In the Biblical story of the Tower of Babel, we learn that God will do whatever it takes to accomplish His will and purpose, especially when it involves humbling those who are full of pride, arrogance, and operate in disobedience.

Let’s be reminded of God’s command to Adam and Eve to be fruitful and also His expressed will for them and humanity to have dominion over the earth:

“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” (Genesis 1:28)

The same command and expressed will was given to Noah after the flood:

“And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.” (Genesis 9:1)

We know Adam and Eve lost their dominion over the earth when they disobeyed God’s command. We also know man rebelled against God’s command and will in building the Tower of Babel. The builder’s rebellion was anti-God or the spirit of antichrist. They directly opposed God, and God concluded that,

“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.” (Genesis 11:6)

The rebellion that took place in building the tower resembled Lucifer or Satan’s rebellion that resulted in him being expelled from the presence of God. Let’s look at the similarities between these two evil desires:

The Tower builders said: “And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:4)

Lucifer said: “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” (Isaiah 14:13-14)

Lucifer’s rebellion in heaven and the building of the Tower of Babel both symbolize humanity’s and angelic beings’ attempts to defy divine authority and assert their own power. Lucifer, in his pride, sought to overthrow God’s rule and elevate himself above His throne, which led to his fall from grace. Similarly, the people of Babel, in their pride, sought to build a tower that reached the heavens, aiming to make a name for themselves and challenge God’s sovereignty. In both cases, the desire for self-exaltation leads to disobedience, and as a result, both endeavors are stopped by God: Lucifer is cast out of heaven, and the people at Babel are scattered and their language confused, illustrating the futility of opposing God’s will.

Collectively, the Tower builders were doing evil in the sight of God. From the beginning, Satan’s desire has been for man to be under his dominion in one place in his kingdom, rather than residents of the Kingdom of God, dispersed throughout the earth to spread the knowledge of God, and ultimately, the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have a choice to stay in bondage, restricted to Satan’s kingdom, or to allow God to free us from living a sinful life so that we might share with others the good news of the Gospel through Jesus Christ.

Uniformity Produces Obscurity and Insignificance

The builders of the Tower needlessly feared what God wanted, a scattering. He didn’t want them to live in one place, one city. It is not God’s intention for us to live in fear of diversity, nor is it his will to destroy us. He orders our steps, and those steps will lead us to His many promises and blessings that are already being fulfilled. Pride and idolatry caused the Tower builders to stray away. In confusing the builder’s language and scattering them, as was his original plan, God was returning them to a path of blessings

The builders wanted to be uniform, speaking one language and remaining in one place. They wanted to build, making a name for themselves in uniformity rather than obey God in unity. Uniformity signifies being restricted to one system without diversity; in the case of the Tower, this was Satan’s system. This type of uniformity is a dictatorship, and it does not address individuality and uniqueness. Uniformity originates from our fleshly desires. No two people are alike. Uniformity forces individuals to change and conform to achieve a specific objective without the ability to negotiate, compromise, or think for themselves.

Uniformity produces obscurity or insignificance. It has always been Satan’s goal to render man insignificant. The only concern the builders of the Tower and Satan had was to build up a tower, not the individual builders. Satan’s only concern is to oppose God and attack the faith of everyone who has faith in God in an attempt to destroy them. At Babel, individual differences and thoughts were less significant and valuable than the Tower, an idol that would take man’s worship from God. Uniformity does not acknowledge unique names. We find no individual names mentioned in the story of Babel, but we do find the word “we.” The builders in the story of Babel wanted to make a NAME for themselves in uniformity, rather than honor the name of God through the abilities He gave each individual in unity.

Unity with a Divine Purpose

Unity, on the other hand, addresses the value of being different and unique. We were created in God’s image. Just like God, each one of us has intellect, emotion, and a will to make choices and decisions daily. Individuals may have inner and outside differences, but they can work together to the benefit of them all. Unity is Christ-like because it originates from God. Diversity is part of God’s plan. Unfortunately, throughout time and even today, there are hate groups all over the world who rebel against God’s plan of diversity.

