Cosmic geography

The divine transgressions we looked at

had something in common. They were both supernatural rebellions aimed at co-opting God’s plan for humanity and the restoration of his rule.

we’ll look at another rebellion, one that originated with people.

This rebellion produced a predicament that we’re all still part of, and that predicament involves supernatural beings. The titanic struggle for God’s restoration strategy took a turn for the worse that only the return of Jesus will finally resolve.

THE TOWER OF BABEL gen 11

one of the best-known and least-understood accounts in the Bible.

Children learn about it in Sunday school as

the time when God confused earth’s human languages. After the flood, God repeated the command he’d given to Adam and Eve to cover the earth. He was trying to kick-start the spread of his ruling influence through humanity. Once again, it didn’t work. People refused. Rebellion in their hearts, they had a better idea, or so they thought. They decided to build a tower to avoid being scattered

     1 The whole earth had a common language and a common vocabulary. 2 When the people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. 3 Then they said to one another, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." (They had brick instead of stone and tar instead of mortar.) 4 Then they said, "Come, let's build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens so that we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise we will be scattered across the face of the entire earth."

an amazing tower would make them famous.

but how would that prevent scattering across the earth?

 5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people had started building. 6 And the Lord said, "If as one people all sharing a common language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be beyond them. 7 Come, let's go down and confuse their language so they won't be able to understand each other." 8 So the Lord scattered them from there across the face of the

Confuse

tn The cohortatives mirror the cohortatives of the people. They build to ascend the heavens; God comes down to destroy their language. God speaks here to his angelic assembly. See the notes on the word "make" in 1:26 and "know" in 3:5, as well as Jub. 10:22-23, where an angel recounts this incident and says "And the LORD our God said to us…. And the LORD went down and we went down with him. And we saw the city and the tower which the sons of men built." On the chiastic structure of the story, see G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:235.

Other

tn Heb "they will not hear, a man the lip of his neighbor."

 entire earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why its name was called Babel - because there the Lord confused the language of the entire world, and from there the Lord scattered them across the face of the entire earth.

The answer lies in the tower. Bible scholars and archaeologists know ancient Babylon and cities around it built towers called ziggurats. The purpose of the ziggurats was to provide places where people could meet the gods. They were part of temple zones. Rather than make the world like Eden—to spread the knowledge and rule of God everywhere—the people wanted to bring God down at one spot.

That wasn’t God’s plan, and he wasn’t pleased. Hence his statement—

again to the members of his council—“Let us go down and mix up their language” (Gen. 11:7

The incident explains how the nations listed a chapter earlier in Genesis 10 came to be. That’s the story most Christians know. Now for the one they don’t.

The Gods and Their Nations

Genesis 11 isn’t the only passage that describes what happened at the Tower of Babel. Deuteronomy 32:8–9 describes it this way:

When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided up humankind, he set the boundaries of the peoples, according to the number of the heavenly assembly. -Deuteronomy 32:8 For the Lord 's allotment is his people, Jacob is his special possession. -Deuteronomy 32:9

Some Bible translations have “sons of Israel” instead of “sons of God” in that first sentence. But Israel didn’t exist at the time of the Tower of Babel. God only called Abraham after Babel (Gen. 12). “Sons of Israel” can’t be right. “Sons of God” is the terminology found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest manuscripts of the Bible. The ESV has it right. The wording is important. When God divided up the nations, they were divided among the sons of God. God allotted the nations to members of his divine council. This is the Bible’s explanation for why other nations came to worship other gods. 

Until Babel, God wanted a relationship with all humanity. But the rebellion at Babel changed that. God decided to let members of his divine council govern the other nations. God had judged humanity. Even after the flood they would not resume the kingdom plan he had begun in Eden. So God decided to create a new nation, his “portion” as Deuteronomy 32:9 says—Israel. He did this, beginning with the call of Abraham, in Genesis 12, the very next chapter after the Tower of Babel story.

THE CALL OF ABRAM gen 12

     1 Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go out from your country, your relatives, and your father's household to the land that I will show you. 2 Then I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, so that you will exemplify divine blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, but the one who treats you lightly I must curse, and all the families of the earth will bless one another by your name." 

God’s allotment of the nations to other gods frames the entire Old Testament. How? The rest of the Old Testament is about the God of Israel and his people, the Israelites, in conflict with the gods of the other nations and the people who live in them.

