Genesis 11:1-9 (NRSV)
Read Genesis 11:1-9 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 11Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. Verse 2And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. Verse 3And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Verse 4Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth."
Verse 5The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. Verse 6And the Lord said, "Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Verse 7Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another's speech." Verse 8So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Verse 9Therefore it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
Devotion
Do you know how to get God to laugh? Tell God your five-year plan!
I thought of that as I read through this story of the Tower of Babel. What hope the people had as they came up with a plan to make a name for themselves. It didn’t work, and the result was people scattered over the face of the earth.
There are so many times I find myself like those ancestors. I make my plans and then am often surprised and frustrated when things don’t go as I anticipate. My prayer in this final week of the Easter season is that I will be open to God’s plans for me.
Prayer
Thank you, God, for the Biblical stories that serve as a mirror for me. Help me to be open to you. Amen.