Day 13 – Brokenness and Blessing
When Pride Scatters, God Redeems
However you can engage today, we’re here. Read, listen or both.
The written portion gives an overview, with verses broken down into smaller bites, and journaling/prayer prompts for reflection. In the podcast, Steve Traylor reflects on today’s passage with Scripture reading, a deeper pastoral teaching, and prayer (about 15 minutes). Perfect for morning coffee, commutes, or when your eyes need a rest.
Genesis 11:1–9
Step into this passage with humility and hope.
Here we meet humanity united—not in worship of God, but in defiance of Him. A tower. A name. A city built to reach heaven without needing Heaven’s King.
You may see echoes of this in your own life—the impulse to build without surrendering, to control rather than trust, to make a name for yourself rather than honor His.
But here is the mercy: God does not ignore our rebellion. He intervenes. He scatters. He confuses. And though it looks like judgment, it is also protection.
Because when God breaks what we build in pride, He makes room for what He will build in grace.
1. Unity in Rebellion
Genesis 11:1–4
¹ The whole earth was of one language and of one speech. ² As they traveled east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they lived there. ³ They said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. ⁴ They said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top reaches to the sky, and let’s make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad on the surface of the whole earth.”
Humanity speaks one language. They are unified, organized, capable.
But notice what they build: not an altar, but a tower. Not a place to worship God, but a monument to themselves.
“Let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad,” they say.
This is direct defiance of God’s command.
After the flood, God had told Noah and his sons: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth” (Genesis 9:1). But here, barely a century later, humanity gathers together and says: “No. We will not scatter. We will stay unified—on our terms, for our glory.”
This is the heart of human pride—not necessarily dramatic rebellion, but the quiet assertion that we do not need God. We can organize our own lives. We can secure our own future. We can make ourselves significant.
The tower is not evil because it is tall. It is evil because it represents rebellion against God’s explicit command and a monument to human self-sufficiency.
And in doing so, they unite around the wrong thing.
Journaling/Prayer: Where in your life have you tried to “make a name for yourself”—to build security, significance, or identity apart from God? What are you holding onto because you fear what will happen if you surrender it?
If you’re afraid to let go of control, tell God honestly. Say: “I’m scared that if I don’t hold this together, it will all fall apart.”
He understands your fear. But here is what He also sees: the tower you’re building will not give you what you hope for.
The security you’re chasing through control will never satisfy. The significance you’re building through self-effort will crumble. The future you’re trying to secure apart from God will not hold.
God opposes your tower not because He is harsh, but because He knows it cannot bear the weight you’re placing on it. He scatters your plans not to crush you, but to stop you from spending your life building what will ultimately destroy you.
He is asking you to let go not so everything collapses, but because what you’re holding onto was never designed to carry you. Only He can build something true that will last.
2. Confusion and Compassion
Genesis 11:5–9
⁵ The LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men built. ⁶ The LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do. Now nothing will be withheld from them, which they intend to do. ⁷ Come, let’s go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” ⁸ So the LORD scattered them abroad from there on the surface of all the earth. They stopped building the city. ⁹ Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. From there, the LORD scattered them abroad on the surface of all the earth.
God comes down.
This doesn’t mean He was absent or unaware—God sees everything, always. The language tells us that God actively intervenes, entering into human affairs with intention and purpose.
He comes down not because He is threatened, but because He sees the trajectory of unified rebellion.
“Nothing will be withheld from them, which they intend to do.”
This is not admiration—it is a warning.
God is not saying, “Look how impressive they are.” He is saying, “Look how dangerous concentrated evil becomes when humanity unites in rebellion against Me.”
Before the flood, unified humanity became so wicked that “every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). God had to destroy the entire world.
Now, once again, humanity is uniting—not around worship of God, but around self-glory and disobedience. If left unchecked, unified evil spreads without restraint. Tyranny grows. Wickedness multiplies. The strong oppress the weak, and there is nowhere for the vulnerable to flee.
So God confuses their language. He scatters them. He breaks their unity.
And yes, this is judgment. But it is also mercy.
Because sometimes God has to break what we build in order to protect us—and others—from the destruction our pride will bring.
