A Tree and a Tower

O.T. 26  "A Tree and a Tower"
April 16, 2013
Genesis 10-11 Part 1
And they said, go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
 Genesis 11:4


LET IT GLOW

How big is your family tree? Do you have your family tree filled out? Maybe I should take time to do that. My family would only have three branches, since I only have one brother and one sister. However, my husband's family tree would have seven branches, since he has three brothers and three sisters. Then our branch would have two off of it, our son and daughter. We would need another tree after that because we have five grandchildren and one on the way next month. What about Noah's family tree? Did you know his branches reach to Jesus Christ?

Here we have the generations of Noah, a family tree with three branches, Noah's sons and families, which are listed at the beginning of chapter 10.

Japheth's sons became settled in the north (modern Europe and Asia). They are listed in the verses 2-4. They failed God in three ways: not holding fast the knowledge of God nor personally knowing Him; not following after God, walking after Him; not teaching their descendants about God.

Ham and his sons became the Canaanite family, along with the Amorites, Girgasites, Hivites, Arkites, Arvadites, Zemarites, and Hamathites. They were an ungodlly, immoral and unjust society.  They built the cities of Babel, Nineveh, Sodom and Gomorrah. Nimrod was a powerful force behind the building of the Tower of Babel. They occupied Palestine or the land of Canaa, which had to be conquered later by the Israelites in order to possess the Promised Land. Many were Israel's enemies, and they settled in the south, what became the Egyptians and Cush country. (Ham sinned by looking upon his drunken father's (Noah) nakedness.) 

Shem, the oldest of Noah's three sons, settled in the middle east. His line extended to ten generations,  Abraham, our father of faith. They stayed faithful in worshiping the one true God. Shem's descendants settled in the Middle East. Shem was an ancester of Jesus Christ, the Savior and Messiah.

Noah had a lot of descendants, didn't he? Have you thought about your descendants to come? Will they have faith in Jesus as Savior? Are you praying for your grandchildren to be saved, to be preachers, teachers, singers, missionaries of the Word of God? I am. I pray for my grandchildren's grandchildren, that God's Spirit would be upon them.


LET IT GROW

As a summary later, verses 5 tells us that Japheth's family was divided in their lands, every one after his tongue, after their families in their nations. Verse 20 says the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations. Verse 31 says the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.
 
Before that happened, Genesis 11:1 says, and the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

Noah and his family landed in Ararat, and the migration would have been southeast and east into the Fertile Crescent. As they journeyed, they dwelt in this plain and determined to stay there lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. (Falwell)

What do we learn from the Tower of Babel?

• Tower, in the Hebrew language, means fortress; babel in Hebrew means confusion. It could have been a tower for defense, to keep the people in. (Ryrie)
• The arrogant builders were using bricks, building a city and a tower, making a name for themselves. (verse 4) It was a city as a monument to their prideful abilities and for their reputation. Nimrod's people refused to move on as God instructed.
• God came down to see the city and tower. The people disobeyed God and attempted to steal His glory. They were so united that they would do all they desired to do. (MacArthur)
• God's judgment came down and He confounded their language so they couldn't understand each other. (Today we have over 3,000 languages and dialects.)
• The result of this confusion was the scattering of mankind. The building of the city was stopped.

What can we learn from their mistakes?
God will work His plans through a heart willing to work His way.
If necessary God may have to work through a broken heart that wanted its own way, but surrendered to God's way.
He may choose to use and bless someone else that is willing, leaving us to our own surmise.
Which one describes you and me?
Do we share our faith? Who knows what our great grandchildren may become.

LET IT GO

Tell my family about salvation in Jesus so my descendants on my family tree grow in faith.

Surrender my heart to do God's will, His way.

Obey the first time.