Genesis 11:3-4 (NKJV) Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

The Tower of Babel: What Was the Sin?

God is graciously forthcoming in telling what we do wrong and what He expects from us. Even in the account of the Tower of Babel this is true.

 

But what was the crime? Was God angry only because the people chose to speak the same language? That can’t be. Nowhere in God’s Word will you find God forbidding a language outright. It is not a sin to speak Hebrew, Arabic, Spanish, or English. Language is a gift, and one that the Lord uses for His good purposes.

 

The problems began with the failure of the descendants of Noah to “fill the earth.” After the eight stepped out of the ark, God invited them to spread out, reproduce, and be stewards of the whole planet. This command also served the purpose of having people throughout the world who could pass on the truth of God’s goodness and mercy.

 

But we see that the people soon disobeyed the command to spread out. They saw the fertile plain of Shinar and thought, “This is as good as it gets.” Then they got haughty. They developed technology (bricks and asphalt), and decided to show off. Whereas they were created to say “Glory to God in the Highest,” they began praising themselves.

 

That was the sin. And now do you see the importance of this account for us? Satan tempts us all to the sin of self-idolatry. He wants us to forget that our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He wants us to put our trust in the works of our own hands.

 

Now that God has clearly shown us it is a sin to glorify ourselves, we may repent of the times we have done the same and learn what He would have us do.