THE TOWER OF BABEL

Gen. 11:1-9

Morning Meditation 3/24/2013

"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."

The tower of Babel stands for unity that is based on man's effort to rule. There are some important factors revealed in this passage.

FIRST, THERE WAS A UNIFIED LANGUAGE.

Man has been trying to rule the world ever since the tower of Babel. Nimrod is a type of antichrist whose dream is to defy God's command to replenish the earth. One of the things necessary to do this is to have a common language. This they had when they began to build the tower of Babel. "And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech."

SECOND, THERE WAS AN ATTEMPT TO RULE THE HEAVENS

This was done in rebellion against God. Proverbs 4:23, "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." This proverb is a warning against those who would try to usurp the throne of God. Satan uses man to fight against God and to overthrow the throne of God.

THIRD, MAN UNDER NIMROD DETERMINES TO MAKE A NAME FOR HIMSELF

The Scripture says in Genesis 11:4, "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." The fall of man left man ego-centered and with a determination to overcome in his own name. Man says, "I don't need God. I can be the master of my own fate." The only problem with that is that God will not allow this. Man is a creature of God and he will either honor Him or be judged by Him.

THE DIVINE INSPECTION AND CONCLUSION

Genesis 11:5-6, "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."

The people under Nimrod were making good progress in building the tower they had determined to build. This is what God said after He had inspected the tower. Man can accomplish the unbelievable if left to himself. God said, "and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do."

THE DIVINE INTERVENTION

Genesis 11:7-8, "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." The Lord is the Author of the languages and the One who divided up the language groups and scattered them over the face of the earth.

We learn the depths of man's rebellion and his determination to regain world domination by his own human effort. We also learn the awesome power of God to resist any attempted take over.

It would not surprise me if at any moment someone like Nimrod came on the scene and attempted to restore man to a unity under himself." We know it will happen, we just don't know when.

God is in control. He knows all that is going on and will bring the world into judgement in His own time.

May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. White