Monday, May 4, 2026
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: Genesis 10-12
Key Verse
Genesis 11:11 — “And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.”
Devotional Thought
Here in the first week of May, when gardens are being planted and the school year is winding toward its end, Genesis 10–12 reminds us that God is always writing a larger story than the one we can see. Genesis 10 spreads before us the table of nations—Japheth’s sons along the coasts, Ham’s descendants in Babel and Nineveh, Shem’s line reaching down through Arphaxad and Eber to Peleg, in whose days “was the earth divided.” Then chapter 11 shows us why: the whole earth spoke one language, and men 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.” They wanted a monument to themselves, a way to avoid being scattered. God came down to see it—an almost tender irony, that the tower reaching heaven required the Almighty to descend—and He confounded their speech and scattered them abroad. Babel is the story of human ambition meeting divine purpose.
But notice what happens next. Into a world of scattered nations, God speaks to one man. Genesis 11 ends with a barren woman, Sarai, and a family stuck in Haran. Then Genesis 12 opens with a command and a promise: “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: and I will make of thee a great nation.” After Babel’s proud unity, God begins building a people through humble obedience. Abram was seventy-five when he departed, and he went “as the LORD had spoken unto him,” building altars at Sichem and Bethel, calling on the name of the LORD. He was not perfect—famine drove him to Egypt, where fear made him call Sarai his sister and God had to rescue them both from Pharaoh’s house. Yet God’s covenant did not depend on Abram’s flawless faith. It rested on God’s own word.
This is the same pattern we live in. We are tempted, like Babel’s builders, to make a name for ourselves—through our work, our reputations, our carefully curated lives. But God’s way is usually the quiet one: a command to leave what is familiar, a promise to bless, and a call to trust Him for a land we have not yet seen. As spring turns toward summer, may we hear the same voice that spoke to Abram and follow, even when the road leads through famine and our own failures, knowing that God’s covenant stands.
Reflection
- Where in your life are you building a tower to make a name for yourself, rather than trusting God to establish your name as He promised Abram?
- When fear or famine presses you—as Egypt pressed Abram—do you rely on your own schemes, or do you remember that God’s covenant does not depend on your perfection?
Prayer
Father, You scattered the proud at Babel and called Abram out of Haran by Your own word. We confess the towers we build to secure our own names. Teach us to leave what You ask us to leave, to go where You lead, and to trust Your promise even when the road passes through famine and our own failures. Like Abram, may we build altars and call upon Your name. Keep Your covenant in our hearts, and let us be a blessing to the families around us, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.