Commentaries on Genesis 11 give some helpful historical context. In Mesopotamia, where this story is set, the building of “Ziggurats” was a common practice. These large towers stood beside temples in urban centers. The temples were a place to worship pagan gods, and the Ziggurat was intended to be a link between heaven and earth, often containing a small room at the top where the god could live. The people in Genesis 11 were not the only ones to try to link heaven and earth through human effort. But the Bible is clear, this cannot be done. Only God can bring heaven to earth, and He did it through Jesus! As you read, consider how this passage points directly to the coming of the Son of God.
Study the Scripture
Read in Genesis 11:1-9
For more help use this Bible Study method
REFLECTION
Defeating the Language Barrier
by Judy Webb
I remember reading about
the Tower of Babel as a child. Our family Bible contained lots of images
and this story showed an illustration of people ascending and descending a ladder to the skies. I liked the image, but never got the gist of it until I was
older and read on my own. Of course, without pictures I still fumbled
through the texts. The words didn't make sense, until I started to study,
and research.
Many struggle to understand the stories in scripture without someone to
guide and answer questions. It
doesn't come about naturally as we sit and read, but a bit of digging and
questioning is required. The best way to learn is to ask, "What's
this all about?" So, I joined a small group where I enjoyed the
privilege of someone else's wisdom and understanding, drawing from their deep well
of knowledge.
Researching this topic, we can discover interesting facts. For instance, I
believe this tale told of vain individuals whose desire was to reach heaven on
their own power. One commentary writes that this is a narrative of
rebellion, which takes place between two accounts of faithful obedience - Noah
and Abraham.
The motives of these men were not pure. They planned to use this
construction as a place to house their god. These people, though direct
descendants of Noah, were not practicing his faith. God told Noah to
spread out and multiply thereby repopulating the planet, but they decided to do
the opposite and stay put, here in one location. Their way was to play safe,
to make names for themselves by constructing this massive tower.
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 the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From
there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth. (Genesis
11:8-9)
The word 'babble' originates here.
Acts 2 tells of a day when the language barrier, squashed by the Holy Spirit,
overcame this hurdle. Following Jesus' death and resurrection, the Spirit
descended upon His followers and gave them the ability to be understood by all
nations. Eventually all roads must lead to Jesus for Salvation.
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