The Fall || Tower Defense #2 (FINALE)

week 2 the fall

Has the Tower of Babel story confused you? The story is only nine verses in Genesis 11, but I’ve never had it taught or preached in a way that makes sense. I’ve always accepted it as just another story while hearing that some theologians include this as part of the Creation narrative. I went deeper into these nine verses, looking at all the study notes and connective scriptures to see how the rest of the Bible refers to this story. I can’t tell if I’m more confused or less, but I saw some things that connected with knowledge about the New Testament that intrigued me and made sense (at least in my mind.) I spent about six hours looking at these nine verses, I believe, and think I piece together a short two-part series about the rise and fall of this tower. If you read both parts and remain as confused as you were before, or worse, please see your local pastor or Sunday School teacher for the remedy. 

We are wrapping up our “Tower Defenses” series. We are looking at the last five verses of the Tower of Babel story in Genesis 11:1-9. In the first part, we looked at the rise of these people and understood where they came from, who they were, and how their lineages were shown throughout the rest of the Bible. We walked away with this key point: God separated his people to bring them together through Jesus. In this part, we will look at God’s perspective of these people and what it means they were scattered apart. 

Genesis 11:5-9

5 But the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building. 

6 “Look!” he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them! 

7 Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other.” 

8 In that way, the Lord scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city. 

9 That is why the city was called Babel, because that is where the Lord confused the people with different languages. In this way he scattered them all over the world. 

As I did in the first part, I want to share two other translations of this story and see what is similar and different. 

The NASB says this: 

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.

The NRSVUE says this: 

5 The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. 

6 And the Lord said, “Look, they are one people, and they have all one language and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will be impossible for them. 

7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language there, 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 left off building the city. 

9 Therefore it was called 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.

There aren’t that many noticeable differences. God came down to see the city and tower. He realized these people’s power and recognized that nothing could stop them. So, he confused the language and scattered them all over the earth. The city never got finished and was called Babel, known for this incident. 

God separated people into different languages and spread those groups worldwide.

Genesis 10:5

5 Their descendants became the seafaring peoples that spread out to various lands, each identified by its own language. 

This refers to the descendants of Japtheth, but I believe this is the structure of all God’s people used here. 

God coming down to see this city and tower was a big deal.

Genesis 18:21

21 I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know.

God feared a second coming of a society that was so chaotic it led to the Flood of Genesis 6. That’s why he stopped the Tower of Babel. He wants to ensure that there will be nothing like that again. God wasn’t ignorant of what Sodom was about but wanted to be fair and patient. He gave that community one last chance to repent. Their hearts were hardened to the point where God had enough. The city would fall apart and crumble away to nothing. 

God wants to give all of us this chance.

2 Peter 3:9

9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. 

God doesn’t operate on the human standard of time. He exists outside of it. It’s easy to look at the world and see the chaos and wish God would just come get us now. It’s easy to feel our physical or mental health get to a weak spot and have the desire for God to end it all for us. That isn’t how God works. God’s plan is eternal. It exists outside of our concept of time. This is when we need to lean into our faith and trust in God’s timing, for things will happen when they need to happen. 

Peter’s mindset here focuses on the end days when Jesus returns to earth. The tone and language used here to address an immediacy. The idea is, “We don’t know when Jesus is returning, so let’s get it right now.” This is true. Scripture states that no one but God knows when the second coming will happen. It’s not for us to know. We’re called to use the power of the Holy Spirit to share the story and teachings of Jesus to all corners of the earth. It’s Acts 1:7-8 that I’m talking about here again.

Psalm 90:4

4 For you, a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few night hours. 

Recognize that it’s not a direct quote that Peter uses. He uses the concept in 2 Peter 3:8. For me, a direct quote would signify continuity in the teaching where a reference provides contextual understanding. 

Moses is writing about humans’ frailty compared with God’s eternality. We even see Moses talk about how life is short and that we should make the most of life.

Psalm 90:12

12 Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom. 

The recognition that life is short should ignite our interest and motivation in doing things for the better of the kingdom of God here on earth. God didn’t see this in the Flood issues from Genesis 5. (A possible reason why we see a cap put on humanity.) God didn’t see this in the Tower of Babel saga in Genesis 11. (Leading to the displacement of people.) God didn’t see this from what happened in Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19. It’s important to recognize this pattern and see what we can take away from it. We need to make sure that our actions align with God’s plan and repent as soon as possible if they aren’t.

Exodus 19:11

11 Be sure they are ready on the third day, for on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai as all the people watch. 

Moses was preparing to consecrate the Israelites, meaning he was getting them physically and spiritually ready to meet God. The acts of consecration, such as washing and preparing themselves, prepared their hearts and minds for God. We can do that same thing when we interact with God and come into his presence. It’s setting your phone on silent or do not disturb. It’s finding a spot where you know you’ll be uninterrupted. It could be turning on worship music or sitting down with your favorite drink to read scripture or journal. There are many ways to prepare, but it’s about what fits the best for you and where you are walking with God. 

God saw that the people were united. I figure it would be good that this happened, but no. God was worried that they would come together to create more evil like they did in Genesis 5. God loves to see us working together for the greater good. Groups of people getting together to serve in the church, feed the homeless, cook and deliver meals together, and more are great things God wants us to see. When we do the same thing for our own pride and ego, it causes concern to God. God saw this group build a city and a tower to signify their greatness. He knew that if they could do this, then they could do anything. 

He calls on Jesus and the Holy Spirit to come with him to confuse the people with multiple languages. They figured it was a way to stop communication, and that’s what happened. The building stopped, and the people dispersed. This brought to mind the story of Pentecost.

Acts 2:1-12

1 On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. 

2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 

3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them.  

4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. 

5 At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. 

6 When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers. 

7 They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee,

8 and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages!

9 Here we are – Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, 

10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome

11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!”

12 They stood there amazed and perplexed, “What can this mean?” They asked each other. 

For me, verses 1-4 paint a reverse image of what we see happening at the Tower of Babel. I know we don’t understand how they confused the people in Genesis 11, but I feel like this could be how. There are some Old Testament concepts being shown here in this story. 

We hear about flames and tongues of fire. In Exodus 19:16-18, God confirmed the validity of the Old Testament law with fire from heaven. In 1 Kings 18:22-40, God sent fire from heaven to burn up Elijah’s sacrifice. Here, God confirms the validity of the Holy Spirit’s ministry by sending fire. Fire symbolizes God’s purifying presence, which burns away the undesirable elements of our lives and ignites the desire to help others. 

All these people were speaking in other languages as the Spirit led them. All the nationalities represented recognized their own languages being spoken. Moreso, they saw the Holy Spirit’s presence and power at work. God initially confused them with different languages but now used those languages to help them all communicate with each other. The story now comes full circle again.

I hope you enjoyed this short study on the Tower of Babel. I found this interesting as I worked through the Old Testament and have walked away with newer understandings that have both baffled and energized me. God is good. Starting on January 16th will be our new series about Luke 6:38. Hope you’re ready for that. Until then, stay blessed.


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