The Sin of Babel Isn’t Multiculturalism
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The so-called “Christian” Nationalist , promote false doctrines. They twist the scriptures into a pretzel in order to create the false impression that they are championing Biblical truth when, in fact, they are promoting their own man-made ideology. One of the central texts that is foundational in their ideology is Genesis 11 and the account of the Tower of Babel.
According to the CNs, this text is teaching us about the evils of Multiculturalism and that anyone today who says “race doesn’t matter” is in rebellion to God and doing the work of Satan through his Marxist minions.
But when you read the account of Babel in Genesis 11 it doesn’t say anything about racial multiculturalism. Even more startling is the fact that Martin Luther doesn’t identify multiculturalism or anything related to race as being related to the sin and rebellion recorded in the Biblical account.
Here’s Luther’s take on Genesis 11 and note carefully what he considers to be the core conflict in this text. In Luther’s view this text about ungodly people who are disobeying God and attacking the Church.
Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 2: Lectures on Genesis: Chapters 6-14, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 2 (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999), 210–228.
Chapter Eleven
This chapter, too, deals with the extraordinary example of the holy patriarch Noah and of his family, especially those who were godly. It is intended to show us how much faith and godliness there was in these holy men despite the incredible wickedness, envy, and tyranny that were widespread and dominant among the children of men.
For some time after the Flood the entire earth was in a blessed state; for all people had one language, no small bond for maintaining harmony and a particular asset for maintaining the teaching of religion. The fresh memory of the immeasurable wrath of God in the Flood kept their hearts in the fear of God and in reverence for their ancestors.
Noah’s son Ham is the first to disturb this blessed state. As though he had forgotten the great wrath, he first despises the authority of his father and makes a mockery of him whom he ought to have respected, as we have previously heard. Then he leaves his father and his godly brothers and sets up a new kingdom for himself on the earth. Finally his oldest son presents him with a grandson, Nimrod, who, after setting up his power through tyranny, afflicts the godly descendants of Noah in various ways, establishes a kingdom for himself, and assumes sole sovereignty over it.
Similarly, when two sons had been born to Adam, two kinds of people took their origin from them. Cain left his father, established a special church without God’s command, and held the true church in contempt. The same thing happens here among the sons of Noah. From Ham, as from an ungodly and wicked source, the false and lying church takes its origin. In the present chapter Moses unfolds this story about the beginnings of the pestilence that rages against the church.
This chapter does not indicate clearly wherein the sin of the builders of the Tower of Babel consisted. Consequently, opinions vary both about the structure or tower itself and about the sin of its builders. The more daring a man is in answering each of these two questions, the more outspokenly he expresses himself. And the common people, too, did not refrain from inventing stories.1 Thus they say that the height of the tower was nine miles, but that when the languages were confused, a third of it was destroyed by the force of wind and weather and the rest sank into the earth, so that now only one third of it is still in existence. Moreover, they claim that it was so high that from it one could hear the voices of the angels singing in heaven.
But we disregard these foolish tales. It is worthier of our inquiry to give thought to the sin of the builders, something that cannot be clearly understood from the text.
Lyra is of the opinion that the descendants of Ham undertook this construction with the idea of having a safe place of refuge if the Lord should again want to destroy the world by a flood.2 I do not agree. In the first place, Ham also heard the plain promise that the earth would never again perish by a flood. In the second place, Ham knew that the Flood had risen fifteen cubits above the highest mountains of the entire world. Therefore I believe that they were not stupid enough to think that they could erect a pile so high that it would protect them from a flood.
I believe their motive is expressed in the words: “Come, let us build ourselves3 a city and a tower.” These words are evidence of smug hearts, which put their trust in the things of this world without trusting God and despise the church because it lacks all power and pomp.
Hence what Lyra says about a safe place against the violence of a raging flood I consider to be an allegorical tale. The fathers used it to depict men whose extreme contempt for God makes them think that in their own power there is some protection against God’s wrath. Indeed, you may invent any story you please about a heart that is smug and does not fear God, and it would still be impossible to depict ungodliness adequately.
I have no doubt that this very account gave rise to the story about the giants who formed the plan to expel Jupiter from heaven and heaped mountains upon mountains, just as the story of Deucalion originated from the account of the Flood.4 These accounts became known among the Gentiles through the sermons of the patriarchs. Therefore I think that here the sin was nothing else than extraordinary smugness and pride linked with contempt for God. The ungodly are wont to behave in such a way. When they are puffed up by success, they suppose that they are sitting on God’s lap; and in their great self-reliance they have the audacity to do anything they please.
Similarly, Ham’s sin was a sin not only against the church but against the government as well; for he laughed at his holy father and despised his religion and doctrine. After he had separated from his father, as we heard previously, he established both a new government and a new religion. His grandson Nimrod likewise sinned against both the government and the church. He did not cultivate the true religion; and he practiced unjust tyranny on his cousins, whom he expelled from their paternal lands. There is no doubt that these people who, as Moses says, migrated toward the east were Nimrod and other descendants of Ham; for Moses gives a clear indication to this effect at the beginning of this chapter. These sins brought on their own punishment, which Moses will describe a little later.
