Someone says, what are you saying? I can’t understand you. You are talking nonsense. Stop babbling. You know what they are referring to right? It is a reference to what happened in Genesis Chapter 11 at the tower of Babel.
The story of the Tower of Babel is uber significant. It explains the diversities of languages and the scattering of people. The founder of Southwestern Seminary, B. H. Carrol, said about the Tower of Babel, “This is one of the mightiest and far most reaching miracles of history. It Transends in importance all the plagues of Egypt. Indeed, it finds no counterpart until the day of Pentecost.”
The building of the tower.
Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. 3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:1-4)
We find out before the building of the tower of babel there was one common language for all. The intention of building the tower is stated. To make a tower to reach the heavens to make a name for themselves.
We find in the chapters of Genesis leading up to the tower of babel that things went from bad at the fall of man to worse. After the fall Cain murdered his brother Able. There was so much wickedness on earth that God only found one, righteous Noah. God destroyed the earth with a flood to begin again with righteous Noah and his family.
Now again we see the evil intensions of man. Their plan was to build a city with a tower that reached to the heavens, to make a name for themselves and to keep from being scattered. There plan was sinful in that it was self-exaltation. It was a thirst for fame and recognition.
This plan, which was man centered was to establish a world empire with a central base. There plan was outside the will of God. They never seek God out regarding their plan. Because of their ego they were not sensitive to their dependence of God.
Everything they did was for their own glory. This would be the great tower for their names sake. It was something they could point to and say, look what I did. It was foolish to reach up to the heavens without recognizing God.
It is comparable to a works orientated salvation. Those who are trying to reach up to God, become good enough for God. For someone who becomes good enough to reach God and say, look what I did. I achieved it.
God’s plan is to come down and reach man. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” (Genesis 11:7)
Our task is to point people to the grace of God. We could never reach up to God. He came to us. He reached down and made provision in Jesus Christ.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians2:8-9)
Mans selfish plans excluding God are in vain.
Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. (Proverbs 19:21)
The LORD foils the plans of the nations;
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
11 But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever,
the purposes of his heart through all generations. (Psalm 33:10-11)
Plans that do not consult God are not only self-exalting, but in direct disobedience to God’s commands.
Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. (Genesis 9:1) Instead of fill the earth, they wanted to stay together in one location. The tower of babel was contrary to the plan of God. This provoked God to act.
God’s Judgement at the tower of babel.
But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The LORD said, “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. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” 8 So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel—because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
God came down and put a stop to the man-glorifying rebellious activity. God involves himself in the affairs of man. This is why we seek God in all our plans. God is active and involved in all our affairs. Our plans for vacation, our plans for education our plans for family, for retirement, all our plans, seek God first. Our salvation we seek God first. We do not plan out how to reach God.
God supernaturally confused the languages. There are over 7,000 languages spoken in the world today.
What they tried to prevent at the tower of babel, being scattered they actually caused. Why? Because they acted outside the will of God. God blesses us when we act according to his will. Our human effort is futile apart from the will of God.
Unless the LORD builds the house,
the builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the guards stand watch in vain. (Psalm 127:1)
Pentecost opened a new chapter of history. Pentecost was the Tower of Babel in reverse! The Holy Spirit comes to reach those separated from God by sin. They are not unified for mans glory but for God’s glory. This is not a city with a tower, but the church with one purpose to glorify God.
at that time I will change the speech of the peoples
to a pure speech, that all of them may call on the name of the LORD
and serve him with one accord. (Zephaniah 3:9)
Barnes commentary on Zephaniah 3:9 says: “At Pentecost, the unity restored was oneness of soul and heart, wrought by One Spirit, whose gift is the one Faith and the one Hope of our calling, in the One Lord, in whom we are one, grafted into the one body, by our baptism Ephesians 4:3-6. The Church, then created, is the One Holy Universal Church diffused throughout all the world, everywhere with one rule of Faith,”
What are you doing that you have not sought out the will of God? Have you attempted self-centered plans? Serving God according to His plans brings meaning, joy and true purpose.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians2:8-9)
We do not reach God by our works that we could boast. It is God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
