Bible tale: Tower of Babel

 Tower of Babel

Final story about descendants of Noah

Genesis 11:1-9

re-told by Debbie Dunn

Story highlights:

* People lived clumped together on earth after worldwide flood.

* Nimrod led group to build Tower of Babel to touch the heavens

* God confused their language so they would no longer understand each other

Bible role-play begins:

Narrator #1: Almighty God gave the three sons of Noah two commandments.

 

Narrator #2: Commandment #1: "Be fruitful and increase in number."

Narrator #1: Did they do that? Yep! By 100 to 200 years after the flood, many people existed.

 

Narrator #2: Commandment #2: "Fill the earth."

Narrator #1: Did they do that? Nope! Instead, they lived all clumped together. Boo! Hiss!

 

Narrator #2: Do you think God would let that slide? Nope!

Narrator #1: After all, did God allow Adam and Eve to get away with eating forbidden fruit? Nope!

 

Narrator #2: Did God allow everyone but Noah to continue being wicked, corrupt, and violent? Nope!

Narrator #1: Since everybody was related to Noah, everybody spoke the same language.

 

Narrator #2: The oldest brother, Japheth [ja-fuhth], and his offspring lived close together.

Narrator #1: Middle brother, Shem, and his offspring likewise lived near each other.

 

Narrator #2: Wait until you find out about the disrespectful deed done by Nimrod, the grandson of Noah's youngest son, Ham.

Narrator #1: Nimrod founded a multi-city kingdom known as Shinar [shee-naar].

 

Narrator #2: One of the cities Nimrod founded was Babel [ba-bl] - the future Babylon that today is known as southern Iraq.

Narrator #1: Nimrod was famous for being "a powerful hunter in the sight of the Lord." In other words, God was very aware of all his good and bad deeds.

 

Narrator #2: If someone in Nimrod's kingdom had a very successful day at hunting, the people might brag:

Narrator #1: "This man is like Nimrod, the greatest hunter in the world."

 

Narrator #2: We learn in Genesis 11, verse 4, that the people of Babel stated:

Narrator #1: "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens.”

 

Narrator #2: That way, "we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth."

Narrator #1: Did they imagine that they could climb the Tower of Babel to reach heaven instead of having to please God to reach heaven? Oops!

 

Narrator #2: The Bible does not directly credit or blame Nimrod for being in charge of this tower made of brick and tar; however, it seems likely since Babel was part of his kingdom.

Narrator #1: "The Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building."

 

Narrator #2: Father God probably said the following words to the Holy Spirit and His son, Jesus:

 

 Father God: If, as one people, speaking the same language, they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.

Narrator #1: Jesus might have asked, "Father, how can we solve this problem?"

 

 Father God: Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.

 

Narrator #2: Can you imagine? For one moment, everybody speaks the same language.

Narrator #1: Then, suddenly, it sounds like babbling since they have no clue what each other is saying.

 

Narrator #2: Scared and confused, they might have asked, "Why can't you understand me? Why can't I understand you? What on Earth is going on?"

Narrator #1: Genesis 11:9A That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. (NIV)

 

Narrator #2: Father God startled the people by doing something else that day.

Narrator #1: Genesis 11:8 So, the Lord scattered them abroad from there, over the surface of the entire Earth; and they stopped building the city. (AMP)

 

Narrator #2: The people probably traveled here and there trying to find anybody who spoke the same language they did.

Narrator #1: So, now you know why people live all over the globe.

 

Narrator #2: When were the people of the Earth divided? The Bible states that it was during the lifetime of Peleg [peh-lehg].

Narrator #1: Who was Peleg? Check out Noah's family tree. He was the future grandson of Noah's middle son, Shem.

Narrator #2: FYI - Both the famous Abraham and Mary, the mother of Jesus, came from Shem's line.

 

Narrator #1: This story is a clue to something else you might have found puzzling.

Narrator #2: Why do people have so many different skin colors since we share the same long-ago grandfathers - Grandpa Noah and Grandpa Adam?

 

Narrator #1: After all, we are all distantly related and are part of the one race - the human race.

 

Narrator #2: Also, we all have bones, organs, and red blood coursing through our veins.

 

Narrator #1: The big difference is the pigment of our skin. Some of us have lighter skin pigment. Some have darker skin pigment.

Narrator #2: Perhaps the people who moved south of the equator and closer to the sun, like Africa, had darker pigments.

