Passage Read: Genesis 9-12
Meditation Verse: 11:4
Thought
This was likely Nimrod's doing, or else Nimrod took charge of his own family and language group after this and built his kingdom in this region. Nimrod was Ham's grandson; Peleg was Shem's great-great-grandson, and the scattering at Babel likely took place at the time Peleg was born, which was 101 years after the flood. It only took one hundred years for a large enough contingent of men to band together against the Lord's purposes, to oppose their scattering across the face of the earth and incite the Lord to do something about it. Noah was still alive, as were all three of his sons, yet there was no sense of the futility of opposing the Lord or fear of Him and what He might do to rebuke them. Those who banded together against the Lord hadn't personally experienced the flood, but most had grown up watching the earth recover. Yet they still thought they could resist God's will. There were new lands to claim, opportunities to establish their own families and kingdoms and nations, but instead they decided to stick together and let one man rule them all. So God confused their languages, and now they had no choice but to move off on their own, because they couldn't communicate. In time, some would learn the other's languages, but most wouldn't bother. God had thrown a wrench into their plans and scuttled them. God won that round, but men didn't learn much from it.
Application
No matter how smart I think I am, it is futile to resist God's will. I can never outsmart God. The best I can do is get away with rebellion for a lifetime, but afterward, He will judge me, and since I didn't want to submit to Him in life, why would He want me in His Kingdom for eternity? No one loves rebels but other rebels, and even they will come to blows in time. The end will be eternal punishment, shut out from His glory and goodness forever. The only hope I have is to train myself throughout this life to accept and submit to His will, and find joy in all He intends for me to enjoy. If I stop seeing Him as a killjoy and start seeing Him as seeking my best, then it will be much easier to accept and submit to His regulations and instructions. Then I'll be one He is glad to welcome into His eternal Kingdom, and His eternal Kingdom will be one I'm glad to dwell within.