But . . . we learn in Genesis 11:2 that they chose to make their own decision to stay put in Shinar after they "found a plain . . . and settled there." What's wrong with that? They found safety in numbers, they would be secure all clustered together, they wanted to build a city to express their contentment . . . they were unwilling to wait on God to provide for their needs . . . they were willing to defy God's instructions "to fill the earth".
Have you ever been in a situation where it was best to collect like-minded people around you instead of standing alone - either for something or against something? It can work to our advantage this way - if you are the ring leader you can take all the credit and if all goes wrong you can blame the masses.
These people wanted to be significant - to grab onto a piece of glory for themselves - to make a name for themselves - and . . . the author tells us "if God wouldn't give it to them, they would just go up to heaven and get it from him."
So off they go with their group project - three times (Genesis 11:3-4) they say "Come, let us . . . " build bricks (you see, where they "settled" God had not provided any stone for them in Shinar so they had to be ingenious to figure out 1) how to build bricks and use mortar), 2) build a city with a tower that will take them to heaven where they would "storm the gates of God and invite themselves in" and 3) make a name for themselves "that would live on even after they died."
Sounded like a good plan??? Not to God. The author points us to the "mocking tone" in verse 5 "And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built." We learn that when Moses said the Lord "came down" he was making fun because they thought their tower would reach into heaven but of course, it could not so God had to "come down" to see it. She uses the analogy of how high the Sears Tower or Empire State building look when standing on the ground and conversely how small they look from the window of an airplane. Likewise, they are called the children of man as if "God was saying, 'Like father, like son'. These kids are doing what their father Adam did . . . rebelling."
Next, we hear the same words from God "Come, let us . . ." (Genesis 11:7-8) as the triune God to confuse their language so they could no longer understand each other which will cause them to disperse and "fill the earth" as He originally commanded. If you've ever been in a foreign country where you didn't understand their language, nor they yours, you know the smiles and the blank stares as you tried to communicate. I was almost once carted off on a stretcher to the ER because I was trying to tell a pharmacist that I had heart burn. Apparently my sign language wasn't any good either because they thought I was signalling a "heart attack".
So the city came to be named "Babel" when Moses wrote this for the children of Israel as they were waiting the entrance into the Promised Land. "Babel" meant confusion and this was also a play on the insulting the great city of Babylon that the Israelites knew only too well. Babylon meant "the gate of God" but, ironically it sounded very much like the Hebrew word for confusion. In reality, they (the residence of Babel) did make a name for themselves, however, it was not as they intended. (As an aside: today we use "babble" for words or sounds that are not understandable or have no meaning.)
So . . . who were these people??? Well, in Genesis 10 we learn of Nimrod (vv. 8-10), but we don't hear about any children. However, in Genesis 10:25 we read "To Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg, for in his day the earth was divided." The term Hebrew comes from the name Eber. Peleg's name means "divided" and became part of history of the Babylonians, but . . . first Peleg has a descendant by the name of Terah who has three sons - Abram (Abraham), Nahor and Haran. If you follow the lineage of Abraham it will lead you directly to the Promised One, Jesus.
Where was Terah born? He made his home in Ur of the Chaldeans (which is modern-day southern Iraq), a large and powerful city - the "center of the cult of the moon god." Was he a follower of the moon god? Apparently so as Joshua tells us, "Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor, and they served other gods." (Joshua 24:2). "Abraham was a pagan among pagans - he was not looking for Yahweh . . . he did nothing to deserve to be the one whom the Promised One would come" not to mention that his wife, Sarah, was barren (Genesis 11:30).
But . . . this is so like our God - He accomplishes His work by calling us out of the lives we are currently living away from Him - He commands us to leave behind our sense of security and to follow Him. This is exactly what he did to Abram when He said, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you" (Genesis 12:1). Obedience to God would cost him everything that was dear to him. Off he goes - he packs up his wife, his nephew Lot, and all their possessions (because he had no thoughts of returning) and leaves his country to follow Him. Isn't this what the Gospel calls us to do? "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Matthew 16:24)
God promised (Genesis 12:2-3) to make Abraham into not just a great city, but a great nation. He was going to give him a great name. He was going to be his security and make his life significant. ABRAHAM HAD DONE NOTHING TO DESERVE THIS - HE COULD NOT EARN IT!!! God's promise of blessing was a sheer gift of GRACE.
Many before Abraham had tried and failed because cities built by man do not endure:
- Cain built a city, but it was destroyed in the flood with all of his descendants (remember that we are NOT descended from Cain, but from Seth, another child of Adam and Eve).
- The Babylonians built a city, but it was left half-finished as a monument to their arrogance when God scattered them.
- Ur of the Chaldeans was a mighty city that today is only an archaelogical site.
Jerusalem is a great city but it is only a foreshadowing of the heavenly city God has prepared for those who love him. Babylon is the "spiritual city of sin", it is the enduring God-hating, self-loving, arrogant, self-condifdent city of man.
Next we find Abraham living in a tent - same same as his descendants Isaac and Jacob. They did not need to build a city because God was providing a city they would live in forever; they didn't need to build a tower because God provided a ladder; they did not need to make a name for themselves because God gave them (Jacob) a new name . . Israel.
Jesus had not come to set up a temporary city here on earth - he came to conquer death, atone for sin and provide us with an eternal, heavenly dwelling for all who trust in him - instead of themselves. He reversed the judgment against Babel when He sent God the Holy Spirit to the Apostles on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-8) and they began to speak so that everyone heard the gospel in his own language. Those who heard it left Jerusalem and returned back to their own people to share the unifying message of Christ. Today, the gospel continues to be spread throughout the world as we obey Jesus' final instructions: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20).
What about us? You and me? Where do we face the daily temptation to secure our own future or make a name for ourselves? Do we know what it looks like to trust God to bless us, to build us, to provide the security and significance we long for? Where do we want our name written? Isaiah 49:16 tells us, "See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands" whereas Revelation 20:15 tells us, "Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire".
May the Lord continue to bless you as you invite the Holy Spirit to guide you and lead you along the plans He has set aside for you . . . "For I know the plans I have for your," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11)