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BIBLE
STUDY LESSON
For
the week beginning Sunday August 19, 2018
THE
TOWER OF BABEL
Genesis
11:1-9
At one time in human history (up
until about 5 centuries after the Flood), the whole world spoke one language.
As a result, they developed a “unity” that is unsurpassed by any generation
since that time. Unfortunately, GOD the CREATOR was not at the center of that
unity, but rather, their “pride” was. The people began to follow “the demon
possessed heroes” like the great “Nimrod”, who had so impressed the world with
their seemingly supernatural talents and abilities.
In those days, man had began to believe
only in himself and his own achievements (sound familiar) and this led them to
take on a “GOD-complex” that would ultimately lead to their downfall and
“scattering abroad”, which of course, was engineered by GOD HIMSELF. It was a
move by GOD that was designed to save mankind from total demise at its own
hands, as their ambitions had gone awry in a way that was reminiscent to that
of a Heavenly Lucifer, who was able to pull a third of the angelic force in
Heaven down with him, because of his pride, which led to his conspiracy against
GOD.
Here in Genesis chapter 11, verses 1-9, we
see how man’s ambitions can lead to tragic results, if his plans don’t include
GOD. By the sixth century following the Great Flood, the people of the world
had, once again, firmly asserted their independence from GOD, and their
attitudes regarding this was clearly being exhibited through their behavior
under HIS watchful eye. Man was once again, unwittingly proving to himself
that, without GOD, man can’t do anything right, for too long.
As the people, under the rule of Nimrod,
moved eastward, increasing their boundaries by force, they decided to settle in
the plains of Shinar, or, Babylonia, an area that is located in Mesopotamia
(modern-day Iraq). There they decided to construct another city, calling it
“Babylon”, one of many cities that had already been built under the leadership
of Nimrod, their king.
It was also there that they decided to
build a monument to commemorate their own greatness as a people, one that would
unify them permanently, and stand as a symbol of their commitment to each other
forever. Unfortunately, it was their very desire to increase their unity and
strength that, consequently, provided them with their greatest potential to do
evil.
GOD, through HIS wisdom, will never allow
the achievement of “total unity” in the world, because, to allow that, would be
to fortify satan against HIM, and all that represent HIM in the world. GOD will
never allow “total unity” anywhere in the world except in “HIS Church” (the
people whose hearts agree with HIM, through CHRIST JESUS), where HIS OWN
greatness, and the greatness of CHRIST JESUS can be exalted.
And so GOD came down, and HE disrupted the
peoples’ idea of “worldly unity” by confounding their speech so that they could
no longer communicate their GOD-less, evil ideas, among each other. HE then
separated them physically into relatively small groups, and scattered them
throughout the earth, giving each group a separate and distinct language, and
thereby, greatly reducing their access to their wealth of “shared data”, and
“self-destructive human ingenuity”, which they insisted on applying without
taking GOD into account in their planning and application.
This biblical account here in verses 1-9
depicts the city of Babylon as a dominant power in the world at that time, and
as the epitome of an ungodly kingdom. It emerges as the first world power
recorded in Scripture. Ironically, in their lust to make a name for themselves
apart from GOD, and that was equal to GOD, they were successful only in making
a mockery of themselves forever, becoming world renowned as the place where
“mass confusion” quite literally, began, and, that fact will forever manifest
itself in the name “Babylon”. It is a name, quite literally derived from the
word “babel”, which means “confused”. It is where GOD confounded the languages
of the world, and then scattered man throughout the face of the earth.
The sin of the Shinerites was their
“immense pride”, and after all, the very essence of any sin itself is “pride”.
Here we see that the core of their sin manifests itself in the thought of “individualism”,
which itself is something that finds its origins in pride, and as it grew, they
eventually longed very badly to separate themselves, first from other people,
and then ultimately, from GOD HIMSELF.
