The Tower of Babel

A babbling mess

Today’s Through the Bible Reading: Genesis 10:1–11:26

Abbreviated Reading: Genesis 11:1-9

“They had brick for stone, and slime for mortar… And they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.’” Genesis 11:3-4

For every Old Testament lesson, there is a New Testament principal and at the center of every lesson we find the one thing that never changes - people’s propensity for sin and our need for a Savior. Today's chapters are no exception.

In the Bible, stones signify truth. On the other hand, man-made bricks can represent man’s efforts. Bricks are like mans’ attempt to replicate, replace, or provide an alternative to stone, a God-given material, and therefore bricks can represent a counterfeit.

The Tower of Babel is a poignant look into man's efforts to build his own kingdom, using his own wisdom, ideas, and efforts. As people, we have a tendency to think we know best, a desire to chart our own course and map our own way. When, in reality, if our plans are not God’s plans, then we’re building with bricks instead of stone.

Mankind’s stubbornness and determination to do their own thing apart from God’s will always leads to confusion, or as we see in today’s reading – babbling.

So, let’s take a lesson from those tower builders in today’s reading and instead of building with our own bricks, let’s build our lives on the Solid Rock – Jesus Christ.

You are God’s workmanship – He is building you up (1 Peter 2:5). Don’t resort to using bricks and slime in any area of your life. Yield to the work of the Holy Spirit, follow His plans, and walk in obedience to His Word.

Let’s dig deeper…

Can you think of a verse that tells you that God is your high tower?
How might this verse apply to today’s reading about the tower of babel?