Tower of Babel - So That's Where Languages Came From

Tower of Babel
Sunday School Lessons

According to several different sources, there are more than 6700 different languages in the world. Of course, most of those languages are not spoken regularly. It is estimated that between 100 and 200 different languages are actual 'official languages' (whatever that means). Now, think back a little further than that...a little further...a little further...

The question is - where did all these different languages come from?

Thankfully, God doesn't leave us to wonder about this.

In this Sunday school lesson, kids will learn the disobedience of people and the power of God.

Sunday School Lesson - Tower of Babel

Begin your Sunday school lesson by asking the class how many languages they can name.


Wait for answers.

You'll need to start the Tower of Babel Sunday school lesson with Noah and his family leaving the ark after it came to rest on top of Mount Ararat.

Ask the kids how much they remember about the bible story of Noah. Try to keep them focused on 'after the flood' when everyone and everything left the ark.

What did God tell them to do?

God told Noah and his sons, "Be fruitful and multiply" (Genesis 9:1 KJV).

It was Noah's family's job to have children and grandchildren and they were to have children and grandchildren to repopulate the earth. As the children had more children, they were to spread out over the earth, but they didn't.

Instead, they went east where they stayed in a land called Shinar.

Different Languages

After Noah left the ark, the bible tells us that 'the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech' (Genesis 11:1 KJV).



Get the Tower of Babel
Word Search
Sunday School Activity

But, it didn't stay that way for long.

You see, the people began to build a city. Then, they decided to build a tower. They wanted to make a name for themselves and decided to build a huge tower with a top that reached all the way to heaven (Genesis 11:4 KJV).

Not only did the people disobey God by not spreading out over the whole earth, they also thought they could do whatever they wanted. They thought they could just start building a tower and that it would reach heaven.

God had other plans, though.

He wanted them to know that he was in control.

So, he mixed up their languages so that they couldn't understand each other (Genesis 11:7 KJV). When God gave them all different languages to speak, they couldn't keep building the tower. No one could tell anyone else what needed to be done.

This tower became known as the Tower of Babel because everyone sounded like they were babbling to each other.

After this, the Lord scattered all the people around the earth.

The Power of the Lord God

God has the power to all things. The bible tells us we are to 'fear the Lord'. That doesn't mean to be afraid of him. It means that he will correct us when we do things we shouldn't. It means we should want to make God proud of us. We should want to please him.

Do you know the sick, scared feeling you get when you've done something wrong and you are hoping no one finds out about it?

When we are living our lives for God, we are happy and content, but when we are not living for God, we should fear him because we've done something wrong.

Strive each day to live for God. Fearing the Lord God is a good thing. It helps us to do what is right and to feel his love for us.

What We Learned

We learn that obeying God is the most important thing and when we find ourselves not obey God, he will correct us. Never think that God isn't watching. He knows what is going on at all times even inside your head. Yes - he knows what you're thinking.

Just as our parents must correct us when we do something wrong, God, our heavenly father, must also correct us. We see over and over in the bible when people did things they shouldn't and God had to correct them.

One of the most famous bible stories is that of Adam and Eve. After Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, God made them leave the Garden of Eden never to return.

Always obey your mom and dad and always obey God. If you do not, you can be sure that your earthly parents or your heavenly father will correct you.