The Wonder of Language

We’re surrounded by language. Babies begin to “absorb language when they are inside the womb during the last 10 weeks of pregnancy.” (source) We hear chatter at the grocery store, communication at the workplace, an unseen voice at the drive-through. When we return home we turn on the radio or television. Family members work out their plans and resolve their differences through language.

Language differs by nations and people groups. Did you know that there are 7,139 known languages spoken in the world today? Of those, 3018 are endangered, with perhaps only a few speakers. When those few die, so will the language. (source)

Of the 7,139 known languages, 3,415 have at least some portion of Scripture. (source)

Papua New Guinea is about the size of the state of California, yet it is a nation of 840 distinct languages! (source)

English is our official language in the U.S. but, according to the 2015 Census, at least 350 languages are spoken in U.S. homes. One-hundred-sixty-six languages other than English are spoken in homes in Seattle.

But even among speakers of the same language, dialect can make it difficult for people in different regions of the country or world to understand one another. Have you ever met a native English speaker that you simply could not understand? (If you haven’t, just watch a little British television!)

Language Matters to God

We read in Genesis 1 that God created the world by his word. He spoke it into being.

Jesus is called the Word, who was with God in the beginning and was, in fact, God, present at creation (see John 1:1-5).

When the proud people of Shinar (Genesis 11:1-9) began to build a tower to the heavens to make a name for themselves and ensure their posterity, God confused their language so that they could not understand one another and scattered them over the face of the earth.

Forty days after Jesus returned to Heaven was the Jewish feast of Pentecost. While Jesus’ followers prayed together they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. This made it possible for people of many languages to hear the Good News of Jesus in their own language. That day about 3000 people put their trust in Christ (Acts 2:1-13).

Language and the Bible

God cares enough about the world to have spoken it into being and sent his Son, the living Word, to show us the way to God. And he gave us the Bible, the written word. How has the Bible gotten from the scrolls and parchments of ancient people to us in 2021? Is it available to the speakers of all 7139 languages?

This clever video will answer those questions and many more. I think you’ll enjoy it.

Ginger