THE PURPOSE OF THE CONFUSION AND MULTIPLICATION OF TONGUES

The purpose of the confusion and multiplication of tongues, which God enacted at Babel, is to create a divine barrier to limit the expression of human arrogance, impede the spread of evil, and create the division necessary and the environment suitable for the purpose of evangelism: that man would seek God.

The confusion and multiplication of tongues was God’s act of judgment on the builders of the Tower of Babel, which instituted multiple languages and initially scattered mankind throughout the world (Genesis 11:1-9)—dividing people by language [the division being based on the original languages created at the judgment of the confusion and multiplication of tongues], by race [linguistically similar family group], and ultimately by nation [many linguistically similar family groups]. The confusion and multiplication of tongues was instituted to limit the expression of human arrogance, impede the spread of evil (Genesis 11:8), and create the division necessary and the environment suitable for the purpose of evangelism: “that [man] would seek God” (Acts 17:26-27) rather than be inordinately impressed with his own human achievement and status embodied in religion, culture, and social, economic, and material prosperity.

Evil was rampant throughout the world after the fall of Adam during the Age of Conscience of the Dispensation of Man [see diagram] (Genesis 6:1-7) so God took severe measures to insure the survival of the human race by precipitating a worldwide flood. After the Flood only Noah’s family survived; they alone expressed faith in the Savior and remained true to His plan. From Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, sprang three groups of human descendants, all of whom spoke the same language (Genesis 11:1). As the population increased, many eventually gathered at Babel in a satanically inspired rebellion against God. They presumed to “reach into heaven” to make a name for themselves and to save themselves through their own human ability and concerted effort. The city of Babel was to become a world center for the human race with the monumental tower to serve as a physical and spectacular symbol of world unification.

“And they said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city [Babel], and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name; lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”” (Genesis. 11:4, NASB)

After the Flood, God made the command a second time for mankind to be “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (Genesis 9:1, 7) just as He did at the beginning when He created the first man and first woman (Genesis 1:28). The scattering of man across the whole earth was God’s plan for man and, at this point, was man’s prerogative; but man, in his arrogance, rejected the command. Human achievement although sometimes admirable often has evil consequences. When human accomplishments obscure the reality of man’s total separation from God or supplant the grace of God as the one true solution to human problems, God intervenes. Divine judgment at Babel confounded the language of the people and divided them into various nations.

“Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:9, NASB)

By His omnipotence and through divine intervention, God scattered man abroad over the whole earth through the judgment of the confusion and multiplication of tongues. The scattering of man at this point is no longer man’s prerogative but God’s overriding of man’s resistance to "multiplying and filling the earth" (Genesis 9:1, 7). God’s judgment upon this one-world government was a clear warning against all efforts to establish any form of international rule and a ringing endorsement for the concept of the national entity. In a world dominated by the sin nature, absolute power vested in a unified international body would always degenerate into ironclad totalitarianism. In order to protect the human race from the self-destructiveness of a one-world state, God established the national entity as the fourth divine institution. He “scattered” mankind to limit the expression of human arrogance and impede the spread of evil (Genesis 11:8). The division was to be based not on physical appearance [people who looked the same] but on people who spoke the same language. People who speak the same language were to stick together to form families, tribes, and, ultimately, nations. Nations, by God’s design, were to be comprised only of people who natively speak the same language, with national boundaries drawn between differing language groups. Legitimate nations are not geo-political entities but linguistic entities. The confusion of tongues led to the creation of distinct nations each with their distinct language and geographic boundary.

“From these the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands [geography], every one according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.” (Genesis 10:5, NASB)

The language barrier is a divine barrier, God’s last line of defense at restraining the sin nature should the divine institutions fail. If everyone in the world spoke the same language, wickedness would intensify and all humanity would degenerate to a state similar to just before the Flood. God invented spoken language [not written language, which was invented by man] when He created Adam and Eve to allow them to communicate with Him and with each other. God confused the original language of the people at the judgment at the Tower of Babel when He created multiple languages, limiting their expression of human arrogance and halting their plan to create a globalized godless society. The divine institutions, different languages, separate nations, and the founding of Israel as the client nation to God [with the Church assuming the roles of client nation function and status in this present Church Dispensation (1 Peter 2:9)] establish a divine barrier against the proliferation of evil and create an environment whereby individual humanity would seek God (Acts 17:26-27).