Genesis Chapter 11
“Tower of Babel” and “Shem to Abram”
Tower of Babel (v. 1-9)
Perhaps man aspired to be like God instead of bowing humbly before Him.
Purpose of the tower
“make a name for ourselves” = Pride & glorifying self, not God
“not be scattered” = disobeying God's command “fill the earth” (9:1,7)
Nimrod was likely involved in this plan, as this area was one of his kingdoms (Gen. 10:10)
Their unity had given them a false sense of power, fueling their defiance of God.
If left on their current path, their corruption would continue to grow, leading them further and further away from walking with God.
God's action toward man's defiance was an act of mercy.
God could have rained down fire from the sky & destroyed the tower and its builders, but instead he confuses their language and sets them back on a path of obedience to his command: “fill the earth”
The tower was known by the Babylonians as “gate of God”
v. 1—One language, one common speech
v. 2—“Shinar” is the region of ancient Babylonia in the southern part of the land between the Tigris & Euphrates rivers (modern day Iraq).
v. 4—“reaches to the heavens”
v. 5—“God came down” = God is intimately involved in the lives of men
v. 6—God did not fear the unity of mankind as a threat to him, but as a threat to themselves.
v. 7—Purpose of confusing their languages was to encourage them to scatter & fill the earth
v. 9—“Babel” comes from a play on words in Hebrew which means “to confuse”
From Shem to Abram (v. 10-32)
They had two possible routes
Directly westward, across the Arabian desert, which would have next to impossible to survive while traveling with large herds
Northward, along the Euphrates then south to Canaan (this is the way they chose).
Haran was at the northern end of the Euphrates river, in present-day Syria
The total journey would have been about 1,500 miles.
Shem
Arphaxad
Shelah
Eber
Peleg
Reu
Serug
Nahor
Terah
Abram (“exaulted father”)—married Sarai
Nahor—married Milcah
Haran
Lot
v. 28—“Ur (a city) of the Chaldeans” was a region just south of where the Tigris & Euphrates met, south of Babylon (220 mi. SE of present-day Baghdad)
v. 30—Sarai was barren and had no children...will be significant as we will see in future chapters
v. 31—Terah, Abram & Sarai, & Lot (along with all of their possessions/flocks, etc.) set out to travel to the land of Canaan.
Applications
God is intimately involved in our lives and often uses corrective consequences of our sin to guide us back onto the path he has set before us.
Am I building a “Tower of Babel” in my life? Is there anything that I am pursuing ahead of God? Am I on a quest for more power, recognition, wealth, etc. or am I on a quest to go deeper with God?
Who are my influences? Am I unified with those around me who do not share my love of God? The builders or the Tower of Babel were unified and influencing one another...in the wrong direction.
