Tower of Babel, Promises to Abram, and God's Faithful Covenant

Welcome to The Glory Team Bible Reading plan. Genesis Chapters 11-14 is about The Tower of Babel, we learn of the Generations from Shem to Abram and Abrams family, God's promise of growing a nation through Abram, and more:

Genesis 11: Expresses humanity's pride that leads to the construction of the Tower of Babel, and God confuses their language, scattering them across the earth.

Genesis 12: Marks the call of Abram, where God promises to make him a great nation and bless all the families of the earth through him. Abram faithfully follows God to Canaan but faces challenges, including a famine that leads him to Egypt.

Genesis 13: Abram and Lot separate to avoid conflict, with Abram trusting God's promise to give him the land of Canaan.

Genesis 14: Abram rescues Lot from captivity and meets Melchizedek, the king of Salem, who blesses Abram, emphasizing God's hand in Abram's victories and faithfulness.

Tower of Babel, Promises to Abram, and God's Faithful Covenant

The purpose of the book of Genesis are to record God's creation of the world and His desire to have a people set apart to worship Him. The author of the Book of Genesis is Moses. There is plenty of evidence that leads to this conclusion:

• The Talmud (The Hebrew Bible, the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law and Jewish theology.) attributes this book to Moses.

• Citations from Genesis show that the Old Testament is part of the Law of Moses (Deuteronomy 1:8; 2 Kings 13:23; 1 Chronicles 1:1)

• Jesus and the New Testament writers attribute Moses as the author of as an essential part of Scripture (Matthew 19:8; Luke 16:29; 24:27)

The original audience of the book of Genesis are the people of Israel and it was written in the wilderness during Israel's wanderings. The setting is primarily the region presently known as the Middle East.

The Key People we will learn about are Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Joseph.

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What is God's Name in these Chapters?

In this portion of our journey we want to dive deep into the character of God described in His name. By identifying who God is, we can further relate to Him personally and build a stronger relationship and connection with Our Father.

Names are important. They give significance to places, people, and things. We identify with so much based off what it's name is. This is considerably notable when it comes to the names of God.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God, including His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. 

Elohim - God, The Strong Creator

Jehovah - Lord, The Self-Existing One

El Elyon - The Lord God Most High

El is the abbreviated form of Elohim. Elohim is the name of God in creation, referring to His power. When El is combined with Elyon, the compound connection refers to God as the highest or as the most. It's translated as the Most Exalted High God (Psalm 57:2)

In these chapters, we still see God as Jehovah Elohim.

In Genesis Chapter 11, Jehovah is all-knowing, all-powerful, and watching over people as He scatters the peoples of the world after confusing their languages to stop the building of the Tower of Babel. This story serves as a universal lesson for humanity, and also mocks the pretensions of the contemporary imperial power of Mesopotamia.

In Genesis Chapter 12, Jehovah is portrayed as a covenant-keeping, promise-making, sovereign God who actively chooses individuals to be instruments of blessing to others, demonstrating attributes like faithfulness, power, and a plan for the future; He calls Abram to leave his homeland and promises to make him into a great nation, blessing him and all peoples through his lineage, showcasing God's initiative and commitment to fulfilling His promises. 

In Genesis Chapter 13, Jehovah's character is portrayed as faithful, sovereign, and guiding, demonstrating his commitment to his promises to Abram even when faced with difficult choices and human imperfection; He provides clear direction and reassurance, allowing Abram to trust in his plan despite the seemingly better option chosen by Lot.

In Genesis Chapter 14, God is Jehovah El Elyon (The Lord God Most High) demonstrating his characteristics of power, sovereignty, and faithfulness through Abram's victory in battle and the blessing given by Melchizedek, a priest of the Most High God. 

We are introduced to El Elyon in Genesis 14:22 ESV "But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted my hand[a] to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth,". Abram gave one-tenth of the goods he recovered to Melchizedek. Even in some pagan religions, it was traditional to give a 10th of their earnings to the gods. Abram followed this tradition but refused to take any of the recovered goods from the king of Sodom. Even though that could have been a huge increase of what he could give to God, Abram rejected for more important reasons: he didn't want to say, "I am the one who made Abram rich." Abram wanted that glory to go to God alone because God is Jehovah El Elyon, The Lord God Most High.

