The Bible Courseනියැදිය

The tower, the promise and Abraham – God’s got a plan

Reflect:

Pride often comes before a fall. Can you think of an example in your own life?

How is this reflected in Genesis 11?

In Genesis 11, humans gather to build the Tower of Babel, declaring, ‘we will make a name for ourselves’ (verse 4). These are outrageous words. The aim? To reach God. To be like him. To be independent of him. This is our human nature. We always want more; we’re always building towers.

Rarely are we content with who we are and where we are. No amount of money, career success, or dream realisation brings us to a point of ‘enough’. So we constantly seek ‘to make a name for ourselves’. But God towers above our towers. Note how he has to come ‘down’ just to see what they built. God confuses the people’s language and scatters the humans who were competing with him.

Note all the promises God makes in Genesis 12. What does this mean for us today?

With the world falling apart, Genesis 12 cuts to one man, Abram, who’s minding his own business in Mesopotamia. In verses 1–3 God tells Abram that through him and his descendants, God will initiate and carry out his plan to fix creation. God promises to gather a people (a great nation) into a place (the promised land) and through them he will bless the world (global blessing).

The Lord tells Abram to set out for the land he’s been promised. Filled with doubts and fear, he falters along the way, but God is faithful. We also struggle on the road we call life. Temptation and fear can easily derail us, but rescue relies on God and not on Abram. So it is for us today.

The God of the Bible is a promise initiator and a promise keeper. God has a plan for the whole of creation. It’s no exaggeration to say that the whole of the rest of the Bible is an outworking of these promises that God made to Abram. They find their fulfilment in Jesus. His entry into the story changes everything.

Respond

Whose name do you want to make great? Ask God to help you glorify his name in your life today.