The builder’s actions proved a lack of respect for the identity God had already given them that connected them with Him. We saw this same lack of respect in Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Satan deceived Adam and Eve into believing that God was selfish in not allowing them to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Satan’s jealousy, envy, and lies were aimed at destroying their confidence that they were the children of God, had access to God, had had been given dominion over all the earth.

Desiring to make a name for themselves, the Tower builders lost their identity. They became isolated servants of Satan, defying God’s desire for their freedom to reign. Isolation narrows our identity, but a scattering into the world leads us into a world of diversity with a divine purpose.

We build our skyscrapers, elaborate worship centers, and even build our careers on the idea trying to make a name for ourselves, confined to one place or based on someone else’s vision. But in the process, this type of uniformity and refusing to be diversified and scattered draws us further away from God. We then deceive ourselves by saying we have a relationship with Him.

God’s scattering by way of confusing the people’s language was an act of grace rather than punishment. Sometimes, genuine disorientation comes before genuine reorientation. What does this statement mean?

In certain situations, a person or group may first experience confusion, loss, or a sense of being lost before they can find a clearer direction or regain a sense of purpose. Disorientation—whether it’s emotional, mental, or spiritual—is often a necessary precursor to reorientation or rediscovery of one’s path. The word “genuine” emphasizes that both the disorientation and the reorientation are authentic or sincere processes, not superficial or temporary. In essence, difficult or disorienting experiences, while challenging, can lead to growth, clarity, or a more solid foundation in the long run.

Coming out of our comfort zone with clarity a and direction is difficult when we find false security hiding behind our man-made walls of comfort. God cannot reveal more of Himself to us until our walls of isolation and the idols we have built are broken down to let Him lead us out of and beyond our “Babel.”

Unity in Diversity

At Babel, God disrupted a system of force uniformity. He achieved his purpose by using divers or different languages, whereas the people could not understand one another in their effort to construct a Tower that did not have His approval. The result was total division, confusion, and lack of understanding of one another. After Jesus’s death, the disciples scattered, but gathered themselves together at Pentecost where the gospel of salvation was preached. At Pentecost, motivated by the Holy Spirit, there were diverse or different languages, but they were able to understand each other and in unity, build what God wanted them to build, His church.

“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?” (Acts 2:2-8)

At Pentecost, there was no forced uniformity. The Holy Spirit didn’t force the recipients to speak one single and common language, whereas there would be a lack of understanding.  As the different languages were spoken, there was no division, but unity in diversity. Everyone could hear and understand what was said in their language. No one was left confused about the miracle that had just taken place. The same Spirit that created diverse languages at Pentecost created a diverse and unified people. God used different languages to bring everyone together in the Spirit of unity.

The Pentecostal experience helps us overcome fleshly uniformity that is fueled by fear, prejudice, and ultimately, sin.

The church has been commanded and commissioned to scatter, and has been given the authority in the name of Christ to make disciples.

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

The Tower builders lost their identity with God and became identified with sin, pride, rebellion, and arrogance. As he had done in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, and before the flood, Satan nearly succeeded in his plan of deception. Just as Satan attacked the identity of Adam and Eve, the builders of the Tower of Babel, and even Jesus’s identity as the Son of God in the wilderness, he will attack our identity in Christ, trying to get us to doubt who and whose we are. The recipients of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost immediately became identified with Christ. When we accept Christ according to what was preached at Pentecost, we must not forget all that we are, have, and have become:

1. A new creature in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17)
2. 2. Have the grace of God (2 Corinthians 12: 9)
3. Freed from sin (1 Peter 2:24)
4. Have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16)
5. Not alone (John 14:16-17)
6. The children and heirs of God (Romans 8:17)
7. Made free from sin (Rom. 6:20–22)
8. Have the spirit of power, love, and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7)
9. Accepted in the beloved (Eph. 1:6)
10. The righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21)

As His church, you either allow God to scatter you or Satan to scatter you. God scatters His church and expects it to move forward and gather disciples rather than going backward or standing still. Anyone who is not on the Lord’s side opposes Him and follows the way of Satan, whose only motive is to scatter God’s disciples to kill, steal, and destroy them. Don’t fall into Satan’s trap of uniformity. Walk with God in the Spirit of diversity and unity.

“He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.” Matthew 12:30