In chapter 10 we see a record of the generations of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. It’s referred to as the Table of 70 nations - a record of all the nations that came from Noah’s and his sons and as they were dispersed. What is interesting is that, chronologically, chapter 10 should come after chapter 11. It’s kind of like a Hollywood movie that opens up with the last scene and then cuts back to the beginning so we know how and why we got to this place in time.
In chapter 11, the nations are being dispersed but chapter 10 affirms that all of humanity, in spite of geographical and linguistic and cultural differences, share a common origin, nobility, and inherent value. Even though the nations went into different directions, God knows every tribe, people, and nation and He loves each one and has a plan of salvation for them. We see this expressed thousands of years later when Jesus sends out the 70 disciples to share the gospel to the known nations. God created the world and He desires to redeem it. Let’s read:
Genesis 11: 1-9 (SL 2)
1 Now all the earth used the same language and the same words. 2 And it came about, as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks and fire them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. 4 And they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let’s make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of all the earth.” 5 Now the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the men had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they have started to do, and now nothing which they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth; and they stopped building the city. 9 Therefore it was named Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth (NASB 2020).
Let’s look at the nations’ plans vs. God’s plans. The first think we observe in this chapter is
They were looking for a place.
We see in v. 1 that all the inhabitants of the earth used the same language and the same words. Possibly other languages or dialects did exist in their day but they all had a common lingua franca. The earliest recorded language is Sumarian, dating back to 3,100 B.C. Archeologists estimate that the Sumarian culture dates back to about 4,500 B.C. One Sumerian epic recorded that at one time, all people spoke one language.
There is nothing wrong with having a common language. It isn’t evil, nor the cause of evil. Communication, community life, and unity was greatly enhanced by it. Potentially, a common language could have drawn men and women together in the worship and work of God but in this case, this common language was misused to accomplish selfish purposes.
In v. 2, instead of spreading out and populating the whole earth like God told them to, Noah’s son’s descendents chose to move east to the plains in Mesopotamia. “East” indicates trouble because throughout the book of Genesis “from the east” or “towards east” suggests movement away from God. Eastward marks events of separation. Some examples:
When Cain left the presence of the Lord, he settled in the land of Nod east of Eden (Gen 4:16).
When Lot departs from Abraham, he goes eastward.
When Jacob left his homeland, fleeing from his brother, he lived with the eastern people.
When the people in Genesis 11 migrated east, their plan was to find a place that looked good and to settle there. My Question for you -So is there anything wrong with finding a good place to settle and to build your life? In this context, what do you think was the real problem?
The problem was that this was not what God had called them to do - to disperse and repopulate the earth. Instead, they deliberately went against God’s mandate and did their own thing. They made a decision to move away from God, to separate themselves from Him. There were looking for a place because
They had a plan:
In verse 3, They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks.” It says they made bricks instead of using stone and used tar instead of mortar. Why is the author making the emphasis on the building materials? Because sun-dried or kiln-baked bricks set with tar was a Babylonian invention, whereas Israel, in Moses’ time, used uncut stone and mortar. When Moses wrote down this account in the Hebrew, the sentence translates this way, “We use stone; they have only brick!” The implication is that the people were using materials made by man not God, it was a man-made religious system and ideology that bound them together. But the building material was inferior.
Why does it matter what we build with?
We could ask our selves:
What material are you using to build your marriage?
What material are we using to build our families?
What materials, truths, are we using to build our lives?
Is there anything we are using that doesn’t line up with God’s words and His ways?
What is the Spirit of God building in us, what is our prayer life built on?
What is the basis of our relationships, our decisions and commitments?
What binds us together as an international church, as a people of God?
There will be relationships in our lives that are temporary and there are people we share common interests with and there’s nothing wrong with this. We can enjoy those things but we don’t build our lives around those things. If we want security, we build our lives around God. They found a place, they had a plan and that plan…
had a purpose.
v. 4?:
“Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let’s make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of all the earth.”
What do you think their motivation was for building a tower and a city?
To build a place of security, a place that reflects their ideology, their beliefs, not God’s.
Most likely this tower they were building in the Mesopotamian region served a sacred purpose. From what we know from archeological findings, these spiraling towers that are still in existence from the time of Babylon, ancient ziggurats, served as both religious centers and symbols of power. They connected the earthly with the divine and at the top is where humankind met with god, a privileged place. It was as if humankind could be equal with God.
