Genesis 11:9: “That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.”
Years had gone by and Noah’s offspring had grown in leaps and bounds. Due to a population explosion many tribes began to migrate, moving east and west, north and south. The monarchs of that generation came together and discussed this recent development. “If this trend continues, we will be scattered all over the world”, they said, concluding, “We are stronger together. Let us choose a location to be our world capital.”
A plain in the region of Shinar, later known as Babylon, was chosen. The plan was to build the highest tower imaginable, a symbol of man-made unity. – Many generations past, Ham’s grandson Nimrod had forged a large empire; but this generation was set to institute a world government to unify all tribes and nations on the face of the earth.
Unfortunately, large portions of the earth’s population had already forgotten about Noah’s legacy; and the more they grew estranged from their Creator, the more they started worshipping themselves. With no respect for human life, the projected world government was doomed to become man-made hell on earth. And so the Lord decided to obstruct the completion of the tower. He said: “Come, let us confuse men’s language so they are unable to understand each other.”
Within a moment’s notice, foreign languages were assigned to every existing tribe of the ancient world, with dramatic consequences. Initially, nobody could carry on a sensible conversation anymore – in fact, the builders became so frustrated that they finally decided to altogether stop construction of the tower. In the end, men and women who spoke the same language found each other and agreed to start a new life elsewhere. Thus people moved from Babel to spread out all over the earth.
And so the ambitious building project of Babel’s tower was shelved while the idea of a world government has remained a dream that mankind nurses to this very day.