Friday- Week 1

Nativity (1896)

by Paul Gauguin

Dispersal of the Nations

Genesis 11:4-8

Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."

But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let Us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."

So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.

Why did the people build this tower?

[Pride --“make a name for ourselves” and to pursue their false religion.]

Why did the Lord confuse their language? What was the result?

[Answers vary. To hinder their progress due to their inability to communicate.

The result was that the very thing they strove for-- not to be ‘scattered’-- occurred.]

What does the phrase ‘the Lord came down’ to see the tower tell us?

[Answers vary. What seemed to man a Herculean accomplishment was merely a tiny speck on the landscape of God’s creation.]

The events of this passage occurred shortly after the flood, this was the origin point of all false religions. Astrology and the use of the zodiac began here-- a religion started by the ancient Babylonians or Chaldeans. This is why the Bible traces all false religions back to Babylon (Revelation 17:5). This was merely Satan’s attempt at getting men to worship him & his host in the guise of worshiping the astral bodies.

The ‘tower’ was likely a ziggurat. Ziggurats were typically huge architectural structures which were ladders to heaven. Mesopotamian ziggurats were devoted to the worship of the gods. There was a series of rooms and chambers for the priests and priestesses to care for the gods and goddesses. These 'stepped' pyramids were built such that the base at each successive level served to support the next level of stairs. As a ‘stairway to the heavens’ it is assumed by Bible commentators to be a ‘gateway to the gods.’

Close In Prayer

Have you erected 'towers' in your life?--Great accomplishments that may be monuments to your own pride or self-determination?

Sometimes our talents, skills or intellect can be our own undoing. Pride and selfish motives prevent us from accomplishing truly great things in this world. (Matthew 6:1-4) One great thing that honors God is putting others' needs before our own. (Matthew 25:35, 1 John 3:7). In what ways have you put others' needs before your own? Is it frequent or infrequent? (Romans 12:1)

Pray that you would put away pride and selfishness, that you would seek to put others first and that the true motives of your heart would be Christ-honoring. (Philippians 2:3, James 3:16)

Make A Joyful Sound!

Choose a song from Songs for Advent- Week 1 or choose your own.

#TowerofBabel #languages #ziggurat #Babylonians #Chaldeans #zodiac #stairwaytoheaven