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Christ in Every Book of the Bible

Christ is the theme throughout the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation, God reveals His Son, Jesus Christ.

Christ is the Seed of the woman Genesis 3:14 , He is the Passover Lamb Exodus 12:3, The Atoning Sacrifice Leviticus 17:11, The Smitten Rock Numbers 20:8, 11, The Faithful Prophet Deuteronomy 18:18, Christ is the Captain of the Lord's Host Joshua 5:15, The Divine Deliverer Judges 2:18, The Kinsman Redeemer Ruth 3:12, Christ is the anticipated as the Anointed One,1 Samuel 2:10, The Son of David 2 Samuel 7:14, The Coming King 1 & 2 Kings, Builder of the Temple 1 & 2 Chronicles (1 Chronicles 28:20), Ezra represents Christ as the Restorer of the Nation Ezra 6:14, 15, Nehemiah shows Him as the Restorer of the Temple Nehemiah 6:15, and Esther portrays Him as the Preserver of the Nation Ester 4:14, Christ is seen as the Living Redeemer Job 19:25, The Praise of Israel Psalm 150:6, The Wisdom of God Proverbs 8:22, 23, The Great Teacher Ecclesiastics 12:11, The Fairest of Ten Thousand Song of Solomon 5:10. Christ is the Suffering Servant Isaiah 53:11, The Maker of the New Covenant Jeremiah 31:31, The Man of Sorrows Lamentations 3:28-30, The Glory of God Ezekiel 43:2, The coming Messiah Daniel 9:25, The Lover of the Unfaithful Hosea 3:1, The Hope of Israel Joel 3:16, The Husbandman Amos 9:13, the Savior Obadiah 21, the Resurrected One Jonah 2:10, the Ruler in Israel Micah 5:2, the Avenger Nahum 2:1, the Holy God Habakkuk 1:13, the King of Israel Zephaniah 3:15, the Desire of Nations Haggai 2:7, the Righteous Branch Zechariah 3:8, and the Sun of Righteousness Malachi 4:2.

The King of the Jews Matthew 2:2, the Servant of the Lord Mark 10:45, the Son of Man Luke 19:10, and the Son of God John 1:1. Christ is the Ascended Lord Acts 1:10, the believer's Righteousness Romans 1:17, Sanctification 1 Corinthians 1:30, Sufficiency 2 Corinthians 12:9, and Liberty Galatians 2:4. He is the Exalted Head of the church Ephesians 1:22, the Christian's Joy Philippians 1:26, and the Fullness of Deity Colossians 2:9. In the Thessalonian epistles Christ is the believer's Comfort 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17 and Glory 2 Thessalonians 1:12. The Christian's Preserver 1 Timothy 4:10, Rewarder 2 Timothy 4:8, Blessed Hope Titus 2:13, and Substitute Philemon 17. He is the High Priest Hebrews 4:15, the Giver of Wisdom James 1:5, the Rock 1 Peter 2:6, and Precious Promise 2 Peter 1:4. John represents Christ as the Life 1 John, the Truth 2 John, and the Way 3 John, Jude portrays Christ as the Advocate and Revelation shows Him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords Revelation 19:16. The whole Bible is literally all about Christ!

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Questions: Let's expand how these chapters expanded your faith and your relationship with God.

What is the overall message of Genesis 11-14 about God's character and relationship with humanity?

How do these chapters demonstrate God's sovereignty over nations and peoples?

How do the events in these chapters set the stage for the development of the nation of Israel?

Why did the people decide to build a tower in the plain of Shinar?

What is the significance of God confusing the languages of the people? 

What does it mean that Abram is to be a "blessing to all peoples"? 

How does the story of Lot's separation from Abram in Chapter 13 foreshadow future conflicts? 

How does Abram respond to the news of Lot's capture?

What is significant about Abram's victory over the four kings, especially regarding his relationship with God?

Reference Guides:

Life Application Study Guide

A Popular Survey of the Old Testament by Norman L. Geisler

The Power of God's Names by Tony Evans