Therefore these words, which Moses has set down so simply-that they urged one another to build a tower and a city—must be interpreted in a harsh manner, as though Moses were saying: “Was this not colossal pride and great contempt for God, that without asking God for advice they dared undertake so massive a project on their own responsibility?” They drive out the godly descendants of Shem from their habitations and are intent on subjugating the entire world, but especially on suppressing the church. Therefore this sin is a horrible apostasy from the church, from the Word, and from the very angels of God to the devil; it involves sins not only against the First Table but also against the Second.
Hence the emphasis lies on their saying: “Let us build ourselves5 a city and a tower,” not for God, not for the church of God, but to suppress the church; and on the words: “Let us make a name for ourselves.” These men who are gripped by such an intense desire to exalt their own name are surely not concerned that the name of God may be hallowed; and without a doubt they looked with profound contempt upon the humble cabins of the holy fathers and of their brothers, since they were building in such grand style.
Nor is it without purpose when they declare that the top of the tower should reach to heaven. These words must not be applied to the height alone; they also denote that this was to be a place of worship. The implication was that God was dwelling very close to this tower. This is Satan’s way. He adorns himself with the title of God and wants to have superstition regarded as religion.
The church in our age has no deadlier enemies than the Turk and the pope. But both make a display of the name of God, and they suppose that there is nothing they cannot get by means of this title. Meanwhile we hear ourselves called heretics, the seed of Satan, apostates, and rebels.
This is the way things have always gone, even in those earliest times before and after the Flood. In this passage the descendants of Ham are portrayed as people who despised the lowliness and godliness of the church and built Babylon, not only for political purposes but also for the sake of a religious impression, namely, that the place might be regarded as very close to heaven and as a habitation most pleasing to God.
Therefore the saying is true that every apostate is the persecutor of his own kind.6 Because Ham and his descendants separated from the church, he made it his business later on to oppress the church and to elevate himself and his own people. Satan likewise persecutes God and the church with a fierce hatred now that he has separated from God and the angels, who are the heavenly church. In order to be able to do this with some success, he transforms himself into an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14) and arrogates divinity to himself. Thus here in the midst of Babylon he makes himself a kind of god and sets up a church for himself in order to suppress the true church.
Now it is up to the godly to act in like manner. After they have separated from the church of Satan and have deserted it, they should also begin to hate it. Thus, by the grace of God, we are holy apostates; for we have defected from the Antichrist and the church of Satan and have allied ourselves with the Son and the true church. It befits us to stand with this and to assail the false church.
In this passage Moses points out the sin of apostasy, namely, that the descendants of Ham, Nimrod, and others separated from God and the Word, from the fathers and the church, not only so far as their outward association was concerned but so far as religion and worship were concerned. They lived in accordance with their own devices and desires.
It was no sin in itself to erect a tower and to build a city, for the saints did the same; and Asshur, whom I believe to have been altogether a saint, built Nineveh because he could no longer live with the ungodly (Gen. 10:11). This, however, is their sin: they attach their own name to this structure; having despised Noah and the true church, they are intent on sovereignty; they maintain that they are the people who are very close to God, to whom God listens, and to whom He grants success; and they conclude that Noah, in turn, has been abandoned and cast aside by God.
Thus this account portrays the ungodliness, the schemes, the ambition, and the plots of all ungodly men, especially of the hypocrites who alone appear to themselves to be holy and very close to God and who want to rule the earth. If you want to call this sin by another name, it is truly blasphemy of the name of God and a violation of the Sabbath; it is rank idolatry, by which the glory of the living God is changed into a calf, that is, into an idol of the heart. These sins beget others, namely, hatred of the true church, persecution, tyranny, murder, robbery, and even fornication and adultery. For the false church is always the persecutor of the true church, not only spiritually, by means of false doctrine and ungodly forms of worship, but also physically, by means of the sword and tyranny.
Moses states that upon this sin there followed a punishment, namely, the division of languages. This may appear to have been a light punishment, but surely it is a terrible one if you take into consideration the extreme hardships that resulted from this division of languages. For one thing, identity of language is a very strong bond in human association and harmony among men. In this instance, too, the statement of the proverb is true: “Birds of a feather flock together.” A German likes to converse and associate with a person of his own nationality. But where the languages differ, there not only no commerce develops, but hatred arises in the heart against that nation whose language you do not understand. Thus a Frenchman hates and despises the Germans; the Italians hate and despise all nations except themselves.
Thus it is clear that as a result of this division of languages hearts were disunited, customs changed, and dispositions and endeavors altered. Consequently, you can truthfully call it the seedbed of all evils, since it has caused political as well as economic7 confusion.
Although these are very serious inconveniences, they are nothing in comparison with the confusion that this division of languages has brought to the churches and the endless occasions it has provided for idolatry and superstition. Who does not realize that the function of the ministry was almost entirely disrupted by this change of languages? Eber, who undoubtedly retained the first and true language, was unable thereafter to instruct others whose language he did not know and who could not understand him.
