Kingdom Building Part 1     Nimrod

Gen. 10:8 "And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. 10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, 12 And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city."

Nimrod was a descendant of Ham and the 13th from Adam. He is said to be a "mighty one in the earth." This phrase seems to be a reference back to the giants in the days prior to the flood and the mighty men of renown mentioned in Gen. Chapter 6. As we see in the passage above Nimrod was a kingdom builder. He desired to have dominion over other people. What he did was in direct opposition unto God and in disobedience to the command of God: Gen. 9:1 "And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth." Instead of replenishing the earth, Nimrod was trying to gather all the people together so that he could reign over them. We will read more about his efforts in that regard in the 11th chapter of Genesis.

God is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He has ultimate dominion and Nimrod was challenging that dominion by doing what he did before the Lord. He was openly defiant to the commandment of God.

The desire to be mighty is directly opposite to how God teaches us that we ought to humble ourselves: 1 Pet. 5:5 "Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble."

Nimrod went forth to build his kingdom beginning at Babel and extending to Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. In our passage above we see Asshur being connected to the work of Nimrod. Asshur was a descendant of Shem. They had the same goals in mind. Asshur went forth and "builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city." In this we are introduced to two groups of people who became notorious for kingdom building. They desired to spread their particular dominion to rule over other peoples and build great kingdoms. From this beginning we see the seed planted for the building of the kingdoms of Assyria and Babylon. We read of both of these kingdoms later in the scriptures interacting and adversely affecting the children of Israel. When Israel was dividing into two nations: Israel and Judah; these two kingdoms brought them into captivity. The kingdom of Assyria overcome Israel and dispersed the ten tribes of Israel abroad so as to lose their identity. Later the kingdom of Babylon brought Judah (consisting of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin) into captivity where they remained for 70 years.

 

Babel 


Gen. 11:1 "And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. 2 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. 3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. 4 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.

5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. 6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. 7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. 8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. 9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth."

"And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech." Truly, by the grace of God, it was a blessing to the people of that time that all the peoples could communicate freely with one another about the goodness and mercy of God and could work together for good. However, with such providential blessings also comes responsibility. This blessing was later taken away from the people because of their rebellion against the commandments of God.

"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." The fact, that the whole mass of humanity had come to dwell in the plain in the land of Shinar was against the commandment of God which he gave to man when Noah and his family came off the ark: Gen. 9:1 "And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth." Instead of going forth by the commandment of God, the people had rebelled so as to associate together in one small location on the globe. In chapter 10, we see that this rebellion was being led by two men, Nimrod and Asshur. Nimrod was a mighty hunter before the Lord and he and Asshur were kingdom builders. They desired to be in control of the population of the world and be recognized as some great ones. Such kingdom builders believe themselves to be superior to others and even to be superior in knowledge and wisdom than God.

"And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar." Notice that the people were in agreement with the building project as "they said one to another." Now it could be argued that the people were in ignorance of the commandment of God. However, this would not have been the case as Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth were still alive at this time. They had heard the commandment of God and no doubt taught it to their children and grandchildren. Yet, it is so easy for fallen men to fall prey to the seducing of schemers such as Nimrod and Asshur. Even before the fall, Eve had fallen victim to the serpent who told her lies contrary to what God had said.

"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." Here, the scheme is revealed. The desire was that men would devise their own government and be under the dominion and government of men rather than under the dominion and government of God. Notice, that they did not want to be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. This is in direct rebellion against the commandment of God that they go forth and replenish the earth. Moreover, they wanting a city of government by which they could devise their own rules and laws and do as they pleased and not be under the rules and laws of God. Further, they wanted a tower by which they could appoint people to watch over the activities of men and control their actions according to their designs and man-made laws.

"And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. 6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do." One of the erroneous views that man has of God is that he is aloof to the activities of man. They think that God is far off and not involved in the affairs of man. Nothing could be further from the truth. God knows our thoughts afar off and the hairs of our head are all numbered. He sees the wicked and the good on earth and he intervenes as it pleases him in the affairs of man. God saw the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. He knows all things and he knows what is in the heart and designs of man. Further, God will have his way, even though man frequently rebels against him.

It is of God's mercies that he looks over the affairs of man and sometimes intervenes providentially in those affairs. If these rebellions had been left unchecked, then man would have continued with their rebellion and increased more and more without restraint. One of the charges against the people before the flood is that "every imagination of the thoughts of their heart was only evil continually." Man can imagine much wickedness in their pursuit of their lust for power and dominion.

"Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." There are a vast number of languages in the world today. They can be traced back to the days of the building of the tower of Babel. While all the languages have common threads, yet they are distinctly different. The power of God manifest in confounding the languages of the people is amazing indeed. This action has been a great deterrent to the designs of scheming men who would build their kingdoms into a world-wide empire. The confusion of languages is the greatest single deterrent to a world-wide government. It doesn't stop men from trying, but it sure makes it manifold more difficult to accomplish. This, too, is by the mercy and grace of God. We are much better off being governed by God than being controlled by the designs of scheming men.

"So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city." The net effect of confounding the languages of the people is that God accomplished what he had commanded the people to do. They were scattered abroad upon the face of all the earth. Thus, they were now fulfilling the commandment of God to go forth and replenish the earth. Further, the designs of scheming men such as Nimrod and Asshur were thwarted for the time being. Their descendents would continue in their efforts at kingdom building which is readily apparent in the pages of the scriptures. "Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth."