I know I have often thought of the Bible as a spiritual book. I’ve gone to it’s pages when I needed comfort or encouragement. And time after time, I’ve gotten the help and encouragement that I needed. However, the Bible is a historical book too. It’s pages can help us understand the world around us better.
We can often just put the Bible into religion or a spiritual box. But there’s power when we realize how much it’s history explains the world around us.
That is why is 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. – Genesis 11:9 (NIV)
In today’s verse, we read the account of the tower of Babel. Maybe you’re like me, and have never given any thought to the significance of the tower of Babel. However, the tower helps us understand why things are in the world the way they are. Here are a couple of examples.
First, the tower explains why we have different language families today. It shows us why people don’t all speak the same language, and why when we go to different areas, different languages are spoken.
Secondly, we see things like ziggurats built in many different civilizations around us in the world today. Many of the ancient peoples built similar looking buildings all over the world. Could that be because at the tower of Babel, people built that kind of buildings? And as a result of the dispersion of people after the tower, those people took their building skills and ideas with them?
It’s interesting to think about. We can rely on the Bible not only because it speaks to us about spiritual things, but also because it speaks to us about natural things too. The Bible explains why the world is the way it is. And when we read it, we can begin to understand why we see what we do around us.
So today, realize that the Bible has a lot of importance in your life. Not only does it speak to spiritual things, but it also speaks to us about natural things too.