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“Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise. Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” – Proverbs 19:20-21

PRELUDE TO THE PROMISE, PART 2 – BABEL “And they said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name; lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” – Genesis 11:4

“Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth.” – Genesis 11:9

“The number of Noah’s descendants increased greatly, but they remained as one people.  They did not fill the earth as God commanded. Instead they built a city. Then they built a tower reaching to the heavens. God was not pleased. So God confused their language. Immediately there were at least 70 groups of people who could not speak with each other. Then God scattered these groups around the earth. And this was the beginning of the languages and nations of our world.” – The HOPE, Chapter 4

Recall from the previous lesson that when Noah and his family left the ark, God blessed them and told them to fill the earth (Genesis 9:1,7). However, instead of filling the earth, Noah’s family gathered in one place and built a city. And then they proceeded to build a tower that would reach into heaven (Genesis 11:4). Their motive was to make a name for themselves and to keep from being scattered over the face of the earth.

In Genesis 11:5-9 we see God’s response to their disobedience.  As a result of disobeying God, the very thing they were trying to avoid in Genesis 11:4 (being scattered) is the very thing that happened in Genesis 11:9 (they were scattered). God’s plan that they “fill” the earth would stand.

BIG IDEA: God’s plan will stand.

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MEDITATING ON THE WORD:

Proverbs 3:5-6
Genesis 10-11
Isaiah 14:27
Romans 8:28

SECTION VERSES:

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” -Genesis 1:1

“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.” -Genesis 1:31

LESSON VERSE:

“Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise. Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” – Proverbs 19:20-21

PRAYER:

Pray that God would help you show your trust by obeying His word more every day.

DISCUSSION STARTERS:

• Why was God not pleased with the Tower of Babel? (disobeyed command to “fill” the earth)
• Were God’s plans for filling the earth stopped? Explain.
• What are some hard commands to obey?

LIVE IT OUT!

• Go to Google Translate and translate John 3:16 into 1 or 2 languages.  Try to learn the pronunciation of one of them.

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ABOUT FAMILY QUEST: At Reston Bible Church, we firmly believe that parents are a child’s first and most important spiritual leader.  In order to support you that mission, we have created a parent devotional and some discussion starters to go along with each lesson your grade school age children are learning at Quest on Sundays. Our hope and prayer is that this material will help you to engage with your children around the topics they are learning on Sunday mornings, answer their questions, go deeper with them, and find real, day-to-day applications. We are honored to be able to partner with you in the critical task of sharing Christ with the next generation.