Therefore it is a great blessing and an outstanding miracle of the New Testament that by means of various languages the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost brought men of all nations into the one body of the one Head, Christ (Acts 2). Christ joins and unites all into one faith through the Gospel, even though the different languages remain; and He tears down the wall (Eph. 2:14), not only by reconciling us to God through His death and speaking to us in a new language but also by bringing about outward harmony, so that different flocks are brought together under one Shepherd and are gathered into one fold (John 10:16). This is Christ’s blessing; and since it is common to all, differences in outward life cause no offense.
Let us, therefore, give Him the credit that through the Holy Spirit He has removed this most severe punishment, which was the beginning and seedbed of all evils and discords, and has brought us a holy harmony, even though the different languages remain. For where Christ the Mediator is not acknowledged, there is a disagreement of hearts like that of the languages, and there is horrible blindness. Hence when we survey the histories of all nations and times, we see that various wars broke out and a great variety of customs, religions, and ideas arose because of the diversity of languages. This evil Christ wanted to remedy by means of a new miracle.
I myself do not understand an Italian, nor does an Italian understand me; and so there exists a natural opportunity for anger and enmity between us. But if we both understand Christ, we mutually embrace and heartily kiss each other as fellow members. But where Christ is not present, there the punishment of Babylon still prevails, the division of languages, which brings on a sure division of hearts and gives rise to confusion, not only in the administration of the home and government but also in religion and the church.
This punishment, which is so horrible, warns us to be on our guard lest we fall away from the Word or prefer ourselves above others as though we were better and holier. Because Ham’s descendants did this, a horrible punishment followed, which, in my estimation, brought greater harm to the human race than did the Flood itself. The latter harmed only the human beings of one time, but the former lasts until the end of the world. Although Christ brought us some help through His Spirit, yet how small is the part that receives the Word and believes it! The remaining multitude is as divided in its opinions as it is in its languages and renders welcome service to Satan, the instigator of wars and of discord.
In the third place, after we have discoursed on the sins and on the punishment of the builders, it is not without profit to calculate the time, namely, how many years there were between the Flood and the birth of Peleg, at whose time the Tower of Babel was built and the division of languages occurred. This amounts to about a hundred years after the Flood, and Noah was already seven hundred years old. Ham and his grandsons, who had promptly forgotten the horrible wrath of God, despised Noah together with his entire church and the descendants of the holy fathers while he was still living, ruling, and preaching about the great wrath of God. Must we not suppose that it grieved pious Noah and his people that descendants of his were engaging in such enterprises while their father looked on and warned them to no avail? Thus this saint is ridiculed a second time as a feeble-minded old man.8
Consequently, our temptations, crosses, and vexations are nothing in comparison with the temptations, crosses, and vexations of the fathers. Even though we, too, observe monstrous evils in the world, we do not observe them for long and for this reason are more fortunate; for we leave such a wicked generation more quickly. Noah observed his degraded grandsons for three hundred and fifty years, and how much misery do you suppose he experienced during this time? In respect to this share of misfortune Noah is surpassed by his godly son Shem, who lived for five hundred years after the Flood. Oh, what martyrs! All the generations of men should thoughtfully consider them and learn patience from their example.
St. Peter declares about righteous Lot that his soul was distressed when he beheld the ungodly actions of the Sodomites (2 Peter 2:7). Simeon states about Mary that a sword would pierce through her soul (Luke 2:35). The saints cannot behold the wickedness of the world without intense grief. But these crosses of later generations are nothing in comparison with those of the holy fathers, who were compelled to behold the great perversity of the world for five hundred years and more. Therefore let us, too, patiently bear these sad sights and the darts of Satan (Eph. 6:16), which he drives into our hearts; for we should not expect our situation to be better than that of the holy fathers, although, as I have said, it is better in this respect that we have a shorter span of life.
These thoughts I wanted to express briefly as an introduction to this chapter. Now we shall look at the text.
1. Now the whole earth had one language and few words.
2. And as men migrated in the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
We discussed the word מִקֶּדֶם previously, in the second chapter.9 It is my conviction that east is the term for that region which is closest toward the east in relation to the land of Canaan. Thus in the Books of Kings the Arabs are called sons of the east (1 Kings 4:30).
Shinar is a place name familiar from the tenth chapter (10:10). In ancient times this name was given to the region that later began to be called Babel or Babylon.
3. And they said to one another: Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.
This is clear evidence that the city of Babel and the tower were constructed of bricks or baked stone, just as Rome was built of bricks. I further conclude that at that time this was a new method of construction, unknown to previous generations, which were unfamiliar with the process of baking bricks and did not make use of bitumen to join the bricks.
