Genesis 10, 11:1-9; Psalm 8:1

Genesis 10 records how Noah and his sons and their families repopulated the earth after the flood. It also tells a little about the different ones, including their languages and where they settled.

Genesis 11:1-9
Wiersbe in The Bible Exposition Commentary, Old Testament, p. 61, says that it's likely that chapter 11 happened before chapter 10 which shows Noah's descendants scattered throughout the known world. Ancient Eastern literature is not always written in chronological order.

If you will remember, after the flood, God told Noah and his sons to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. (Genesis 9:1). What happened at Babel was a result of the people's rebellion against what God had commanded. Instead of spreading out over the whole earth, they stayed together and planned to become a great, powerful city. They also were apparently worshipping false Gods. Wiersbe (p. 61) says that the tower was "what is known as a 'ziggurat.'...A ziggurat was like a pyramid except that the successive levels were recessed so that you could walk to the top on 'steps.' At the top was a special shrine dedicated to a god or goddess. In building the structure, the people...hoped that the god or goddess they worshiped would come down from heaven to meet them. The sturcture and the city were called 'Babel,' which means 'the gate of the gods.'" In addition, they were motivated by pride, wanting to make a name for themselves. v. 4 

These people seemed to have much going for them. They were apparently smart and skillful; they were united by one language and one goal, but they made one deadly mistake--they disobeyed God and left Him out of their lives and their plans.

We know that God knows everything, He saw what they were doing, and He judged them. "Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." (As a side note, the "Us" in v. 7 is a reference to the Trinity.) We see from this incident that God is in control of everyone and everything--even the nations of the earth. He can intervene whenever He wills and can change history! "So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city." v. 8

Psalm 8:1

Notice the title, "The Glory of the LORD in Creation."

"O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens." v. 1

MacArthur (p. 749) tells us that the first "LORD" refers to God's specially revealed name "Yahweh" (Ex. 3:14) and the second "Lord" puts an emphasis on His sovereignty. Then in the next phrase, "How excellent is Your name in all the earth," the word "name" refers to all of God's attributes! His glory is beyond our imagination.

"O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens."