A long time ago, people on Earth lived together in one place. They all spoke the same language and were able to converse with each other. One day they made a big plan. They wanted to build a tall tower that would reach into the sky. They thought that if they built this tower, they could become quite famous and no one would forget them.
They began to make many bricks out of clay, and the men and women worked together to build the great tower. The tower grew higher and higher. People were proud and said, “Look what a tall tower we’re building! Soon we will be at the top of the clouds!”
But God, who is in heaven, saw what people were doing. He knew it wasn’t good for her to be so proud and think only of herself. So God came down to them to do something important with them.
God decided to change people’s language so that they could no longer understand each other. Suddenly, the workers could no longer talk to each other. One said “There!” and the other understood “Ba!”. They gave the tools to the wrong people and didn’t know what to do. Everything was a big mess!
Because they could no longer talk to each other, people had to stop building the tower and move in all directions to different countries. They ceased to live in one place, and the tower called the Tower of Babel remained unfinished.
Thus, God taught people that it is important to trust in Him and not just think of oneself.
Message of history
God wants us to work together and not be too proud. He wants us to always think of Him and talk to Him.
Bible passage
The story of the Tower of Babel can be found in Genesis 11:1-9:
“And the whole earth had one language and the same words. And it came to pass, as they were setting out from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and settled there. And they said to one another, “Well, let us paint bricks and burn them well.” And they took bricks for stones and earth resin for mortar. And they said, “Come, let us build a city and a tower whose top reaches to heaven, that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over all the earth.” Then the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the children of men were building. And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and have all begun to do this in one language, and now nothing shall be unattainable unto them that they have purposed to do. Well, let us descend and confuse their language there, so that they do not understand each other’s language. So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they ceased to build the city. Hence she was given the name of Babel, because there the Lord had confused the language of the whole earth, and from there had scattered her over all the earth.”
