January 16, 2019

Look at Us! Aren't We Special?

Genesis 11

Rob Heath
Wednesday's Devo

January 16, 2019

Wednesday's Devo

January 16, 2019

Central Truth

Man has always struggled with making it about himself and earning his way to God. It is no different today than it was 4,000+ years ago.

Key Verse | Genesis 11:6-8a

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 . . . ."

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

When I selected this passage, I was attracted to the tower of Babel because of an obscure Elton John song. I knew Bernie Taupin's lyrics were not biblically accurate, but I was curious to learn about this tower thing and what it had to do with Christ and God's pursuit of us. Early in this chapter we see man forgetting his purpose for being here and making it about himself. Man is looking for a way to draw attention to himself and his "greatness." How about we build a tower that reaches to God so He can make His way to us easier? Man trying to exalt himself.

I've heard many times around Watermark that it's my job to be humble and God's job to exalt me. If I don't do my job, He will. That's what is happening here. We are only in chapter 11 of Genesis, and man's pride has gotten him dismissed from the Garden, judged through the flood, and now dispersed throughout the world with different languages. Man's first commandment was to "be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it," yet man is trying to build a "one world order" here and make the government the entity that unites mankind and replaces God. His sovereignty "confuses" their language and disperses them to fill the earth. This chapter ends with God's rescue plan of mankind beginning through the descendants of Shem, one of Noah's sons, in the birth of Abram who is the father of the nation of Israel.

The story of the tower of Babel explains the origin of the languages of the world. But more so, it illustrates that our pride has always been our downfall. I am a self-reliant and disobedient man saved by faith in the One who loves me and delivered Himself up for me. Because of Christ and His sacrifice on the cross, I won't be dispersed to the outer regions where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. I pray others see the tower in my life that is the cross that saves me from myself.

Discussion Questions

1. Do you know who Bernie Taupin is and why he is significant? Is he significant?

2. Do you believe this story and its explanation of the origin of the world's languages? How would you respond to questions about the validity of this story or the origin of man and the flood?

3. Why do you think God wanted man to "fill the earth and subdue it"?

4. Where does pride show up in your life? Does your community know about that area in your life?

5. Do you believe evolution is science or a philosophy? Why?