That wasn’t God’s original intention. Yes, what he did at Babel to the nations was a judgment, but God never intended that the nations would be forever forsaken. When God made his covenant with Abraham, he made clear that “All the families on earth will be blessed” through Abraham and his offspring

From one man he made every nation of the human race to inhabit the entire earth, determining their set times and the fixed limits of the places where they would live, -Acts 17:26

so that they would search for God and perhaps grope around for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. -Acts 17:27

God was planning to bring the nations back into his family at some point. Paul knew all this. In his sermon to the pagan philosophers in Athens he said:

From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. (Acts 17:26–27 NLT)

Acts 17:26–27 makes it clear that God’s purpose was that somehow the nations would still seek after him.

When you look up to the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars - the whole heavenly creation - you must not be seduced to worship and serve them, for the Lord your God has assigned them to all the people of the world. -Deuteronomy 4:19

You, however, the Lord has selected and brought from Egypt, that iron-smelting furnace, to be his special people as you are today. -Deuteronomy 4:20

Micaiah said, "That being the case, hear the word of the Lord . I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, with all the heavenly assembly standing on his right and on his left. -1 Kings 22:19

God stands in the assembly of El; in the midst of the gods he renders judgment. -Psalms 82:1

He says, "How long will you make unjust legal decisions and show favoritism to the wicked? (Selah) -Psalms 82:2

They neither know nor understand. They stumble around in the dark, while all the foundations of the earth crumble. -Psalms 82:5

Sadly, the Israelites wound up worshipping the gods “not allotted to them”

They went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods they did not know and that he did not permit them to worship. -Deuteronomy 29:26

They sacrificed to demons, not God, to gods they had not known; to new gods who had recently come along, gods your ancestors had not known about. -Deuteronomy 32:17

I thought, 'You are gods; all of you are sons of the Most High.' -Psalms 82:6 Yet you will die like mortals; you will fall like all the other rulers." -Psalms 82:7

JUDGMENT ON THE NATIONS

Is 34

     1 Come near, you nations, and listen! Pay attention, you people! The earth and everything it contains must listen, the world and everything that lives in it. 2 For the Lord is angry at all the nations and furious with all their armies. He will annihilate them and slaughter them. 3 Their slain will be left unburied, their corpses will stink; the hills will soak up their blood. 4 All the stars in the sky will fade away, the sky will roll up like a scroll; all its stars will wither, like a leaf withers and falls from a vine or a fig withers and falls from a tree. 

However, the prince of the kingdom of Persia was opposing me for twenty-one days. But Michael, one of the leading princes, came to help me, because I was left there with the kings of Persia. -Daniel 10:13

The Deuteronomy 32 Worldview

Because of the Deuteronomy 32 worldview, geography in the Bible is cosmic. Ground is either holy, meaning dedicated to Yahweh, or it is the domain of another god. This worldview is reflected in many places in the Bible.

He said, "Do you know why I have come to you? Now I am about to return to engage in battle with the prince of Persia. When I go, the prince of Greece is coming. -Daniel 10:20

However, I will first tell you what is written in a dependable book. (There is no one who strengthens me against these princes, except Michael your prince. -Daniel 10:21

So let my lord the king now listen to the words of his servant. If the Lord has incited you against me, may he take delight in an offering. But if men have instigated this, may they be cursed before the Lord ! For they have driven me away this day from being united with the Lord 's inheritance, saying, 'Go on, serve other gods!' -1 Samuel 26:19

2 kings 5

15 He and his entire entourage returned to the prophet. Naaman came and stood before him. He said, "For sure I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel! Now, please accept a gift from your servant." 16 But Elisha replied, "As certainly as the Lord lives (whom I serve), I will take nothing from you." Naaman insisted that he take it, but he refused. 17 Naaman said, "If not, then please give your servant a load of dirt, enough for a pair of mules to carry, for your servant will never again offer a burnt offering or sacrifice to a god other than the Lord. 

