January 4 - Genesis 10 - 11 (pages 17-22)
Good Morning and happy Wednesday! Its cold out there, but I have a cup of coffee by my side and still enjoying the sunshine. I liked reading the story of The Tower of Babel first (Gen 11) before reading about the descendants of Noah and his sons. It reinforces God's sovereign plan of multiplying the earth and creating nations.
The Tower of Babel is a story we hear when we are young in Sunday School. Man got together and decided to build a tower in the middle of their city. So high it would reach the heavens and they could be god-like. We see this image of rebellion, pride, self-reliance, and man thinking they know better and can be better than God. They build this great tower, with advanced materials (brick and tar) and they do it together. I smile when I see God's character and then humbled at His mercy. A couple chapters before we read how God completely destroyed the Earth for its disobedience. God had every right and the power to completely destroy the tower, or send disease, or punish this pride. But in His mercy he creates language…race…tribes…nations. He keeps His great picture moving by scattering people across the lands. I wonder what it would have been like to see their faces…hear the confusion. Also, we see the image of the Trinity in chapter 10:7, "Come, let Us go down…"
We continue with the scattering and growth of nations. We see Noah's sons multiplying the land and how God is continuing His grand plan. We see familiar names like Babel, (later Babylon), Nineveh (Jonah), and the birth of nations that will be significant through the entire Bible (Philistines, Canaanites, etc.) Don't be quick reading over those names. They are all there for a reason. We see the lives of all these men shorten…from the 900's (Adam – Noah) to 400, to 200. At the end of chapter 11 we first see Abram, father of the Hebrews. Knowing this, we see God's big picture…the line to Jesus…such joy.
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