7 Modern-Day Lessons From the Tower of Babel
Everything God does is an expression of his love. This can be tough to grasp when he lets our greatest dreams fall apart. The descendants of Noah probably experienced similar sentiments as they built a magnificent tower, only to have their plans thwarted by God. Today, we’ll look at seven lessons from the Tower of Babel.
I also invite you to read to the end of today’s post for a free devotional eBook to help you find hope in God in disappointing times.
Let’s begin by turning to the story of the Tower of Babel in Scripture.
Lessons From the Tower of Babel
After Noah and his family climbed from the ark, God told them to scatter across the earth and multiply (Genesis 9:1).
Genesis 10 describes the way the family dispersed, but Genesis 11 takes a step backward in the chronology. We see that Noah’s family did not immediately obey God by dispersing and multiplying. They did the opposite: They clustered and built a city.
“Let’s build a city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world,” they declared (Genesis 11:4, NLT).
The tower was most likely a ziggurat. They had settled in Babylonia, and this kind of structure was often built as a temple. Ziggurats had the appearance of pyramids with steps leading up the sides and could stand more than 300 feet high.
Seeing what was happening, God declared, “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them! Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other” (Genesis 11:6-7).
The people then became confused by speaking different languages, and God scattered them throughout the world.
Lessons From the Tower of Babel
What can we learn from this story?
Here are some lessons from the Tower of Babel.
1. God wants us to find our security in him.
In Genesis 9:1, God told Noah and his family to disperse and multiply on the earth. However, instead of dispersing, they stayed together and built a city. They chose security over obedience.
We might scoff at their disobedience and wonder why they didn’t trust God and follow his directive. But we are not so different.
God calls us to set out into new territories, and we resist because we prefer the security of staying within our comfort zones.
God calls us to step into new ministries, pursue new careers, and embrace new seasons of life. We drag our feet because the unknown feels so very insecure.
The first lesson from the Tower of Babel reminds us that when our security is found in God, we aren’t afraid to step into new endeavors. We trust that he goes ahead of us and with us.
2. We make plans, but God determines our steps.
Proverbs 19:21 reads, “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand” (ESV).
Many people make plans and ask God to bless those plans.
God wants us to turn to him first, letting him guide us from the start. God blesses what he orchestrates and designs. We cannot guarantee God’s blessings when we delve into endeavors without seeking God first.
This prompts me to ask myself, Where am I making plans and asking God to bless them? What would it look like to, instead, seek God and ask him to show me what plans to make?
3. It is God’s mercy to shut down our self-serving ambitions.
God is not threatened by our greatness. He made us to be great.
This is where many people veer off course. God designed us for greatness in his kingdom. Every gift he gives is meant to bring God’s kingdom to earth and lead others to praise his name.
When we twist this, aiming to glorify ourselves, exalting our names above God’s name, it is his mercy to derail our selfish dreams.
Without God’s mercy, these dreams just might destroy us.
Every ambition that is driven by the desire to acquire self-praise is dangerous. We were made to praise God, not ourselves.
Read here for 7 modern-day lessons from the Tower of Babel. #BibleLessons Share on X4. We accomplish much when we are unified.
God knew that the people were capable of accomplishing much when they were unified.
This is disastrous when people unite under goals that will draw others away from God. But there is a positive twist to this truth.
When God’s people to glorify his name, we can accomplish great works that lead others closer to the Lord.
5. We are called to cast godly vision, not self-centered vision.
Those who led the building project for the Tower of Babel had effectively rallied the people to build a self-exalting structure. Somewhere between the departure from the ark and the construction of the tower, they had lost sight of God’s vision.
We need to be careful not to lead others toward a vision that doesn’t align with God’s heart.
If you are in a leadership position, be sure your vision matches God’s vision.
6. We were created to glorify God, not ourselves.
At some point in time, most of us have built our own “towers.”
We’ve climbed high on ladders and sought praise from people.
Any time we are more concerned with what other people think about us than following God, we have constructed a tower.
God made us to glorify and praise him forever. Any ambition that revolves around self-glorification is misdirected.
This prompts me to ask: What towers have I built as monuments to myself?
It prompts me to pray, Lord humble me by tearing down this tower.
7. God will take extreme measures to fulfill his will.
God’s will was for mankind to spread across the earth and multiply.
When the people did not obey, God used extreme means, confusing their language, to fulfill his purpose.
God will use extreme means to fulfill his purposes in our lives today as well. May we obey him first so that he doesn’t have to go to extreme lengths to protect us from ourselves.
Read here for 7 lessons from the Tower of Babel that apply to us today. #faith #trust Share on XIf these lessons from the Tower of Bable blessed you, I invite you to explore our family devotionals and library of free devotional eBooks below! Be blessed as you surrender your vision to the Lord and ask him to lead you!
Calling All Parents and Grandparents!
As the parent of two sons and a daughter, I have a heart for helping parents develop deeper relationships with their children and with God. Our kids, ages 6, 11, and 15, share this vision. They have helped me write three family devotionals for parents or older relatives to read with the children and teens they love. You can find all three books here or read more below.
A Devotional for Boys
God’s Warrior: Devotions for Boys Who Want to Grow in Courage and Strength helps young boys, ages 5-13, learn what it means to trust God and become strong warriors for his kingdom. Now, more than ever, our world needs men who are willing to boldly carry God’s love into the world. I wrote this boys’ devotional book with our two young sons, Aiden and Caleb, ages six and eleven! You’ll enjoy their honesty as we teach boys how to be strong warriors for the Lord. Find this life-changing devotional book here.
Mother-Daughter Devotionals by a Mom and Daughter
Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith is written for girls ages 7-12. It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, conversation starters, and a shared journaling section for moms and daughters after each devotion. I wrote this book with the help of our daughter, Bekah, when she was eleven. Find this one-of-a-kind shared devotional here.
Heart to Heart: A Mother-Daughter Devotional With 50 Devotions for Teen Girls is for teenage girls ages 13-20. It includes 50 devotions, each with a shared journaling section to help moms and daughters connect through writing. This is a great book for moms who want to communicate about awkward topics—like dating, sexuality, peer pressure, and more—but don’t know where to start. Bekah and I will help you right here.
Find Our Family Devotionals Here
Find all three books right here. They are also free on the Kindle Unlimited plan, which you can enjoy with a free three-month trial! These books make great gifts, and you don’t need to be the parent of young children to read them. Share them with your grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or the young ones you love.
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If these lessons from the Tower of Babel encouraged you, I have a gift for you today. Hope for Hard Days is my free 10-day online devotional to help you hold onto hope when life is tough. You will find 10 readings to help you connect with God and claim his peace. Click here and I’ll send it to your email inbox today for free with promo code HOPE. I also invite you to check out my full library of free online devotionals right here. 
