Title Genesis 11:1-32
Contents <Text> Genesis 11:1-32
<Meditation>
1. Babel (Genesis 11:1-9) means ‘the gate of God’.
When the whole earth had one spoken language and one language, they moved to the East and came to the 'Plain of Shinar' to make a name for themselves and to avoid scattering, so they built a castle and tower high enough to reach the end of the sky. It was named 'Babel', the gate of God. God came down to this earth to fight the pride of the people and scattered them all over the earth by confusing the language. This scattering resulted in the formation of various peoples and languages.
Let us consider the reasons why people built the Tower of Babel.
“Give us our name” (v. 4a)
The Tower of Babel was built as a means to further enhance human honor. This word refers to any act that exalts oneself and makes a name for oneself.
Christians are building many Towers of Babel without realizing it.
Posting the name of the person who donated in the bulletin, showing off their donation and volunteering, donating to a donation newspaper, taking pictures when delivering condolences, and doing business for themselves.
The Lord is asking us to be secretive.
(Matthew 6:1-4) “[1] Be careful that you do not practice your righteousness before men to be seen by them, otherwise you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. [2] Do not blow the trumpet before you, as they do in the synagogues and in the streets, for their glory. [3] When you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing;
In other words, he tells us to do it without revealing your name.
2. “In order not to be scattered over all the face of the earth” (v. 4b).
People built towers that reached the sky, so they tried to make themselves a target for human beings.
Any action that human beings want to become a target for themselves is the Tower of Babel.
Historically, humans have built many towers of Babel by themselves. Imperialism, Nazism, and communism, as a result, instead of becoming a target for people, they drove people to ruin and ended in destruction.
It is a contradiction in itself and a gamble for a finite human being who is bound to die as the target.
What kind of gambling board are we playing?
Children who want to raise their children according to their own will, trying to become the master of their own life, the arrogance to believe in my fist, and the heart of dreaming of unearned income without effort that is the gamble of life.
The Lord tells us to “deny yourself” (Matthew 16:24) and “be humble” (Matthew 23:12).
When we deny ourselves and humble ourselves, the Lord is the target in that.
(Philippians 3:13-14) “[13] Brethren, I have not yet taken hold of myself, but have done one thing: to forget the things that are behind, and to grasp the things that are ahead. I follow for
Therefore, God exalts us when we follow Jesus Christ as a target.
(Phil 2:5-11) 『[5] Have this mind in you. [6] He was in the form of God, but did not consider equality with God to be robbery, [7] but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, and was made in human likeness, [8] being found in human form. He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. [9] Therefore God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, [10] making every knee, both in heaven and on earth, and under the earth. at the name of Jesus [11] and every tongue confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
3. “stones and bitumen” (v. 3) “he scattered all over the face of the earth” (v. 8)
At that time, people knew how to make bricks instead of stone, and they knew how to use bitumen. This is a great scientific discovery. Humans themselves tried to become a target with the power of science.
In this way, humans show off themselves and boast of their abilities. Even if you achieve even a little, you will fall into pride, as if you have conquered the world, as if to solve all your problems. With the development of genetic engineering these days, interest in stem cells is increasing. They talk as if they could cure any disease. Human pride. All science and human wisdom must be for God, and must be for the good of our neighbor. However, most of them develop science for their own benefit, and it is the mindset that group selfishness is okay if it is for the common good.
This is all the Tower of Babel.
The only thing we can boast about is Jesus Christ.
Because when we boast about him, we can experience the power of God who created the heavens and the earth.
When you brag about him, you get his protection. When we boast of him, he exalts us.
The motive for building the Tower of Babel was one language and one heart. (Verses 1, 6)
The ‘one heart’ that has forgotten God is only one heart for crime.
When people who do not believe in God gather together, they become one mind with the thought of sinning.
swearing, drinking, gambling, affair,
Therefore, believers must be one in the Lord.
The people who built the Tower of Babel tried to avoid scattering in a humanistic way, but they were scattered.
This is the lesson that everything that is not built on the words of Jesus Christ will always be destroyed, scattered, and torn.
<Prayer>
Heavenly Father, help us to be builders who can build everything on the word of God throughout our lives. to build a strong house that will not fall even when the wind blows and the winds blow,
Help me to be the path of my life with only Christ as my goal.
I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen
(Written by: Kim Soon-sik)