04. God’s Covenant with Abraham
What the Story Says
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Why was is wrong for the people to gather together in one city?
God had commanded Noah and his descendants to fill the earth again after the flood (#03-13).
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What was the purpose of the tower the people built in the city?
They built the tower to be tall enough to reach heaven (#04-02). Some scholars think they wanted to be able to go up to heaven. Other scholars think they wanted the gods to be able to come down from heaven.
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Why did God change their language?
God changed their one language into many languages so they could not understand each other (#04-03). As a result, they could not work together to continue building the tower, or to live together well. So they spread out over the earth in different language groups.
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Who did God say he would bless through Abram?
God would bless all the people groups on earth through Abram and his descendants (#04-04).
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What land did God give to Abram?
God gave the land of Canaan to Abram and his descendants (#04-05), (#04-06). He said they would always possess it. This is the land of Israel today.
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Why did Abraham give a tenth of his possessions to Melchizedek?
Melchizedek was a priest of God (#04-07). That is, he spoke for God and helped people worship God. Abram gave a tenth of his possession to Melchizedek as an offering to God. In this way, Abram honored God.
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Why might it have been difficult for Abram to believe that he would have many descendants?
Abram and Sarai did not yet have a son (#04-08). Without a son, he could not have many descendants.
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Why did God declare that Abram was righteous?
God said Abram was righteous because Abram believed God (#04-08). In fact, he believed he would have many descendants while he still did not have a son.
What the Story Means to Us
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Noah was a righteous man. Why did his descendants begin to sin?
God destroyed all the wicked people in the flood (#03-08). So only the family of Noah survived to fill the earth. But although Noah obeyed God, but he was not perfect. He received wicked desires from his ancestors, Adam and Eve. And he passed these on to his descendants.
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Why did the people want to live in one city?
The descendants of Noah became proud and wanted other people to honor and remember them. Therefore they decided they did not want to obey God. Instead, they settled in one place where they could honor each other (#04-01), (#04-02).
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Why do people today speak different languages?
People today speak different languages because God changed their languages at Babel (#04-03). He wanted each language group to spread out across the earth and learn to honor him.
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Why did God send Abram to Canaan?
Abram already honored God where he lived. But God told him to go to Canaan, the land that God would give to him. God wanted Abram’s descendants to have a land where they could honor God. In this way, all the families of the earth could learn through them how to honor God.
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Why did Abram give his tenth to Melchizedek instead of directly to God?
Melchizedek was the first priest of God. Before that, Noah and other righteous people gave offered their sacrifices directly to God. But now God was providing a priest to help people honor God and to speak to them for him.
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Why was God’s promise to Abram so surprising?
God promised that Abram would have more descendants then the stars in the sky. No one is able to count all the stars! But Abram and Sarai did not yet have a son. It would not have seemed possible that they could have so many descendants.
Summary
Many descendants were soon born to Noah. But even though Noah was a righteous man, his descendants did not obey God. They refused to fill the earth. Instead, they built a city and a tower to honor themselves. Therefore, God confused their language so they would separate into groups. But God chose Abram and promised to bless every language group through his descendants. Abram believed God would do this, even though he did not have a son. Therefore, God was pleased with Abram and declared him righteous.