Summary

The end of chapter 11 forms a convenient point to remind ourselves what the Bible has told us so far.

• After creation, everything conformed to God’s wishes. There was no challenge to His authority
• God gave Adam and Eve the choice of whether or not they would respect His authority and believe Him
• Overcome by ambition and desire, they chose to believe the serpent rather than God, and in so doing challenged God’s authority
• God responded by passing a death sentence on mankind, and foretold a hard struggle between those who respected God’s authority and those who did not.
• Cain showed the capabilities of those who did not accept God’s commands by murdering his brother
• A corrupt violent world was the eventual result of mankind turning its back on God’s commands
• God decided to stop the corruption and violence by destroying most of mankind with a flood
• He made a fresh start with Noah and his family
• God’s authority was again challenged by most of mankind led by Nimrod
• This time the spirit of rebellion was restrained by God introducing different languages so that people could not understand each other. This resulted in them spreading all over the earth
• God was now able to continue His plan with a small group of people without too much interference from the rest of the world
• God began to do this through Abram and his family