22 JUNE GENESIS 11

Babel and the Birth of Nations – From Scattering to Sending

The human race, descending from Noah, had begun to multiply again. But with growth came a desire for self-sufficiency and human glory, culminating in the construction of a city and a tower designed to reach Heaven.

Genesis 11:1–4 (NIV) "Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, ‘Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.’ They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 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.’"

This was not just a construction project, it was a rebellion. Humanity sought to unify itself in pride, defying God’s instruction to fill the earth. The tower was a monument to self-exaltation, "let us make a name for ourselves", in direct contrast to God’s plan that His name be glorified among the nations. But the Lord responded:

Genesis 11:5–7 (NIV) "But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 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. Come, let Us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.’" The phrase "let Us go down" echoes the divine plurality seen in Genesis 1:26. The unity of the Godhead contrasts the unity of human rebellion. What they intended for self-glory, God dismantled for His greater plan. Thus God’s intervention halted the rebellion:

Genesis 11:8–9 (NIV) "So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 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."

Babel means confusion. What began as human ambition ended in disunity. Yet this was not punishment without purpose. The scattering of the nations was a divine strategy to fill the earth with diverse peoples who would one day be gathered again in Christ. The confusion at Babel foreshadows its reversal at Pentecost, where unity was restored by the Spirit, not through human strength, but through divine grace.

Acts 2:4–6 (NIV) "All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under Heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken."

At Babel, languages divided; at Pentecost, languages declared the glory of God. What humanity fractured through pride, the Spirit redeemed through praise. The remainder of Genesis 11 shifts to genealogy, specifically the line of Shem leading to Abram. In the very chapter where the nations are scattered, God begins the process of redemption through a single man.

Genesis 11:27–29 (NIV) "This is the account of Terah’s family line. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai…" God’s answer to Babel was not merely dispersion, it was a promise. From Abram would come a people through whom all nations would be blessed.

Galatians 3:8 (NIV) "Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you.’"

Genesis 11 ends with scattering but prepares the way for gathering. From many tongues, God will bring forth one kingdom. From Babel’s pride, He will raise up humble faith. And from Abram’s seed, He will send the Saviour of all peoples.