January 15, 2013

SAVE ME FROM MYSELF

Genesis 11

Crystal Tonne
Tuesday's Devo

January 15, 2013

Tuesday's Devo

January 15, 2013

Central Truth

God's plan is perfect and always prevails.

Key Verse | Genesis 11:4

They said, "Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth." (Genesis 11:4)

Genesis 11

The Tower of Babel

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us 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.” And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. 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. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused 1 11:9 Babel sounds like the Hebrew for confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth.

Shem's Descendants

10 These are the generations of Shem. When Shem was 100 years old, he fathered Arpachshad two years after the flood. 11 And Shem lived after he fathered Arpachshad 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

12 When Arpachshad had lived 35 years, he fathered Shelah. 13 And Arpachshad lived after he fathered Shelah 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

14 When Shelah had lived 30 years, he fathered Eber. 15 And Shelah lived after he fathered Eber 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

16 When Eber had lived 34 years, he fathered Peleg. 17 And Eber lived after he fathered Peleg 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

18 When Peleg had lived 30 years, he fathered Reu. 19 And Peleg lived after he fathered Reu 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

20 When Reu had lived 32 years, he fathered Serug. 21 And Reu lived after he fathered Serug 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

22 When Serug had lived 30 years, he fathered Nahor. 23 And Serug lived after he fathered Nahor 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

24 When Nahor had lived 29 years, he fathered Terah. 25 And Nahor lived after he fathered Terah 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

26 When Terah had lived 70 years, he fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

Terah's Descendants

27 Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot. 28 Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 29 And Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah. 30 Now Sarai was barren; she had no child.

31 Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there. 32 The days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran.

Footnotes

[1] 11:9 Babel sounds like the Hebrew for confused

Dive Deeper | Genesis 11

Two years ago, my husband and I bought our first house in one of the poorest zip codes in the Unites States. Our new home and community was our mission field, a place where we greatly desired to make God's name known and to serve His people. Now, the house we bought was not what most would consider a "dream house." It was inexplicably filthy and damaged in every way imaginable -- not a prized possession that would impress anyone.

The decision to buy the house was not about my comfort, but about a home the Lord could use to house a homeless friend, teach kids about God's grace, and provide a place to rest our heads at night. As we worked through the repair and remodeling process, I quickly began to struggle with how this investment of time and resources had become a source of pride for me, focusing more on the attractiveness of my home than the attractiveness of my God.

In Genesis 11:4, the people wanted to build a structure that would ultimately make a name for themselves and not for God. But God's compassionate plan was to save them from their destructive behavior by confusing their language and scattering them. This was always His plan and when the people unified themselves against Him, His perfect plan still prevailed.

Pride and insecurity drove me to seek admiration from others by creating a beautiful home. These things are fleeting, and the glory rightly belongs to the Lord. In the midst of my self-seeking behavior, God was faithful to save me from myself and gracious to remind me through His Word that it is ultimately all about Him. His perfect plan will always prevail, but isn't it so sweet when He allows us to be a part of it? If only I'd be faithful to trust Him and be obedient. I'm thankful that it's not all about me and that the legacy left in my community will not be of an impressive house that will break, burn, and crumble, but of God's great name!

Discussion Questions

1. Are there areas or activities in your life where you're more focused on making a name for yourself rather than for God?

2. What are things you can do to keep your heart and actions focused on being obedient to seek God's plan?

3. Is God faithful to save you from yourself when you seek Him? Can you think of a time when God has done that for you?

4. How can you love others best if you see them building a "Tower of Babel" in their lives?