And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
We read here in Genesis chapter eleven that the people who settled in Shinar wanted to make a name for themselves. The word name is shem in the Hebrew. Shem means honor and authority. In other words, they said, “Let us make our own honor. Let us make our own authority.” They didn’t want to go forth and be fruitful upon the earth. They wanted to stay right where they were.
They said, “lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” God said, “I want you to be scattered,” and they said, “No, we don't want to be.” They said, “We want to sit right here, and we are going to build the monument to ourselves. We are going to build something that is grand and glorious, and we are going to do what we want to do and forget what God told Noah.” This all happened just a few generations after Noah. They all knew what the Lord told Noah. They had heard about the ark. They were well aware of the flood, yet they still decided, “We are going to do what we want to do.” Their plans and path of disobedience soon came to an end when God scattered them. Disobedience has repercussions. Individuals may get away with living in opposition to God’s plans for a while, but you can’t disregard God’s directives forever. Obedience is blessed, but disobedience has serious consequences.
Prayer for Today
Father, I repent for trying to do things my way and for not following Your plans and directives. Thank You for the blood of Jesus that allows me to start over and obey today, in Jesus’ name.