The Tower

[Song] “Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life.  Let me more of their beauty see, wonderful words of life.”

Hello, my name is Miss Barb!  Welcome to Lifeline English, the podcast that helps you know God and know English.

You can read the written script for today’s lesson online at lifelineenglish.com.

Today I want to teach you three words.

Scatter.  To scatter means to make things move in many different directions.  For example, the dog caused the sheep to scatter.  When I turned on the light, the cockroaches scattered.  The farmer scattered his seeds in his field. 

Confuse.  To confuse means to make something hard to understand, or to make someone have difficulty understanding.  For example, “I asked Siri for directions to the restaurant.  But the directions confused me.”  



Plain.  When I say the word plain, I am talking about “P-L-A-I-N” and not “P-L-A-N-E.”  A “P-L-A-N-E” is an airplane that carries people through the air.  The word “P-L-A-I-N” has several different meanings.  Do not be confused by them. Plain is the opposite of “fancy” or “elegant”.  For example, Jill liked to wear dresses with bright colors and flowers on them.  But her sister Nancy liked clothes that were plain.  Plain also means “simple”.  For example, the lawyer used big words, and confused the jury.  But the judge made the lawyer say everything again with plain words.  Plain also means a large area of flat ground with no trees.  In the central part of the United States there are some very large plains. 

After the flood, God told the people to spread out all over the earth.  But the people did not want to obey God.  What happened?  You’ll find out now.  Today’s story is called, “The Tower.”

When I ask you a question, I will leave a space.  You can answer my question.  Then I will say the answer.  You can compare your answers with my answers. 

The whole world spoke one language.  Everyone used the same words.  How many languages did the world speak?  The world spoke only one language.
Did everyone use different words?  No, everyone used the same words.

The people moved east and found a plain in Shinar.  They settled there.  What direction did the people move?  The people moved east.
What did the people find?  The people found a plain.
Where was the plain?  The plain was in Shinar.
Who settled in the plain?  The people settled in the plain.

They said to each other, “Come!  Let’s make bricks and bake them well.”  Did the people bake cookies?  No, the people baked bricks.
How much did the people bake the bricks?  They baked the bricks well.
Did the bricks bake the people?  No, the people baked the bricks.

They used brick instead of stone, and tar instead of mortar. 
Did the people use stone?  No, the people used brick instead of stone.
What did they use for mortar?  They used tar instead of mortar.

Then they said, “Come! Let’s build a city for ourselves! 
Who was the city for?  The city was for the people.
Was the city for God?  No, the city was for the people.

Let’s build a tower that reaches to heaven. 
What did the people want to build?  The people wanted to build a tower.
Did they want to build a short tower?  No, they wanted to build a tall tower.
Did they want to build a tower to the moon?  No, they wanted to build a tower to heaven.

Let’s make a name for ourselves. 
Did the people want to make a name for God?  No, the people wanted to make a name for themselves.
Did the people want to become famous?  Yes, they wanted to be famous.

If we don’t, we will be scattered over all the earth.” 
Did the people want to be scattered over all the earth?  No, the people wanted to stay in the plain of Shinar.

But God came down to see the city and the tower the people were building.
Who came down?  God came down.
Why did God come down?  God came down to see the city and the tower.
Did the tower reach to heaven?  No, God came down to see it.
Was God building the city and the tower?  No, the people were building the city and the tower.

God said, “These people are united.  They speak the same language.  Did the people work together?  Yes, the people were united.
Did the people understand each other?  Yes, the people spoke the same language.

This is only the beginning of what they will do.  They will be able to do anything they want.  Is the tower the last thing the people will do?  No, the tower is only the beginning.
What are the people able to do?  The people are able to do anything they want. 
When people speak the same language, they can do big things together. 

Come!  Let’s go down and confuse their language.  Then they won’t be able to understand each other.”  What did God do to their language?  God confused their language. 
Did the people understand each other?  No, the people were not able to understand each other. 

So God scattered them from there over all the earth.  Who scattered the people?  God scattered the people.
How did God scatter the people?  God scattered the people by confusing their language.
Where did the people go?  The people went over all the earth. 

They stopped building the city.  So the city is called “Babel”. Did the people continue building the city?  No, the people stopped building the city.
Why did the people stop building the city?  The people stopped building the city because they were not able to understand each other.
What is the name of the city?  The name of the city is Babel.  Babel means “confusion”. 
What did the people plan?  The people planned that they would stay in one city. 
What did God plan?  God planned that they would live all over the world. 
Whose plan was better?  God’s plan was better than the people’s plan. 
Whose plan happened?  God’s plan happened. 
Let’s listen to the whole story together.

The whole world spoke one language.  Everyone used the same words.  The people moved east and found a plain in Shinar.  They settled there.  They said to each other, “Come!  Let’s make bricks and bake them well.”  They used brick instead of stone, and tar instead of mortar.  Then they said, “Come! Let’s build a city for ourselves!  Let’s build a tower that reaches to heaven.  Let’s make a name for ourselves.  If we don’t, we will be scattered over all the earth.” 

But God came down to see the city and the tower the people were building.  God said, “These people are united.  They speak the same language.  This is only the beginning of what they will do.  They will be able to do anything they want.  Come!  Let’s go down and confuse their language.  Then they won’t be able to understand each other.”  So God scattered them from there over all the earth.  They stopped building the city.  So the city is called “Babel”.

Do you have any questions?  You can write me.  Go to our website, lifelineenglish.com. 

Until next time, may Jesus help you know Him and know English.  Good bye and God bless!

[Song] “Jesus only savior, sanctify forever, beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life.  Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life.”