God Scatters the Nations
Genesis 11:1-9
International Sunday School Lesson
September 29, 2013
Commentary
By
Jed Greenough
I will admit that I had difficulty when it came time to prepare for this week’s lesson. I had found that Sunday School lessons from my youth were getting in the way! Really it was the rich imagery that was used then that was the strongest reason for leaving me with certain impressions that I felt were blocking me from seeing a bigger picture.
What I decided to do was of course pray for the best course of action to follow. This is what I normally do but as I said the past images from classes long ago came rushing back to me.
I began to think about God’s purpose for telling us about this event. I know of course that there is scripture that is written with precision so that we understand God’s guidance for us. In other words that type of scripture is literal.
Then there is the stylized figurative language of prophecy. That language is such that the reader should know by terms such as heaven trembling or the earth shaking what was going on here.
Is the scripture for today literal or figurative? I believe in order to understand it you have to think about when the event occurred. This was an early time, coming after the flood. The population of man was again rising but at this time and no doubt for a long time to come the culture was in its infancy. The written word wasn’t a factor but oral tradition was.
People would for generation after generation talk at night about what they knew from before and after the flood. How man once again multiplied. They would have relayed the accounting of how their community came to be and how the neighbors two valleys over came to be. They would even have rumors to share of people further away and perhaps some people only whispered about.
If some believe that today’s scripture is a bit of summation of this oral tradition this belief shouldn’t bother those of us who take all parts of the Bible literally and those of us who take it a little less so when it comes to historical retelling.
In any event, God still gave it to the writer in an inspirational manner just as He did the rest of the Bible. Why is that important? Well, for me that is what I love about the word of God. As we know from the scripture God’s word accomplishes what He desires (Isaiah 55:11). I know that to mean always. Sometimes for one person it is one thing and something else for another. Even exposing false teaching can be accomplished when God’s word is misused!
The idea of God’s word being inspired I firmly believe then is never finished with that original author but continues with us today. I can receive that inspiration all over again just as you can.
For me this scripture and those for the last several weeks have driven home to me that I should stress in my comments how man when in error has turned things to being about themselves and when in the right about God. In today’s scripture God showed this.
We know from our own past experience how we turn things to being about ourselves more often than not during times of plenty and success but when things are bleakest this is when we are willing to give God glory.
The people in sight in today’s scripture had forgotten the flood or put it in the back of their mind. Early on they would have been glorifying God to think that theirs had been spared and appreciated they had come from them.
Now they were saying, “let us make us a name.” Their efforts weren’t to God.
As always we have to examine ourselves and our churches. Where are we along the path? Are we dwindling, hurting and in pain or is their joy, success and growth?
Always we must ask if we are really making a name for ourselves or our churches.
Let’s make sure that we are remembering to give glory to God and not repeating the folly of those on the plain in the land of Shinar.
For Discussion:
1. Discuss the different types of inspiration that people believe created the Bible
2. Find maps that show the possible area being discussed
3. Find images from youth Sunday School to share concerning this scripture
4. Discuss ways that individuals and churches might be saying as it does in verse 4, “…let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name…”
5. Discuss solutions
6. What steps might God take if individuals and churches go forward and build their towers and names?
Upcoming Lessons
9-29-13 God Scatters the Nations Genesis 11:1-9
10-6-13 The Promise of a Future Genesis 15:5-21 or 15:7-21
10-13-13 A Promise to Sarah Genesis 17:15-17; 18:9-15; 21:1-7
10-20-13 Blessings for Ishmael and Isaac or A Blessing for Ishmael and Isaac Genesis 21:12-14, 17-21; 26-2-5, 12, 13 or 21:13-14, 17-21; 26:2-5, 12-13
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved
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