1The whole earth was of one language and of one speech. 2As they traveled east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they lived there. 3They said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. 4They said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top reaches to the sky, and let’s make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad on the surface of the whole earth.”
5Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men built. 6Yahweh said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do. Now nothing will be withheld from them, which they intend to do. 7Come, let’s go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8So Yahweh scattered them abroad from there on the surface of all the earth. They stopped building the city. 9Therefore its name was called Babel, because there Yahweh confused the language of all the earth. From there, Yahweh scattered them abroad on the surface of all the earth.
10This is the history of the generations of Shem: Shem was one hundred years old when he became the father of Arpachshad two years after the flood. 11Shem lived five hundred years after he became the father of Arpachshad, and became the father of more sons and daughters.
12Arpachshad lived thirty-five years and became the father of Shelah. 13Arpachshad lived four hundred three years after he became the father of Shelah, and became the father of more sons and daughters.
14Shelah lived thirty years, and became the father of Eber. 15Shelah lived four hundred three years after he became the father of Eber, and became the father of more sons and daughters.
16Eber lived thirty-four years, and became the father of Peleg. 17Eber lived four hundred thirty years after he became the father of Peleg, and became the father of more sons and daughters.
18Peleg lived thirty years, and became the father of Reu. 19Peleg lived two hundred nine years after he became the father of Reu, and became the father of more sons and daughters.
20Reu lived thirty-two years, and became the father of Serug. 21Reu lived two hundred seven years after he became the father of Serug, and became the father of more sons and daughters.
22Serug lived thirty years, and became the father of Nahor. 23Serug lived two hundred years after he became the father of Nahor, and became the father of more sons and daughters.
24Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and became the father of Terah. 25Nahor lived one hundred nineteen years after he became the father of Terah, and became the father of more sons and daughters.
26Terah lived seventy years, and became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
27Now this is the history of the generations of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran became the father of Lot. 28Haran died in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldees, while his father Terah was still alive. 29Abram and Nahor married wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, who was also the father of Iscah. 30Sarai was barren. She had no child. 31Terah took Abram his son, Lot the son of Haran, his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife. They went from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan. They came to Haran and lived there. 32The days of Terah were two hundred five years. Terah died in Haran.
The story of sin and of the downward spiral of humanity continues throughout the opening chapters of Genesis. As people continued in their stubbornness to ignore the sovereignty of God, so the situation worsened. It wasn’t long before jealousy, murder, cruelty, greed and wickedness entangled the earth. After the flood which you can read about in chapters 6-9 God tells the people to fill the whole earth and be fruitful, but they refuse to do this. Instead they stayed in one place and began to devise ways in which they could be powerful and rule over themselves, with no need of God (verse 4). The plan that they came up with was to build a tower so high and so strong it would protect them from God. They used a very modern invention ‘the brick’, which was much lighter than stone meaning they could build higher and quicker than previous generations.
Of course, progress and building were not alarming for God. It was their reasoning that was the problem. They did not need God anymore, they were powerful enough on their own. The aim was to build a tower to reach the heavens and together they would stay protected from the power of others and God. They exalted their own power choosing to live without God. Knowing the intention of their hearts God caused confusion amongst them and divided and scattered them through giving them different languages.
We can look at the people in chapter 11 and be horrified at their blatant denial in accepting God as their God. We can gasp at their ridiculous attempts to reach the heavens using bricks and we can judge the act of trying to God proof their lives. However, don’t we do exactly the same thing? We may not build a tower but we want to maintain our authority over ourselves. We want to be our own boss and stay in situations that God has not chosen for us to be in. Isn’t it time to relinquish the self-reign we hold on to so needlessly and finally say God I am fully yours?
God is God and He wants to be God in your life.