Tower of Confusion

Some of our most memorable mistakes can come when we try to speak a different language from our own. A mistake like this happened to me when I was in Guatemala—because I speak very little Spanish. At one point during the trip, we went to a busy market. A man started speaking to me in Spanish. The problem was, I only understood some of the words he was saying. So, I attempted to say in Spanish, “I don’t speak Spanish.” I knew right away I’d made a mistake because he gave me the strangest look. It turns out I didn’t tell him, “I don’t speak Spanish”; I told him he didn’t speak Spanish. Language confusion is nothing new. In Genesis 11, we read that all people once spoke the same language. Unfortunately, the people got really prideful and decided to build a tower to “make a name” for themselves so they could be praised as being better than God (verse 4). To stop their wickedness—which God knew would only grow worse—God confused the people by making it so they spoke different languages and couldn’t understand each other anymore (verses 6-7). The incident was so memorable that that place was named “Babel” (sometimes called “Babylon”)—which means “confusion” (verse 9). Throughout Scripture, the names of Babel and Babylon are used to talk about an actual wicked city and kingdom as well as to symbolize the wickedness and brokenness of humanity as a whole. But here’s the good news: in Christ, Babylon won’t have the last word (Revelation 18). People of all languages who have put their trust in Jesus will live forever with Him, free from the brokenness of sin and death (Revelation 7:9-17; 21:1-5). • Melissa Yeagle • Babylon both figuratively and literally shows the sin and confusion of our broken world. Read Revelation 18 and 21:1-8. How is Jerusalem, God’s city, different from the city of Babylon? • At Pentecost, God showed how He is redeeming language for His kingdom (Acts 2). Why is it so important that God’s people in Christ come “from every nation, tribe, people, and language” (Revelation 7:9)? After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands. Revelation 7:9 (CSB)

Read Verses:

Genesis 11:1-9