005 The Tower of Babel - A Bible Story for Children

Genesis ll:1-9

The children of Noah had children, and their children had children. Though their numbers were many, all the people of the earth were still like one large family, speaking only one language.

These people did not stay in one place, but roamed through the desert. In time, they cam to the valley of Shinar. Here they found clay and water to make bricks . They also found pitch for mortar, to join the bricks together.

"Let us build a city," they said. "And let us build a gigantic tower, a tower so tall that it will be famous for as long as men live on earth."

"How tall should we build it?" they wondered.

"Taller than the hiss of Shinar," said one man.

"Higher than the mountains of Ararat," said a second.

"Why stop there?" said a third. "Let us build our tower all the way up to heaven!"

And so, with crude clay bricks and sticky black pitch, they set out to build their tower to heaven. Starting wide at the bottom, they built up and up in a great high spiral.

God was not pleased to see the tower rising out of Shinar. He said, "These people think they can build a tower to heaven and be just like God. If this is what people who speak one language think they can do, let the people speak many languages, and let them be scattered over the face of the earth."

No sooner had God spoken than confusion spread over the workmen like a thick cloud. If a workman asked for bricks, his helper gave him mortar. If he asked for mortar, his helper gave him bricks. Left and right, up and down, fast and slow--even the simplest words lost their meaning. Soon people were saying strange words with strange sounds, and no one understood anyone else.

The work stopped, and God scattered the people. Though we do not know who they were, wo do remember the name of the famous tower they built. That tower is called Babel, for the confusing babble of languages that began there.

Category: Children's Bible Stories