LET US MAKE A NAME FOR OUSELVES

This one may hit a little too close to home for all of us. It seems we’re hardwired to want control of our own lives. To call the shots. To determine our own path. That was the first sin, and it remains widely popular to this day. As we wrap up our series in Genesis 1-11 this Sunday, we’ll be looking at the all-too-familiar story of the Tower of Babel.

In the post-flood world, everyone spoke the same language and had the same culture. Recognizing that dispersal to the far reaches of the globe would signal weakness, they wanted to reach for the stars and declare their strength and autonomy as humans. God wasn’t having it and “came down” (an ironic statement given humanity’s all-out effort to reach up) to deal with the matter, confusing their languages and scattering people from the land of Shinar, dispersing them “over the face of all the earth.” Genesis 11 serves as a stark warning to individuals and peoples: when we set out to make a name for ourselves, there’s no escaping God’s scrutiny, wisdom, or plan for this world. The chapter ends with the subtle but hopeful message that, through the godly line of Shem, a plan is being worked out for our good. I’ll see you Sunday.

Series: Genesis – The Things That Are Revealed

Message: 14 – Let Us Make a Name for Ourselves

Text: Genesis 11:1-32

Todd Dugard

Harvest Bible Chapel

August 30, 2026

When I’m out to make a name for myself (v. 1-4)…

Our human sin is that we fail to recognize that God is God, and we try, both individually and corporately, to take God's place. How easy it is to fall into the temptation to grasp at divinity.

– David J. Atkinson

…God’s scrutiny exposes me (v. 5-6)