This power he exercised in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms -Ephesians 1:20

far above every rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. -Ephesians 1:21

The purpose of this enlightenment is that through the church the multifaceted wisdom of God should now be disclosed to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly realms. -Ephesians 3:10

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. -Ephesians 6:12

for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him - all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers - all things were created through him and for him. -Colossians 1:16

Disarming the rulers and authorities, he has made a public disgrace of them, triumphing over them by the cross. -Colossians 2:15

SEXUAL IMMORALITY DEFILES THE CHURCH

1 cor.5:1-13

rulers, authorities, powers, thrones. What do they have in common? They were all well-known terms used to describe geographical rulership. The apostle Paul wrote two letters to the Corinthian church to address some situations he’d heard about. In the first letter, he told church leaders to expel a man who was living in unrepentant sexual sin (1 Cor. 5:1–13). Curiously, he wrote that they were to “deliver this man to Satan”

     1 It is actually reported that sexual immorality exists among you, the kind of immorality that is not permitted even among the Gentiles, so that someone is cohabiting with his father's wife. 2 And you are proud! Shouldn't you have been deeply sorrowful instead and removed the one who did this from among you? 

     3 For even though I am absent physically, I am present in spirit. And I have already judged the one who did this, just as though I were present. 4 When you gather together in the name of our Lord Jesus, and I am with you in spirit, along with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 turn this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. 

     6 Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast affects the whole batch of dough? 7 Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch of dough - you are, in fact, without yeast. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 So then, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of vice and evil, but with the bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth. 

     9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people. 10 In no way did I mean the immoral people of this world, or the greedy and swindlers and idolaters, since you would then have to go out of the world. 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who calls himself a Christian who is sexually immoral, or greedy, or an idolater, or verbally abusive, or a drunkard, or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person. 12 For what do I have to do with judging those outside? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 But God will judge those outside. Remove the evil person from among you.

turn this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. -1 Corinthians 5:5

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? -1 Corinthians 6:19

Paul’s statement makes sense only against the background of the cosmic-geographical worldview of the Old Testament. In Old Testament theology, Yahweh’s “portion” was Israel and the land he was giving the Israelites, the land of Canaan. His presence sanctified the ground—made it holy. Initially, the presence of Yahweh resided in the tabernacle. When the Israelites rested and set up camp, the ark of the covenant was 

placed in the center, marking Israel’s camp as holy ground. Later, after Israel took up residence in Canaan, Yahweh’s presence was in the temple, sanctifying the Promised Land as holy ground—Yahweh and his people were at home. Now, the presence of Yahweh indwells believers—we are the temple of God

And what mutual agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, just as God said, "I will live in them and will walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people." -2 Corinthians 6:16

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this person does not belong to him. -Romans 8:9

That means believers, the body of Christ, are the new people of God, a new Israel. Paul makes that explicitly clear in Galatians 3:

so then, understand that those who believe are the sons of Abraham. -Galatians 3:7

26 For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female - for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to the promise.

The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God.…

Since believers—and the places where believers are gathered—are holy ground, sin must be expelled. Just as the ground around the Israelite camp and the surrounding nations under the dominion of other gods were conceived as unholy ground, so in New Testament times—and now—the world was unholy ground. Hence Paul’s command to expel an unrepentant believer back into the world, the domain of Satan. 

To be expelled from the church was to be put back into unholy territory. That was where sin belonged.

For where two or three are assembled in my name, I am there among them." -Matthew 18:20

Why This Matters

 The cosmic geography that is the result of God’s judgment of the nations at Babel is the backdrop for Israel’s struggle. It also sets the stage for the gospel. The good news of Jesus’ work on the cross is that the people of God are no longer only Jews but rather all who believe in Jesus (Gal. 3). As the disciples go out into the world, the domain of

Satan is transformed into God’s territory. The kingdom of God advances, regaining control of the nations. The lesson is that this world is not our home. Darkness has permeated the globe. Unbelievers are essentially hostages of spiritual forces. They need the gospel to be set free. And don’t forget: It is the gospel that is our weapon. We aren’t authorized to confront principalities and powers directly. There’s no spiritual gift to that effect handed down to us by the apostles. But 

the faithful dispensing of the gospel will turn the tide. The Great Commission is a spiritual battle plan.

Another lesson: We need to view every congregation of true believers as holy ground. External appearances, buildings, and the size of the congregation are of no concern to God. What matters is that, where two or three are gathered, Jesus is in their midst (Matt. 18:20). The space is sacred. Every congregation, no matter how 

small or unknown, is on the front lines of a spiritual war. Every church has the same task. The powers of darkness will not prevail.

the battle lines have been drawn. The nations of the world have been judged and disinherited by God. It’s time for him to start over and carve out his own portion and people.