Fruitful Filling

Oct. 14

Read: Genesis 9:1-17, 11:1-9

Babel Part 3, Fruitful Filling

“And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth… So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.” (9:1, 11:8)

The Lord is always FAITHFUL even when we are faith-less. He is committed not only to instructing us, but also to the very carrying out of his commands in us and through us. We see this mapped out in the tower of Babel episode. Humanity - despite its aspirations, intentions, and rebellion - cannot thwart the plan and purpose of God!

When Noah and his family first walked off of the ark, the Lord formed a covenant with them. (Genesis 9) God’s first interactions with humanity after the flood were to “bless them” and give them the instructions to “be fruitful, multiply, and FILL THE EARTH.” (v. 9:1) God reiterates this idea again a few verses later where he says, “And you, be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it.” (9:7) There was blessing to be had in faithful obedience to God’s commands of fruitful “multiplying” and “filling”. Just two generations later under the direction of Nimrod (Ham’s grandson) the construction of the city of Babel is begun and this tower scene unfolds. The people of the earth “found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there”. (11:1) Their goal was to “build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” (11:4) Do you see that? Do you see what they were trying to avoid? “Lest we be dispersed over the face of the earth.” … They were directly fighting against God’s instructions to “fruitfully FILL” the earth. They just wanted to “settle”. The is the outworking of humanities rebellion against God’s good plan and instruction.

We are all tempted to “settle”… to give up… to stop doing what God has called us to do. It looks so tempting to just “settle down” and try to “make a name for ourselves” and in doing so avoid the very work God has for us. (In this passage it is avoiding the filling of the earth that God was calling them to by seeking to not be dispersed.) We think that this “settling” and “avoiding” will bring us life, but it does not! This is one of the root problems with the Babel account. They wanted to be settled and not dispersed while God was calling them to spread out and fill the earth. The good news is that God is SO GRACIOUS, that when we don’t hold up our end of the bargain… when we start to “settle” and disregard what he has called us to to… God is loving enough to come to us and shake things up!

God comes to Babel and does just that:

“And the LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech.” So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.” (v.11:6-8)

In doing so, God himself “dispersed them from over the face of all the earth”. Basically God shows up and fulfills his own instructions in them and through them because they were not. God shows up and does for them what he had called them to do in the first place. God is faithful in the face of their disobedience. God’s plan would not stop in the plains of Shinar at the tower of Babel. God frustrated their “building plans” and “city project” to drive them into the work he had called them to.

There is actually great comfort in God’s frustrating our own “tower projects”. For everyone who is earnestly trying to follow the Lord’s will, remember that HE will be sure to bring about his plans. No one can thwart the plans of God, not even his well-meaning children! The one who begins the good work in us is faithful to complete it. (cf. Phil 1:6) May we never seek the comfort of “settling” or the arrogance of “making a name for ourselves”. There is true and real BLESSING in the plan that the Lord has for us, and when we get off track he will come down and move us along. This episode in Genesis foreshadows for us the coming of Jesus. Jesus is the ultimate outworking of this same idea. God came and did for humanity what we would not and could not do for ourselves. God came and did for us what was needed - Christ being perfectly obedient on our behalf. He is the the loving and gracious God most high! He is the one who is faithful! May we never “settle”! May we seek to make HIS name great … not our own. May we never grow weary of the journey or of the “fruitful filling” of the earth for HIS fame and glory! Love you guys. - JDP