Session 9

United (Genesis 11:1-4)

what the people desired as their goal.

1 The whole earth had the same language and vocabulary.
2 As people migrated from the east, they found a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there.
3 They said to each other,
“Come, let’s make oven-fired bricks.”
(They used brick for stone and asphalt for mortar.)
4 And they said,
“Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky.
Let’s make a name for ourselves;
otherwise, we will be scattered throughout the earth.”

Research:

(11:4) The tower was most likely a ziggurat.
These tall, stepped pyramid-like structures were common in Babylonia and several have been excavated in recent years.
Usually, ziggurats had altars at their pinnacles where various gods were worshiped.
The hope was that such a tall structure would give worshipers greater access to the divine.

Ask:

• How are selfishness and creating a name for oneself a display of distrust in God? (p. 79)

Transition:

Believers must safeguard against selfish motives.
God acted to create confusion among the people and disrupt their plan.