Unity around the wrong thing...
When we get to the end of the story of the flood, God gives Noah the same commission that he gave to Adam and Eve. As we see in Genesis 9:1, he wanted him to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. God's plan was for people to spread out all over the earth, but instead they were afraid of scattering and decided to clump together in one place... Babel. (Read the story from Genesis 11 below.) Because they all spoke the same language they were able to work together to build a city and a great tower. They were unified, but around the wrong thing. They wanted to make themselves great rather than obeying God and allowing him to make them great.
Then God stepped in...
As is often the case, when humans stray from God's plan, God steps in to accomplish his will. God confused their languages forcing them to stop building and spread out across the earth. What resulted are all of the languages and cultures that we have today. God's plan was to diversify the world into different nations. And then God chose Abraham to be a blessing to all of those nations. In the same way, we live in our world that is amazingly diverse today. Our goal is to share the Gospel and let Jesus be the one who unites us all.
The good news for everyone...
The Bible is clear that the message of Jesus is for everyone. Every person, no matter what language they speak or what culture they come from, is a person made in the very image of God. We should be sharing the Gospel so that as many different people can believe and become part of the Body of Christ. The Bible calls us to unity in the body even though there is also great diversity. In a world filled with racial tension, Christians need to remind everyone that we are all one race descended from Noah and that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world. The gospel is for everyone!
Family Discussion
Why do you think the people at Babel wanted to stay together instead of spreading out?
What are some ways that people today unite around the wrong things?
Today there are over 7,000 languages in the world. How much effort have you put in to reaching people with the gospel who speak a different language?