Study From the Book of Genesis,11

Study From the Book of Genesis,11

Today we study chapter 11 of the Book of Genesis. I choose one biblical principle and its lesson which is useful in Biblical Counselling.

The confusion of languages at Babel marks the beginnings of racial, ethnic, cultural, and familial diversity. Yet the Promised One (the Lord Jesus) of whom Genesis 12:3 speaks, there will one day be an end of all divisiveness, The people of heaven will become the people of God, with one language will speak together in praise of the Lamb (Rev 5:8-14).

Soon after the Flood, the people were speaking one language. The land of Shinar is the region of ancient Babylon in Mesopotamia. This is one region traditionally suggested as the location of the Garden of Eden. The people of the earth came from the east and they used bricks for building large structure that was common in this early period. The stones fitted together without mortar.  These people wanted to become famous as the giants whom were before the Flood. Motivated by arrogance, they wanted to make a name of themselves.

The Lord came down indicates the omniscience of the Lord. The potential is that humankind will become as wilfully sinful as they were before the Flood.  God will not allow this to happen. “Let Us” in this passage, plural pronoun denotes a Trinity of the Speaker. The variations in languages, culture, values, and clans, all started at this point.

There are three great judgements on sinful humanity in the first section of the Book of Genesis. The first is the expulsion from Eden(ch.3); the second is the Flood (chs. 6-9); and the third is the scattering of the people from Babel (see Luke 1:51). Babel in the Bible serves as a name and symbol for activities directed against God by the nations of the earth.

Genealogy is found in ten significant passages in the Book of Genesis. The Jewish nation came from Sham. Hence, the accounts that follow make much of him and his family. Thus, the genealogy shows that Abraham was a descendant of Noah through Sham, just as Noah was a descendant of Adam through Seth. Note the people lived progressively shorter lives from 600 years of Sham to the 148 years of Nahor. Note also the absence of a total time from Shem to Abram (vv 26-30); it must have been at least several thousand years, but we do not know exactly how longe. The approximate date for the birth of Abraham is 2150 B.C.

At long last was come to the family of Terah and the births of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.Years later, Abram would be renamed Abraham, and would become the father of Isaac. He was the progenitor of the Hebrew people from which the Promised Deliverer, Jesus comes.

Abram, Nahor, and Haran are the three sons of Terah would expect to carry on his name. Haran begot Lot; Lot is a nephew of Abram. The untimely death of Haran leaves his son to carry on his name and to establish his destiny. They lived in Ur of the Chaldeans, recently some scholars have noted the tablets at Eba that speak of Ur in the region of north Syria and suggest that this is the city of Haran’s death.

Abram’s epic move to Canaan begins in ch.12 with Abram receiving a command from the Lord to leave his land to go to a new land. Did the journey begin with Terah or with Abram? It appears that Terah for his own reasons, decided to move from Ur to Canaan. He began the journey with several members of his family. However, they went to Haran, where Terah died. This was the first step of the journey of Abram and Sarai to the land of promise.

Structure

Verses 1:9: The tower of Babel.

Verses 10-26: Shem’s descendants.

Verses 27-32: Terah’s descendants.

Principle 18: verse 11;4---“And they said,’ Come, let us build ourselves a city. And a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.’ .”

Lesson 18: God always opposes pride wherever it raises its head. If we want to advance in God’s kingdom, we must not strive to make a name for ourselves, but rather humble ourselves before the Lord. 16/11/2025.