Sin always occurs when people decide to “do
what they want” instead of “doing what GOD wants”. This action always leads to
an infestation of spiritual pride. Whenever a man’s ambitions began to promote
an attitude of “my way, or no way”, it is always accompanied by “an inadequate
view of GOD”, and “a heart that lacks allegiance to GOD and CHRIST JESUS, our
LORD and SAVIOR”. It is the kind of ambition that is fueled by satan, and it
causes a man to not hear GOD, or even when GOD makes HIMSELF heard to us, we
refuse to believe HIM because “we so want to do what we want to do”. This
attitude, over time, makes us impervious to GOD, and in fact, our words and
actions show that we think we know better than GOD. We begin to say things like
“Yeah, I know what GOD says about it, but HE won’t mind if I do it my way. After
all, I am doing it for HIM, and besides, GOD knows my heart”.
Whenever man’s “human ingenuity” to “rationalize
the sin of ignoring GOD” becomes a habit, he is already in the final stage of
“pride”, which comes just before the fall. Remember, there can never be a
“right time” to do the “wrong thing”. The only way available to us, as
Christians, to do GOD’s work is “by HIS rules”, not ours. Any other route that
we choose to take, is always, “the wrong way to go”. Whenever we choose to do
things our own way, especially in the Church, ultimately, we are going to end
up in “the middle of nowhere”, separated from GOD, WHO wants to be “our source
of provision”, “our source of protection”, and, “the source of all of our
plans”.
FROM
SHEM TO ABRAHAM
Genesis
11:10-26
This is the “vertical” genealogical
record that traces the line of descendants from Noah’s son, Shem, to Abram (later
called Abraham). This list successfully shows the legitimate ancestry of the
Shemites, and is generally used to trace the origins of that group of the human
race, who would later be named by GOD as “HIS chosen people” (Israel), and,
whom the world now knows as “the Jews”. This section of chapter 11, is an
airtight chronology that distinguishes Abraham as the towering figure, to whom,
all Jews trace their origin.
Unlike the list in chapter 5, this
chronology here in verses 10-26 of chapter 11, does not tell of the total
number of years that each person lived, and at what age they died. Whereas the
section of Genesis 5:1-6:8 stresses “death before the Flood”, here in this
section of chapter 11, we see an emphasis on “life and expansion after the
Flood”, even though the earthly lifespan of man had been decreased
significantly by GOD, because of the onset of sin into “the human race”.
THE
FAMILY OF TERAH
Genesis
11:27-32
Here begins what is now known as “the
Patriarchal Narratives of the Bible” (Genesis 11:27-50:26). They detail the history
and origin of the Jews, beginning with Abram (later called Abraham), who was
the son of Terah.
Abram, had two brothers, whose names were
Nahor and Haran. Haran was the father of Lot, whom would later become the
responsibility of, and figure prominently in, the life and chronicles of
Abraham. Haran died at an early age, while they were still living in their
birthplace, which was called “Ur”, located in the land of the Chaldeans.
Abram married Sarai, who could not bear
children at that time, and his brother Nahor, married Milcah, one of the
daughters of his deceased brother, Haran (Haran’s other daughter was named
Iscah). After this, Terah, who was an idolater, moved his family, including his
sons and their wives, and his grandson Lot, out of Ur, with intentions to move
to the land of Canaan. However, they made a stop in a place called “Haran” (no
connection to his dead son), which was known as “sin city”.
Through spiritual eyes, one can clearly see
this as an early attempt by satan, on a “paganist thinking person”, Terah, to
interrupt the line of the coming MESSIAH into the world, through the line that
GOD would later sanction to begin with Abraham and Sarah. It is something that
can often be detected (satan’s evil strategies) throughout the annals of Old
Testament literature. Terah lived out the remainder of his life (205 years) there
in Haran with his family.
A Sunday school lesson
by,
Larry D. Alexander
LARRY D. ALEXANDER-
Official Website
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