CHAPLAIN’S PAGE: BABEL REVISITED
London’s 21st century skyline is dominated by a sea of glass and steel towers. A few miles south, Croydon has joined the mad dash with The Tower, Saffron Square, 43 stories high. Only fifty years ago, St. Paul’s Cathedral had the skyline almost to itself. Travel to Benidorm which has a tower 650 feet high. Not to be outdone, Shanghai boasts a tower 1,900 feet. Probably the tallest in the world is at Dubai, 2,722 feet!
What is behind this overwhelming desire to reach up to the heavens? Has it anything to do with man’s arrogance? Is he trying to prove how high and mighty he is? Before dismissing the concept as preposterous, can we trace this desire of man to reach for the sky to earlier days in his history? Indeed we can, for most of us are familiar with the Genesis account of the building of Babel with its infamous tower. Is there anything in that account which has significance for modern man?
Sadly many theologians dismiss the account of man depicted in Genesis as unreliable. However, as each year passes, the spade of the archaeologist makes remarkable discoveries. Nothing that has been found contradicts the Biblical account of the existence of towns and cities named in the Scriptures. The theme of this article is to highlight the fact that man’s aspirations have changed very little over the centuries. Today, we pride ourselves that we have ‘come of age’, ‘cool’ and ‘with it.’ Our knowledge of technology, it is believed, will ensure that man will go from strength to strength, and eventually become king of the universe. Is this merely a dream of modern man, or is there a history of his desire to achieve untouchable heights?
As more archaeological remains are discovered, and with the Bible in hand, it is evident that man’s aspirations of grandeur may be traced back at least 4,000 years. God’s timely intervention at Babel is described in Genesis 11:1-9,
“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 thoroughly. 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.”
 This text clearly demonstrates that man’s dreams have not changed over the years. His desire is to congregate in one area, and to set up a one world system of government. Clearly, this is not what God intended. His plan was to train up a special people as a demonstration nation to guide other nations. To do so, they would have to be separate, and this is clearly defined in Deuteronomy 32:8-9,
“When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.
For the Lord’s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.
 This principle of boundaries is carried forward to the New Testament era,
“And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:” (Acts 17:26-27)
We may well enquire as to why the Lord was so specific in His instruction regarding separating the Son’s of Jacob. At the time of Babel it must have seemed unnecessary and pointless as far as the inhabitants were concerned. They felt secure, and the adage ‘safety in numbers’ must have applied. It could be argued that there was no possibility of war. The one-worlders today will say that we must be one big happy family! If we had all been one in 1914 and 1939, millions of lives would have been saved. On the face of it, the one-worlders do seem to have a good case.
I n order to understand this question, it is necessary to have a wide vision, certainly much wider than man’s perspective. The only way is to see it from God’s view point, for He knows the end from the beginning. The key that unlocks this fascinating subject is verse six of Genesis chapter eleven, 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. The NIV renders it nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Some will say “what’s wrong with that?” That depends upon what  they were doing!   Were  they peace loving and determined to build a utopia on earth? If that had been the case, then God’s intervention would have been unnecessary. What were man’s intentions at that time? Let God Himself answer,
“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.”(Genesis 6:5-6)
The building of the city and tower of Babel was carried out by wicked men, not by those with good intentions. This explains a great deal when we review man’s history from day one. Whilst the evolutionist would have us believe that man is slowly evolving into perfection , does this equate with how God sees us? To answer the question fully would make a complete study, however, the reader may like to look up a few of the many references which give a rather morbid picture of the heart of man. Deuteronomy 15:9, Psalm 64, Psalm 94: 11, Proverbs 6: 16-19, Jeremiah 10:8 and Ezekiel 8: 17. In the event that some might say these are Old Testament examples and man has improved in more recent times, please also look up Matthew 9:4, 13:15, 15:19, Romans 1:21, II Peter 2:17-19 and Jude 10.
It would appear in view of the above, that God made a very wise move in scattering the inhabitants of Babel. It is of interest to note the meaning of Babel which is confusion, overflowing, confound and mingle together. Wherever man mingles, in no time politics takes over! How did Babel begin, and who was its founder? Nimrod, a mighty hunter and monarch was its founder in approximately 2247 BC. There is every possibility that had God not have separated the inhabitants, that their technical knowledge and achievements could have reached ours in a few hundred years. History would have been compressed, thus frustrating God’s intended timing for man’s history.
Apart from the tower of Babel, there are six other towers mentioned in the Old Testament. The tower of Edar, (Genesis 35:21), tower of Penuel, (Judges 8:9), tower of Shechem, (Judges 9:46), tower of Jezreel (II Kings 9:17), towers in Jerusalem (II Chronicles 26:9), tower of furnaces (Nehemiah 3:11). The New Testament mentions the tower of Siloam, (Luke 13:4). Jesus, talking to the Pharisees knew what was in their hearts, that they would have liked to build a tower if they had the funding, (Luke  14:28).
Fortunately, there is another side to this story of man’s arrogance, and that is those dedicated men of God whose only desire is to glorify Him by building Churches and Cathedrals with spires and steeples reaching to the heavens, not literally of course! Man reached a new stage in his knowledge at the time of the industrial revolution in the 13th century, steam being the driving force behind this great movement. Today, only three hundred years later, steam is as antiquated as bows and arrows. The possibilities of what can be achieved today, especially in the wrong hands is alarming. Everything we do is monitored, phone calls, e-mails, and cameras watching our every move, the excuse being that it is for our safety. Could not the real motive be for control?
The prophet Daniel was shown many things by the Holy Spirit, how in the last days knowledge would be increased. Being an inquisitive man, he wished to know more, but was put in his place by an  angel,
“And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, 0 my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go thy way Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried: but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand: but the wise shall understand.” (Daniel 12:8-10)
God still has His secrets, and will only share some of those secrets to those who are the called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28.)
May the day of His Coming be soon!