4. Then they said: Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
What is the meaning of this? Who put these words into their mouth, to cause them to foretell their future dispersion over the entire world? They are not prophesying like Caiaphas (John 11:49–51), are they, and saying something of which they have no knowledge? It is a common occurrence, as Solomon bears witness somewhere (Prov. 10:24), that the ungodly foretell evil for themselves, and that what they dread happens to them. Similarly, Ezekiel declares (11:8–9): “You have feared the sword; and I will bring the sword upon you, says the Lord God. And I will bring you forth out of the midst of the land.” On the other hand, the hope of the godly is not futile; but what they hope and believe is sure to take place and not to fail them. Nevertheless, the foreknowledge in the instance before us is not a prophecy like that of Caiaphas; it has a different cause.
In such passages I myself generally follow this rule: just as the statements and actions of the godly cannot be understood except from their spirit and temper, so I also maintain that the words and deeds of the ungodly cannot be understood unless we comprehend the disposition and temper of the spirit that urges them on, namely, Satan’s; and that disposition and temper is always opposed both to God and to the church. On the other hand, both the utterances and the actions of the godly aim at the glory of God and the welfare of the church. He who pursues this goal cannot be deceived by any of the pretense and hypocrisy toward which Satan always directs his efforts by word and deed. He who hears things that are not in agreement with the Word of God gives a correct description if he declares that they have come from Satan. He is right too if he maintains that they were spoken in order to deceive and kill.
I have followed this rule when passing judgment on the dogmas of the pope. Because I saw that they were not in agreement with the Word of God, I continued to maintain that his dogmas are from the devil, designed to deceive and to kill. Nor have I allowed myself to be swayed from this conviction by any of the outward show with which the outrageous impostor has deceived the entire world. Therefore since this is a reliable rule for judging and evaluating the words and deeds of God and of Satan, of the godly and of the ungodly, we shall do well to follow it also in the present instance.
The descendants of Ham, namely, Nimrod and the others, had invaded the region that had fallen to Shem, the heir of the promise concerning Christ. Because they were inclined toward despotism, they had a desire not only to drive out the descendants of Shem but also to establish a new government and a new church. Even though there is no written record of what they attempted against the true church, against Noah himself, the ruler of the church, and against his pious posterity, it can nevertheless be surmised by analogy if we carefully consider the actions of our opponents at the present time. For Satan, who incites the ungodly against the true church, is always the same.
Therefore when Noah and the other godly men saw themselves hard pressed and new forms of worship being introduced, they became prophets through a logical deduction, although they also had positive knowledge of the nature of the punishment, since the Holy Spirit was giving them warning. They reasoned in this manner: “Adam did not go unpunished for having sinned in Paradise, and the punishment of his sin adheres to us all up to the present time. Cain was likewise punished for killing his brother and for his wicked notion about God, until at last God destroyed the entire world through the Flood. Surely, these men will not go unpunished, either, for making an attempt at tyranny and for disturbing and corrupting religion. But God has promised that in the future He will not resort to a flood.” Hence they maintained under the guidance of the Holy Spirit that a punishment was to follow: just as these men were joining efforts to suppress the true church, so the true church would be preserved, and they themselves would be scattered over the entire world.
Because this prophecy tended to give strength and comfort to the church of the godly, it was spread abroad by Noah himself, not in secret or in only one place but publicly and with great courage. Therefore it could not remain unknown to the generation of the ungodly, which, though it smugly disregarded these voices of the Holy Spirit, still could not disregard them altogether. This is what happens to the ungodly: though they know that they are sinning and that punishment for sin is imminent, they smugly overcome their fear when their wickedness gains the upper hand.
Thus in the passage before us the words reveal a conscience that is troubled and yet smugly keeps on disregarding the punishment. Such a conscience is attributed to Medea by Ovid when she says: “I see and applaud the better things, but I follow the worse.”10 And we ourselves once heard Carlstadt say at this very place, when he was conferring a doctor’s degree, that he knew that it was a sin to create doctors of theology, but that he was doing it nevertheless.11 It is no trivial sin to harden oneself against conscience and to glory in a sin willingly and knowingly.
So far as the present passage is concerned, we now understand the disposition of the ungodly and of Satan. As a result, we shall readily pass judgment on their words. It is not enough for the ungodly descendants of Ham to have sinned in driving the godly out of their habitations, but they also laugh at the punishment and make a joke of the threats that they hear from their parent Noah. Similarly, our papists laugh gently when we threaten them with the advent of Christ; for they think that if the case is postponed until then, they will fare well.
The ungodly in this passage act just like that. From their father Noah they hear that they will be punished by being scattered. “What?” say they, “Are we to be scattered? Well, then let us be scattered! But first we shall build a city and a tower as a memorial to our achievements.” They do not fully believe that their dispersion will take place, nor are they altogether sure that it will not take place; and to show their contempt for the godly church they make ready for the new structure. These are, therefore, extremely arrogant words of Satan and his children against God.
We observe that the papists are doing the very same thing. It is impossible for the tyranny of the popes to continue any longer, for Rome is so tainted with every kind of wickedness that it cannot be any worse unless it becomes hell itself. In addition to this, there is the horrible craze for idols, and they incite kings and princes to give their support to ungodliness and to the suppression of the truth. Since no one can live in such great sins without fear of punishment, of which we also are prophets, they nevertheless grow horns 12 and, as the prophet puts it (Is. 48:4), assume a forehead of brass and pretend to be without fear. It is for this reason also that they do not curtail their ungodliness but boldly practice and increase it.