Narrator #1: Perhaps the people who moved far north of the equator to rainy or snowy regions had lighter pigments.

Narrator #2: In any case, that is the story of the Tower of Babel.

 

Narrator #1: Next week, we will begin hearing the stories connected with the famous Abraham and his wife Sarah.

Narrator #2: END OF SKIT. Let’s give our volunteers a great big hand!

Are you a Bible enthusiast or do you lead a Youth Group or Family Bible Study? To get a FREE PDF download of this story, click on this link below:

Free PDF download of Tower Of Babel – final story of the descendants of Noah.

Do you want more stories about Noah, the flood, and the aftermath of the flood? If so, visit the NOAH chapter from my EXPLORE BIBLE STORY dot org website.

Click here to get more stories about Noah.

My ever-expanding Explore Bible Story dot org website includes Bible stories and Biblical Family Trees about

• Creation, Adam, & his Descendants
• Noah, the Ark, & the Flood
• Abraham & Sarah
• Isaac & Rebekah, Esau & Jacob
• Jacob & his 4 wives
• 12 sons of Jacob who became known as the 12 Tribes of Israel
• Moses who was from the line of Levi
• Joshua who became leader of Israelites after death of Moses
• 12 Judges of Israel including Deborah, Gideon, & Samson
• Kings of Israel including Saul, David, & Solomon
• 4 Major Prophets of Israel: Isaiah, Daniel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel
• 12 Minor Prophets of Israel
• More Prophets of Israel: Samuel, Nathan, Elijah, & Elisha
• Women from Old & New Testament
• Jesus Christ, our Messiah, Lord, Savior, & King of king
• 12 Disciples of Jesus
• Apostle Paul & other Significant Followers of Christ
• Triune God: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit
• The Free Gift of Salvation & The Sinner's Prayer
• About Website: Explore Bible Story.org
• About the author: Debbie Dunn

Bible tale: Noah part 5 of 6

 

Noah part 5 of 6

Genesis 9:1-29

re-told by Debbie Dunn

Story highlights:

* Purpose of Noah’s ark & worldwide flood was to cleanse earth from sin & violence

* Rainbow is sign of God’s promise for no more worldwide floods

* All people on earth are descendants of 1 of Noah’s 3 sons

Bible role-play begins:

Narrator #1: After that year-long worldwide flood, 601-year-old Grandpa Noah would have found himself in the mountainous region of eastern Turkey.

 

Narrator #2: Unknown to them, there were volcanoes, earthquakes, mudslides, landslides, and erosion as the flood waters drained and evaporated.

Narrator #1: The flooding and all these natural disasters caused the formation of seven continents filled with glaciers, mountains, canyons, valleys, waterfalls, and bodies of water of various sizes.

 

Narrator #2: Trapped in layers and layers of sediment, geologists have found full-body fossils and skeletons of dinosaurs and other land animals next to skeletons of marine life and plants typically found deep in the ocean.

Narrator #1: As for human bones, it has been suggested that they may have been "eaten, decomposed, or washed away."

 

Narrator #2: On that long-ago day of about 4,500 years, Noah and his family of eight might have looked around and commented, "My goodness! Everything looks so different!"

Narrator #1: It must have been an odd thought that no matter how loudly they called out, no one was left on earth to answer them.

 

Narrator #2: Noah's wife might have said, "It is so sad that all those people drowned because they took more pleasure in pleasing the devil than they did in worshipping the one true God."

Narrator #1: Father God might have stated, "Their wicked, violent, and corrupt ways grieved my heart so much that I used the flood to cleanse the earth of sin. "

 

Narrator #2: Father God might have also stated, "I am so pleased that I could start over with Noah and his family of eight."

Narrator #1: You might think of it as a factory reset of a laptop computer or purchasing your first cell phone. You are starting anew with a clean slate.

 

Narrator #2: Similar to a computer hacker who can secretly plant viruses, bots, and spyware, the devil has had over 6,000 years of practice in tricking all of us into sinning in little and big ways.

Narrator #1: Of course, Noah was not perfect; however, he was the only one who did his best to honor our Creator.

 

Narrator #2: As Father God directed, it would be up to all those pairs of male and female animals, plus Noah's three sons and their wives, to re-populate the entire earth.

Narrator #1: Before the flood, all people and all animals were vegetarians. It was different now. Father God said:

 

 Father God: Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now provide you with everything.

