Day Four: Genesis 11-13

Let's get this out there (and perhaps it would have been good to say this right from the beginning): some days, Bible reading doesn't happen. We might be genuinely busy all day, and find that we just don't have the time or the capacity to slow down and read (with comprehension) the chapters we had planned to read. It happens. Don't let that discourage you, or derail your efforts to follow a reading plan, whatever it is. Just pick back up where you left off, the next day. (Try not to miss two days in a row, so that missing your reading time doesn't become a habit.)

Yesterday was a very full day for me, and while I did spend time in prayer, and worship, and study (all of which were very valuable). I did fall behind on my reading plan, and certainly did not have the energy to write out my thoughts about these chapters, so I will be taking so extra time for it today, so that I can keep up with those of you who did not miss the scheduled chapters! (Kudos to you, by the way.)

Today we begin with Genesis 11, which begins with one of those short stories that is familiar to many of us. It is a story that marks the first organized attempt, after the flood, to rebel against God's instructions to mankind. Upon their leaving the ark, God had told Noah and his family that they were to go "teem on the earth and multiply on it" (as it reads in the English Standard Version, which I happen to be using in my reading this year). The basic idea was that they were to spread out (gradually), and repopulate the entire earth. It doesn't seem like a significant request. Perhaps there was important wisdom in those instructions. I believe that God wanted mankind to spread out after the flood, so that they could properly care for the entire planet and leave none of it neglected.

To me, It doesn't seem to have been a big request from God. But there is something about the spirit of rebellion that takes exception with even the most simple of instructions—"No one tells me what to do!" And we find that in the story of Babel. You may recall from Chapter 10 that Babel was one of the cities founded by Nimrod. So we can see that Nimrod was a significant influence in the decision to build the tower that is described here in Chapter 11.

We can identify at least a couple of motives behind the construction of the tower. First of all, there was a desire for recognition, and accolades. "Let us make a name for ourselves" was the proposal. Leading this initiative to build a tower, Nimrod and his cohorts suggested that they would become famous. Their city and its tower, would become famous around the world. Their name and their reputation would be known and admired by all. Secondly, there was a resistance to God's directive to "teem" on the (entire) earth: "lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth." Rather than spreading their resources out to care for the entire planet, these men decided that they ought to use their numbers to increase their power, their strength, and their influence. Rather than caring for the planet, they would seek to dominate it.

God chose to interfere with this particular effort, by confounding the speech of the multitude. Suddenly they all began to speak in different languages, so that they could no longer understand one another. The construction zone became chaotic and disorganized. Workers became frustrated with one another, and each in turn began to abandon the building project and to disperse to different locations (as God had intended them to do from the beginning). Perhaps this is the event that inspired Eber to name his son Peleg (because the earth was divided). If so, Peleg appears to have been born only about 101 years after The Flood (Genesis 11:10-16), which would mean that it did not take long for many of Noah's descendants to turn rebellious towards God.

I've always wondered why God intervened in Babel, while we see massive skyscrapers in our day. We think of the buildings we see in so many major cities as icons. They are fantastic architectural marvels. Just makes me wonder, I guess, if there is any relationship between the towers we build today (including the "towers" that we try to build in our own lives) and that tower built in Babel. Are we trying to make a name for ourselves, or living to care for what God has made.

These first eleven chapters of Genesis have really just been the introduction of the Biblical narrative. A lot has happened. There has been tension and resolution due to some significant events. However, all of this has really just been the backstory that gives us the context for the introduction of Abraham who is the first central figure of the book of Genesis. We are introduced to Abraham (called Abram initially) and his family in Chapter 12.

In Chapter 12 and 13, we witness Abraham living the life of a nomad. God has called Abraham to leave his homeland—first Ur (somewhere not too far from Babel), then Haran, where his father and family chose to settle after leaving Ur—to find the land that God would show him to be his future place of residence, and the place where a new kingdom would be established. When Abraham arrives in Canaan, however, he finds that it is well-populated. Nonetheless, God promises Abraham a future inheritance: "To your offspring I will give this land." Meanwhile, Abraham moves from location to location; from Canaan, to the Negev (a desert region to the south); from the Negev to Egypt; and then back to Canaan. Once back in Canaan, Abraham is led to separate from his nephew, Lot, because the land was not large enough to support both men's herds of livestock. Abraham gave Lot the choice of which land to occupy, further indication the Abraham truly had no claim to any of the land around him. Yet again, after Lot separated towards what appeared to be the most fertile lands of the area, God reassured Abraham that he and his descendants would one day inherit all of the surrounding land visible in every direction.

The story of Abraham is one of future hope. God made many promises to Abraham, and a lot of them would be best experienced by Abraham's children, and grand children, and great grand children. Yet Abraham held onto these promises, and selflessly went wherever God led him. His decision to trust God would bring far greater rewards to his children than it would to him. Abraham lived as one without a home, so that his descendants would receive the rewards of a kingdom established by God. Hmm... somehow that seems relevant to my own life situation. How about yours?

Perhaps you had insights that I didn't even notice, or write about.

Please share your own thoughts below!