—Eden, the Kingdom of God. The Promised Land is the place where God’s presence will be in the midst of God’s people, in God’s place, under God’s rule. The Promised Land will be an Eden in the midst of fallen humanity. Rather, it was supposed to be. So while the promise of land looks forward, it actually looks backward to God’s promise to bring his people back into Eden.

Second, there is a forward-pointing focus to this covenant and promise made with Abram:

“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.

I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
-Genesis 12:2-3

God has called Abram so that he could continue a redemptive program that will eventually bless the entire world. God is enacting a plan that will bring the world, and not just Abram’s physical lineage, into Eden. The great exodus that conquers the Edenic exile is global in scope.

Jesus and Pentecost

Moses, the author of Genesis, includes a small detail that is easily overlooked. Thousands of years later, however, a man named Paul would pick up on it. In Genesis 12:7, Moses writes, “To your offspring (=”seed”), I will give this land.” Interestingly, the word “seed” is singular. Paul writes:

“Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.

Paul rightfully sees that the promises given to Abram were fulfilled ultimately in the person and work of Jesus Christ! He is the one who will bless the nations (Genesis 12:3-4) by taking the sins of the world upon himself on the cross, as a substitute. It is through his life, death, and resurrection that we are brought back into Eden—and not only Eden, but the garden-city of the New Creation, the Promised Land.

In Abram, God has promised a reversal of the Tower of Babel. In Jesus, God has fulfilled that promise. Ten days after Jesus had ascended to take his place as the cosmic King, on the day of Pentecost, something incredible happened (Acts 2). As the disciples were praying together, God sent the promised Comforter and Advocate, the Holy Spirit. The Spirit invaded each of the disciples, birthing the church as we know it today. The sign that accompanied this event? The disciples began to speak in many different languages, preaching to many about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The exile of the Tower of Babel had been reversed.

Next: Joseph, Egypt, and the Exodus

Filed under: Scripture Lessons, Series, Theology