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Questions about Genesis 11:1-9

  1. What was the primary thing that the people decided to build?
    1. Right Answer!A city.
      • Yes, people call this the "tower" of Babel story, but really it is the city that is the focus of the story.
    2. Bricks.
      • No, the bricks are important, but the city is what was the focus.
    3. A tower that would reach up into heaven.
      • No, most people thing so, but he city is the important thing.
    4. A One World government.
      • There is some truth to this answer, but the best answer is the city.

     

     

  2. Why did they decide to build the city?
    1. Right Answer!So that they could make a name for themselves and would not be scattered over the face of the whole earth, as God had commanded that they should.
      • Yes, this is the best answer. The significance of this city is great. This is the same city that is destroyed in the book of Revelation.
    2. So that they would have a nice place to live in safety, free from fear of their enemies.
      • This is true, but is not what the Bible says.
    3. So that they could marvel at the tower that they would build.
      • This is true, but the city was built as an act of rebellion toward God.

     

     

  3. What is the significance of building with bricks that they made rather than stone?
    1. Bricks can be made more uniform in shape for more consistent building.
      • No, this may be true, but does not answer the spiritual reason for building with man made bricks rather than with the stones that God built.
    2. Right Answer!They desired to make a place to live by human means rather than live obedient lives before God.
      • Yes, this it the reason. The whole project was a deliberate act of rebellion against God.
    3. Ancient Babylon had not available stone but had abundant water and fertile soil.
      • I have no idea about the availability of stone in Babylon, but it is not important. The wording shows that they were building with bricks because they made them and were not building with stone because God made it.
    4. It is not significant, the Bible only says what it says for color in the stories.
      • No, everything is significant.

     

     

  4. In the light of the fact that Revelation 17:18 calls the harlot of Babylon a city, what can we say about that and this city in Genesis?
    1. Right Answer!They are one in the same city, that is, what man has made to provide for himself and protect himself apart from depending upon God.
      • Yes, it is the same city.
    2. There is no connection.
      • No, the city is the same, that is, man has been trying to build a society that does not need God for support.
    3. Satan was behind the rebellion of the first city and the second.
      • No, Satan was not behind either cities construction.

     

     

  5. Who was the spiritual force behind the city's construction?
    1. God.
      • No, it was a rebellion against God.
    2. Satan.
      • No, we see in Revelation that Satan hates the city.
      • Revelation 17:16-17
        The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17 For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God's words are fulfilled. (NIV)
    3. Right Answer!Man.
      • Yes, man is the force behind the city.
    4. The city has no spiritual significance.
      • No, the city is very important.

     

     

  6. Did God really not know what the city looked like before he came down from heaven to look at it?
    1. Yes.
      • No, God knows everything, but in the Bible God acts out his role so that we can understand things. The way the story is told we can understand that it was not God's will that the city should be built.
    2. Right Answer!No.
      • This is the correct answer. God know everything.