Thus the nature of ungodliness is always the same: it derides God both while it is full of hope and while it is full of fear. We see that these two emotions are mixed in the ungodly, just as they are mixed in the godly, who have the true faith. But even though the godly fear more than they hope, yet their hope and faith ultimately prevail. In the ungodly, on the other hand, even though they also fear, insincerity and wickedness prevail, drive away fear, and make them smug. As a result, they lunge forward without regard for their own peril. But finally what they fear comes to pass, and hope fails them. Thus we see that the ungodly descendants of Ham were wretchedly scattered, but Noah and his people were spared.
Therefore this entire account must be applied for the comfort of the church. Even though the church is troubled by the ungodly in sundry ways, nevertheless it ultimately triumphs, while the ungodly perish and are prophets of their own disasters, as Caiaphas was with his “lest perchance the Romans come and take away our nation” (John 11:48). And in Hosea it is stated: “I will chastise them as they have heard in their congregation” (7:12).
5. And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the sons of men had built.
Now there takes place what the ungodly were fearing and yet smugly disregarding, since, as we have stated, their wickedness prevailed. Therefore this is a text with theological significance, for it reveals the frame of mind of the godly as well as of the ungodly. We observe the course of events to be this: while the sinner is engaged in sinning and is engrossed by it, he does not see God, does not speak of Him, and is not aware of Him; for the sinner assumes that God does not see and is not aware of what he is doing.
While Adam is bringing the fruit to his mouth, he gives no heed to the Word. Therefore if you were to look into his conscience, you would observe that he is no more concerned about God and His Word than if God were something dead and nonexistent. Thus Ps. 10:11 describes the thoughts of the ungodly remarkably well when it states: “He thinks in his heart, ‘God has forgotten, He has hidden His face, He will never see it.’ ” While Cain falls upon his brother and kills him, he is likewise thinking that God is asleep and does not notice what he is doing. But this happens because God is long-suffering and does not immediately punish the deeds that deserved punishment.
Thus the godly also get the impression that God is asleep and has His eyes closed while they are crying and sighing for deliverance. God puts off their deliverance, and for this reason the following expressions are frequent in the psalms: “How long wilt Thou forget, O Lord?” (13:1); “Why sleepest Thou? Arise, awake” (44:23); “Lift up Thy hand” (10:12). And those statements in which God asserts that He sees the works of men, that nothing is hidden from His eyes, that He is a God who detests iniquity, and so forth, are intended for the comfort of the church.
Therefore Scripture speaks here of the attitude of God by which He does not pay attention to the sins of the ungodly and the prayers of the godly. This attitude we make our own when we suppose that God is actually asleep during the time when He either does not immediately punish sins or does not immediately hear our prayers.
Thus in this passage God is said to come down as though He had not been present previously, for while the contempt of the ungodly was intense and Noah’s prophecy was ridiculed, they thought that God was absent and had no knowledge of what the sons of Ham are attempting. But after the sin has been committed, God “comes down”; that is, then at last it is realized that He is at hand and is angry. Thus Gen. 22:12 says: “Now I know that you fear God,” as though previously God had had no knowledge of Abraham.
The papists likewise believe that God is dead, that He does not see, that He does not hear, and that He is not present. Hence they are smug in their rage against the church and their various acts of oppression against it; for they say, as we read in Ps. 73:11: “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
As we stated previously, in the third chapter,13 it is the nature of sin to lie still and be quiet for a time while the day is hot, that is, while lust and sin reign and man, overwhelmed and engrossed by Satan, pays no attention to the Word of God but disregards it, as if God were sleeping or simply did not exist.
But toward evening, after the heat of the day, the Lord begins to walk about in Paradise; and His voice is heard, no longer a pleasing and delightful voice, as it was before sin, but a terrifying one, which Adam is unable to bear. Therefore he hides among the trees and wants neither to hear nor to see God, but he cannot remain hidden.
The poets fancied that souls were terrified by the bark of Cerberus; but real terror arises when the voice of the wrathful God is heard, that is, when it is felt by the conscience. Then God, who previously was nowhere, is everywhere. Then He who earlier appeared to be asleep hears and sees everything; and His wrath burns, rages, and kills like fire.
These are expressions of Holy Scripture to which one must become accustomed. God “comes down,” not really or essentially—for He is everywhere—but He ceases to take no notice, He ceases to be long-suffering, and begins to reveal, punish, and convict sin. Therefore the smug people who used to think that He was far away now see that He is present, and they begin to tremble.
All this is intended to frighten us, that we may learn to beware of sin. For God will not ignore it forever; but just as by His arrival He finally frightened and killed Adam, Cain, and the entire world in the Flood, so at some time He will destroy us also if we do not forestall Him through repentance.
