The Tower Of Babel God Confounds The People’s Tongues:
This is the only story in God’s Holy Word The Bible, that after reading it, I had to shake my head, and ask myself: Why? What is God thinking? Why would God do such a thing to His people? What purpose does God’s actions serve? Why are God’s actions warranted in this story? This story by God confuses me.
GENESIS: 11: 1-9a
"And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shi-nar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Go to let us make brick and burn it thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. And the said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the Lord said, behold, the people is one, and, they have one language, and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down and therefore confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord dod confound the language of the earth."
So here we are. A hundred or so years after the great flood had passed and the inhabitants of Noah’s Ark had left seeking their destiny, and as they wander throughout the land they multiply and become a large group of people.
The bible tells us that the people were all of one language and one speech. The people are all travelling together staying together as a group. We can presume that they are heading west as the bible tells us that they journeyed from the East, and they arrive at a place, a plain in the land of Shi-nar and the people decided to stop there and dwell there.
After a while the people decide that this would be a great place to build, and put down roots, so they begin to make bricks and with the bricks thay begin to build first building their own little city with homes and the like, and then they decide to build a tower.
This was to be no ordinary tower for the wanted to try and build it high enough so that it would reach unto heaven. It seemed obvious from this part of the scripture that they must know God, or at least know of Him, and knew that God lived somewhere in heaven.
Here comes the part of this particular Bible story where I as a reader and a student of God become confused, perplexed, confounded, and begin to ask myself all of those questions about God, and I’m still not certain I have the right answer or answers.
Along comes God our Father with the Holy Spirit to check up on things with this group of God’s people. God and the Holy Spirit notice that here is a group of people building a city out of brick and mortar, which in my mind is a good thing.
The Bible says nothing about whether or not the people are disobedient to any of God’s Holy Laws or Ordinances because I guess we haven’t even gotten to the book of Exodus and the story of Moses and the people of Israel yet, where God finally give his laws to the people, so what wrong, are these people doing that upsets God. They’ve built homes and are building this tower that they hope will reach the heavens.
The only clue God gives us is that when God and the Holy Spirit see everything, the homes and the tower God begins to think that there is nothing that will hold back these people from progressing, but progressing to what?
God for whatever the reason decides to confound the language of the people so that they would not be able to understand one another and then goes on to scatter the people across the land.
So here was maybe a thousand or more people living together, working together, enjoying life together, in peace and harmony, with only one common language, probably with one common goal, building a city to live in, and a tower. What one might ask is so terrible about that?
This is the one and only story in either the Old Testament, OR, the New Testament of the Holy Bible wher Our Father Almighty God acts, and doesn’t give any rhime or reason for His actions.
This is the only story in the Holy Bible that leaves one wondering a whole lot of "Negative Questions" about God and about His thoughts and plans for mankind.
This is the only story in the Holy Bible that makes one wonder what God is all about for real.
The only two conclusions that I have been able to reach with regards to this Biblical account is that, God feared that this group of people ?might learn something God felt they were not ready to learn because they would not be able to understand it; OR, God did not desire to have these people congregated in just one place.
The second reason makes no sense though, for here is a group of God’s people growing together, of one mind together, working and playing together towards a common goal. Isn’t this what Jesus discusses in the Gospels, doesn’t that sound a lot like what Heaven or the "New Earth" might be like after Jesus comes to reclaim earth from satan.
Maybe God in this story thought that it was to soon for His people to be gathering together so He confounds their language and scatters them. I really don’t have a clue with this story what God was thinking here, and since I am left with more questions than answers, I am left asking myself and My God, what were you thinking to do this to your chosen people?