The Bible does indeed tell us that “God is not a God of confusion.” In 1 Corinthians chapter 14 the Apostle Paul had to address a problem of DISORDER in the assembly of the saints and in doing so he was inspired by God to establish ORDER in their meetings (see verses 26-32). He then said, “For God is NOT THE AUTHER OF CONFUSION but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.” The lesson here is clear and simple; God wants His people to represent Him when they are gathered by the Spirit for worship and ministry and thus there must be Divine Order among them.

Now let’s read Genesis 11:1-4, “Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. Then they said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.’ They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. And they said, ‘Come, let us build a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens, LET US MAKE A NAME FOR OURSELVES, LEST WE BE SCATTERED ABROAD OVER THE FACE OF THE WHOLE EARTH.” As one reads this one might be thinking, “This sounds pretty good, for the people are living in HARMONY and desiring UNITY. There was no DISORDER and it seems they had an ORGANIZED plan to keep their harmony and unity in place. Yet there was one big problem in their thinking; God was left out of their plans! Their desire was to build a city and a tower “to make a name for themselves” and not for the glory of God. We do not read a word about them “asking God if this was His will,” for if they had, God would have reminded them of what He told Noah after the flood in Genesis 9:7, “And as for you, be fruitful and MULTIPLY; bring forth abundantly in the earth and MULTIPLY IN IT.” Noah and his descendants were to “spread out over the earth,” and thus his descendants we just read of in chapter 11 were being “disobedient to God” by wanting to stay in the land of Shinar “lest they be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

Because of this clear act of disobedience, we read in Genesis 11:5-9: “But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. And the LORD said, ‘Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. Come, let Us go down and there CONFUSE THEIR LANGUAGE, that they may not understand one another’s speech.’ So THE LORD SCATTERED THEM ABROAD FROM THERE OVER THE FACE OF ALL THE EARTH, and they ceased building the city. Therefore its name is Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.” The confounding of their language was a JUDGMENT from God for their disobedience. One has said, “What man would not do willingly, God forced them to do as a result of judgment; and today there are more than 3,000 languages and dialects. The result of this confusion was the scattering of mankind.” We are taught here that God’s will “will be done” despite man’s rebellion. He has an “ORDERLY plan for mankind” and at times He must judge man to fulfill His will. It would be wrong to conclude that “God is a God of confusion because He confused their language.” They were confused, but God was not confused! He was, in His sovereignty, bringing about His perfect will.

Let us end this meditation by quoting a passage that brings out God’s purposes that will never be thwarted by rebellious men. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound towards us in all wisdom and prudence. Having made known to us the mystery of His will, ACCORDING TO HIS GOOD PLEASURE WHICH HE PURPOSED IN HIMSELF, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. In Him was have obtained an inheritance, being predestined ACCORDING TO THE PURPOSE OF HIM WHO WORKS ALL THINGS ACCORDING TO THE COUNSEL OF HIS WILL, that we who first trusted Christ should be to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:7-12).  (DO)  (685.3)