Day 5: Tower of Babel – Genesis 11

Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 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 and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men 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.” 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.

Why does the world speak different languages? Why does the world do anything? It’s because we messed up. We wanted to be near God. We decided that we would make a gigantic tower reaching to the heavens. When the Lord heard this He was not happy. He decided that He would make the people stay as close to the world as they were before. The people wanted to build the Tower. But the Lord came down on them and made them speak different languages. The people were scattered around the world and they didn’t understand a word each other said. It’s just like when you go to the store and someone in front of you is speaking Spanish and you have no idea what they are saying. To me it’s really weird and funny at the same time. But they are really unique at the same time and they speak really fast, too.

Two points come from this story. One reason that the Lord did this was so the people would depend solely on Him and not on each other. The more we trust in God the more we grow in our faith. The other point we must remember is that God made was that He alone is Lord. We can’t get to heaven until your time here on earth is done. That’s when He decides, not you.
-Timberlee Weiland

O God, You once taught the hearts of Your faithful people by sending them the light of Your Holy Spirit. Grant us in our day by the same Spirit to have a right understanding in all thing and evermore to rejoice in His Holy consolation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

Sources:
Schnorr von Charolsfeld woodcuts © WELS permission granted for personal and congregational use.

Collect for Pentecost Series C – Lutheran Service Book © 2008 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis