Bible in 365 Days – Day 4

Focus Chapters:

• Genesis 11:1-26
• I Chronicles 1:24-27
• Genesis 11:27-31
• Genesis 12-14

Standout Verse(s):

THE ACTION

Genesis 11:1-4 NLT

At one time all the people of the world spoke the same language and used the same words. As the people migrated to the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia and settled there.

They began saying to each other, “Let’s make bricks and harden them with fire.” (In this region bricks were used instead of stone, and tar was used for mortar.) Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.”

Genesis 13: 1-4, 5 NLT

So Abram left Egypt and traveled north into the Negev, along with his wife and Lot and all that they owned. (Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold.) From the Negev, they continued traveling by stages toward Bethel, and they pitched their tents between Bethel and Ai, where they had camped before. Lot, who was traveling with Abram, had also become very wealthy with flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and many tents.

THE REACTION

Genesis 11:5-9 NLT

But the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building. “Look!” he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them! Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other.”
In that way, the Lord scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city. That is why the city was called Babel, because that is where the Lord confused the people with different languages. In this way he scattered them all over the world.

Genesis 13: 6-9, 11-12 NLT

But the land could not support both Abram and Lot with all their flocks and herds living so close together. So disputes broke out between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot. Finally Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not allow this conflict to come between us or our herdsmen. After all, we are close relatives! The whole countryside is open to you. Take your choice of any section of the land you want, and we will separate. If you want the land to the left, then I’ll take the land on the right. If you prefer the land on the right, then I’ll go to the left.”
Lot chose for himself the whole Jordan Valley to the east of them. He went there with his flocks and servants and parted company with his uncle Abram. So Abram settled in the land of Canaan, and Lot moved his tents to a place near Sodom and settled among the cities of the plain.

Observation (s):

1. The people at Babel sought to stay together in one place, disobeying God’s command (given after the flood) to fill the earth. Abram and Lot also made the same mistake when they, with their vast wealth, resources and beneficiaries, chose to settle together.
   
   

   As the people migrated to the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia and settled there.

   AND

   From the Negev, they [Abram, Lot and their families and workers] continued traveling by stages toward Bethel, and they pitched their tents between Bethel and Ai, where they had camped before.

   
   
2. The dangers of overpopulating one area is demonstrated by Abraham’s and Lot’s herdsmen. When the demand is great and the supply is strained, dissent among the group is sure to occur. God knew the problems associated with overpopulating one area and wisely told our ancestors what to do. The safe course is to separate.
   
   

   But the land could not support both Abram and Lot with all their flocks and herds living so close together. So disputes broke out between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot. Finally Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not allow this conflict to come between us or our herdsmen. After all, we are close relatives! The whole countryside is open to you. Take your choice of any section of the land you want, and we will separate. If you want the land to the left, then I’ll take the land on the right. If you prefer the land on the right, then I’ll go to the left.

   
   
3. The people at Babel sought to build a high tower that would make them and their achievements famous. Pride rides into the picture. Man’s focus shifted from going higher to give glory and get closer to God (as Noah did) to going higher to shift the glory from God to himself.
   
   

   Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.”.

   
   
4. The people united to accomplish a worldly feat. God acknowledges that such unity can accomplish the impossible, both noble and ignoble deeds.
   
   

   “Look!” he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them!

Application:

Being constantly around people who speak your language, understand how your mind works and have a similar purpose can be exhilarating as it encourages a spirit of oneness. I must be careful that in these scenarios I don’t forget the instructions that God has given me and get caught up in the high of being one of the “birds of a feather.” God, in His infinite wisdom, sees the dangers eons away.

Being talented and accepted as a part of a group can also inspire a spirit of group independence that leaves God out of the picture and increases a reliance on self and one’s capabilities, giving room to pride. One must be careful that worldly aspirations to go higher does not overtake and diminishes spiritual aspirations to commune and glorify God.