Foundations for Christian Mission, Student Workbook, SW04

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F O U N D A T I O N S F O R C H R I S T I A N M I S S I O N

3. The idea of the city is not founded or started by God, but rather the one who murders his brother and builds the city as a place of permanence and security .

B. The city is associated with independence and arrogance: the Tower of Babel, Gen. 11.1-9.

1. The city and its tower are built for the purpose of “making a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth,” Gen. 11.4.

2. The two-fold purpose

a. To make a name for ourselves : to establish our own way of determining our destiny and achievement

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b. Lest we be dispersed : a way to consolidate and reinforce the coordinated power of these independent and arrogant persons

3. Tower of Babel is a powerful symbol of the city as naked rejection of reliance on God, and arrogant dependence on human initiative and strength.

4. God’s judgment: dispersing and leaving off the work of building the city, and God making a name for them , “Babel” (confusion)

5. Babel (Babylon), the symbol of godless human arrogance