The Babel Project

The Babel Project

Bible:Genesis 11:1-9

Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain (PSALM 127:1).

Reading

Working with classmates on group projects can be hard—especially if you don’t get to choose your own teammates! It’s easy to miscommunicate and wind each other up when a deadline is coming up fast. This wasn’t a problem in Babel. The people had “one language”, and said to themselves, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves” (GENESIS 11:1,4). But God didn’t want them working on a grand, self-centred plan based on the idea that they could rise to the heights of God and solve all of their own problems without Him. So He came down (V.7), scattered the people “over all the earth” and gave them different languages (VV.8-9). God alone has the solution to humanity’s problems. He revealed His plan to Abraham (12:1-3). Through Abraham’s family, God promised to bring a Saviour. So Abraham didn’t need to try to make something great of himself; God told him, “I will make your name great” (12:2). It’s not what we can do with our lives that matters. It’s what God builds that actually lasts. Are we trusting in God alone to make something great of our lives? Or are we trying to “make a name for ourselves”?

WE DON’T NEED TO BUILD ANYTHING FOR
GOD; WE JUST NEED TO MAKE OURSELVES
AVAILABLE TO HIM

Youth Edition – Our Daily Bread Ministries