In The Word
Read: Genesis 10:1 – 11:9
Descendants of Noah
10 Now these are the records of the generations of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth; and sons were born to them after the flood.
2 The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. 3 The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. 4 The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. 5 From these the people of the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.
6 The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. 7 The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. 8 Now Cush fathered Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.” 10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 From that land he went to Assyria, and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, 12 and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city. 13 Mizraim fathered Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, 14 Pathrusim, Casluhim (from whom came the Philistines), and Caphtorim.
15 Canaan fathered Sidon, his firstborn, and Heth, 16 the Jebusite, the Amorite, the Girgashite, 17 the Hivite, the Arkite, the Sinite,18 the Arvadite, the Zemarite, and the Hamathite; and afterward the families of the Canaanite were spread abroad. 19 The territory of the Canaanite extended from Sidon going toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; and going toward Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. 20 These are the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, andby their nations.
21 Also to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, and the older brother of Japheth, children were born. 22 The sons of Shem wereElam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram. 23 The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. 24 Arpachshad fathered Shelah; and Shelah fathered Eber. 25 Two sons were born to Eber; the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan. 26 Joktan fathered Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 29 Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab; all of these were the sons of Joktan. 30 Now their settlement extended from Mesha going toward Sephar, the hill country of the east. 31 These are the sons of Shem, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, and according to their nations.
32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their descendants, by their nations; and out of these the nations were separated on the earth after the flood.
The Tower of Babel
11 Now all the earth used the same language and the same words.2 And it came about, as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks and fire them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. 4 And they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let’s make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of all the earth.” 5 Now the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the men had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they have started to do, and now nothing which they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lordscattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth; and they stopped building the city. 9 Therefore it was named Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
At this time, the whole earth used the same language and the same words. They decided to come together and build a city and a tower whose top would reach Heaven. The bible states they wanted to make a name for themselves. Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction.” The Lord saw what they were doing and the intent of their heart and said, “Behold they are one people and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them.” So the Lord confused their language and scattered them over the whole face of the earth.
Today, the world seems to think that same way, that on its own nothing is impossible given enough money and time. The internet is bringing the information of the world together. Language can be translated at the click of a button. However, the same God who was watching then is watching now. Satan needs worldly unity since he is a created being. He can’t be everywhere like God. He only has one third of the angels serving him, so he uses people. If he can centralize the world, then he can work on controlling just a few people to do the most damage. There are many ways that seem right to man. Unity can be a good thing if it is unity with the Lord. Otherwise, that unity will lead to confusion, destruction, and, ultimately, death. Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus (Romans 15:5).