Daily Devotions
Genesis
"Give them according to their deeds, And according to the wickedness of their endeavours; Give them according to the work of their hands; Render to them what they deserve. Because they do not regard the works of the Lord…" Psalm 28:4-5
Text: Genesis 11:1-32
THE GIFT OF LANGUAGE
Imagine the time when all had one language! Imagine how well people must have been able to communicate with each other because there was a common speech. There was such a moment in the history of mankind.
“Now the whole earth had one language and one speech.”
GENESIS 11:1
PERVERTED IDEAS THAT COME FROM SIN
There are no limits when it comes to the subject matter of the perversity of sin! Rebellion, violence, murder – these were already common-place sins in the brief history of mankind! God had taught, rebuked, and punished! But the grip of sin remained strong! Man fraternized with sin and thus encouraged it. Sin given free rein could take the gift of the blessings of God and corrupt it. The Building of the Tower of Babel is one such example of how sin can utterly corrupt people!
Man soon learned how to make things. The creative instinct in him was strong. He learned how to make bricks and soon a wild idea flitted through the mind. This idea was well captured in the following text.
“Then they said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks
and bake them thoroughly.’ …
And they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower
whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves,
lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.'”GENESIS 11:3-4
What did these ideas represent? Let us ponder the following thoughts:-
1. Sheer arrogance!
The focus is Self! They were going to make a name for themselves! They thought only of themselves!
2. Sheer Disobedience!
The builders interpreted their movements as being “scattered abroad”. God’s original concept was to populate “the whole earth”. The struggle between man and God had not ceased! He continued to challenge God with his limited, perverted and sinful ideas! He believed that he could win this struggle with God!
WHO WAS THE LEADER IN THIS VAIN ATTEMPT?
Many scholars suggested that Nimrod was most probably the leader behind the idea of the building of this tower. The location of this tower was in Shinar (Genesis 11:2). This city was part of the kingdom that Nimrod had established (Cf. Genesis 10:10).