Articles
Turning Points in Bible History - 3
Following the flood we can only imagine the immense task of rebuilding human civilization from utter ruin. The Bible does not embellish the story; in fact, it gives only a cursory account with one exception: the scattering of humanity from Babel (Gen 11:1-9).
“There have been a few occasions on which the accomplishment of God’s very purposes for the world became so endangered that divine intervention was required. The antediluvian corruption was one such instance, the rebellion at Babel another” (Morris, The Genesis Record, 272).
The sin of these people is found in the phrase: “let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth” (11:4). Of course, that directly violates God’s original instruction to “fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen 1:28). Their ambition seemed to be the construction of a city and center of worship that would be self-glorifying, rebellious against God. The sin was not in congregating in cities per se, for God afterward permitted this and designated cities for certain functions under Mosaic Law.
In confusing their languages, God imposed a dispersion that He wanted to occur naturally. Ethnic subdivisions, while the cause of discord and unrest, in God’s estimation are the lesser of two evils. It seems that man’s concerted rebellion against God, unimpeded by these barriers, would bring his demise more swiftly.
