The Tower Of Babel (Genesis 11)

God separated our ancestors into language groups at Babel to encourage them to migrate and populate the whole world. On Pentecost, God began a process of reversing the language division at Babel, bringing the nations back together again in one church (Acts 2), through the miracle of hearing the message in their own languages. Let’s examine this in Genesis 11.

Had God commanded a family blessing for Noah and his sons to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth (Genesis 9:1)? But, did the people choose to rebel against God and make a name for themselves instead? Is this kind of self-aggrandizing attitude still evident in the world’s nations today?

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:1-4 ESV)

What did God do? Was populating the whole world God’s intent?

Then the Lord came down to look over the city and the tower that the men were building. The Lord said, “If they have begun to do this as one people all having the same language, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let Us go down there and confuse their language so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” So from there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth, and they stopped building the city. Therefore its name is called Babylon, for there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth, and from there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth. (Genesis 11:5-9 HCSB)

Who were names of note in the generations from Shem to Abram?

These are the family records of Shem. When Shem had lived 100 years, he fathered Arpachshad two years after the flood. Shem lived 500 years after he fathered Arpachshad and had other sons and daughters. When Arpachshad had lived 35 years, he fathered Cainan. After he fathered Cainan, Arpachshad lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters, and then died. Cainan lived 130 years and fathered Shelah. After he fathered Shelah, Cainan lived 330 years and had other sons and daughters, and then died. When Shelah had lived 30 years, he fathered Eber. After he fathered Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters. When Eber had lived 34 years, he fathered Peleg. After he fathered Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters. When Peleg had lived 30 years, he fathered Reu. After he fathered Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters. When Reu had lived 32 years, he fathered Serug. After he fathered Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters. When Serug had lived 30 years, he fathered Nahor. After he fathered Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters. When Nahor had lived 29 years, he fathered Terah. After he fathered Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters. When Terah had lived 70 years, he fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran. (Genesis 11:10-26 ISV)

What happened to Abram’s family including his father Terah?

Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot. And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees. And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah. But Sarai was barren; she had no child. And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran. (Genesis 11:27-32 KJV)

God separated our ancestors into language groups at Babel to encourage them to migrate and populate the whole world. On Pentecost, God began a process of reversing the language division at Babel, bringing the nations back together again in one church (Acts 2), through the miracle of hearing the message in their own languages. What is our attitude towards foreigners? You decide!