A. Because the people were building to reach heaven or specifically trying to reach God and God didn't want that???
If you're like me, you probably grew up hearing about how these group of people were building a tower up to the heaven to reach God and then God was troubled by it and decided to disrupt it and then we ended up with English, Yoruba, igbo, Hausa, Spanish, French and a host of other languages as consequence. The only problem wrong with this story is this;
1. Today many scientific breakthroughs have taken us Past the first heaven (the skies where the cloud is) and up into the second heaven( Today, we call it space; where the heavenly bodies{Sun, moon, stars} reside ) where the tower would never have reached because the air there doesn't support breathing).
2. It paints a very confusing image of God. Why won't God want us to reach Him... I mean.. Didn't He want us to reach Him?
3. The BIBLE never taught such a version of that story.
So let's see the real story in scripture and the reason behind God's action.
Gen 11
1 There was a time when the entire earth spoke a common language with an identical vocabulary.
2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.
4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven(Hebrew root word for heaven here means; loft or sky with cloud... Where the birds fly) ; and let us make us a name, LEST WE BE SCATTERED ABROAD upon the face of the whole earth.
5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
8 So the Lord SCATTERED THEM ABROAD from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
The End!
The story is as clear as can be.
From Context these people were in no way trying to reach God. If anything, they were trying to unreach Him. They wanted to leave God and His desire for them to spread (scatter) over the earth out! They wanted to stop spreading (scattering), Build a City which will have a Tower reaching the heavens as to MAKE A NAME for themselves so that they won't have to spread (scatter).
This is what made God interfere in the tower's building. This is why God in His wisdom disrupted their Language. They were in no way trying to reach Him... THEY WERE TRYING TO UN-REACH HIM!
He interrupted to get His plan back on track.
"Gen 11: 8 So the Lord SCATTERED THEM ABROAD from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city."
It isn't right to take just one line ''Build a Tower reaching the heavens(the loft; the sky where the cloud is; source - hebrew root word)" and then make up a story to our children that assumes why these people were building a tower and why God confused tongues. These story form the basis of a child's belief(perceptions) in God and if there are mistold, then it can lead to sincere questioning of our Christian Faith as seen in the picture attached to this post.
Let us do well to study and rightly divide God's Word.
Grace 'n' Peace
*The meaning of the word Heaven in the Portion of scripture is what the caused previous notion to spring up but the Hebrew word teaches us that the word means; It means The Loft; the sky where the cloud is where birds fly; source -Strongs and Thayer)
* The words 1st, 2nd and 3rd Heaven are words used by Theologians to help us Differentiate between the use of the word 'Heaven' written in scripture. It could mean The Sky, Space or God's Abode respectively. [would explain more in another Post]
*the picture attached to this post is an actual post put up on instagram by a sceptic which I screenshot. This post is a response to the person and for the blessing of others. The person has been sent the message.
-Jonathan Ojapa
