Saturday, January 9, 2010

TTB: Genesis 10-11

Standout Verse: "They said, 'Come let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the whole earth.'" Genesis 11:4

Little Insights:
*Although it appears that Nimrod was a "mighty hunter before the Lord", it's actually translated "a mighty hunter in the face of the Lord"- his name means rebellious one, and it is evident in his building of Babylon and Nineveh (two cities God judged) that he did not want to follow God's command to multiply and disperse (Gen. 8:17, 11:8)
*Japeth (Gentiles) will dwell in the tents of Shem (Israelites).
*This is the first record of baked bricks and tar used to create structures. The tar was a water-proofing device. These people feared another flood from God.
*Although God created a language barrier so that people would obey His desire of scattering, He will also bring about a unified language for His glory in heaven. (Acts2:1-11, Revelation 5:13)
*Just because people were unified didn't mean that they were doing the will of God. I think it's foolish to believe that if we all just "come together" "work together" and "all just get along" there will be peace and happiness. These people were unified in defiance to God.
*There are over 6, 699 languages in the world.
* The Bible does not recognize the concept of "race", there is only one race-the human race- descended from a common ancestor. (Acts 17:26)
*Although the tower was enormous and a great achievement of man, God still has to "come down" to see it better...a metaphysical and metaphorical implication that the grandiose creations of man are still tiny and indistinct for our wonderful God seated on high!

My mom spoke on this passage and she did a wonderful job! She started by asking, "What towers are you building in your life?" and challenged me to think about what I put all my energy, thoughts and devotion into every day. Am I working on a project that is in rebellion to what God desires? Maybe it is a selfish desire or a lovely little habit I just don't want to surrender to God. Regardless, a tower without God will not stand. He is so madly in love with me that He can't let anything capture my heart but His love.
Maybe instead of the pain of watching my own tower crumble before me, I can look at God's design and build for His glory. I pray that is what I do today.

Just for fun: Build a tower with your child today. Isn't it fun to see our kids knock them over? Consider the creation God is making in your life. Are you mature enough to help Him build what He desires, or are you childishly knocking down His work in your life?

Love, Lauren

2 comments:

Sarah said...

After reading all of these recent posts, I think that YOU should write your own type of daily walk book... Maybe one geared toward parents and children? It's a thought... You have the depth of knowledge and the writing ability to do it... Have you ever thought about doing something like that?

Love, Lauren said...

Oh no! I just steal it all from others and type it up here for you to enjoy =)
There are already so many devotions out there... actually, come to think about it... I am kinda writing a blog book but posting these. What do you know?! ha ha