In our reading today, time marches on and Noahs sons (Japheth, Ham and Shem) set out to populate the earth. The line of Japheth become the seafaring people who venture out into the land. It seems as though these people become the Gentiles and/or future Europeans. The line of Ham migrates towards Africa, and the line of Shem stays in the Middle East. They pretty much stay in the same region, and it is from these people that we get the city in which the Tower of Babel springs forth..... At one time all the people of the world spoke the same language and used the same words. As the people migrated to the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia and settled there. They began saying to each other, “Let’s make bricks and harden them with fire.” (In this region bricks were used instead of stone, and tar was used for mortar.) Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.” Genesis 11:1-4 But God was not pleased with their disobedience.... But the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building. “Look!” he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them! Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other.” In that way, the Lord scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city. That is why the city was called Babel, because that is where the Lord confused the people with different languages. In this way he scattered them all over the world. Genesis 11:5-9 It is also important to take note, and remember for the future (when Joshua leads the Israelites into the promised land), that the decedents of Canaan (Hams son) who were cursed by Noah, were the: Canaanites, Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites and later the Philistines. In contrast to the line of Shem (whos line was blessed by Noah) comes, Arphaxad, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor, Terah and Abram. Todays readings provide us with some interesting contrasts. Do we trust God, or do we trust in something else? Those in Babylonia, instead of scattering over the earth as commanded by God, chose to centralize in building the Tower of Babel. Later on Lot, instead of seeking Gods will, chose the land which seemed best to him. Both of these decisions although seemingly to make perfect sense, failed. On the other side we have Abram, who followed God in leaving his homeland and trusted God to provide for him by showing no preference in where he lived. He was blessed..... The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:1-3 In other words, God was telling Abram, that he would have primacy, identity, and security. I find this intriguing because those were the three things man had wanted so desperately at Babel... Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky (*primacy). This will make us famous (*identity) and keep us from being scattered all over the world.(*security)” Genesis 11:4 ** Words in parentheses added, by me, for illustration. Yet, even when we trust God, we do so imperfectly, as we see Abrams example in Egypt (when his fear of Pharaoh resulted in his being deceptive about Sarai). I think this is a question we must ask ourselves daily. Do I put my trust in things, others, myself or do I rely on Gods leading? When we read about Abrams experience in Egypt, and his deception regarding Sarai, our first reaction, is...Thats terrible!!! This is supposed to be a man of God, and this is how he behaves!!! But God wants to show us that Abram is an ordinary man, prone to the same insecurities and weaknesses that we are. Heres the father of faith faltering in the arena of faith because man always struggles and stumbles in his area of strength.. - Righteous Noah fell when he got drunk - We will see that Moses, the meekest man on the face of the earth, struck his rod against a rock and took credit for the flowing water - And later we will see Peter unsheathing his sword ready to take on a whole army in order to defend Jesus in Gethsemane, yet only hours later faltering when a little girl asked him Arent you one of His? That is why the Lord tells Paul..... “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:8 Does this mean that God approved of Abrahams deception? No. Abrahams sin does not go without consequences. Many years down the road we see it come to fruition...One of the maidservants given to Sarai was named Hagar, who will be used in yet another disobedience to the Lord. The results will be heartbreaking for Abrahams family then, with the consequences continuing on into our world today.
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 04:10:00 +0000
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