Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Where To Find Security | Torah | Genesis 11:1-9

Episode Date: January 26, 2022

Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Do you strive for safety and security? Are you tempted to trust yourself more than you trust God? This was not God's purpose for humanity. In today's episode, Jensen shares the danger of striving for glory and security in yourself instead of God. Listen to find out how you might not be too different from the builders of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11:1-9. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Passages: Genesis 11:1-9 Related episode: Trusting God's Promises Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now.

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work. I'm Tanya Wilmeth. I'm Keith Simon. I'm Jensen Holmickner. And I'm Patrick Miller. We are exploring the first books of the Bible. Right now, we're in Genesis. Over the years, I've signed up for my fair share of email newsletters.

Some, better than others, but most of them don't bring me closer to God. Can you relate? Well, this year, I think it's time we change that. sign up for the 10-minute Bible Talks email newsletter. Once a week, you'll get a blessedly short email with guides on spiritual disciplines, inspiring challenges to grow, interesting cultural backgrounds on today's passage, and even quick studies of Hebrew and Greek words. Each week is going to be a little different, and so we're hoping that you're going to love the variety.

So stop what you're doing, click the link in the show notes, and sign up. Now, let's hop into today's episode. Have you ever sat back and watched a toddler, try really hard to do something. They just aren't quite ready to do. There's a video from a while back on the internet of a little boy trying to bring his cup of juice to the table all by himself. On the way to the table, he drops the cup. But he's persistent, so he cleans it up, he goes back to the fridge and he fills up another cup. This time, he's determined not to spill it. With only a few spills on the poor, he's ready to try for the table again. But on his way to the table, he slips on

the first spill falls down and pours his juice all over himself. It's a little sad. It's mostly cute though, and it makes us laugh. He's a toddler and he wants to do the things he wants to do all by himself, but it just doesn't quite pan out. The thing is, if you think about it, there's obviously someone filming him, most likely a mom or a dad, someone who can help him, teach him, partner with him in his quest to get the juice to the table, but he's determined to do it on his own. And in his determination, he never gets the juice to the table. He's a lot like the people we find in today's passage. We'll see a people determined to accomplish something on their own with their newfound technology and determination. And it may not seem like what they're doing initially is

wrong, but when we zoom out and realize the bigger picture, we'll see their desire to accomplish their goals all by themselves puts them in rebellion against their creator. The people I'm talking about are those we find in Genesis 11. They're putting down roots in the land of Shinar. As these people gather together, Genesis tells us, they said to one another, come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly. Let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens. So there's a group of people and they want to build a city, a tower for themselves. And they're going to use bricks to do it. This is just significant because bricks were a new technology that would allow them to build something far greater than had ever been built before. See, humanity is uniting together to accomplish something great.

They're working together as one. They want to build a city with a tower to get the juice to the table. It doesn't seem so bad. But as we continue with the story, we start to realize things aren't as innocent as they seem. The people said to one another, let us build ourselves a city and a town. tower with its top in the heavens and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth. This changes things. These people are still building a city and a tower, but the change comes when we look closely and see their two primary goals in building the city.

First, they want glory for themselves. They want praise. The passage tells us they're building a city so that they can make a name for themselves so that they can be glorified. And second, they want security. They want to feel safe, protected. And in order to do this, they want to stay united in one place, lest they be dispersed over the face of the whole earth. The people building a city have motives, and their motives are their own glory and security. And frankly, when I look at the way I've built my life, I have motives, and more often than not, I'm motivated by glory and security too. There are primary desires that I have. I want to make a name for myself. I love to hear, praise for the things I accomplish. And more often than not, I react pretty poorly when I'm

criticized, even when it's done in love because I think it threatens my own glory. I don't get me started on security. I'm a type 6 on the enneagram, which means I'm pretty security oriented. When I walk into a large crowded room, I figure out the best exit strategy in case of an emergency. When I stand in my church on Sunday, I look up to make sure I'm not directly under the incredibly large projectors or lights because you can't be too sure that one of those things isn't going to come loose and take a few of us out. For real, I crave safety and I'm risk-averse to a fault. If it take a few steps back and look at the world around me, I'm in pretty good company. It doesn't take a genius to see that our culture is obsessed with accomplishments, climbing the social

ladder and making a name for ourselves. It's why we have celebrity culture and award shows and Forbes 30 under 30 and 75% of our children wanting to be YouTubers when they grow up. We want the glory. And we want the security. The past few years should show you that. It's not hard to argue that since the start of 2020 with the pandemic shutdowns, elections, economic downturns, natural disaster, social unrest, secure is not something many have felt. Mental Health America found that from January to September of 2020, anxiety health screenings were up 634%. The American Psychological Association called Stress in America a mental health crisis in 2020. We clearly don't function well when we realize that things may not be as stable and secure as we thought. We crave control and we don't

