GENESIS 11:1-9 – Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words. 2 It came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. 4 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 face of the whole earth.” 5 The Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. 6 The Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them. 7 “Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth.”
THEME OF THE DAY: GOD HAS THE FINAL WORD. We are likely familiar with the commands King Solomon gives us from the third Proverb concerning the trust we are not to put in ourselves. He wrote – Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6). The direction is quite clear. Don’t trust yourselves or self-induced understanding. Give the situation or decision to the Lord and leave it. He will make the path clear. He has the final word. That advice extends beyond us. We don’t trust the wisdom or understanding of man in his natural condition to be our source of guidance, confidence, or protection. And oh, how that applies to our world today. Don’t be that Christian who has more confidence in a political figure or party to fix our nation than the God who reigns and has the final word.
In today’s scripture is the account of the Tower of Babel being constructed and the God who intervenes in its work. Remember God did not tell them to stay in one place. They were to spread and populate the earth, but instead they stayed and listened to man and the orders to build a tower, the tower of Babel. They didn’t get far and that is a principle for all. Disobey God by going against what He has told us to do, and nothing good ever comes from it. It didn’t for those building this tower and it won’t go well for any nation or individual either. What do we see happening? God’s overriding sovereignty goes to work.
The Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. 6 The Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them. 7 “Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city* (Genesis 11:5-8).
When Jesus prayed, “Father not my will be done, but Yours” in the Garden of Gethsemane, He is praying for the Father’s will to be done, and it was. This principle goes beyond Jesus to all of life and the events in our world. God’s will is going to be done. He gets the final word. Rest in this when we see the chaos all around us. It is easy to put trust in who we see and hear but fight it off. There was never going to be a Tower of Babel built and there will never be a time man’s will is going to overcome God’s perfect and always good will. Sleep on it. It will cause us to sleep well.
PRAYER: “Father, forgive me when I look around and worry when I need look up and trust.”
QUOTE: “God is on the throne. He is working His will out in the world. Don’t trust what you see but Who we know.”
In the affection of Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jim