Readings for the day: Genesis 10, 11
A new beginning has been made. God has started over with Noah and his family. The salvation plan of God is renewed through them and they are commissioned to fulfill the calling once given to Adam and Eve. Be fruitful. Multiply. Fill the earth. Have dominion. The purpose of the genealogy in chapter 10 is to show us how this took place. The children of Noah begat their own children. And their children begat their own children. Names we probably recognize begin to appear. Egypt. Assyria. Nineveh. The Canaanite tribes who will figure so prominently a little later on in the Old Testament. One gets the sense that the descendents of Noah are being fruitful. They are multiplying. However, there is a problem. They aren’t filling the earth.
Put yourself in their sandals for a bit. You’re fathers and grandfathers just walked out of the ark into a brave new world. A world that had drastically changed. Nothing is familiar. Nothing feels safe. You find yourself jumping every time it rains. Plants and trees are beginning to grow again. The moldy, mildewy smell that often hangs around forever after a flood is finally gone. (I experienced this personally after Hurricane Katrina when we did relief work in Mississippi.) The animals are multiplying and scattering. The entire earth is in recovery mode. You know God’s plan for your life. He has commissioned you to go out into all the earth. To scatter abroad and help in this great recovery effort. To bring about the flourishing of all of creation. That’s His will. But you are afraid. Afraid of what you might find. Afraid of the unknown. Afraid of losing touch with your family, your clan, your tribe. So what do you do? You stick together. You protect each other. You find safety in your own strength.
Humanity has such a “fortress” mentality. One of our deepest needs is to feel safe. The Bible clearly teaches in Genesis 11 that this has always been the case. Rather than scattering according to God’s command, the people migrate from place to place together. Eventually they reach the plain of Shinar (think Babylonia or modern-day Iraq) where they decide to build a city and a tower so high it can be seen for miles. This will keep them from being dispersed. No matter where they go, they can keep the tower in sight and it will guide them back home. But God’s plan will not be so easily thwarted. He comes down to look in on what they are doing. He sees their resistance to scatter. He knows their fears and insecurities. He understands that if He doesn’t intervene, they will not go out on their own and creation will suffer as a result. So He confuses their languages and drives them all over the earth. Forcing them out of their comfort zone. Forcing them out of their safety net. Forcing them to abandon their “fortress” and engage the world in the way God intends. (By the way, we will see something similar take place with the early church in Acts where God uses persecution to scatter them around the Roman Empire.)
As they scatter, there is one particular family. One particular clan. One particular tribe that the Spirit zooms in on. The line of Shem. This is the line of salvation. Though all of humanity is given the same call to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and have dominion; this particular part of humanity will be given an even greater task. A higher calling. So again, the names pass before us until they get to Terah. And Terah has three sons. And these three sons will all play a significant role in God’s plan moving forward. But even here there is danger. One of the boys will die young. Abram’s wife is barren. They too have had to leave their home. Terah will lose his own life along the way. Death and brokenness and sin continue to pose threats to the salvation plan of God.
Be fruitful. Multiply. Fill the earth. Have dominion. The creation mandate remains in place for your life and mine. How’s it going? When you consider your work, your family, your plans for the future...do they align with God’s plan to use you for His glory? To bring about the flourishing of those you love? Your friends and neighbors and co-workers? Do you take risks to reach out or do you play it safe? Where is God calling you to leave your comfort zone today?