Genesis 11

Genesis 11

The first interesting piece of information that I notice at the beginning of this chapter is that the human race had progressed enough to know how to make stone, which also meant that they knew how to make fire. They are building a tower, which also suggests that they were now able to construct homes, which also means that they were probably living in civilized groups (such as towns). Considering that this is taking place after Noah, the earth was once again populated. On a side note, this also means that it is possible that the pyramids in Egypt were being constructed, or were going to be in the near future. These assumptions may seem unnecessary, but it is important to understand some of the historical context when studying a passage of Scripture. These assumptions help us see where civilization was at that given time period.

The problem was that advances in civilization were actually driving the people further away from God. Sound familiar? These people had discovered that they now had the capabilities to provide for themselves in ways that they had not been able to previously. This lessened their dependence on God and possibly caused them to forget that it was He who had provided all of these materials in the first place. Again, does this sound familiar? So when the people began to construct a tower to show how great and advanced they were as one united group of people, God quickly showed them that He was still the one in charge.

God understood that a large group of people all focused on the same goal would figure out a way to accomplish it. So is that a bad thing? Really it depends on the intentions. This should give us encouragement knowing that we can accomplish great things on this earth. When we work together (such as a church body), we can see our greatest dreams come true. But if God is not at the center of our pursuits, then it is all futile. When we leave Him out of the equation, the one who gave us the minds to plan and the desire to pursue and the materials to use, then we really have nothing. That is what the people in Babel had done. It was not wrong for them to build such a great structure. The problem was that they had forgotten about God and thrown Him to the wayside. As a result, they were dispersed. No longer were they one group of people who understood the same language. As smaller groups, they had to learn to start over, create new societies, build new towns, and once again be driven away from what they knew, what they had grown accustomed to.

The next part of this chapter introduces yet another list of descendants. This time it goes on down to Abram (Abraham). Abraham was a descendant of Shem, one of Noah’s sons who was blessed in Genesis 9. So as a result of Shem’s obedience to God, he was able to be one of the ancestors of the man that God would choose to father His chosen people. But before we move on to the story of Abraham, it is interesting to note that the lifespan of each generation gradually decreased. As a result of the Fall, people no longer lived 800 or 900 years. The average lifespan now appeared to be around 200 years.

Just as we sometimes struggle with genealogies, we also seem to struggle with the details of some of the Old Testament stories. The end of this chapter may be one of those overlooked passages, but it really contains some vital information for the stories ahead. The last few verses outline the family tree. It shows where Abram, Lot, and Sarai came from. It also explains how Abram’s family ended up living in Ur, which was just east of Canaan, close to Babylon. This all sets the stage for God’s call on Abraham’s life and shows where Abram’s journey began.

Matt