LET US BUILD … THAT WE MAY MAKE A NAME / GENESIS 11:4

START YOUR DAY RIGHT DAILY DEVOTION

(KJV) Genesis 11:4

And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

The Trap of Independence: Lessons from the Tower of Babel

We live in a culture obsessed with building personal empires. We are told to “make a name” for ourselves, secure our own destinies, and curate a legacy built entirely on our own power, skills, and hard work. But this ambition isn’t new. In fact, its blueprints were drawn up thousands of years ago on a plain in the land of Shinar.

In Genesis 11:4, we find the heart of human independence laid bare:

“And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.”

This single verse exposes the foundational sin of the people of Shinar: the desire to reign over the world and determine their own destiny completely apart from God.

The Architecture of Pride

The project at Babel wasn’t a failure of engineering; it was a failure of the heart. The people organized themselves around their collective strength, using their unified talents as a weapon of rebellion and self-reliance against their Creator. Instead of filling the earth as God had previously commanded, they sought to insulate themselves from God’s authority by building a permanent fortress.

When humans try to displace God, the spiritual vacuum is quickly filled with darkness. Historically, this era marks a time when humanity increasingly rejected God and embraced alternatives like idolatry, sorcery, and astrology (Isaiah 47:12; Exodus 22:18; Deuteronomy 18:10).

The Apostle Paul gives us a vivid diagnosis of this exact spiritual condition in Romans 1:21-28. When people refuse to glorify God and instead worship the work of their own hands, a tragic exchange happens. As a result of their stubborn independence, God ultimately steps back and allows them to follow their own sinful desires and degraded minds (Romans 1:24, 26, 28).

God’s Sovereign Interruption

God destroyed the proud efforts at Shinar not with a physical weapon, but with a cultural one. By multiplying languages among the people, He made it impossible for them to communicate or cooperate on their godless agenda (Genesis 11:7). This divine intervention forced them to scatter, providing a historical foundation for the world’s varied racial and ethnic groups.

Man’s attempt to build a kingdom upward was met by God coming down to scatter. Yet, even in judgment, God’s mercy was quietly moving. Immediately following the collapse of Babel’s human empire, God turned His attention to a single man named Abram (Genesis 11:31). Where humanity failed to make a name for themselves, God promised to make Abram’s name great—not for human glory, but to begin revealing the ultimate way of salvation for all of humanity through faith.

Where Are We Building Today?

The spirit of Babel is still alive whenever we utter our own version of “let us build… that we may make a name.”

• Are we building our careers, families, or ministries to exalt ourselves?
• Are we relying on our own skills to guarantee our security, terrified of being “scattered” or losing control?

True security and a truly lasting name are never manufactured by human hands. They are received as gifts from a sovereign God when we surrender our blueprints to Him.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, forgive us for the times we have secretly built the towers of our own empires. Forgive us for trusting in our own skills, wealth, and intellect rather than resting completely in Your sovereignty. Soften our hearts where pride has taken root, and rescue us from the dangerous desire to live independently of You.

Teach us to learn from the foolish decisions made at Shinar. Stop our hands from building what You have not established. Instead of trying to make a name for ourselves, may our lives be spent exalting the only Name that matters—the Name of Jesus. We place our futures, our security, and our ultimate destiny into Your loving hands. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Some of our Post That Might Interest You, All Out of the Current Book / Chapter

