Babble at Babel

Imagine finding yourself on a construction project where the bricklayer—who understood you just a minute ago—is suddenly scratching his head as if he doesn’t understand a word you’re saying. Worse yet, as soon as he starts to tell you what’s wrong, you don’t understand him, either! In fact, none of your nearby coworkers can understand anyone else. It’s all a bunch of babble!

Your heart sinks. This must be God’s judgment, as everyone’s heart has told them while working on this project.

You run home (long before quitting time because of the pandemonium that has gripped the city), and to your great relief, you find that your wife and children can understand you. A sudden, desperate bond links you as never before.

But tears flow as you and your family rush to the homes of neighbors and playmates, only to find that most now utter sounds that “don’t compute.” Before the sun has set, it’s clear that your comfortable world must be restructured.

In fact, the changes have already begun. To obtain needed food and to escape the new sense of overwhelming despair, small groups now huddle together with others who speak the same language. There are so many separate groups.

Friend, this is only a mild word picture of what happened when God forced the rebels at Babel to follow His previous directive to populate the whole earth. The biggest building project since Noah’s Ark—a tower designed to bring glory to themselves rather than God—was soon to be a distant memory, as Noah’s descendants spread to new lands.

This issue of Answers will get you thinking about the far-reaching implications of the Tower of Babel, both exciting and alarming. The same sinful attitudes of the heart that led to God’s intervention at Babel are prevalent in the world today. You’ll get a lot more than history from this issue. You’ll have the opportunity to chart a new course of obedience for you and your family!

For the Creator’s glory,

Dale Mason—Publisher