like the reality that security might be hard to come by. So we can probably relate to those people living in the land of Shinar. They're taking things into their own hands. They're building a city with a tower that they hope can bring them glory and security. But as we continue, the author turns the camera around for us and reminds us of the storyteller, the creator, God. But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. The Lord said, if his one people, speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Let's pause here. I love the way the author phrases God's response ever since the Bible Project pointed it out to me. The Lord, God, has to come down out of the heavens to be

able to see the city and tower that's supposed to reach the heavens. It's a little biblical irony there for you. But really, he had to come down to see it. Because this, Despite their best efforts, they couldn't build the city and the tower their hearts longed for. The one they hoped would give them glory and security. So God comes down and he sees humanity uniting against him and knows that on their current path, nothing will be impossible. They will continue in their rebellion and quest for evil and they'll end up right back where they were before the flood.

And so God, in his mercy, steps in. Come, let us go down and confuse their language. that they will not understand each other. So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. This 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. As an act of mercy, God forces them to spread out and abandon their quest to build Babel. It's interesting, this city and tower that we refer to as Babel is actually the same Hebrew word that's used for Babylon, a city throughout the Bible that is juxtaposed against the work that God

is doing in his chosen people. Throughout scripture, Babylon represents the rebellion of humanity against God's calling. And this story of humanity trying to build a city and a tower is right where that begins. This story of Babel isn't just about how languages came about. It's much deeper than that, and it's deeply connected to the greater biblical story. All the way back in Genesis, one, God blesses humanity and he gives them purpose. He tells them to be fruitful and multiply to fill the earth. He doesn't tell them to hole up in their community and stay safe and secure where they're comfortable. No, he says, go out, fill the earth, subdue it, care for it, multiply. This is a theme throughout the Bible. We'll see God call Abraham later to go out and bless the nations. Jesus tells

his closest companions to go forth and make disciples of all nations. In the last chapter of Matthew, he even promises to be with them always as they trust and obey his call. See, God's purpose for humanity has always been and will always be to go out, to disperse and spread his name. Why? Well, because he's building a kingdom, a city. The final book of the Bible revelation tells us that Yahweh, our God, is building a city. The Bible tells us of the beauty of this. this city. It's a city, a holy city, one that shines with the glory of God. It has great high walls and

it's full of precious jewels and gold. John writes in Revelation, the city does not need the sun or moon to shine on it for the glory of God gives it light and the lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. This city, the new Jerusalem, a restored Eden, is at the culmination of God's story. It's what is promised to his faithful people in the final day, and it's what he calls us to build alongside him every day of our lives. God is establishing a kingdom with King Jesus, and we're called to make disciples of every nation so that we can all one day live and worship the glory of God in a restored, renewed, glory.

filled city. That's the story. That's the mission. That's our goal. To live in the city of God, safe, secure, and surrounded by his glory. And that's what these ancient people reject and rebel against. It's what we rebel against when we seek out our own glory and try to find security for ourselves. At some point, we have to ask ourselves, which city are we building with our lives? Are we uniting with Babylon, building a city for our own glory and seeking out our own security? If we are, how's it going? Because it looks like we're more anxious, more aware of our inability to have control, and stuck in a cycle of striving to be good enough to be glorified.

I have to be direct here. It's not working because it can't. The Bible is clear. Revelation 18 tells us that Babylon's hour is up. It's destined for destruction. It will never reach the heavens. We'll never get the juice to the table on our own. But hope isn't lost. Look up, see your God, Yahweh. He's building a city and he's calling you to partner with him. To live in a city where love, justice, and mercy reign. To live in a city where all the glory will be in Christ our king. A city where there will be no more tears, a city where the lion and the lion, and the lamb live in peace, where they never have to shut the gates because there's no night, no danger, no threat to ward against. You can't, I can't, we cannot hope to build a city like this. Our own futile attempts will only end in devastation and confusion.

Look to God today, who in His mercy is inviting you into his holy, everlasting city. Flip to the end of your Bible and read about His Holy City and ask yourself if today will be the day that you finally decide to stop building Babylon and instead partner with your king. Before you forget, sign up for the 10-minute Bible Talks newsletter. Hit the link in the show notes and you'll get an email every Wednesday that will help encourage you in the middle of the work week and bring you deeper in your walk with Jesus. Thanks for listening.