Following a chronologically ordered Bible study by Skip Andrews, we'll now continue with a genealogical descendancy record:
(10) These are the generations of Shem: Shem was one hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood. (11) And after he begat Arphaxad, Shem lived five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. (12) And Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, and begat Salah. (13) And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters. (14) And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber. (15) And Salah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters. (16) And Eber lived thirty-four years, and begat Peleg. (17) And Eber lived after he begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters. (18) And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu. (19) And Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters. (20) And Reu lived thirty-two years, and begat Serug. (21) And Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters. (22) And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor. (23) And Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. (24) And Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and begat Terah. (25) And Nahor lived after he begat Terah a hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters. (26) And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran. (27) Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot. (28) And Haran died before his father Terah in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans. (29) And Abram and Nahor took wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and the father of Iscah. (30) But Sarai was barren; she had no child. (31) And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot, his grandson, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram's wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans, to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there. (32) And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.
This genealogy brings us to Abraham, but before we read about his life, we will turn next time to the story of Job, who probably lived at about the same time.
Showing posts with label Genesis 11. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Genesis 11. Show all posts
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
The Tower of Babel, Then and Now
I've been following a chronologically ordered Bible study by Skip Andrews. The last post was about the descendancy of Noah, those who populated the earth after the flood. In reality, I'm not sure that should have been chronologically placed before this chapter of Genesis because it spoke of families in their own countries and after their own languages. The separation of families by languages had to have happened after the confusion of the languages at the time of the tower of Babel which begins in Genesis 11. In defense of the order chosen by Mr. Andrews, a genealogy or descendancy list is hard to place chronologically because it begins at one time and ends in quite another.
(Genesis 11:1) And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. (2) And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. (3) And they said one to another, "Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and they had slime for mortar. (4) And they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top may reach to heaven; and let us make us a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad on the face of the whole earth."
But being scattered abroad is exactly what the Lord had instructed them to do! There are varied ideas on what the men were trying to do with their city and their tower. Were they trying to be as gods with a tower to heaven? They were obviously trying to make a name for themselves. Was it in defiance to God? Or was it to be a protection for them, united as they were and all in one fortified city with a tower to heaven? God had told them he would never again destroy them by flood. God had also told them to go forth and populate the whole earth.
(5) And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the children of men built. (6) And the LORD said, "Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; and now nothing that they have imagined to do will be withheld from them."
Nothing earthly, that is. They were in one accord to work together to do something that was against God's will, and nothing on earth was going to stop them.
(7) "Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." (8) So the LORD scattered them abroad from there on the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city.
God scattered them all over the earth Himself and then they would populate the whole earth as was His will. It was actually a merciful act, as I will point out later.
(9) Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad on the face of all the earth.
Interestingly, men are still trying to build the tower of Babel today. The EU building was modeled after the tower of Babel. Purposely! The world is going toward a one-world order which can never work to bring peace as being touted, because it calls for compromise of one's core beliefs. How can Muslims who believe the infidels must convert or die live in a one-world system of religion and laws with Christians who believe Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation? One of them must compromise, and it always seems to be the Christian who is asked to do so. God did not compromise. Jesus did not compromise. There is only one truth, only one plan of salvation, and to say there are many paths to God is to deny Jesus Christ! From the beginning and throughout the Bible, God has called His people to be a separate people from the world and its worldly values. The god of this world is Satan and if we conform to a one-world system, it will be Satan's system. That is a fact that cannot be denied; God has told us that in His Word. In His mercy, God prevented men's attempt to make a one-world city and tower in Babel, and scattered His people. Amazingly, people in modern times believe that the model that God rejected back then is the thing to do now, even though Bible prophecy clearly tells us it will only lead to the anti-Christ. It amazes me that people either just don't believe God and His Word or they reject it, almost shaking their fists in defiance, it appears.
(Genesis 11:1) And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. (2) And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. (3) And they said one to another, "Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and they had slime for mortar. (4) And they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top may reach to heaven; and let us make us a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad on the face of the whole earth."
But being scattered abroad is exactly what the Lord had instructed them to do! There are varied ideas on what the men were trying to do with their city and their tower. Were they trying to be as gods with a tower to heaven? They were obviously trying to make a name for themselves. Was it in defiance to God? Or was it to be a protection for them, united as they were and all in one fortified city with a tower to heaven? God had told them he would never again destroy them by flood. God had also told them to go forth and populate the whole earth.
(5) And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the children of men built. (6) And the LORD said, "Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; and now nothing that they have imagined to do will be withheld from them."
Nothing earthly, that is. They were in one accord to work together to do something that was against God's will, and nothing on earth was going to stop them.
(7) "Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." (8) So the LORD scattered them abroad from there on the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city.
God scattered them all over the earth Himself and then they would populate the whole earth as was His will. It was actually a merciful act, as I will point out later.
(9) Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad on the face of all the earth.
Interestingly, men are still trying to build the tower of Babel today. The EU building was modeled after the tower of Babel. Purposely! The world is going toward a one-world order which can never work to bring peace as being touted, because it calls for compromise of one's core beliefs. How can Muslims who believe the infidels must convert or die live in a one-world system of religion and laws with Christians who believe Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation? One of them must compromise, and it always seems to be the Christian who is asked to do so. God did not compromise. Jesus did not compromise. There is only one truth, only one plan of salvation, and to say there are many paths to God is to deny Jesus Christ! From the beginning and throughout the Bible, God has called His people to be a separate people from the world and its worldly values. The god of this world is Satan and if we conform to a one-world system, it will be Satan's system. That is a fact that cannot be denied; God has told us that in His Word. In His mercy, God prevented men's attempt to make a one-world city and tower in Babel, and scattered His people. Amazingly, people in modern times believe that the model that God rejected back then is the thing to do now, even though Bible prophecy clearly tells us it will only lead to the anti-Christ. It amazes me that people either just don't believe God and His Word or they reject it, almost shaking their fists in defiance, it appears.
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