Tag Archives: Genesis 11

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It All Starts With God

Reflect: Genesis 1:1

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

If you accept the Bible to be true, that it was inspired by the Holy Spirit and that it is the authoritative Word of God, then this opening sentence in Genesis 1:1 is nothing less than explosive—the most important statement ever uttered in human language! Think about it:

“In the beginning, God created…”

That is more than just a good opening line to a great novel. It is the fulcrum by which everything moves in your life.  Or at least it should be!

god-creates-man-sistine-chapelWhat do those words tell us? Simply, yet profoundly, this: It all starts with God (by the way, go to the end of the book and you will see that it all ends with God too!) He created everything that exists—all the planets, all the systems that bring order to the universe, all the life that exists in the created order. He designed it, built it, owns it, sustains it (a fact invisible to all but the spiritually aware) and therefore—get this—has a right to rule over it as he chooses.

The Creator gets to set the rules—it is his work, after all! And that includes ruling over you. Your very existence, every breath, abilities, accomplishments and aspirations for the future are from him and therefore should be for him. Remember, he is the Creator.

So the question every person, including you, must ask is, “does he truly own me? Am I living for him—which is only fair, since he created both me and everything at my disposal—or am I living for my own pleasure and to accomplish my own purposes?”

Remember, if you accept the fact that it all starts with God, there is no other logical conclusion than to recognize his total rulership over all the details of your life. If you don’t recognize his ownership of you, then you can go your own way—the Creator made you with that choice. But that does not lessen the truth that he is the Creator and still has right of rule over you (a reality that will come home to roost some day).

Now if you accept God’s rulership, then here is something else you would do well to remember; it is repeated throughout Genesis 1: What he created, including what he had in mind when he created you, is “good.”

“And God saw that it was good.”

And what you can conclude from that oft repeated analysis is that his plans for those who honor his right to rule will also experience his good rule over their existence—present and future.

The Creator owns you—and that is good!  So honor his right to lovingly rule your life, and let the good times roll.

Prayer… Creator God, you rule. You rule over this world and you rule over my life. Forgive me when I live in ignorance of, or even in complete disregard of that truth. Today, I acknowledge and surrender control to you and your purposes. Fulfill your good plan through me, I pray.

 

 

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When Good Is Enemy Of The Best

Essential 100—Read:
Genesis 11:1-9

“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.’” ~Genesis 11:4 (NLT)

You might read this story about the Tower of Babel and wonder, like I did, what’s so bad about Babel?  I mean, was God just having a bad day of something?  After all, it’s not often you see unity of purpose and effort achieved among human beings like this.  The United Nations could learn a lesson here!

So why did God look upon what these folks were doing and say, “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.” (Genesis 11:6-7) And at that, he put an end to their efforts, confused their language, and scattered them across the face of the earth. (Genesis 11:8-9)

The problem was not the tower they were trying to build, nor their effort to achieve unity among the nations. In large part, public work projects and united efforts are a good thing.  But in this case, good was the enemy of best.  You see, after the great flood of Genesis 7-8, God had told these nations to scatter across the earth, repopulated it and establish human civilization wherever they went. (Genesis 9:1,7) In fact, this was a critical piece of the covenant God made with Noah and his descendants (Genesis 9:8-9), and was likely the reestablishment of the original covenant God had made with but had been forfeited by Adam. (Genesis 1:26-30)

What was wrong with Babel?  Simply this: Disobedience, pride and independence from God. Instead of fully devoting themselves to God’s command, they thought they could do better. They chose to go it alone. And God put a stop to it!

That’s always the problem with human beings, including you and me, isn’t it?  Every single day, we wrestle with who is going to be God in our lives. Rather than seeking and doing what God says, we seek and do what we want to do. Of course, we acknowledge God to a degree, but then we pursue what we want. With regularity, we twist Jesus’ well known prayer of submission into, “God, not your will but mine be done!”

Stop and think about that today. Is there a Tower of Babel in your life—something that seems so good; something that makes sense to those around you; something that would advance your comfort, security and name?  Remember, what looks good to you may in fact be the enemy of God’s best for you!  Maybe it’s a purchase you are considering, a plan you are making, a relationship you are considering, or…you fill in the blank.

Peter Marshall, the venerable Chaplain of the U.S. Senate in the mid-twentieth century, once prayed,

“Save Thy servants from the tyranny of the nonessential. Give them the courage to say ‘No’ to everything that makes it more difficult to say ‘Yes’ to Thee.”

That’s a great prayer: saying no to the good and yes to the Best!  Why don’t you join me in praying that prayer all this week?

