In Genesis 11:1-9 we find the story commonly referred to as “The tower of Babel.” Most of us have heard this story at one time or other in our lives. Reading the story through the first few times, it appears to have little direct application to our lives today. But as with many of the stories in the Bible, a closer look reveals some very powerful truths that certainly do apply to us today.
In the first verse of the chapter, we are told that the entire population of the earth spoke the same language. Then in verses two and three we read that they settled somewhere in modern-day Iraq, and began to build a city and the famous “tower of Babel.” The reason they gave for wanting to build this city and the tower is given in verse 4:
“…Lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole
earth.”
Unfortunately, this was the very thing that God wanted for them to do, in order that they might “fill the earth” as he had commanded in Genesis 1:28 and 9:1. Upon seeing what they were doing, in verse 6 God made the following amazing statement:
“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.”
This statement speaks volumes about the power of unity. God knew that as a result of their oneness as a people, and their common language, they would be able to accomplish whatever they set out to accomplish. Unfortunately, the very first thing they set out to accomplish was in direct rebellion to God’s will for mankind. With this as a clear indication of where they would go if left unchecked, God found it necessary to intervene.
But what makes this story truly amazing and unique is how God chose to intervene:
“Let us go down and confuse their language so they will
not understand each other.”
Certainly there were a number of ways God could have stopped this building project. He could have simply appeared to the people and told them to stop. And if that failed, He could easily have stopped them by force – perhaps through natural disasters, or angelic intervention. Or he could have lured various ones away with other projects. Instead, He simply chose to confuse (Hebrew “Babel”) or mix-up their language.
Once this was accomplished, the project was effectively stopped, since the various workers could no longer understand each other. The only logical conclusion was for them to divide up into smaller groups based on common languages, and settle elsewhere with those others having who spoke their language. This is precisely what they did, being scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth, and in this way God got them to fulfill his command to fill the earth.
What is particularly striking about this story is how powerful a little confusion can be! And you can be sure the enemy is aware of this principle as well! One of his most effective strategies is to confuse and/or divide the people of God, thereby effectively putting a stop to any project or “tower” they might have been building together. Let us be all the more vigilant to “preserve the unity of the Spirit!” (Ephesians 4:3)