DEVOTION / The LORD loved Babel. He loves you.
Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.
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; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people 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. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth (Genesis 11:1-9 ).
God punished Babel. Right?
The account of God's dealing with the people who built the Tower of Babel is an example of God punishing people for their lack of obedience. Right?
People on the plain of Shinar did give God every reason to punish them. He demanded that humans spread across the globe after the Flood. But at Shinar, humans demonstrated that they knew better than God. They determined to stay put (out-voting God's will for them). They committed themselves to "make a name" for themselves (making God's name great was not on their agenda). They refused to "scatter over the face of the whole earth" (dispersing robbed them of power).
More than punishment happened at Babel
Yes, the rebellion at Babel called for God's just punishment. Though Deuteronomy 11:1,17 did not appear in print for millennia after Babel, the spiritual principle it declares has always existed. "Love the Lord your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always…. [If you do not obey,] the LORD's anger will burn against you."
But look again at the account of Babel. In those nine verses how many times does the word God (the supreme being) or Judge or Most High or any other term that would picture the God of Babel as an avenging punisher appear? I'll give you a hint. The total is less than one.
God describes himself as Yahweh
The God of Babel uses another term to describe himself: Yahweh. In English we translate that name as LORD (all capital letters). Whenever this name appears in the Old Testament, God emphasizes that he is “the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin" (Exodus 34:6,7).
It is the LORD who comes down to see the tower. It is the LORD decides to confuse their language. It is the LORD who scatters them over all the earth.
God’s actions come from a heart of grace
Did God's action feel like punishment for the inhabitants of Babel. Sure. The LORD disrupted their plans.
But the LORD had a gracious reason for sending them off across the globe. Scattered, sinful humans could not easily band together to accomplish sinful goals. Dispersed humans would discovered more of the treasures their loving Creator had provided for them on this planet. Broken into smaller units, these humans would realize how dependent they were on him, not only for "daily bread" but eternal life.
God’s actions always come from a heart
That principle lives in our world today. Even when it seems we face God's angry vengeance, God is living up to his name, the LORD. Because of Jesus, he remains, the compassionate and gracious God, who is slow to anger, who abounds in love and faithfulness, who maintain love to thousands, and forgives wickedness, rebellion and sin.
How does that change your attitude toward the ways the LORD is disrupting your plans?