1. A PLAIN IN SHINAR / GENESIS 11:1-2
2. BORN TO SHEM / GENESIS 10:21-31
3. THE SONS OF HAM / GENESIS 10:6-20
4. THE SONS OF JEPHETH / GENESIS 10:2-5
5. THE ACCOUNT OF SHEM, HAM AND JAPHETH / GENESIS 10:1
6. CURSED BE CANAAN / GENESIS 9:24-25
7. HAM / GENESIS 9:22
8. DRANK SOME OF ITS WINE, HE BECAME DRUNK / GENESIS 9:21
9. MY RAINBOW IN THE CLOUDS / GENESIS 9:13
10. I NOW ESTABLISH MY COVENANT / GENESIS 9:9-17
11. WHOEVER SHEDS THE BLOOD OF MAN BY MAN SHALL HIS BLOOD BE SHED / GENESIS 9:6
12. HEART IS EVIL FROM CHILDHOOD / GENESIS 8:21
13. BUT GOD REMEMBERED NOAH / GENESIS 8:1
14. EVERY LIVING THING WAS WIPED OUT ONLY NOAH WAS LEFT / GENESIS 7:23
15. THE GREAT DEEP BURST FORTH / GENESIS 7:11-12
16. THE FLOODWATERS CAME ON THE EARTH / GENESIS 7:6
17. I WILL ESTABLISH MY COVENANT WITH YOU / GENESIS 6:18
18. AN ARK / GENESIS 6:14
19. NOAH WAS A RIGHTEOUS MAN BLAMELESS AMONG THE PEOPLE / GENESIS 6:9
20. THE LORD WAS GRIEVED / GENESIS 6:6
21. HOW GREAT MAN’S WICKEDNESS / GENESIS 6:5
22. THE SONS OF GOD / GENESIS 6:1-2
23. GOD TOOK HIM/ GENESIS 5:24
24. ENOCH WALKED WITH GOD / GENESIS 5:22
25. SETH … FATHER OF ENOSH / GENESIS 5:6
26. ADAM LIVED 930 YEARS / GENESIS 5:5
27. WRITTEN ACCOUNT OF ADAM’S LINE / GENESIS 5:1
28. CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD / GENESIS 4:26
29. MARRIED TWO WOMEN / GENESIS 4:19
30. CAIN … HIS WIFE / GENESIS 4:17
31. CAIN WENT OUT FROM THE LORD’S PRESENCE / GENESIS 4:16
32. A MARK ON CAIN / GENESIS 4:15
33. NOW YOU ARE UNDER A CURSE / GENENSIS 4:11-12
34. YOUR BROTHER’S BLOOD CRIES OUT TO ME / GENESIS 4:10
35. IT DESIRES TO HAVE YOU / GENESIS 4:6-7
36. AN OFFERING TO THE LORD / GENESIS 4:3-5
37. ADAM LAY WITH HIS WIFE / GENESIS 4:1
38. HE DROVE THE MAN OUT / GENESIS 3:24
39. KNOWING GOOD AND EVIL / GENESIS 3:22
40. I WILL GREATLY INCREASE YOUR PAINS / GENESIS 3:16-19
41. HE WILL CRUSH YOUR HEAD, AND YOU WILL STRIKE HIS HEEL / GENESIS 3:14-15
42. THE SERPENT DECEIVED ME / GENESIS 3:13
43. THEY HID / GENESIS 3:8
44. THEY REALIZED THEY WERE NAKED / GENESIS 3:7
45. THE WOMAN … ATE IT … HER HUSBAND … WITH HER / GENESIS 3:6
46. YOU WILL BE LIKE GOD / GENESIS 3:5
47. YOU WILL NOT SURELY DIE / GENESIS 3:4
48. THE SERPENT / GENESIS 3:1
49. LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER / GENESIS 2:24
50. HELPER SUITABLE FOR HIM / GENESIS 2:18
51. THE LORD GOD COMMANDED THE MAN / GENESIS 2:16-17
52. PUT HIM IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN / GENESIS 2:15
53. TREE OF LIFE / GENESIS 2:9
54. GARDEN IN THE EAST, IN EDEN / GENESIS 2:8
55. A LIVING BEING / GENESIS 2:7
56. THE ACCOUNT – THE LORD GOD / GENESIS 2:4-6
57. GOD BLESSED THE SEVENTH DAY / GENESIS 2:3
58. BE FRUITFUL AND INCREASE / GENESIS 1:28
59. GOD SAID LET US – LET US MAKE MAN / GENESIS 1:26
60. SERVE AS SIGNS / GENESIS 1:14-15
61. IT WAS GOOD / GENESIS 1:10
62. THERE WAS EVENING, AND THERE WAS MORNING – THE FIRST DAY / GENESIS 1:5
63. LET THERE BE LIGHT / GENESIS 1:3
64. EARTH WAS FORMLESS AND EMPTY / GENESIS 1:2
65. IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED / GENESIS 1:1
66. CREWS N AWAY: ANCHORED IN GRACE

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Blessings, Margarita & Stace