The whole teaching, one section at a time.
Open whichever part you need this week.
01 The wordplay of Genesis.
Genesis 1–11 is the story of humanity trying to live in God’s world on its own terms. In the Fall, the serpent convinced Adam and Eve that God couldn’t be trusted. By the Flood, the way of the serpent had become the way of the world. At Babel, rebellion spreads to the nations.
The Bible isn’t just inspired in what it says, but in how it says it, and these nine verses are full of irony. The city is called Babel, the origin of Babylon, Scripture’s great symbol of humanity organized against God all the way through Revelation. The Babylonians took their name to mean “gate of the gods,” the place where heaven and earth overlap. But the Hebrew author ties it to balal, “confusion.” They called it the Gate of the Gods. Genesis calls it babble.
Then look at Genesis 11:4-5. Humanity builds a tower “with its top in the sky,” and then “the Lord came down to look.” Their greatest monument is so small that God has to stoop down to inspect it.
02 The wickedness of humanity.
What’s so wrong here? Not cities, since Scripture ends in a garden-city. Not a great name, since God promises one to Abraham in Genesis 12.
The tower was likely a ziggurat, a massive Mesopotamian temple structure meant to be a meeting place between heaven and earth. Eden was a garden-temple-mountain where God’s presence dwelt. Now, settled on a plain, humanity builds a mountain of its own making: either a bridge to make it to heaven, or a beachhead to break into heaven. Either way, it’s an attempt to recreate the serenity of Eden without surrendering to the God of Eden.
We still build ziggurats, through religious performance or through technology that makes God feel unnecessary. Like Babel, our world is trying to answer theological questions with technological solutions. Arthur Brooks distinguishes complicated problems, which expertise and tools can solve, from complex ones like relationships, identity, meaning, and love, which require wisdom. We have more ways to communicate, but not more meaningful relationships. More productivity, but not more significance. More convenience, but not more contentment.
To be wicked is to step off the path of righteousness and put your life in your own hands. It may seem harmless, but given enough time, it becomes a hell on earth.
03 The wisdom of judgment.
Why would a good God scatter humanity (Genesis 11:6-8)? First, God’s judgment is merciful restraint. He could have sent another flood. Instead, He disperses them with different languages and stops the project before the rebellion goes any further. He isn’t threatened; He had to come down just to see it.
Second, God’s judgment gives our life meaning and significance. When we remove God as our Judge, we don’t eliminate judgment. We replace Him with a thousand lesser judges and get trapped in the courtroom of public opinion. But under God’s judgment, as Christopher Watkin puts it, “All our daily actions, not just those ‘spectacular’ moments of public display, become charged with meaning.”
The sacrifices nobody notices, the generosity nobody applauds, the obedience nobody celebrates: God sees them all.
04 The way of Jesus.
Every other way of salvation tells us to climb our way up to heaven. Christianity tells a radically different story: we don’t climb up to God; God comes down to us. At Babel, the Lord comes down to confront humanity’s rebellion. In Jesus, the Lord comes down to rescue humanity from its rebellion.
Though He was in the form of God, Jesus humbled Himself, took the form of a servant, and became obedient to death on a cross. And God gave Him the name above every name (Philippians 2:5-11). Babel grasped for greatness by trying to ascend. Jesus displayed His greatness by choosing to descend.
A biblical theology of spiritual warfare doesn’t just help us discern who we are battling, but what we are building. And how we build matters as much as what we build. Babel builds through pride, for recognition, for spectacle. Jesus calls us to humility, service, and faithfulness.
We don’t need to build something that makes us look great. We want to build something that makes Jesus known.
The Tower
For your Together Group this week. Share a meal, open the text, and learn to build God’s way.
Communion
As your group gathers together, begin by sharing communion as a meal. Feel free to use the following template as a way to structure and guide this time:
1. Pass out the elements. Make sure everyone has a cup of juice and bread. Consider just having one piece of bread that everyone can take a small piece from. If you don’t have bread and juice, that’s okay. Just make sure everyone has something to eat.
2. Read 1 Corinthians 11:23-26. Once everyone has the elements, have someone read this passage out loud.
3. Pray over the bread and juice. After the reading, have the Leader or Host bless the food and pray over your time together.
4. Share a meal. Share the rest of the meal like you normally would, beginning with the communion elements.
Learn
Read Genesis 11:1-9 together. Then read this overview:
In Week 3 of our Spiritual Warfare series, we look at the Tower of Babel. Genesis 11 tells the story of humanity trying to make a name for themselves by building a tower, likely a ziggurat, in an attempt to invade heaven and recreate Eden on earth. But God comes down to disrupt their plans, confuse their language, and scatter the nations. What started as a third rebellion to create heaven on earth on human terms ends as a tragic story of humanity repeating the same sin from the garden: to see, desire, and take.
But the way of Jesus is to hear, trust, and obey. Where Babel climbs up to make a name for itself, Jesus comes down, humbles Himself, and is given the name above every name. A biblical theology of spiritual warfare helps us discern not only who we are up against, but what we are building, and whose name we are building it for.
- If you were there on Sunday or listened to the teaching online, what stood out to you?
- What stands out to you from Genesis 11:1-9? Notice what the builders say they want and what the Lord does in response. What do you notice?
- What connections do you see between Babel and the Garden in Genesis 3 or the corruption in Genesis 6? Where do you see “see, desire, take” showing up again?
- On Sunday we learned that we are surrounded by technology and achievement but are running empty on meaning. Where do you see people trying to answer deep human questions about identity, relationships, or purpose with tools or accomplishments? Where do you see it in yourself?
- Philippians 2 gives us a reversal of Babel: Jesus comes down in humility to humanity. How does that change the way you think about being great, being seen, or making a name for yourself?
Practice
We ended the teaching on Sunday by slowly praying through the Lord’s Prayer as a way to confess the ways we rebel against God and ask for His will to be done in and around us. We’re going to slowly do the same thing now as a Group.
Read one line aloud together, then pause for 30–60 seconds of silence. In the silence, tell God where you are tempted to pray the Babel version instead: seeing, desiring, and taking for yourself.
Our Father in heaven,
Your name be honored as holy.
Your kingdom come, Your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
This week, keep practicing the pause, and add one question. Whenever you notice a strong emotion or desire, especially when you catch yourself working hard to be seen, to succeed, or to get ahead, stop and ask:
- What am I feeling or desiring right now? Which voices are influencing me?
- What am I building here, and whose name is it for?
- If I keep going this way, where might it lead, and how might it affect the people around me?
- What would it look like to hear, trust, and obey instead of see, desire, and take?
Once this week, consider trying one small act of faithfulness that no one will see or applaud: a quiet act of service, generosity, or prayer. Let it be between you and the God who sees.
Reflect
We don’t just grow from our practice, we grow when we reflect on our experiences. Discuss these two questions from last week’s practice with your Group:
- When you paused this week, what were you feeling or desiring, and which voices did you notice influencing you?
- Was there a moment when you chose to walk with God instead? What was that like? If it didn’t go well, what got in the way?
Pray
Spend the final few minutes praying for one another. Then, have someone read this benediction over your group.
“Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”Hebrews 13:20-21
The conversation continues on the Formed by Jesus Podcast.
New episodes go further into the ideas behind each teaching.