The great flood often described as the flood of Noah was God’s way of hitting the reset button. Man’s waywardness had become too much for him. It was time to start afresh. Judgment was released and everyone except Noah’s family was killed in the flood.
Walking Away From God
You would think that after the flood, man would learn the danger of walking away from their creator but as the events that unfolded reveal, man had clearly not learned the lesson. For instance, a group of people at a place called Shinar (later named Babylonia) decided to build a city with a tower that would be tall enough to reach God.
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; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth. Genesis 11:4
The Flood of Noah
One of the effects of the flood of Noah was everyone spoke the same language (Gen 11:1). This gave them some sense of false security. They thought they were invincible. And just like the book of proverbs teaches, their pride led to their fall.
So, the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth. Gen. 11:8-9
Even though this incident happened thousands of years before Christ, not much has changed. Even today, we seem to be rebuilding our own “towers of babel.” People are so preoccupied with acquiring wealth and making a name for themselves. We try to sugarcoat it by using fancy language but at the end of the day, it is just doing what the people in Shinar did.
Wealth & Self-Gratification
If you are focused on attaining wealth and self-gratification more than anything else, or if getting up in life is more important to you than getting right with God, you are just as guilty as the people of Shinar. Jesus gave a clear warning to his disciples that they shouldn’t focus too much on the things of this world but rather to focus more on seeking God’s kingdom and his righteousness and then those things would just be added to them as a benefit (Mathew 6:33).
Material Possessions
Stop obsessing over material possessions. Yes, God wants you to prosper and God wants you to enjoy your life – but never at the expense of your relationship with him. Above everything else, God wants you to have a genuine and healthy relationship with him. That is where the rubber meets the road. But if you keep building your tower of babel, judgment will eventually come.
Think about it – do you focus more on self-gratification or would you say you seek God’s kingdom first?
PRAYER:
Father in heaven, forgive me for the sin of pride. And help me not to focus on self-glory but rather to focus on glorying you with my life and with every decision I make. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Blessings to you,
John & Jean
Evangelists
Our Divided World Ministry