Verses 1-4, "Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. Then they said to one another, 'Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.' They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. And they said, 'Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.' ” The evil tendency of man is to forget God in times of blessing and prosperity, and proudly think that we are self made men and women. How quickly they forgot the command God gave them to fill the whole earth. Genesis 9:1, "So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.' " Their self made plan is in direct defiance to God's order, as they work to avoid being scattered over the earth. Not to mention their lack of trust in God in their plan to build a tower that could withstand a flood. 1 Corinthians 2:14, "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."
Verses 5-9, "But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. And the Lord said, 'Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.' So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth." God knew that with man under evil influence, the possibilities for wickedness were endless. Therefore by His grace, He intervenes to separate these men to limit their sin nature. By giving them different languages, and scattering them geographically, their prideful tower plans were foiled. If you've ever studied the intricacies of even one language, you know how impossible it would be for man to invent their own (not to mention the time it would take). It was truly miraculous for God to create several languages instantaneously.
Verses 27-32, "This is the genealogy of Terah: Terah begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran begot Lot. And Haran died before his father Terah in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans. Then 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 the father of Iscah. But Sarai was barren; she had no child. And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there. So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran." Here we see the first mention of Abram, who would become the father of all nations, despite the fact that he had a barren wife, another God miracle.
Abram came from a family of idol worshipers. Joshua 24:2-3, "And Joshua said to all the people, 'Thus says the Lord God of Israel: "Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of the River in old times; and they served other gods. Then I took your father Abraham from the other side of the River, led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants and gave him Isaac." ' " We can see from example that one's family does not have to define them. God can call you out of a mess, and you need to just be willing to answer, "yes, Lord." I sometimes wonder why I was called, considering my background and the total lack of believers in my family, but the reality is that He calls many...but only a few respond. Matthew 20:16, "So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.”
He chooses those who will obey and follow Him. Romans 8:28-30, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified."
"Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” this is an example of men trying to do something in their own strength and not with the Lord's. They kept saying "let us make bricks" and "let us build ourselves a city." It sounds a lot like Satan who told himself I will be like the most high God. When we try to do things in our own strength and power, they don't turn out right. We need to rely on the Lord for strength because we are flawwed, and He is our perfect creator who has a plan far higher than ours. Proverbs 3:5-6: "trust in the Lord with ALL your heart and lean not on your OWN understanding, But in all you ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path." We need to allow the Lord to guide our steps and our life. it is when we take matters into our own hands that we make a complete mess.
ReplyDelete"But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city." The Lord will often intervene and close doors when we are trying to do things on our own. He not only opens doors, but shuts them as well. The Lord confused the men's language so that they didn't understand one another. This made them stop building the city. God is ultimately in control, and He can stop any plan that we try to put in motion.