Genesis 11:1-9 – The Tower of Babel – Small Group Questions
This is not a list to be systematically worked through but a list which should be prayerfully chosen from. Choose the questions which are relevant to your group.
Read Genesis 11v1-9
- Ask anyone in the group if English is their second language and what it is like being in a congregation where their ‘mother tongue’ is not the language spoken. Ask what issues they face around communication and understanding. Ask them to share how this makes them feel and whether there are any barriers for them. Ask if there are any ways in which the Small Group or Church can serve them.
- Why did the LORD want to confuse languages and scatter the people over the face of the Earth?
- Man was described as a “magnificent ruin” like the Colosseum in Rome – able to be evil and good and accomplish remarkably evil acts and remarkably good acts. How do you react to the statement by Peter Lewis in his book “The Glory of Christ”? Is it a true statement?
- What are the implications for the gospel that there are so many languages in the world? Mark 13:10 talks about the gospel being preached to every “ethnos” (ethno-linguistic group) what does that mean for Bible translation? Is there a role for the internet in gospel proclamation? Do local church’s need to focus on Social Media?
- Has anyone been in a context where they were living in a foreign land? What did it make you feel like? If they were in a context where Christians were present did that make a difference? If so why?
- It was suggested that the people were “lost” and looking to reach God. Can you see evidence that those that do not know Jesus are “lost”; “without hope and without God in the world” (Eph 2:12c). Share what evidence you have for this opinion.
- Discuss the implications of being “one new humanity” (Eph 2:16) and of being one new “holy nation” (1 Peter 2:9). What does this mean for cultural identity and passion for our own nation?
- How should the gospel break down barriers of acceptance and love for believers from other nations?
- Describe how the church whose members are part of “one new humanity” can be the only example of harmonious multi-culturalism? When in the bible was this a challenge to the Early Church? What actions were taken?
- Please pray for all in our church family who are like Moses are “strangers in a strange land” where the climate is cold, the food different, the language confusing and the people emotionally repressed (and yet they often rejoice in that it is a land where the streets are safe; the law system is honest, the NHS free and the chances of building a future plentiful!)