 

Narrator #2: To keep the animals from killing off the family of eight and their future offspring, Father God said:

 

 Father God: The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea. I give them into your hands.

Narrator #1: Father God gave the four women and four men two rules: do not murder one another and do not eat rare or uncooked blood-filled meat.

Narrator #2: As Father God placed a beautiful rainbow in the sky, He stated:

 

 Father God: Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting promise or covenant that I made with you and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.

Narrator #1: What was God's promise to the people and animals?

 

 

 Father God: I establish my covenant with you. Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood. This rainbow in the clouds is the sign of My promise.

 

Narrator #2: As Noah and his family gazed at the rainbow, they must have felt greatly comforted.

Narrator #1: After the flood, Grandpa Noah lived another 350 years. He was 950 when he died.

 

Narrator #2: As for Shem, Japheth [ja·fuhth], and Ham and their wives, they each had many children and grandchildren.

1st Narrator: Many years later, Mary, the mother of Jesus, came from the line of Shem. 

 

(See link to page 5 of FREE PDF download below.)

Narrator #2: As for the rest of us, it is impossible to know which of them were our great uncles and which one of them was our long-ago grandpa.

Narrator #1: Come back next week to hear the fascinating story about the Tower of Babel [ba·bl]

 

Narrator #2: END OF SKIT. Let’s give our volunteers a great big hand!

Are you a Bible enthusiast or do you lead a Youth Group or Family Bible Study? To get a FREE PDF download of this story, click on this link below:

Free PDF download of Noah role-play part 5 of 6.

Do you want more stories about Noah, the flood, and the aftermath of the flood? If so, visit the NOAH chapter from my EXPLORE BIBLE STORY dot org website.

Click here to get more stories about Noah.

My ever-expanding Explore Bible Story dot org website includes Bible stories and Biblical Family Trees about

• Creation, Adam, & his Descendants
• Noah, the Ark, & the Flood
• Abraham & Sarah
• Isaac & Rebekah, Esau & Jacob
• Jacob & his 4 wives
• 12 sons of Jacob who became known as the 12 Tribes of Israel
• Moses who was from the line of Levi
• Joshua who became leader of Israelites after death of Moses
• 12 Judges of Israel including Deborah, Gideon, & Samson
• Kings of Israel including Saul, David, & Solomon
• 4 Major Prophets of Israel: Isaiah, Daniel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel
• 12 Minor Prophets of Israel
• More Prophets of Israel: Samuel, Nathan, Elijah, & Elisha
• Women from Old & New Testament
• Jesus Christ, our Messiah, Lord, Savior, & King of king
• 12 Disciples of Jesus
• Apostle Paul & other Significant Followers of Christ
• Triune God: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit
• The Free Gift of Salvation & The Sinner's Prayer
• About Website: Explore Bible Story.org
• About the author: Debbie Dunn

Bible tale: Noah part 4 of 6

 Noah part 4 of 6

Genesis 7:24 to 9:1

re-told by Debbie Dunn

Story highlights:

* Noah’s ark settled on mts of Ararat in eastern Turkey

* 371 days after flood began-Noah’s family & animals exited ark on dry land  

* God told Noah's sons & animals to increase in number & fill the earth 

Bible role-play begins:

Narrator #1: Imagine this. Six-hundred-year-old Noah and his wife, their three sons and wives, and hundreds of pairs of animals lived inside a floating ark.

 

 

Narrator #2: First, there were 40 days and nights of rain so heavy that it flooded the entire earth for 150 days.

Narrator #1: During those five months, were they ever seasick? Did the young women cry about never again seeing their family and friends?

 

Narrator #2: Did they suffer from survivor's guilt, being only eight of perhaps over 2 million people to survive?

Narrator #1: Each day, they had to feed themselves and then rush from the first floor to the second to the third to feed and water all those animals.

 

Narrator #2: Imagine the stench as they shoveled that stinky dung all those animals left behind. Ew!

Narrator #1: Did they talk with the parrots?

 

Narrator #2: Did they run races with the cheetahs, kangaroos, and ostriches?

Narrator #1: Did they play ball with the monkeys and gorillas?

 

Narrator #2: Did the elephants and horses ever give them a ride on their backs?

Narrator #1: Did they pet and take naps with the dogs, wolves, and lions?

 

Narrator #2: The four men and four women probably sang songs, told stories, and prayed to Father God.