The people’s purpose in building this city and this tower was to empower themselves. This tower would not only reach into the heavens, the tower would become the center of the universe. This story of Babel mirrors the story of Eden, the place looked good, they wanted to be like God without God.
Do you see any parallels to what we as a human race attempt to do today?
Who else said they would ascend to heaven, to raise his throne above the stars of God? That he would make himself equal to the Most High God? (Isa 14:13-14).
What was another purpose of the tower? “Let us make a name for ourselves.” They were driven by the fear of anonymity. No one wants to be irrelevant, we all hope to make a difference where we are. How could we apply this today?
In 2024, it is estimated that 1.93 trillion photos will be taken worldwide and many of these photos will be shared online - 6.9 billion images on WhatsApp per day, 3.8 billion on Snapchat, 2.1 billion on Facebook, and 1.3 billion on Instagram. The vast majority probably will never be seen by others, but billions will still be uploaded anyway. The drive to be known can cause people to do the most insane and even dangerous things, to recreate themselves to the point that no one recognizes them anymore. All to keep up an image, to build a reputation.” Building their lives around themselves because they have made themselves the center of the universe.
The desire for a moment of fame is everywhere. It drives politicians and preachers, athletes and actors, actually it can drive any of us. If we can make a name for ourselves so people esteem us and accept us, we will have succeeded / we think. That image becomes an idol. I do not think we were made for fame.
Whose name are we lifting up? What type of reputation are we trying to build? We can make a name for ourselves (not sure what you want people to think about you) but that reputation can be gone in a moment it’s quite fragile. It’s quite another thing when God makes a name for you - when you love Him, His ways, and are building your life around Him. You will have a reputation of being a man or woman of godly character - faithful, humble, teachable, wise, gentle, loving,caring, a person of your word, a person of integrity. God said about Moses that he was the meekest man on the whole earth. God is the Judge, (not people); He puts down one and exalts another (Ps 75:7). Promotion doesn’t come from the east or the west, promotion comes from the Lord.
Verse 5 is the turning point of the story. “Now” and “But” are transitional words. Now the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the men were building (it was still a work in progress). The Hebrew for men here describes the frailty of mortal lives and the brevity of their accomplishments.
V. 6 says,
And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they have started to do, and now nothing which they plan to do will be impossible for them.
The issue wasn’t the tower or the city, it was that people were trying to build their lives without God and He knew what the consequences would be.
They would create an illusion of self-sufficiency through their own religion, their own ingenuity, security systems, and symbols of power. And in their delusion they would never need God.
So the Trinity said:
Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.
God, who saw that their plans might very well succeed, moved to rescue them from those very plans and return them to the divine blessing that awaited them. He confused their language - It must have been a shock to everyone - like going to watch a foreign movie and realizing there are no subtitles.
V. 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth; and they stopped building the city.
Like the Garden of Eden, where God kept Adam and Eve from eating from the Tree of Life so they would not live in their fallen miserable state forever, God disperses these people so they would not put their faith in a false religion or build their lives around false security and spend eternity away from Him. God actually rescued them. It happens to Christians.
When the early church got comfortable in Jerusalem (Acts 8), God used persecution to disperse the believers. If that hadn’t happen, the gospel would not have gone into all the world.
Warren Wiersbe said,
God is at work in His world and is accomplishing His purposes in spite of the plans and projects of sinful people.
Has God ever stopped your plans, maybe even moved you from a place that seemed very secure and you wondered why?
Have you ever wanted something so bad that it occupies every waking moment?
Could it be that He knew you would build your life around this place or thing and forget about Him and His plans for your life? Do you think it could be because He wanted to bless you with so much more, something far better? Could it be that God is rescuing you from building your life around inferior things because He has a better place, plan and purpose for you? God wants to give us good things, the best things. He just doesn’t want these frail and inferior things to take His place in our lives.
Kent Hughes said (& I’m paraphrasing):
We must abandon our Babylonian hearts’ search for security and significance in the city of man with all its delusions. Man’s heart may meld political philosophy and economic theory and technology and psychology and religion into a mighty, self-elevating ziggurat—but it will never satisfy the autonomy or security we long for. We will never scale heaven. We must leave off chasing after a name and find our identity, security, and significance in Christ.