The scattering is not the end of God’s plan—it is preparation for what comes next. One day, God will gather a people from every language, tribe, and nation (Revelation 7:9). Not through human pride, but through His grace. Not by building a tower to heaven, but by receiving the One who came down from heaven.
Journaling/Prayer: What in your life has God “scattered” or disrupted—plans, relationships, security, dreams? Can you begin to see that His disruption might have been mercy, not cruelty? Not only to protect you, but perhaps to protect others from the harm your pride or self-sufficiency might have caused?
If you’re angry about what God has allowed to fall apart, tell Him. Say: “I don’t understand why You let this happen. It feels like punishment.”
He can handle your honesty. And over time, He will help you see that sometimes He scatters in order to save—both you and those around you.
But here is the hope: Babel is not the end of the story.
Genesis 11 ends with scattering, confusion, and broken human ambition. But Genesis 12 begins with God calling one man—Abraham—and making a promise:
“In you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Genesis 12:3).
From the scattering at Babel, God begins to work His plan of redemption. He will gather a people—not through human effort, but through His sovereign grace.
Centuries later, on the day of Pentecost, the Spirit reverses Babel. People from every nation hear the gospel in their own language (Acts 2:5–11).
What humanity tried to achieve through pride—unity, significance, a great name—God accomplishes through grace.
Not by us reaching up to Him, but by Him reaching down to us.
And one day, God will gather a people from every language, tribe, and nation (Revelation 7:9)—not built on human pride, but redeemed by His grace.
If you cannot yet trust that God is working redemptively in your scattered life, that’s okay. Tell Him: “I don’t see how You can redeem this. But I want to believe You can.”
That desire is the beginning of walking with God. That openness is the beginning of faith.
Summary
At Babel, humanity tries to build significance without God. They unite around pride, and God scatters them in mercy.
It looks like judgment—and it is. But it is also protection.
Because God does not allow us to build towers of self-sufficiency that will ultimately crush us. He disrupts. He confuses. He scatters.
And then He begins His work of redemption.
From the scattering, He calls Abraham. From Abraham, He builds a people. From that people, He sends His Son. And through His Son, He gathers a new humanity—not built on pride, but redeemed by grace.
Your broken plans, scattered dreams, and disrupted life may feel like Babel. But remember: God scatters in order to gather. He confuses in order to clarify. He breaks in order to rebuild.
And what He builds will stand forever—not because of your strength, but because of His.
Action / Attitude for Today
As you move through your day, pay attention to where you are still trying to “build a tower.”
Where are you striving to make a name for yourself? Where are you resisting God’s direction because you fear the loss of control?
Today, bring your tower before God.
If you are in Christ, you have already surrendered to His lordship—that happened when you were saved. But we all have areas where we still try to take back control, where we slip into building for our own glory instead of His.
Today, identify one place where you’re doing that and confess it. Release it. Return to the surrender you’ve already made.
But if you’re reading this and have never surrendered to Christ—if you’ve never repented of your sin and trusted Him as both Savior and Lord—then today may be the day God is calling you.
The tower you’re building will not save you. The name you’re trying to make for yourself will not last. The security you’re constructing apart from God will crumble.
You cannot come to Jesus on your terms. You cannot have Him as Savior while rejecting Him as Lord. The gospel calls you to surrender everything—to turn from your sin and trust in Christ alone for salvation.
If God is drawing you today, do not harden your heart. Confess your sin. Turn from your rebellion. Cry out to Him for mercy.
He will not turn you away.
Maybe it’s a relationship you’ve been trying to force. Maybe it’s a plan you’ve been clinging to. Maybe it’s an image of yourself you’ve been working hard to maintain.
Bring it before God and say: “I’ve been building this. I’m afraid to let it go. But I choose to trust You more than I trust my own efforts.”
And then—gently, slowly—release it.
Not because God demands perfection. But because He is inviting you into something better than what you can build alone.
He scattered Babel to prepare the way for blessing. He may be scattering parts of your life for the same reason.
Trust Him. Even when it doesn’t make sense. Even when it hurts.
He is faithful. And He will gather what He has scattered—in His time, in His way, for His glory and your good.
The Bible for the Broken is published by Aurion Press LLC. © Aurion Press LLC. All rights reserved.