God is in control
key words
biblical reference
Genesis 11:1-9
lesson objective
To help the children learn that God is in control of every situation.
memory verse
“Great is our Lord and mighty in power, his understanding has no limit” (Psalm 147:5, NIV*).
prepare yourself to teach
Elementary-age children are aware of the evil that exists in the world. In many occasions, evil seems to dominate; furthermore, it would seem that often people who reject God prosper, while those who believe in Him suffer.
It is important that your children know that no matter how big evil may seem, God is sovereign. He gave us the freedom to choose between good and evil, but sometimes God intervenes and says, “Enough!” Knowing that God has control over everything that exists will help your children trust him. God has been working with humanity since its creation; we can see it through all of history. Help them understand that God is greater than evil, and that he has absolute control over everything.
biblical commentary
Genesis 11:1-9. After the flood, God blessed Noah and his children, telling them to multiply and fill the earth. It is incredible that, having seen the power and sovereignty of God in the flood, the descendants of Noah thought that they could live without him and decided to disobey him.
However, after settling on a plain, they decided to build a city and a tower for all to know. Thus, if they were scattered on the earth, people would know where they came from.
This story reflects a clear image of humanity in rebellion against God. They sought exaltation through their ingenuity, skills and cunning. They were not interested in God’s command to multiply and fill the earth. They wanted to create a powerful nation that would reign on earth.
The fear of men being scattered on the earth went against the divine plan. God had commanded Noah to fill the earth, not to settle in one city.
God does not oppose unity when it is based on fidelity to him. In this case, the descendants of Noah suffered the consequences for disobeying the divine mandate. Because of their pride and false security based on their self-sufficiency, they received the judgment of God.
Seeing what people wanted to do, God confused their languages so they could not communicate to continue their plans.
We can say that the tower remained as a monument to the impotence of the creature before its Creator. The different languages remind us of the retribution to human pride. Help your children understand that, even if all of humanity were united against God, he would always have absolute control over everything.
introduce the lesson
Choose some of the following activities to focus your children’s attention on today’s topic.
Do you understand me?
As your children enter your meeting place, welcome them by saying “good morning” in different languages. Some examples are: “good morning” (English); buenos días (Spanish) “bonjour” (French); “buona mattina” (Italian); “bom dia” (Portuguese); “guten morgen” (German).
Tell them: “It is difficult to communicate when other people speak a language that we do not understand.” Then ask: “Did any of you understand what I said?” Listen to their answers and explain that in today’s Bible story, they will learn about some people who could not understand each other.
Let us work together
Ask your children to work together without communicating through speech. Divide into groups of two or three. Whisper to one of the members a simple task to do with everyone in their group (for example, move a table, arrange the chairs, make a tower with blocks, etc.).
Give them a short time to try to complete the task. After a few minutes, ask them to stop and ask them why they did not complete the activity. Based on the answers, tell them that the same thing happened to a group of Old Testament people when they tried to do a project.
teach the lesson
Tower of Babel
When Noah and his three sons left the ark, the world was clean. It was a whole new world, ready to be inhabited.
Noah and his children built new houses. Then, Noah’s children and their wives had children. And these in turn had children.
Later, some families went to live in another region, where they found a great and beautiful place to live.
There those people decided that they wanted to be together forever. They did not like the idea of going to different places. God had commanded them to settle the earth, but they did not want to obey.
Some said, “Let’s build our own city, with a big tower that reaches the sky. That way we will be famous and we will all be together, and not be scattered all over the world.”
Some started making bricks; others prepared the mixture to hold them together; others brought the bricks and the mixture to the builders.
Seeing what the people were doing, God became sad. They were not obeying what he had commanded. Instead of filling the land, they were building a big city and a tower to be together.
God had promised them that he would not destroy the earth again with a flood. The rainbow was a reminder of that promise he made to Noah. But despite that, God was in control of the situation.
At that time, everyone spoke a single language and used the same words. But since the people decided to disobey God, he made them speak different languages. Those who were making bricks suddenly did not understand each other anymore. Nor did they understand those who loaded the mortar that would hold the bricks together. And those who loaded the mortar did not understand those who carried the bricks. Also those who were building spoke different languages.
Soon people had to abandon their plans. They stopped building the city with the big tower, and they moved to other places and filled the land, just as God had told Noah.
connect the lesson
Confusion!
Distribute Student Activity Sheet #184. Allow time for your children to cut out the figure following the outline. Then, ask them to bend it along the dotted lines and glue the small tabs on the large tabs.
Encourage them to use their finished work to tell their families the story of the Tower of Babel.
practice the memory verse
On a poster, draw the figure of a tower and write the memory verse inside. Allow time for your children to color the figure and decorate the edges of the card. Hang up the finished poster in the room, and repeat the verse a couple of times. Cut out the Verse of the Month club cards corresponding to this unit, and ask the children to take them home to review the verse of this unit.
wrap-up
Pray
Pray giving thanks to God because he has control over everything. Intercede for their prayer needs.
Encourage
Tell your children that this session taught us that God controls all situations, even when people are disobedient. Encourage them to observe signs that God controls the world around them.
Invite
Then, invite the children to the next session, and encourage them to invite a friend or friends.
* Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
* Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™