Below are some preliminary questions to assist in the study of this passage. For a comprehensive study of the passage, download the Study Guide (PDF download).
1. God had commanded Noah’s sons to “fill the earth” (Genesis 9:1). But what do Noah’s descendants do when they reach the land of Shinar? See Genesis 11:2-4 (printed below)
As men journeyed eastward, they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they settled there. (3) And they said to each another, Come, let us make bricks, and bake them thoroughly. They used bricks instead of stone, and tar instead of mortar. (4) Then they said, Come, let us build a city for ourselves with a tower whose top shall reach unto heaven; so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth. (Genesis 11:2-4)
As the descendants of Noah’s sons journey east they come upon a plain in the land of Shinar, they decide to stop migrating, band together, and dwell in a city of their own making (verse 2). Verses 3-4 reveal their plan and the thoughts of their hearts: “let us build a city for ourselves with a tower whose top shall reach unto heaven.” The tower of the ancient city was a place of refuge from enemy assault (note Judges 9:50-51). Their intention to build a tower to heaven may have been an effort to protect themselves from another great flood. They know they are in opposition to God’s will, they view God as their enemy, and they seek to construct a “defense” against God! They say, “let us make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over … the whole earth,” they form a humanistic alliance to pursue their own purpose and promote their own glory, in direct defiance of God.
2. What does the Lord do in response to this act of defiant disobedience? See Genesis 11:6-8 (printed below)
And Jehovah said, Behold, they are one people and they all have the same language; and this is what they begin to do. In their present condition nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. (7) Come, let us go down and confuse their language so that they may not understand one another. (8) So Jehovah scattered them from there over the whole surface of the earth. And they stopped building the city. (Genesis 11:6-8)
The Lord discerns that this present building project is only the beginning of their ungodly endeavors, and their common language is what enables them to undertake this enterprise (verse 6). The Lord now takes action that frustrates their human purpose and causes His divine purpose to be accomplished (verses 7-8). Contrast verse 4, “Come, let us build a city for ourselves;” with verse 7, “Come, let us go down and confuse their language.” Note James 4:6; “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
3. Compare and contrast the account of Terah with that of Abram. Note especially Genesis 11:31 and Genesis 12:5 (printed below).
Then Terah took his son Abram, and his grandson, Lot, (Lot was the son of Haran), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, (who was his son Abram’s wife). Together they journeyed from Ur of the Chaldees intending to go into the land of Canaan; but they came to the city of Haran and settled there. (Genesis 11:31)
And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had accumulated, and the servants that they had purchased in Haran. They departed intending to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. (Genesis 12:5)
Genesis 11:31 informs us, “Terah took his son Abram, and his grandson, Lot…together they journeyed from Ur of the Chaldees intending to go into the land of Canaan.” Genesis 12:1 states that the Lord re-issued His call to Abram, (a call that was initially extended to him while he and his family were still living in Ur of the Chaldeans). Not only did Abram (like Terah before him) respond to God’s call, but (unlike Terah) Abram persevered to the end: “And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son… They departed intending to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came” (Genesis 12:5).
4. What difference is there between the summary statement of Terah’s history (Genesis 11:32 printed below) and that of the eight generations that preceeded him? See Genesis 11:10-11 (printed below) as an example of all the eight generations. What is significant about this?
Terah lived two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran. (Genesis 11:32)
This is the account of. Shem’s genealogy. Two years after the flood, when Shem was a hundred years old, he became the father of Arpachshad. (11) Shem lived five hundred years after the birth of Arpachshad, and there were born to him sons and daughters. (Genesis 11:10-11)
Each of the previous eight generations prior to Terah contain the same biographical information: the man’s age is given at the time of the birth of his first born son, it is reported how many years he lived after the birth of that son, and it is reported that he had other sons and daughters. But no mention is made of his death. The summary statement of Terah’s history contains one phrase that is missing from the eight generations that preceded him: “Terah died in Haran.” Because this addition is a striking deviation from the other eight generations in the covenant line, it is significant: in the case of Terah the spiritual life died. Terah did not persevere in the faith; he forsook the Lord’s calling to press on to the Promised Land of Canaan, settling down in the city of Haran.
5. What promise did the Lord make to Abram (see Genesis 12:1-2 printed below) and how does this compare with the ambition of the men who began building the tower of Babel (see Genesis 11:4 printed below?) What lesson does this teach us?
Then Jehovah said to Abram, Leave your country, and your people, and your father’s household, and go to the land that I will show you. (2) I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you will be a blessing. (Genesis 12:1-2)
Then they said, Come, let us build a city for ourselves with a tower whose top shall reach unto heaven; so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth. (Genesis 11:4)
Together with the call, the Lord made Abram a great promise: “I will make you into a great nation…and make your name great” (Genesis 12:2-3). When we compare Genesis 12:2 (“I will make your name great”) with Genesis 11:4 (“let us make a name for ourselves”), we find that the Lord is going to bless Abram with all that the builders of Babel hoped to gain, and with far more. The lesson this teaches is that, whereas the Lord defeats those who oppose Him, He abundantly rewards those who are faithful to Him.
