Does Genesis 11 imply that differences in Culture and language are the result of sin?
Yes I think that Genesis 11 implies that the differences in culture and language are a result of sin. What the people did was not what God had instructed man to do on Earth (Genesis 1 V28 he said that man should multiply and fill the Earth)[3]. This very statement of multiplying and filling the Earth was also given to Noah and his family when he came out of the Ark Genesis 8 V 17.
In Genesis 11 the people did one very good thing that we can all learn from in order to enhance our Christian lives. They were united and acted in agreement to what they had discussed. I think God was not bothered by their Unity or by the fact that they spoke the same language but by what they had united to do that is:
1) They wanted to move from the place that God had told them to stay and multiply and also inhabit i.e. Earth as explained In verse Gen 11 v 4 were it says “……so that we make a name for ourselves and not to be scattered over the face of the Earth"[3]. God’s Plan to Adam and also repeated to Noah was for people to be scattered over the face of the Earth and multiply. When the people at Babel tried to do the opposite of God’s plan he decided to stop them so that his plan will come to pass.
2) With the Unity and the same language God knew that these people will achieve their desired objective as is pointed out in verse Gen 11 v 6 were it is said “…..then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them…"[3]. The fear by God that the people were going to disrupt his plans made him come down and confuse them with different languages.
3) The fact that people were building the Tower to make a name for themselves might have also contributed to God introducing the languages to confuse them. Maybe this would have not happened had they been building the Tower for the Glory of God and not themselves.
In my opinion the sins that the people committed were trying to derail God’s plans for people to inhabit Earth and multiply. People were trying to make a name for themselves and not for God’s name to be uplifted. Although they used the right tools to achieve their goals it was their goal which God didn’t support which caused him to confuse them with the languages. So in whatever we ask from God we have to make sure God has not given us another mission which contradicts what we are planning. We also have to ask ourselves if what we intend to do is for the glorification of God’s name or our personal glorification. If after asking ourselves the above questions we are satisfied with the answers we give ourselves then we can go ahead and copy the unity and execution of the plan that the people of Babel employed.
NB fear was used for clarity in explaining but God has no fear at all. |
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