THE CONFUSION OF TONGUES

Genesis 11:1-9

Morning Meditation 1/5/2014

"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 Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. And they 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 all 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 there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth."

God will allow man to go so far and then He pulls in the reins and says, "That is as far as you are going."

After the flood men began again to multiply on the face of the earth. The earth was filled with corruption and rebellion against God. The character that stands out in this story is Nimrod. We have this recorded in Genesis 10:8-9, "And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD." Nimrod is probably a type of the antichrist. He got the people together to build the tower of Babel. He was the ruler and he did it by his might. The reason for the tower was two-fold. First it was to build something high enough that God could not destroy them with another flood. God had already said He would not destroy the world by water again. But Nimrod was an unbeliever and God's promise meant nothing to him.

The second reason was to have something that would keep the world population in one place so that he (Nimrod) could rule over them. Genesis 1:28, "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." This was God's commission to man. He was to "replenish" the earth. Nimrod said no. He said, "We will build a tower into the heavens and we will stay together and I will rule over them."

THE LORD SAW WHAT WAS BEING DONE

They were determined to make themselves a name; Genesis 11:4, "And they 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. All of this was done in rejection of the instructions that God had given the human race through Adam.

Man is still attempting to make himself a name. And instead of building a tower we have built a machine that will take people into the heavens. So far we have gone to the moon. Nimrod intended to build a tower into the heavens. Today's scientist intend to build a machine with the same goal in mind.

WHAT GOD SAID

Genesis 11:5-6, "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 all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do."

There is a statement God makes here that is very important. God said, ". . . and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do." This statement as a young preacher motivated me to say man will make it to the moon if God permits. Man made in the image of God is capable of doing more than one might think.

WHAT GOD DID

Genesis 11:5, "And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded." Genesis 11:7, "Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." This was God's plan and it definitely worked.

THE TRINITY AT WORK

Genesis 11:7, "Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech."

God is One God but is manifest in three persons. All three are engaged in salvation of the believer.

THE SUCCESS OF GOD'S ACTION

Genesis 11:8-9, "So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth."

The confusion of tongues did it. The confusion of tongues, including the tongues movement today, is a means man is using to try to reunite the human race. It will never be done until Jesus comes.

May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. White