Nimrod

In Genesis 10:8-12, we read about a man named Nimrod who was "a mighty one", and "a mighty hunter before (i.e. in the presence of) the LORD". We learn that "the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calnah, in the land of Shinar. From that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth, Ir, Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (that is the principal city)". 

In Genesis 11:1-9, we read about how the people of the earth, under Nimrod, endeavored to build "a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens" in order to "make a name" for themselves as a people. The implication is that they wanted to build something that would stand as a testament to their own greatness, and the greatness of their ruler, Nimrod. 

But God took away their ability to communicate with each other.  Up until that time there was only one language. But at the Tower of Babel, the people of the earth became divided by language barriers for the first time. And they were scattered abroad; the Tower of Babel left unfinished. The ability to communicate is a blessing from God, which He has every right to confiscate. When the LORD takes away, He takes what rightfully belongs to Him from start to finish. He is the Creator, and Owner of everything that exists. It is a graciousness on His part that He allows anyone to live and move and be (Acts 17:28). And those who use His gifts for evil will be judged.

The construction of the Tower of Babel was a sort of  humanist endeavor, before the term "humanist" existed. In other words, Nimrod and the people of the earth had forgotten that it was in God's presence that they were mighty. It is God who created humanity and sustains us. God gave Nimrod life and strength to be a "mighty one". But Nimrod took it for granted, as though he had accomplish it all by himself.

Since then, the name of Nimrod has become a term of derision. To call someone a nimrod is an insult. The name of Nimrod has become a synonym for "stupid person". We as humans do behave stupidly when we forget our Creator, when we fail to acknowledge His blessings and His sovereignty over our lives. We act like a bunch of nimrods when we think that we live by our own strength or intelligence. As the O.C. Supertones put it, 

"Lord, I just don't understand

This strange creature You call 'man'

Who thinks he lives by his own hand

But I know - there's no life away from You"

Only fools deny God (Psalm 14:1). And it is also nimrod-like to think that we, by our own efforts, can say or do anything to achieve or earn good standing with God. We are fallen creatures because of sin. Our nature is fallen. All of us fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The prophet of God said, 

"But we are all like an unclean thing,

And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;

We all fade as a leaf,

And our iniquities, like the wind,

Have taken us away"

(Isaiah 64:6).

There is nothing we can do to change the fact that we have sinned. It is only by the grace that comes through Jesus Christ, who was crucified for our sin, and has risen from the dead to provide eternal life to all who trust in Him, that we can receive redemption - forgiveness of sin, and reconciliation with the heavenly Father (Acts 4:10-12, Romans 6:23, Colossians 1:12-14, 1 Timothy 2:5).

Let's not be like Nimrod. Let us remember that we are created by, and in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27) who is love (1 John 4:8), for the purpose of love (Matthew 22:37-40); and that "every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning" (James 1:17). Then we will be mindful of our dependence on our heavenly Father, submissive to His sovereignty over our lives, and grateful to Him for His mercy, and His blessings, and His love toward us.

The Triune God

The word "Trinity" never appears anywhere in the Old or New Testament. However, the concept is there; beginning right in the very first chapter of the Bible. On the sixth day of Creation, God says "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness" (Genesis 1:26, emphasis added).

It is clear that by "Us" and "Our", God is referring to Himself alone, and not to Himself and the angels. It is clear because in verse 27 the text continues, "So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them".

So right from the start, we read of God referring to Himself in plural form; even though the Scriptures very clearly teaches that there is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 45:5, 1 Timothy 2:5).

God speaks the same way at the Tower of Babel, saying "Come, let Us go down there and confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech" (Genesis 11:7, emphasis added).

Much later, when God first appeared in a vision to the prophet Isaiah, He asked "Whom shall I send, and who shall go for Us?" (Isaiah 6:8, emphasis added).

And the Psalmist, David wrote "The LORD said to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool.'" (Psalm 110:1). 

Jesus referenced this passage when He asked "How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: 'The LORD said to My Lord, Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool. Therefore David himself calls Him 'Lord', how is He then his Son?" (Mark 12:35).

Jesus was challenging His listeners to understand that He, the Messiah, is more than just the Son of David. He is the Son of God. 

Jesus is sometimes referred to as both the Root and the Branch of Jesse. Jesse was the name of David's father. This title, given to Jesus, is based on a couple of verses in the 11th chapter of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. 

Isaiah 11:10  says "And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious". Isaiah 11:1 says "There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots" (also see Revelation 22:16).

As the song from the O.C. Supertones' first album says "Jesus came from Jesse, but Jesse came from Jesus." Jesus is both the Root and the Branch of Jesse. This is a Christological concept. And Christology is, of course, tied in with the doctrine of the Trinity. Jesus in not only the Son of Man through David's line. He is also the Son of God from whom David's line originated.

And whereas the Old Testament gives compelling hints of the Trinitarian doctrine, the New Testament abounds with it. Take just for example the Great Commission, given by Jesus as He sent out His apostles before He ascended to the Father. He said "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19; also see Matthew 3:16-17, John 1:1, John 1:14).

God is love (1 John 4:8). And love has existed between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit from eternity past. As C.S. Lewis pointed out in Mere Christianity; what we mean by saying "God is love" is "that the living, dynamic activity of love has been going on in God forever and has created everything else" (book 4, chapter 4, paragraph 5).