Genesis 11:10-31

Good morning, gang!

This morning we'll cover the remainder of Genesis 11, where we see God narrowing His plan to one nation. If you look back at Gen 9:26, you'll see that Noah blessed Shem in particular. Shem's line would be known for its relationship with their covenant God. In Beth Moore's study of Genesis, she makes a point of looking at the names of God. She says the Jews had such reverence for the name of God that they called Him Ha-Shem, which means "the Name." In this genealogy of Shem's family, we'll note a couple of things. First, note that the life expectancy is going down here. Men are no longer living 800-900 years. Frankly, I see this as an extreme act of grace! Why would we want to tarry here when we have a heavenly home awaiting us?? Also, the men are having their children at much younger ages. This will make Abraham's fertility issue stand out.

There are a few names of note in this list of Shem's family. In verses 14-16 we read about Eber. The name Eber and the word "Hebrew" have the same root that means "to cross over." My pastor loves to talk about the need to cross over the line, to make that definitive decision for Christ (which is why our church is named "Crossline"). The Hebrews lived in a pagan world of idol worship. They were called to cross over from that world to the one true God. If you have never made that decision to cross over, why not? What is holding you back???

In verse 24, we're introduced to Terah, the father of Abram. The meaning of the name Terah is not clear, but it is generally considered to mean "to loiter, wander, or delay." In verses 27-32 we read about Terah and his family:

This is the account of Terah’s family line. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milkah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milkah and Iskah. Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive. Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there.
Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran.

These names will become more important to us later, but note that Lot was Abram's nephew. His father, Haran, had died, so he left Ur with his uncle, Abram. Now, in chapter 12, we'll read about this decision to move out of Ur to Canaan, but I found it interesting that Terah left Ur with Abram. Abram was called to go to Canaan, but "when they came to Haran, they settled there." Haran is just north of Canaan, and it's not until Terah dies that Abram actually moves into Canaan. Did Terah delay this move? His name indicates he may have... Also in these final verses, we're introduced to Sarai. I just can't wait to read about Abram and Sarai!

So, a lot of Bible trivia here. But not one word of God's Word is superfluous! God has scattered the people who arrogantly tried to make a name for themselves. Now we'll see how God will make a name for Himself through this one line of Abraham! As Christians, this is our spiritual family tree. We have been grafted into this line! We'll see it's a pretty dysfunctional family, but it's ours! And isn't that true of our own physical family lines??? :) Thank you, LORD, for this opportunity to learn about our family history!

Have a great morning! 

Genesis 11:5-9

Good morning, friends!

This morning we'll look at God's response to the efforts of the people to build a tower to the heavens to make a name for themselves. They had determined in their hearts to defy God's command to scatter over the face of the earth.

But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” (vs. 5-7)

Uh-oh! Don't mess with God! Just as the people had used the phrase, "Come, let us..., " God now turns that phrase back on them as He determines to thwart their plans. God points to the destructiveness of their unity of purpose, since it was defiant. When He says "nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them," it's like He's saying, "There isn't anything they won't do. The evil imaginations of these people will run wild if not stopped." So, even in judgment, God is being merciful here. He is saving them from themselves by confusing their language. Beth Moore, in her study, The Patriarchs, says that God is basically saying in the language used here, "We will un-brick what they have bricked." I love that! The plans of men are worthless and come to nothing without the LORD!

Jon Courson says that we have a universal language now on earth: mathematics, which is the basis of all computer language. We can now communicate to anyone anywhere by means of a computer. If I write something in English to someone in Japan, the computer can translate it into Japanese! Courson writes of how the use of technology can be and is used for all sorts of evil imaginations. Surely we live in an era when men are convinced that "nothing is impossible" for them by their own efforts, and nothing is too awful for them to do via computer! In the time of the Tower of Babel, God had had enough!

So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel—because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth. (vs. 8-9)

The word Babel meant "Gateway to God," which you would think would be a good thing. However, it demonstrated an attempt to reach God on their own merits, through a gateway of their own building, and it also displayed their defiance in their purpose to remain in the city rather than scatter. Therefore the word came to mean "confusion." Defiance of God leads to chaos. If you feel your life is circling out of control, could it be because you are working under your own power, trying to do something on your own, apart from God? Are you wanting God to conform to your plans, rather than conforming to His for you? That will only lead to confusion, depression, and destruction! Jesus is the only "gate" provided by God (John 10:7; Acts 4:12). God scattered these people since they would not do it themselves. And He will do the same to us. If we refuse to obey, He will often, in love, remove us from the situation in which we've firmly planted ourselves so that we will seek Him alone. He loves us too much to leave us to our own devices!

God has a plan, and it will not be thwarted! Tomorrow we'll look at how He narrowed the plan through one nation. Tomorrow we're introduced to Abram (Abraham)! Can't wait!

 

Genesis 11:1-4

Good morning, all!

Last week we looked at the lines of the three sons of Noah. This week we will see how God narrowed the nations down to the one nation through which He would make Himself known and bless all other nations. But we’re first going to see what happened that led Him to choose one nation. Once again, in chapter 11, we witness the wickedness of man in the story of the Tower of Babel:

Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” (vs. 1-4)

Because these people had a common language, they were unified and able to accomplish much – in rebellion against God! Notice their movement eastward. If you look back at Gen 3:23, you’ll remember that when Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden, they went east. This eastward movement indicates a moving away from God. They “settled” in the plain of Shinar, Nimrod’s territory.

This passage is all about self-effort and self-promotion. Look at the focus of their conversation: “Come, let’s… Come, let us… ourselves… we…make a name for ourselves…” It was all about them! They were so sure of their own abilities, they thought they could completely ignore God. They even built their tower out of man-made materials rather than stone. Like the third pig, they built their tower of bricks, using tar – (or “slime” in the KJV) for mortar. With hubris, they tried to reach the heavens by their own efforts with a goal of making a name for themselves, not for God. In their rebellion, they wanted to “not be scattered over the face of the whole earth,” in direct defiance of God’s command to Noah and his family in Genesis 9:1.

What a trap for each of us! We all seek to make a name for ourselves. Nothing speaks to this more than our need to put our every thought out there in cyber world through social networking. It can be a terrific way to reconnect with friends, but it can also be self-indulgent. It’s the reason I hesitated so long to blog this study. This cannot be about making a name for me! It has to be to about pointing others to the One whose name is above all others. Please pray with me that I never lose sight of that mission! LORD, may your name, alone, be glorified in all we do and say and think! Amen!

Have a great Presidents’ Day!