Narrator #1: One of their prayers might have been, "Father God, please remember us. Allow this flood to end so we can walk on dry land again."

 

Narrator #2: Sure enough, Father God honored that prayer. He had already stopped the rainfall.

Narrator #1: Next, He sent a wind over the earth so that the waters would begin to recede.

 

Narrator #2: Two and half months passed. On the 17th day of the seventh month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat [eh-rr-at].

Narrator #1: You can find this mountain in eastern Turkey near the borders of the countries of Iran and Armenia.

 

Narrator #2: It took over nine months for the waters to recede. Can you imagine? That is the length of an entire school year spent in that ark. Wow!

Narrator #1: Noah might have opened the window daily to see if he could spot any dry land.

 

Narrator #2: On the first day of the tenth month, Noah might have called out, "Look! I can see the top of the mountain!"

Narrator #1: Forty days later, Noah's wife might have asked, "Noah, how will we know if there is any dry land for us to walk upon?"

 

Narrator #2: Noah likely answered, "I have a plan. I will send out this raven. It will return to us if there is nowhere to perch."

Narrator #1: Since the raven did not return, Noah chose a dove. He may have pleaded, "Dove, I hope you understand me. Please fly out and search for dry land."

 

Narrator #2: The dove returned a few hours later. Sigh! No dry land! 

Narrator #1: Seven days later. Noah said, "Okay, Dove, let's try again. Please fly out and search for dry land."

 

Narrator #2: That evening, the family of eight probably clapped and cheered because the dove returned with a freshly-plucked olive leaf in its beak.

Narrator #1: When Noah sent out the dove seven days later, it did not return.

 

Narrator #2: In the first month of Noah's 601st year of life, the water finally dried up all over the earth. Phew!

Narrator #1: After Noah removed the covering from the ark, his wife might have said, "The land appears dry, but is it safe?"

 

Narrator #2: They had to wait until the 27th day of the second month for the earth to be completely dry. Then, Father God said:

 

 Father God: Noah, come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. Bring out every living creature with you—the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground—so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number. 

Narrator #1: Father God opened the one door. Noah and his sons lowered the ramp.

 

Narrator #2: After being inside that ark for 371 days, he and his family could again stand on dry land.

Narrator #1: All the animals also walked, crawled, hopped, and flew out of the ark.

 

Narrator #2: To celebrate and thank Father God, Noah built an altar and sacrificed some birds and animals in His honor.

Narrator #1: Thankfully, Father God had Noah bring some extra pairs of some of the animals. That way, they would not go extinct.

 

Narrator #2: After Father God smelled the pleasing aroma of this sacrifice, He said in His heart:

 

 Father God: Never again will I curse the ground because of humans. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.

Narrator #1: Then, Father God blessed Noah and his sons. He said to them:

 

 Father God: Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.

 

Narrator #2: Tune in next week to see what happened next.

Narrator #1: END OF SKIT. Let’s give our volunteers a great big hand!

Are you a Bible enthusiast or do you lead a Youth Group or Family Bible Study? To get a FREE PDF download of this story, click on this link below:

Free PDF download of Noah role-play part 4 of 6.

Do you want more stories about Noah, the flood, and the aftermath of the flood? If so, visit the NOAH chapter from my EXPLORE BIBLE STORY dot org website.

Click here to get more stories about Noah.

My ever-expanding Explore Bible Story dot org website includes Bible stories and Biblical Family Trees about

• Creation, Adam, & his Descendants
• Noah, the Ark, & the Flood
• Abraham & Sarah
• Isaac & Rebekah, Esau & Jacob
• Jacob & his 4 wives
• 12 sons of Jacob who became known as the 12 Tribes of Israel
• Moses who was from the line of Levi
• Joshua who became leader of Israelites after death of Moses
• 12 Judges of Israel including Deborah, Gideon, & Samson
• Kings of Israel including Saul, David, & Solomon
• 4 Major Prophets of Israel: Isaiah, Daniel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel
• 12 Minor Prophets of Israel
• More Prophets of Israel: Samuel, Nathan, Elijah, & Elisha
• Women from Old & New Testament
• Jesus Christ, our Messiah, Lord, Savior, & King of king
• 12 Disciples of Jesus
• Apostle Paul & other Significant Followers of Christ
• Triune God: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit
• The Free Gift of Salvation & The Sinner's Prayer
• About Website: Explore Bible Story.org
• About the author: Debbie Dunn