Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The Tower of Babel,” Pages 117-124, in Patriarchs and Prophets. “They decided to build a city, and in it a tower of such stupendous height … These enterprises were designed to prevent the people from scattering abroad in colonies. God had directed men to disperse throughout the earth, to replenish … Continue reading –>
Read Genesis 11:8-9, and Genesis 9:1; compare with Genesis 1:28. Why is God’s dispersion redemptive? God’s design and blessing for humans was that they would “multiply, and fill the earth” (Genesis 9:1, NKJV; compare with Genesis 1:28, NKJV). Against God’s plan, the builders of Babel preferred to stick together as the same people. One reason they said they wanted to build … Continue reading –>
Read Genesis 11:5-7 and Psalm 139:7-12. Why did God come down to the earth here? What was the event that motivated this divine reaction? Ironically, although the men were going up, God had to come down to them. The descent of God is an affirmation of His supremacy. God will always be beyond our human reach. Any human … Continue reading –>
Read Genesis 11:1-4. Why were the people of “the whole earth” so keen to achieve unity? The phrase “the whole earth” refers to a small number of people, those alive after the Flood. The reason for this gathering is clearly indicated: they want to build a tower to reach the heavens (Genesis 11:4). In fact, their real … Continue reading –>
The chronological information about Noah’s age makes us realize that Noah serves as a link between the pre-Flood and the post-Flood civilizations. The last two verses of the preceding story (Genesis 9:28-29) take us back to the last link of the genealogy of Adam (Genesis 5:32). Because Adam died when Lamech, Noah’s father, was 56 years old, Noah … Continue reading –>
Read Genesis 9:18-27. What is the message of this strange story? Noah’s act in his vineyard echoes Adam in the Garden of Eden. The two stories contain common motifs: eating of the fruit and resulting in nakedness; then a covering, a curse, and a blessing. Noah reconnects to his Adamic roots and, unfortunately, continues that failed … Continue reading –>
Sabbath Afternoon Read for This Week’s Study: Genesis 9:18-11:9, Luke 10:1, Matthew 1:1-17, Luke 1:26-33, Psalm 139:7-12, Genesis 1:28, Genesis 9:1. Memory Text: “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 over the face of all the earth” (Genesis 11:9, NKJV). After the Flood, the biblical account … Continue reading –>
Faithful Grandparents By Andrew McChesney In the evening, after it was too dark to work in the maize field, the Reyneke family gathered around a large kitchen table for supper on their small farmhouse in central South Africa. Father, Mother and their seven boys and four girls ate homegrown food every evening: maize porridge along … Continue reading –>
Further Thought: A comparison between the mentality and the behavior of the people and the state of the world before the Flood and that of the people in our days is particularly instructive. To be sure, human wickedness is not a new phenomenon. Look at the parallels between their time and ours. “The sins … Continue reading –>
Read Genesis 8:21-9:1. What is the significance of God’s commitment to the preservation of life? How does God’s blessing fulfill that commitment? God’s commitment to preserve life was an act of grace; it was not a result of human merits. God decided to preserve life on earth in spite of human evil (Genesis 8:21). Genesis 8:22 reads, literally, “all … Continue reading –>
