Babbling Endlesly

I have always loved listening to people that speak languages other than my native English. It’s not that I can understand them, or can even pretend to pick out a few words. It’s that I love to listen to them and try to figure out what they are talking about by watching their body language, expressions and inflections. I have spent much time teaching English to those with little or no fluency, and I find that trying to work through even the simplest words can be challenging, enjoyable and very funny.
But this wasn’t always the case. There was a time when there was but one language, and all spoke and understood this common tongue. Genesis 11 tells us about the time when the whole earth spoke in one common tongue, and apparently a majority of these people liked to hang out together. I guess this makes sense, as we as humans rarely make it a point to hang out with people who don’t speak our language. It makes telling jokes very difficult.
These people apparently found a nice piece of real estate in Shinar, and it wasn’t being used for anything else so they decided to settle there. I have to give them a lot of credit, because apparently the first thing they decided to do was build some shelter. Have you ever watched Survivor? Half of the time these people can’t decide whether they should build some rickety lean to, start a fire or look for some food. And that’s among 8 people.
What they cannot be given credit for is their motives. This is an often misunderstood passage, as many believe that they were trying to build a tower to reach God. On the contrary, they were trying to create a city with a large tower. This tower was going to be built as a monument to their awesomeness as opposed to reaching God. Isn’t this something people have continued to do throughout time? The Egyptians built towers to their awesomeness in the form of the pyramids. The Tower of Pisa in Italy was built, and now shows the awesomeness of being slightly askew. Big Ben in London is a tower dedicated to the awesomeness of the clock.
So God decides to let the people finish their little tower, and comes on by to take a look at their handiwork. God wasn’t just passing by on the way to the gym. He made it a point to come and see what had been done. It is not as though He was going to come down and say “Nice work on that tower, people! Can I purchase naming rights?” Instead, He was no doubt furious at them for what they had done.
Why would God have been furious at this architectural mastery? Consider the following. Not too long before, God had to destroy the earth and everything in it because of mankind’s wickedness. He saved Noah and his family, and gave the command that they repopulate the whole earth. It wasn’t that many generations after the flood that these people decided to ignore God, hold up in one place and make this city and tower. To top it off, it is very likely that Noah was still alive, and probably wasn’t thrilled with the idea of the tower. He probably told them something to the effect of “um, guys, remember God and that whole flood thing? That kinda means He’s serious when He says something. And if you think that you’ll be safe from another flood in that tower, trust me, you won’t. That last flood covered the Himalayas! You know, where the Yeti lives….er, lived.”
Yet all of Noah and the godly peoples protest (and at this point the number of godly people had dwindled) fell on deaf ears. This is why God knew He needed to do something. Genesis 11:6 shows God saying that nothing would be restrained from these people now. It was not that God was afraid that He couldn’t stop them, but that the remnant of godly people on earth had no more control of influence over those that decided to go against God’s commands. It never ceases to amaze just how quickly mankind forgets God and his instructions.
I like what happens next. God doesn’t do anything as outwardly dramatic as the flood or an earthquake or major world calamity. He simply (at least simply for Him) tweaks the languages they speak, so that they could not understand one another. You have to imagine that at that moment, all projects among these people stopped. Everyone probably thought everyone else was crazy, save for the few that could understand each other.
Have you ever tried to communicate with someone who doesn’t speak your language? I believe that it is an inherent quality in mankind that when trying to make a simple statement in your language to someone in who speaks in another language and failing, an automatic secondary attempt is made. With that secondary attempt though, nothing will change EXCEPT THE VOLUME OF YOUR VOICE! This is especially true among children, who when failing to get their message across the first time will simply RAISE THEIR VOICE! I have seen on many occasions adults doing the same thing, as if somehow yelling the previously misunderstood spoken statement will make the native Korean speaker magically understand your English sentence.
Imagine this scene at the tower. Everybody is trying to communicate with everyone else, not being understood, then turning the decibels up and yelling at each other. Now not only do you have the inability to understand, but now hurt feelings, because the wacko talking to you in gibberish is yelling at you! Well, that won’t stand, so you yell back, thinking that he or she might be able to understand you at a louder level. Now everybody is yelling, feelings are getting hurt, babies are crying and the dogs are running and hiding under tables and chairs.
I always figured there are pretty much only three words you need to know in any language to get along. The three words needed to get along in any language are food, bathroom and sleep. If you know the word “food”, you should be able to get something to eat (and most likely drink). If you know the word “bathroom” you should be able to find a place to use the restroom and maybe even get a shower. And if you know the word "sleep", you should be able to find a place to lay your head. But in the case of the tower project they couldn’t even communicate those basic needs.
God graciously allows them to disperse into their own tribes and go out into the world to settle it. Interestingly enough, the city project was named Babel which means confusion. It is no coincidence that Babel is used 262 times in the Old Testament, mostly in the form Babylon. Since then Babylon has been pretty much the center of false religion throughout the Bible, all the way to Revelation. But God will eventually put an end to all of the confusion, and all will be right.
Until then, keep in mind what was started in the land of Shinar. Keep in mind what happens when we try to build a monument to our awesomeness and ignore what God has commanded. Keep in mind the ease with which God can thwart even our best laid plans. Keep this in mind the next time you are talking to the stranger who does not understand you, but wants so badly to communicate with you. Keep all this in mind as you raise your voice, knowing that you are oh so close to that magical noise level that will produce understanding.