The Modern Day Tower of Babel

“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.”  Genesis 11:4-5

Most people have some knowledge of the account of the tower of Babel in Genesis 11.  To refresh our memories, after the great flood which destroyed all people except Noah and his family along with all kinds of animals and birds, Noah’s sons, Shem, Japheth, and Ham with their wives began to repopulate the earth.  We don’t know exactly how many generations had come and gone between the flood and the events recorded in Chapter 11, but they all spoke one language.  They were dwelling in the plain in the land of Shinar which was located in southern Babylonia between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, the area known as the Cradle of Civilization.  Then somebody got the idea to build a tower that would reach all the way to heaven.  This was nothing more than pride and a desire to be their own gods.  Apparently, they did have a belief in God but did not honor Him as the sovereign God over all creation.

To stop them from banding together for this cause which, as God said, would make them unrestrained in every avenue of life, He miraculously made them speak different languages.  They couldn’t understand one another and thus, could not cooperate in this venture.  We all know how difficult it is to communicate with someone who doesn’t speak the same language as we do.  God began to scatter them across the globe.  Ham’s descendants populated modern-day Iraq, Egypt, Ethiopia and Libya.  Japheth’s descendants relocated to the lands we know of today as Iran, Russia, France, Afghanistan, India, Germany, and Great Britain.  Shem’s descendants became the Israelites and Syrians (both known as Semites), and it was through the line of Shem that Jesus came to earth.  Thus God, by scattering these people, spread human population across vast areas of the globe.  Scripture tells us that the tower was called Babel because of the confusion of languages and the relocation of many people to other parts of the world.  Most folks assume that we get our term “babble”, meaning to speak in incoherent words, from Babel.

Fast forward to today.  In my daily devotional booklet, it was mentioned that the builders of Babel were boasting about their plan to build a tower that could reach heaven, and consequently, they would make a name for themselves.  I began to think about that tower, and the thought came to me that men and women have never really stopped trying to build their own way to God, one that would attempt to eliminate Him and make the “builders” their own gods.  It is apparent for all believers to see that there is a growing number of people whose pride is leading them to ignore God and His word, substituting whatever they deem as worthy of their devotion as some sort of god.  Folks can make a religion out of anything.  Whatever they deem as the most important thing in their lives becomes their god, and it is usually something that is very selfish and likely will make them wealthy because many treat riches as their god.  Folks always say, “Follow the money trail” if one desires to discover the motives of others.

Their attempts are not as obvious as the construction of a tall tower, but some of their activities are obvious to those who are paying attention.  They have become so brazen as to be completely out in the open with their hatred of God, of His word, and of Christians.  Their prejudices are all over the media, and they apparently have no fear of God.  Languages are no barrier to them.  But, in some ways, they all speak the same language, that of hate; they all think the same things and say the same things as if they are nothing more than programmed robots.  I suppose we could see them as robots who are controlled by Satan because a person is either a servant of Satan or a servant of God depending on whether or not they have repented and trusted Christ for forgiveness and salvation.  Bob Dylan said, “You’re going to have to serve somebody.  It may be the devil, or it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna’ have to serve somebody”.  I don’t know where Mr. Dylan stands in his relationship to the Lord, but he was sure right about the fact that one is not his or her own master.