The Tower of Babel
by
Philip du Nard
In Genesis chapter 11, we have the story of the Tower of Babel.. The text reads:
And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.
And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.
And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top [may reach] unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
And the LORD said, Behold, the people [is] one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
Many people the world over believe in God, but it is only through His Word that we come to learn what kind of God we have. But I Cor. 2:14 states, But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned. Therefore, it is not surprising that to the unregenerate mind, God's actions at the Tower of Babel might seem arbitrary and senseless. But the fact that God did what He did indicates there was more to this than meets the eye.
Perhaps the people of that time remembered something of the violence and corruption that had characterized the pre-flood world. Perhaps they thought that much as castaways on an island instinctively stick together for their mutual good, the way to avoid the division and strife of the past was to avoid being scattered on the face of the earth and to erect this tower as a rallying point and as a symbol of their unity.
This same spirit is evident today as mankind, desperately hopeful of peace, yet oblivious to any divine plan for this world, strives toward the unity of a modern Tower of Babel which finds its ultimate expression in the abolition of national sovereignty and the formation of one world government. This is not the same thing as a spirit of friendly cooperation among nations.
It all sounds so logical and appealing and who can refute it without seeming to be in opposition to good sense and what is ostensibly for the good of mankind?
But the record of Scripture shows that what is being attempted in our day is " no new thing under the sun" and that God, whose thoughts and ways are higher than our own, had other plans. Whether or not the Tower of Babel can be considered a deliberate act of defiance of Almighty God or what the religious ramifications may have been--and there apparently was no thought of seeking God's guidance beforehand--God saw the seeds of danger in this setup that might not have been readily apparent or understandable to mankind in the early stages of this undertaking.
Why did God take it upon himself to abort this project? Perhaps the price of peace and unity would have been unspeakable oppression and control over people's lives and the tower would have represented the enslavement of mankind. The previous chapter of Genesis, chapter 10, reveals that Nimrod "began to be a mighty one in the earth" and he is mentioned in connection with Babel. Was this project for the supposed benefit of mankind just a scheme on his part to bring the world under his control? Yes, God has allowed oppression to exist but this has been mitigated somewhat by the fact that totalitarianism has not been concentrated under a worldwide system. But whatever the case may be, why not just trust that God knew and does know best and rather than view this episode as strictly God passing judgment for reasons people don't understand, why not, instead, see it as an example of God's mercy toward mankind?
This ought to provide hope for those who are alarmed at the possible implications of the current trend toward one-worldism which would seem to be an effort to construct a modern Tower of Babel and which raises the legitimate concern that there are indeed people like Nimrod working behind the scenes to manipulate such a system to their advantage at the expense of what is good for mankind. God does not change and His abortion of the Tower of Babel project gives us an indication that, in due time, he will make short work of any modern tower as well. Let us remember that St. Paul wrote, "Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning that we, through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope."
This sort of thing is undoubtedly what is referred to in Isaiah where it is written,
Isa 29:15 "Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?
Isa 29:16 Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?"
Here is the description of people working behind the scenes and conspiring to turn things upside down, that is, to subvert political institutions and corrupt the life of the nation as a prelude to taking over. As reference is made to a "turning of things upside down," this implies an accomplished fact and, therefore, a degree of success on the part of the conspirators. But it will only proceed so far before God ruins their plans.
The Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917 was a major turning of things upside down. The objective was to spread this cancer to the whole world. Despite World War 2, the war we fought to make the world safe for Communism, it has turned to clay.
The same spirit is still at work, however. The issue between God and Satan is not just for the souls of a few individuals but control of God's kingdom and world control. We have God's promise recorded in Proverbs 10:30, "The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth."
Next: The Call of Abram