For the godly, however, the descent of the Lord is most delightful and most welcome; and for this reason they earnestly request it in fervent and unceasing prayers. But the flesh often makes them have doubts; for the pope, the Turk, and other enemies of the church appear to have established their power to such an extent that no force seems able to overthrow them. Yet someday God will descend and scatter them both. Over against our weakness and the smugness of the ungodly, Scripture bears witness that finally God descends, punishes, and opens His eyes, ears, and mouth. This the godly believe, but with a feeble faith, while the ungodly smugly disregard it.
Hence let us be warned by the example before us and learn this: the longer God puts up with idolatry and other sins, and the longer He pays no attention to them, the more intolerable will HIS wrath reveal itself to be later on. Therefore we ought to consider it a great kindness if He does not permit our sins to go unpunished for a long time. Ps. 30:5 exhorts the church to give thanks because the wrath of the Lord is “for a moment” and because He loves life. It says: “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning”; and Ps. 89:30, 39: “If his children forsake My Law and do not walk according to My ordinances, I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with scourges.” This is a wrath of grace, when the punishment comes quickly and calls us back from sin.
But when God pays no attention to sin and seems to connive at it, then there follows an unbearable wrath that has no end. Such was the wrath of the Flood and the wrath that Moses mentions in this passage. God permits the descendants of Ham to be prosperous and permits them to continue in sin as long as they are building the tower and the city, but then there follows a disaster that is all the greater.
Let us recognize, therefore, that a horrible judgment, such as no one has experienced since the beginning of the world, is in store for the pope and the Turk, who have been prospering for so long. God has never disregarded the ungodliness and the extreme blasphemies of anyone else for so long. Therefore their punishment will surpass the punishment of the Flood, of the dispersion, and of the Sodomites, for the wrath against them will be everlasting.
Moses says not only that God is descending, but that He is descending in order to see. We have stated how this is to be understood. Thus far God has conducted Himself as though He did not see, and the ungodly were also sure that God was not taking notice of their activities.
He shows a striking contempt for these tyrants and proud builders when He calls them sons of Adam or sons of men. He does this with the same intention as above (Gen. 6:2, 3), namely, to make a difference between the true and the false church, between the sons of God and the sons of men. For He calls those who are without the Word the sons of men; they are lost and abandoned hypocrites. “What are these men trying to do?” says God. “They are building a city and a tower against My church, surely a laughable undertaking, since they are sons of men.”
This also serves to comfort the true church, that God not only sees the enterprises, machinations, and counsels of the ungodly who oppose the church but also laughs at them, as the second psalm (2:4) says: “He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord has them in derision.” But it is a scornful laughter; for fury, wrath, and dispersion follow upon this laughter. “He will speak at some time in His wrath,” says David, “and terrify them in His fury” (Ps. 2:5).
Therefore it should not frighten us if we see the pope, like Nimrod, building a citadel for the purpose of suppressing the church, while he incites the Turk and the world against us. The Lord is certainly laughing at these futile plans and will confound him also.
Thus the Holy Spirit comforts the true church, which is being troubled by the church of Satan, lest it believe that God is paying no attention to it. He says: “The Lord sees what the ungodly are doing. And now He is getting ready to descend, that those who laugh smugly at all threats and mistakenly suppose that their power cannot be broken may become aware that their plans are not hidden from God.”
Yet God does not make use of battering-rams to break down walls, nor does He use other engines of war; He merely confuses their languages. This is truly an astounding method of conquering cities and of demolishing walls, but it is the surest and easiest of all. Similarly, Christ asserts in the Gospel (Luke 11:17): “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste.” If the languages had not been confused, the unity of hearts would have continued. But now Babylon falls, Nineveh falls, Jerusalem falls, Rome falls—in short, all kingdoms fall as a result of the confusion of languages, which gives rise to a disunity of hearts.
6. And the Lord said: Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; and nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.
The verb זָמַם is familiar, for it means to reach some decision as a result of some proposal and to consider whether it is good or evil. Such is its meaning in the passage before us: “They have decided to do this; they have made up their minds; and they will not allow themselves to be turned away from what they have undertaken.” This is a sort of complaint from God, who is amazed and grieved at the great arrogance of men, because to their own great harm, they smugly despised the authority of Noah and of godly Shem.
Yet this is written for our comfort (Rom. 15:4); for our faith is feeble, and even for one who is ever so patient the cross is heavy. Therefore when we see the plans of the ungodly and so many violent offenses, we get thoughts such as these: that the church is about to go to ruin and that ungodliness is about to take over everything. Against these thoughts of despair the passage before us is effective; as though the Holy Spirit were saying: “Do not observe only what men have in mind; for they are reckless, stubborn, proud, and smug. But leave the earth for a while, ascend into heaven with your thoughts, and see what God is doing and how He is disposed. Surely He is not idle, nor is He sleeping; but He looks upon this human smugness with grief, and these matters distress Him as much as they distress you. Therefore have no doubt; someday He will come and will confound these זַמְזֻמִּים.” This is the name the Hebrews give to stubborn people who have set their hearts on carrying out some deed. Hence these words of God denote the sobs and sighs of the godly when they are frightened and unnerved by the stubborn disposition of the ungodly, who have made up their minds that even against the will of the gods they want to carry out what they have undertaken.
