We are living in a season of history similar to what happened at the Tower of Babel. The Lord is confusing the language of some groups who are using their language to justify the evil and deception they have inflicted on others through their social, political, and religious actions.

Attempts at global unity will eventually fail because they are not aligned with God’s purposes. This kind of natural goodness appeals to those who do not understand human nature. Humans will always divide against each other unless the Spirit is involved in their decision-making process. Apart from God, any attempt at that kind of unity will fail because it cannot hold us together.

“At one time, all the people of the world spoke the same language and used the same words” (Genesis 11:1). When they settled in Babylonia, the people decided to build a tower reaching to the heavens. The building of the tower had a purpose.

“Come, let’s build a great 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” (Genesis 11:4). The word “famous” in this verse means “to make a reputation for ourselves.” The people were building the tower to reveal their greatness, thinking it would make them famous. They were being motivated by pride in themselves and their culture.

History would prove that the people gathered on the plains of Babylonia were not united as they thought. Language and shared culture cannot produce true unity. The same is true today in our nation and in the Church. Only the Spirit can produce that kind of unity.

Building the Tower of Babel violated an instruction from the Lord “to be fruitful and multiply.” Today, we still assemble around our familiar social and religious language and make camp. We become immovable. In the process, we miss what God wants us to understand that exists outside our current language and understanding.

The Lord disempowered those who were standing around the tower, admiring their accomplishment. The Lord confused their known language, creating multiple languages. This caused the people to disperse and follow a segment of the confused population who now spoke their new language. As a result of the confusion, “Then they won’t be able to understand each other. In that way, the Lord scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city” (vs. 7-8).

Not all confusion is a work of the devil. Sometimes our confusion will be used by the Lord to realign us with His will and reorient us back to His original purpose for humanity – oneness with God.