Therefore, its name was called Babel because there the Lord confused the language of all the Earth.
– Genesis 11:9
The Tower of Babel, the moment when people were scattered into different nations with different languages, unable to communicate with each other. There’s a ton we could talk about here, but I just want you to think about the world we live in today with thousands and thousands of different languages today. And Jesus has given us a command to make his Word known in all of them, among all the nations, the tribes, the peoples, the languages. That’s the picture that Revelation 5 and 7 give us around the throne, “One day every nation, tribe, people, and language. Every language will be singing praises to God through Jesus the Son.”
Genesis 11:9 reminds us of people groups who don’t have access to the Bible.
That’s where all history is headed. But the reality is, as of now… There are approximately 3,400 language groups with little or no access to the Bible. Over a thousand of those groups don’t even have a single verse of Scripture in a language they best understand, in their heart language. And you and I have the resources as the church today. Not just financially, but combined with the globalization of the world, with the development of technologies… We have the opportunity to get God’s Word to all of them. At least a portion of God’s Word to all of them. Soon we can be the first people in the history of the church to see the Word of God made known in all the languages of the world. Is that not amazing? This is attainable for us.
So brother, sister in Christ, let’s do this. Let’s all play our part in doing this. You can find out more information about Bible translation at illumiNations.Bible. There’s many different organizations, ministries who are working together toward this end. Oh, I just want to encourage us to play our parts in getting the Word of God to every language of the world. Since Genesis 11, all of these languages separated. And all of these language groups filled with sinners in need of salvation that can only be found in God’s Word. Which means they all need God’s Word in their language. So God help us to get it to them in their language.
Genesis 11:9 reminds us of the urgency of Bible translation.
We pray today together right now for success in Bible translation, for all the language groups of the world. God, we pray for that. Please bring it about. Please bring it about that every language group would have access to the truth of who you are and how much you love them. God, we pray, help different ministries, and organizations to work well together. We pray for faithful translation of your Word. God, we pray for wise translation of your Word. We pray for speedy, responsible, accurate translation of your Word to all the language groups of the world.
And God, we pray for all those who are working to then spread your Word once it’s translated. I think about the thousands of gospel leaders that Radical is partnering together with. God, please bless them for the spread of your Word to all these language groups and multitudes of others who are doing that. God, help us all to work together well as your church to spend our lives in this time and place, unique opportunity you’ve given us. Help us to faithfully spread your Word to all the languages of the world. God, please may it be so. We pray in light of your Word, going all the way back to Genesis 11. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen. May it be so.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
