Tuesday, April 13, 2021

Genesis 11 Devotional Bible Study by Steve Wilson

Genesis 11

 


Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As people moved eastward,[a] they found a plain in Shinar[b] 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.”

 

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.”

 

So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel[c]—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

 

10 This is the account of Shem’s family line.

Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father[d] of Arphaxad. 11 And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

 

12 When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah. 13 And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.[e]

 

14 When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber. 15 And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

 

16 When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg. 17 And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

 

18 When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu. 19 And after he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

 

20 When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug. 21 And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

 

22 When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor. 23 And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

 

24 When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah. 25 And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

 

26 After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.

 

27 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. 28 While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. 29 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. 30 Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive.

 

31 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 Harran, they settled there.

 

32 Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Harran.

 

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 11:2 Or from the east; or in the east
  2. Genesis 11:2 That is, Babylonia
  3. Genesis 11:9 That is, Babylon; Babel sounds like the Hebrew for confused.
  4. Genesis 11:10 Father may mean ancestor; also in verses 11-25.
  5. Genesis 11:13 Hebrew; Septuagint (see also Luke 3:35, 36 and note at Gen. 10:24) 35 years, he became the father of Cainan. 13 And after he became the father of Cainan, Arphaxad lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters, and then he died. When Cainan had lived 130 years, he became the father of Shelah. And after he became the father of Shelah, Cainan lived 330 years and had other sons and daughters

 

“So that We May Make a Name for Ourselves”

Genesis 11:1-4

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.”

 

What are you living for? What is your dream? Does it involve you becoming well-known or famous for some skill you have? Do you want to be respected for your accomplishments?

 

The people living in the plain of Shinar in Genesis 11 wanted to be famous and respected. They built a city with a tall tower in order to make a name for themselves. They were prideful and were working to gain the admiration of others.

 

But God didn't see that as a worthy life goal. He had something different in mind for these people living in the plain of Shinar. So, to make them forget their dream of fame and respect, He confused their language. They couldn't cooperate with each other anymore and had to abandon their project.

 

What does God have planned for you? What meaningful goal does He want you to work toward?

 


 

 
“Otherwise, We Will be Scattered”

Genesis 11:1-4

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.”

 

The people living in the plain of Shinar in Genesis 11 were wise people. They were looking to and planning for the future. They knew that they would one day have enemies, so to protect themselves, they built a city with a huge tower in it. This tower would provide a look-out for approaching forces and would also intimidate those forces.

 

No one would attack such an impressive city. By building this wonder, they would ensure their safety.

 

How do you ensure your safety?

 

Do you perform for others, putting on your most winning smile on to avoid rejection? Do you avoid making new friends or avoid intimate relationships to keep your feelings safe?

 

Do you seek to show others how skilled and accomplished you are to keep your place at work and your finances secure?

 

Do you find security in your home or your family, your good looks or your personality, your work ability or your intelligence, your morality or Christian reputation?

 

The people living in the plain of Shinar had a plan to protect themselves. They didn't want to be scattered by their enemies.

 

But that plan backfired. In Genesis 11:8, we read that God - not their enemies - scattered them when He confused their language.

 

Why did God scatter them? Why didn't He praise their wisdom for planning ahead instead?

 

Because they tried to find security in themselves rather than God. Nothing we do can keep us truly safe. We can't control everything in this life. We're going to get hurt. Bad things are going to happen to us. Very often, the things we try to do to ensure our own security will end up causing some of the very problems we were trying to prevent.

 

The only way we can ensure our security and peace of mind is to trust our eternal safety to the One who does have all control and rely on Him - not ourselves - to give us the strength to stand up to life's difficulties. 

 


Let us not trust our own strength or wisdom but find our courage and peace in Him.

 

 

An Open City

Genesis 11:1-4

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.”

 

In Genesis 11, the people living on the plain of Shinar built their city as a way to defend themselves against being scattered by future enemies. But what if instead of defending against possible enemies, they had built their city to welcome potential enemies?

 

What if they had invited everyone in instead of trying to keep people out? What if instead of wanting to be known for their tower, they had set their sights on being known as a safe haven and a welcoming home to anyone who needed it?

 

What if instead of building a tower that reached to the heavens, they focused on being a community that pointed to Heaven?

 

What if we tried to be more welcoming in our own lives? What if we let down our emotional defenses, stopped showing off with false pride and bravado, and just let people in? What if we focused on having real relationships with co-workers, strangers, and even our enemies? What if we opened ourselves, completely, to anyone?

 

Like the people of Shinar, we might be attacked, we might be hurt, and we might be taken advantage of if we let ourselves be that vulnerable.

 

But we also might gather people to ourselves in genuine comradery like never before. That degree of vulnerability is what Jesus used to gather His community. He opened Himself - was hurt - and was triumphant. From the start, Jesus knew that any pain He suffered, including emotional pain, was worth it for the sake of inviting others to Himself.

 


Will you invite others to yourself? Will you let them see the open, defenseless you so that perhaps they can be open and defenseless in return? Will you be a tower of emotional vulnerability pointing to Heaven?

 

 

Come, Let Us…

Genesis 11:4, 6-7

Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens…”

 

The Lord said, “…Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

 

Notice the contrast between the people living in the plain of Shinar and the Lord. The people want to build up. God wants to come down.

 

The people want to build a tower that reaches to the heavens. They want to get there on their own power. God leaves Heaven to stop them.

 

Why?

 

Because we can’t climb to God’s level on our own, and it’s for our own good that God shows us that. It took God coming down in the form of Jesus Christ to forgive us for our sins and provide the way we can ascend to Him.

 


Any other plan we have to better ourselves and raise ourselves up is destined to fail. Our merely human efforts are like a tower ready to crash down, a stairway to Heaven that falls eternally short.

 

In what areas are you trying to better yourself, or better your life circumstances, without the Lord’s help? Abandon your plans and ask Him to come down to you and show you how He wants to raise you up.

 

 

“If As One People…”

Genesis 11:6

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.

 

Do you see the confidence our God has in us? He says that nothing will be impossible for us! He knows that He created us to be very capable people. There’s no room to say we can’t do something.

 

The catch is we need to be speaking the same language. With language studies and translators, we don’t have many problems understanding what different people groups are saying anymore. But that doesn’t mean we’re really hearing each other. We can understand the words without sharing the same perspective. That’s the challenge for us today. And it’s a challenge even within the Church.

 

Denominational differences and local church disagreements are caused by hearing each other without understanding each other. We fail to talk with one another and, instead, talk past one another. We use the same terms but define them differently.

 

Take a few seconds to think about how you can help the worldwide Church, and your local group of Christians, speak the same language. Then, dream about we can accomplish when that becomes a reality.

 



 

They Settled There

Genesis 11:31

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 Harran, they settled there.

 

I’ve always found it interesting that Abram (Abraham) wasn’t the original member of this family planning to go to Canaan. Did God call Terah to go to the Promised Land before He called Abram?

 

Whatever the reason Abram’s father set the family to marching, they didn’t make it. They didn’t fulfill the vision. They stopped short. Maybe Harran seemed to be a nice place to live. Maybe there were opportunities in that city to take advantage of. And yet Harran was no Canaan. It was no Promised Land. They settled in Harran, which meant they were settling for less than God intended for them.

 

In what area of life are you settling for less? What higher purpose and longer vision has God given you? Don’t stop short. Don’t settle until you reach the Promised Land.

 


 

 

Do you have another insight into Genesis 11? Please share below!

 

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