Reflect and Apply:  Let me encourage you to simply ask, “God, what do you want?”  Or as Bobby Richardson, MVP second baseman for the New York Yankees once prayed at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ meeting, “Dear God, Your will, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. Amen!”  Pray that prayer, my friend, and then make sure you put it into practice.

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God Did It!

Essential 100—Read:
Genesis 1 & 2

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” ~Genesis 1:1

Could there be a more important statement in Scripture than this simple, matter-of-fact, one line explanation of how everything got here, including you and me?  “In the beginning God created” explains it all!

We don’t know how long he took doing it—if the seven days are literal 24-hour periods or if they are epochs of time; we don’t know the details of how he planned and executed creation; we don’t know if he created dinosaurs or unicorns or Big Foot. There is a lot more about creation that we don’t know than what we do know.  But we know the most important fact about it:  God did it!

That’s the one piece of essential information out of the untold billions of facts we would love to get our brains around that we do have, and that is really all that matters.  That is not to say trying to figure out the “what, when, where, how and why” of creation are not important—they are. It is a worthy pursuit.  But the “who”, well, that one has been settled: God did it!

And just as important, perhaps even more important, are the ramifications of that fact.  If God did it, then he owns it.  He has a right to call the shots about how it will operate, and how we are to operate within it.  He made it for his purpose and glory—and that includes you and me. He is the Creator, we are the created, and therefore all of life is to be lived for his purpose and glory. There is no better use of the oxygen we breathe in, which he created, by the way, than to carry out the purposes and live for the glory of the Creator!

 “To live and work for the glory of God cannot remain an idea about which we think once in a while. It must become an interior, unceasing doxology.”  ~Henri Nouwen

Furthermore, since God did it, he certainly has the power—and the motivation—to care for his creation.  And that, too, includes, you and me. What a comfort to know that there is a Creator who holds the universe in his hands and sustains it by his will.  Life is not the product of random forces and the future is not at the mercy of impersonal fate.  Creation is in good hands, and you and I can sleep in peace tonight knowing how we got here, what is keeping us going, and where we are headed.

Yeah, God did it, and that’s a good thing.

Reflect and Apply:  Take a moment to think about the personal ramifications of the “God did it” truth revealed in the very first line of the Bible.  Can you truly say that the way you live your life is aligned with the Creator’s purpose and glory? If not, speak with him about the necessary adjustments you need to make.

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What’s So Bad About Babel?

Genesis 8:1-11:32

What’s So Bad About Babel?

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.”
~Genesis 11:4 (NLT)

Go Deep: You might read this story about the Tower of Babel and wonder, like I did, what’s so bad about Babel?  I mean, was God just having a bad day or something?  After all, it’s not often you see unity of purpose and effort achieved among human beings like this.  The Untied Nations could learn a lesson here!

So why did God look upon what these folks were doing and say, “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.” (Genesis 11:6-7) And at that, he put an end to their efforts, confused their language, and scattered them across the face of the earth. (Genesis 11:8-9)

The problem was not the tower they were trying to build, nor their effort to achieve unity among the nations.  Public work projects and united efforts are a good thing.  But in this case, good was the enemy of best.  You see, after the great flood of Genesis 7-8, God had told these nations to scatter across the earth, repopulate it and establish human civilization wherever they went. (Genesis 9:1,7) In fact, this was a critical piece of the covenant God made with Noah and his descendants (Genesis 9:8-9), and was likely the reestablishment of the original covenant God had made with but had been forfeited by Adam. (Genesis 1:26-30)

What was wrong with Babel?  Simply this: Disobedience, pride and independence from God.  Instead of fully devoting themselves to God’s command, they thought they could do better.  They chose to go it alone.  And God put a stop to it!

That’s always the problem with human beings, including you and me, isn’t it?  Every single day, we wrestle with who is going to be God in our lives.  Rather than seeking and doing what God says, we seek and do what we want to do. Of course, we acknowledge God to a degree, but then we pursue what we want. With regularity, we twist Jesus’ well known prayer of submission into, “God, not your will but mine be done!”

Stop and think about that today.  Is there a Tower of Babel in your life—something that seems so good; something that makes sense to those around you; something that would advance your comfort, security and name?  Remember, what looks good to you may in fact be the enemy of God’s best for you!  Maybe it’s a purchase you are considering, a plan you are making, a relationship you are considering, or…you fill in the blank.

Let me encourage you to simply ask, “God, what do you want?” Then, my friend, just do it!

Just Saying… Peter Marshall, the venerable Chaplain of the U.S. Senate in the mid-twentieth century, once prayed, “Save Thy servants from the tyranny of the nonessential. Give them the courage to say ‘No’ to everything that makes it more difficult to say ‘Yes’ to Thee.”  That’s a great prayer: saying no to the good and yes to the Best!  Why don’t you join me in praying that prayer all this week?