Thus we see that the holy fathers were troubled and tempted by their weakness in faith when they saw so many offenses from the ungodly men who were blaspheming God and His Word. Otherwise they would not have been so fearful or sighed so much that for their comfort God was constrained to reveal His own grief, which stemmed from the arrogance of the ungodly. Now follows the punishment.
7. Come, let Us go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.
8. So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.
9. Therefore its name was called 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.
This is a description of the awful punishment from which wars, murders, and evils of every kind throughout the entire world have resulted. One should not think that this punishment has come to an end. It continues until now, and especially the church is conscious of this severe affliction. How often has it happened that churches were at variance with one another because of one little, inconsequential ceremony! Pope Victor excommunicated all the churches of the East because they differed from the Western churches in their celebration of Easter.14 The Eastern churches adhered to the same day that the Jews observe until now, but those in the West preferred to make use of their Christian liberty.
There are similar occurrences in government, for truly there is no more harmful plague for kingdoms and state affairs than division. If we Germans had been united in heart and effort, what could the Turk have achieved against us, or what could he achieve now? But now that we are divided among ourselves on account of petty titles,15 he is gradually sapping the strength of Germany and taking possession of one area after another.
Thus we also are punished by the confusion of languages, and ever since Babel was built all kingdoms have felt this plague. What Sallust says is true: Small undertakings grow through harmony, but great ones go to ruin through disharmony.16 And the Greeks have rather cleverly invented the story of Eris,17 which may have had its origin in this very account; for the sacred stories became known to the Gentiles through oral accounts. “Babylonian evil” would, therefore, deserve the status of a proverb to express the idea that discord is the most ruinous plague in human affairs; for it utterly subverts religion, laws, good habits, and whatever good this life has. Of this we have examples before our eyes in the church, in the government, and in the household.
Previously, in the first chapter,18 we explained Moses’ use of the plural number in this passage when the one God is speaking. We said that this is sure evidence of the most holy Trinity, of our belief that the Father, who begets; the Son, who is begotten; and the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, are one God. We are not going to spend any time on the trivial objections of the Jews, who prattle that God was speaking with the angels.19 For we were not created in the likeness of the angels; but they, together with us, are the likeness of God. We maintain, as the words reveal, that there is a plurality in God characterized by an undivided essence and an inseparable unity. The angels are unable to confuse languages; this is the work of the Creator Himself. As He gave uniformity of speech, so He alone is able to change and abolish it; a creature cannot do this. The angels are able to adopt human speech, as very many examples of Scripture prove; but they can neither create nor change it in man.
Let us, therefore, abide by the true meaning that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God; that is, that in this passage the one Godhead Itself is speaking to Itself and saying: “Let Us descend.” Hence that descent is the work of God alone. The angels have no part in it. Through it He frightens and crushes the ungodly after they have fallen into sin.
Thus Moses reveals the plurality of Persons in God, but he did not explain its number and nature; for this was being reserved for the glory of the New Testament, which expressly designates the Persons, namely, that there is in God a Person who begets, a Person who is begotten, and a Person who is, so to speak, “breathed,” who proceeds from the Father and the Son. In the Old Testament, therefore, this article about the Trinity was included in the general faith20 in which the holy fathers died and were saved. Let us, therefore, not permit ourselves to be deprived of such evidences by the ungodly and blinded Jews. Words that are so clear and that are used in their strict sense should not be distorted and twisted into an absurd meaning.
Bonus Content: What the Church Fathers Had To Say About the Sin of Babel
1. Chrysostom
“When they traveled from the east, they found open country in the land of Sennar [Shinar] and settled there.” Notice how the human race, instead of managing to keep to its own boundaries, always longs for more and reaches out for greater things. This is what the human race has lost in particular, not being prepared to recognize the limitations of its own condition but always lusting after more, entertaining ambitions beyond its capacity. In this regard, too, when people who chase after the things of the world acquire for themselves much wealth and status, they lose sight of their own nature, as it were, and aspire to such heights that they topple into the very depths. You could see this happening every day without others being any the wiser from the sight of it. Instead, they pause for a while but immediately lose all recollection of it and take the same road as the others and fall over the same precipice. This is exactly what you can see happening to these people in the present instance: “When they traveled from the east, they found open country in the land of Sennar [Shinar] and settled there.” See how in gradual stages it teaches us the instability of their attitude. When they saw the open country (the text says), they packed up and left their previous dwelling and settled down there. (Homilies on Genesis 30.5.2 - FC 82:222–23; PG 53:275.)
