The Purpose For The Tower Of Babel

It’s funny how you think about things when you’re a kid. I grew up in church and remember hearing the story of the Tower of Babel in Sunday School. I don’t think my teacher said this but I thought the people built the Tower of Babel to try to climb into heaven. I cast that belief aside when I learned one couldn’t physically climb to heaven. However some people today believe that portals exist between earth and heaven. Perhaps that’s why the tower was built?

No, that isn’t why they built the Tower of Babel. We only need to look at the Bible to see why it was built. The people who built it said,

Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world. Genesis 11:4 NLT

They built the Tower of Babel for two reasons:

1. To not be scattered around the world.
2. To become famous. Many translations say “make a name for ourselves.”

Why do you think they were worried about being scattered all over the world? The answer is in Genesis 9:1. When Noah and his family came out of the ark God said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth.” You can’t fill the earth if you stay in one place. God knew of the problems of over populating one area and wisely told our ancestors what to do. They thought they knew better. They didn’t.

There’s a second interesting observation regarding their desire to be famous. They were selfish and acted independently of God. It’s telling that in the next chapter God chose a man named Abram to be His representative on the earth. God told Abram that if he obeyed Him, among other things He would bless him and make him famous, make his name great Genesis 12:2. The problem wasn’t with fame, it was the motivation behind it.

2 Lessons From The Tower Of Babel

1. If you know what God wants, do it. None of us can stop God. It’s always better to go along with God willingly.
2. Focus on making God famous. Another way to say that is give God the glory or give God credit. He will then give you the fame He wants you to have.

[Tweet “God made Abram famous because Abram gave all the credit to God.”]

Our world would be so much better off if we did these two things, wouldn’t it? Actually, it’s not too late for you and me to do them, today and everyday.