The Tower of Babel

Week 9 of our Bible Study

Please read Genesis 11:1-2

At the end of the flood there were 8 people on Earth.

This story about the Tower of Babel 

Occurred about 330 years after the flood.

How many people could there possibly be?

If we give a conservative population growth rate of 3.5%

(most third world nations have a much higher rate)

Then in 330 years there would be about 900,000 people.

That may not sound like much, but it really is.

The entire state of Delaware has less than 1 million people living in it.

The entire state of Vermont has less than 800,000 people.

Wyoming less than 600,000 people.

And during this time period, the sons of Noah were still alive.

They may have even lived in the city where the Tower of Babel was built.

Read Genesis 11:3-4

In Ancient times people thought Heaven was not that far above the Earth.

They believed if they could climb up to the clouds 

and they could open a gate to Heaven.

There is debate as to why they wanted to go up to Heaven.

Some scholars believed they wanted to 

Declare war on God and become gods themselves.

Others believed they wanted to build this Tower out of pride.

They wanted it as a symbol to their own greatness.

The leaders (Nimrod was probably the king at this time) believed 

they were god like---and wanting to be like God 

is the same sin committed by Adam and Eve

(They ate from the tree of knowledge so like God they would know all)

Also note their fear----

They feared being scattered over the face of the Earth

Which is what God had commanded Noah's sons to do.

(Genesis 9:1 and Genesis 9:7---God told them twice to fill the Earth!)

Archaeologists agree that the Tower of Babel was most likely a Ziggurat

Some believe they have found the site of the Tower of Babel in Iraq.

(Iraq is the ancient land of Shinar)

Read Genesis 11:5-7

Who is "us"?

This is the Trinity in Unity

Read Genesis 11:8-9

So we see the origins of Diversity of peoples and language.

Diversity is loved by God

Just look at the amazing diversity in nature!

And as people spread across the Earth

they took with them the knowledge of building towers.

We find Ziggurats all over the world from the Middle East to Latin America.

Remember this scene in Star Wars IV?

Those are ziggurats in Tikal, Guatemala

which you can climb

I was lucky enough to visit them years ago!!

But back to the Bible....

The Tower of Babel is a very short story.

Why is it important enough to be in the Bible?

I think it teaches us two very important lessons:

1. Obey God's commands

2. Pride is sin

Some say Pride is the greatest of all sins.

Would you agree with that?

Why or Why not?

I'd love to see your thoughts in the comments below!

(and you can always email me at tiggerkat101@gmail.com)

Also

If you want to read more, 

I came across this blog that is very interesting: 

 was the tower of babel a ziggurat?