This in fact is the way the Lord is accustomed to behave. This is what he did in the beginning in the case of the [first] woman as well. She had abused the status conferred on her, and for that reason he subjected her to her husband. Again, too, in the case of Adam, since he drew no advantage from the great ease he enjoyed and from life in the garden but rather rendered himself liable to punishment through the fall, God drove him out of the garden and inflicted on him everlasting punishment in the words “thorns and thistles let the earth yield.” So when the people in the present case, who had been dignified with similarity of language, used the privilege given them for evil purposes, he put a stop to the impulse of their wickedness through creating differences in language. “Let us confuse their speech,” he says, “so that they will be unable to understand one another’s language.” His purpose was that, just as similarity of language achieved their living together, so difference in language might cause dispersal among them. (Homilies on Genesis 30.13.12 - FC 82:229; PG 53:278.)
There are many people even today who in imitation of them want to be remembered for such achievements, by building splendid homes, baths, porches and avenues. I mean, if you were to ask each of them why they toil and labor and lay out such great expense to no good purpose, you would hear nothing but these very words. They would be seeking to ensure that their memory survives in perpetuity and to have it said that “this is the house belonging to so-and-so,” “this is the property of so-and-so.” This, on the contrary, is worthy not of commemoration but of condemnation. For hard upon those words come other remarks equivalent to countless accusations—“belonging to so-and-so the grasping miser, despoiler of widows and orphans.” So such behavior is calculated not to earn remembrance but to encounter unremitting accusations, achieve notoriety after death and incite the tongues of onlookers to calumny and condemnation of the person who acquired these goods. But if you are anxious for undying reputation, I will show you the way to succeed in being remembered for every achievement and also, along with an excellent name, to provide yourself with great confidence in the age to come. How then will you manage both to be remembered day after day and also become the recipient of tributes even after passing from one life to the next? If you give away these goods of yours into the hands of the poor, letting go of precious stones, magnificent homes, properties and baths. Homilies on (Genesis 30.7.16 - FC 82:224; PG 53:275)
2. Augustine
This city named “Confusion” was none other than Babylon, to whose marvelous construction pagan history brings testimonies. For Babylon means “confusion.” It would seem that the founder of the city was the giant Nimrod, as was noticed above.3 In mentioning him, the Scripture tells us that Babylon was the head of his kingdom, meaning at the head of all the other cities, the capital where the government of the kingdom had its seat. However, the city never reached the kind of completion that the pride of impious men had dreamed. The actual plan called for an immense height—it was meant to reach the sky. This perhaps refers to one of its towers, which was to be higher than all the others, or perhaps the word tower may mean all the towers much as “horse” can mean thousands of horsemen. (City of God 16.4.4)
After the flood, as if striving to fortify themselves against God, as if there could be anything high for God or anything secure for pride, certain proud men built a tower, ostensibly so that they might not be destroyed by a flood if one came later. For they had heard and recalled that all iniquity had been destroyed by the flood. They were unwilling to abstain from iniquity. They sought the height of a tower against a flood; they built a lofty tower. God saw their pride, and he caused this disorder to be sent upon them, that they might speak but not understand one another, and tongues became different through pride. (Tractates on the Gospel of John 6.10.2.5)
3. Jerome
Just as when holy men live together, it is a great grace and blessing; so, likewise, that congregation is the worst kind when sinners dwell together. The more sinners there are at one time, the worse they are. Indeed, when the tower was being built up against God, those who were building it were disbanded for their own welfare. The conspiracy was evil. The dispersion was of true benefit even to those who were dispersed. (Homilies 21.15)
1 The story of Babel had a place in medieval folklore and legend, from which these items are taken.
2 Lyra on Gen. 11:4, sec. h.
3 In the original this is in capital letters.
4 cf. p. 131, note 1.
5 The original has capitals in both these places.
6 Edward Gibbon has paraphrased this epigram in his comment on Julian the Apostate: “He affected to pity the unhappy Christians, who were mistaken in the most important object of their lives; but his pity was degraded by contempt, his contempt was embittered by hatred.” The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, ch. XXIII.
7 The term oeconomia usually means “household” in Luther, but in this passage it seems to have acquired its later and broader signification.
8 Cf. p. 87.
9 Luther’s Works, 1, p. 88.
10 Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book VII, 1. 20.
11 Carlstadt had based this condemnation of academic degrees on Matt. 23:10.
12 The German expression horn gewinnen is a colloquial metaphor for mutig werden, “to grow brave.”
13 Cf. Luther’s Works, 1, pp. 168–172.
14 Pope Victor I (d. 198) excommunicated Polycrates, Bishop of Ephesus, and other Eastern bishops for observing the fourteenth day of Nisan as the Christian Easter.
15 Cf. Luther’s comments in his exposition of Ps. 101, Luther’s Works, 13, pp. 146 ff.
16 Sallust, Bellum Iugurthinum, 10, 6; cf. Luther’s Works, 9, 221.
17 Cf. Homer, Iliad, Book IV, ll. 440–441.
18 Luther’s Works, 1, pp. 57–59.
19 Cf. Lyra on Gen. 11:7, see. o.
20 Perhaps Luther is distinguishing here between this fides generalis and the fides specialis or personal faith by which an individual is saved. Cf. p. 27.
