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An arrogant, disobedient, self-proclaiming people wanted to flaunt themselves. To create a name that would transcend the generations, they built a huge tower that would penetrate the heavens and open the gates to all the mysteries of its hidden gods. The true and living God though was displeased with their arrogance and self-sufficiency and when enough was enough, He stepped into the midst of their religious atrocities, and disrupted all of their manmade plans by simply replacing their common language with a variety of languages that had never before been spoken. The result was total confusion! As they grappled with their inability to even understand each other, much less continue in their goal of man-glorification, they separated themselves into like language groups and began a dispersion that scattered them over the face of the earth. Their tower to the gods now became known as the tower of confusion – Babel.
Sometimes when sin has become rampant, we can tend to think that God has lost control. He hasn’t. God does allow us to make our own choices, and on a personal level, life can get pretty messy and the web of entanglement that it creates can seem impossible to break away from. Knowing that God hasn’t lost control is encouraging, especially when I am His child. He doesn’t abandon me or give up on me, but continually works within me to nurture a desire for what is right and offers His grace to help me accomplish it. The collective sin of a group or even a nation has not negated God’s control either. Whatever distorted "reward" is sought may have its short-lived attainment, but ultimately righteousness will rule and sin will be punished. From Babel, we are also reminded that what looks "good" must be right in God’s sight and must be pursued in a manner that is wholehearted obedience that longs for God’s glory. The tower-builders may have thought a religious tower was a good idea, but it reflected the disobedience of their hearts.
The most poignant reminder from Babel though that resounds in my spirit is the truth that God does not want or need for me to build a tower to Him – not of works, or fame, or dollars, or intellect, or even character. He has already come down to me in the person of His Son. Jesus’ sacrificial death opens wide the gates of heaven to give me a relationship with His eternal Father. To know Jesus is to begin to understand the mysteries of God and to live my life in the joy of obedience.
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