By Ezekiel Kimosop
INTRODUCTION
Before we examine the theological issues surrounding the Tower of Babel, the rule of context requires that we scan through the teaching in the preceding passage of Genesis 10 which carries the genealogy of the sons of Noah. This will give us the insights we need in understanding the biblical characters mentioned in Genesis 11.
The three sons of Noah are Shem, Ham and Japheth. We shall briefly study their lineages.
SONS OF JAPHETH
The sons of Japheth are listed in Genesis 10:2-5. Bible scholars believe that Japheth was the ancestor of the white European communities such as the Greek, Latinos and the Caucasians. Tarshish is the place that Jonah fled to and is believed to be an ancient town in modern day Spain which is about 2500 miles from Jerusalem.
SONS OF HAM
The sons of Ham are listed in Genesis 2:6-14. They are Cush, Mizraim, Put and Canaan. Again we can notice that Cush is the father of the Cushites including Ethiopians Libyans and of course the Somalis. Mizraim is the Hebrew name for the Egyptians. This was the ancient Egyptian race as opposed to the current predominantly Egyptian Arab population which had crossed over from Arabia during the Islamic crusades.
One of the prominent sons of Cush is Nimrod who is singled out as "a mighty hunter before the Lord". Some Bible scholars identify this description with his arrogance!
It is instructive that Nimrod is mentioned as the founder of the kingdom of Babel. He later moved on to build the port city of Nineveh in Assyria, among others (Genesis 10:9-14). Both cities were identified with spiritual wickedness and violence.
Some Bible scholars say that Nimrod was the ancestor of the people of ancient day Mesopotamia who include the Persians and Babylonians. This could include the Indians and the orientals as well.
SONS OF SHEM
Bible scholars say that the sons of Shem consist of the Canaanites, Sidonians, Philistines and the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. God later gave the land of Canaan to Abraham. Canaan was the son of Ham and the grandson of Noah. He is also believed to be the father of the black race.
The Arabs descended from Ishmael the son of Abraham.
The sons of Shem were five but the outstanding among them was his last born son Aram who was the father of Selah and grandfather of Eber from which Abraham's lineage was derived (Genesis 10:22).
THE BABEL GENERATION
Let us now keep our focus on Nimrod the son of Cush as we move to our passage of context of Genesis 11:1-9.
Notice that the name "Babel" is mentioned in Genesis 11:9, leaving no doubt that Nimrod's generation is under reference here.
The Hebrew word "Babel" means "confusion" and it twice appears in the Bible (Gen. 10:10, 11:19). This speaks volumes about the spiritual state and direction of a community that had lost its spiritual bearing.
Genesis 11 definitely describes a post-flood society since the three sons of Noah were all in the ark when the flood fell and destroyed the wicked. The people of Babel must have been a number of generations after Noah.
The Babel society resembles that of Judges 2 where the Israelites had forgotten their God and sought their own ways. They worshipped Canaanite gods and were given to evil and apostasy. God punished them severely for their disobedience.
Now the opening statement of the Babel story describes the attempt by Nimrod's descendants to achieve unity and purpose in advancing their society but it is apparent that the people were alienated from God. Notice further that there is no evidence of any spiritual communion or godly leadership among them as happened with Noah who was a prophet of his day. They had imploded into their individualistic consciousness. The "Yes We Can" slogan associated with former US President Barak Obama perhaps more aptly describes their psyche!
There is evidence from the passage that the people were moving away from their original land perhaps seeking greener pastures for their livestock or escaping from their enemies. The Bible says that they raised the city of Babel for the sole purpose of keeping themselves together (Genesis 11:4). They were focused on attaining social and economic progress but God was however not in the picture of their vision. This happens lots of the time in modern individualistic societies where the focus on human achievement obscures its spiritual priorities.
The people decided to erect a tower that would reach the heavens so that they may make a name for themselves and maintain their identity (Gen. 11:4). This script is consistent with their ethos. They sought to leave a towering legacy of their human sophistication. Sadly, they never consulted the Creator, the One in whom lasting wisdom resides! The construction of the tower attracted God's attention. He keenly chose to watch their solo moves (Gen. 11:5-6).
The idea that God came down to see the work of the people of Babel does not imply that God has to physically inspect human activity but that He is omniscient or all knowing and that nothing escapes His divine eyes.
Why did God scatter these people?
The people of Babel were definitely not relying on God in their unity and effort and their objectives were not godly either. It appears that they possessed the same arrogance that we earlier described in relation to their ancestor Nimrod who chose self determination rather than seeking to depend on God. They chose to erect a tall tower to their glory. This is apostasy per excellence!
Some of the most sophisticated societies in our day sit on different type of human towers. They have painstakingly built and stored stockpiles of weapons of mass extermination at their disposal. These weapons range from nuclear arsenal to assortments of land, air and naval defense armor and equipment that is believed to secure their safety in the unfortunate event of mass warfare or a surprise attack by their enemies. Some of these nations have developed biological weapons of various descriptions. Some have speculated that COVID 19, the latest global pandemic to confront humanity, is part of these inventions and that it may have accidentally escaped the confines of a heavily guarded military laboratory!
4) Human civilization and advancement is not secured by its innovations or sophistications but by the fear of God. The Bible teaches that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10; Prov. 1:7; 9:10-11).
5) God's thoughts and ways should prevail over man's ways. Isaiah 55:8 says that God's ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Do you follow your ways or God's ways?
6) Except the LORD build the house they labor in vain that build it (Psalm 127:1). Once we get the foundation of lives on the wrong footing, we shall be doomed to fail in the end. Jesus used the metaphor of a city built on quicksand rather than on rock to show that only true faith survives the turbulences of this evil world.
Are these nations truly safe? Do these stockpiles of deadly arsenal guarantee their safety? My answer is in the negative...
Some of the most powerful societies in human civilization are now found in the relics of medieval and classical writings. The Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek, Roman and Ottoman empires rose and fell and are no more. Perhaps the most recent of these powerful empires is the British empire which is now a pale shadow of its former self, having lost its colonies to the natives.
My view is that the most successful empire or nation is one in which the fear of God pervades its structures norms and customs. The United States of America is said to have been founded on the tenets of the Christian faith in the 16th century but somewhere down its civilization path, America's claim to this spiritual heritage appears to have been reduced to a slogan! Its "progressive" and liberal society has consistently witnessed the sustained assault on the practice and proclamation of the Christian faith in nearly one century. It is now illegal to publicly preach the gospel in some American states! So much about civilization and modernity!
If our towers of human achievement are secured outside the purview of God's divine providence, they will some day come down tumbling the Babel way!
God gave us skills and resources to apply and we need to honor Him for what we seek to achieve in our human societies and to rely on His divine wisdom in advancing His divine purposes. A godless generation is one whose moral foundation is built on quicksand. It is a shadow of the Babel society!
We should bear in mind that God cannot share His glory with human deities or inventions. He seeks our submission and worship. He is the almighty God, the creator of heaven and earth! The tower of Babel is a perfect representation of naked human glory. It is vanity of vanities!
We should bear in mind that God cannot share His glory with human deities or inventions. He seeks our submission and worship. He is the almighty God, the creator of heaven and earth! The tower of Babel is a perfect representation of naked human glory. It is vanity of vanities!
Anything that exalts our human intellect and ingenuity rather than glorifying God is obviously a spiritual snare. The rich fool whose story is conveyed in Luke 12:13-21 had erected a similar tower with his riches, making him the ultimate object of his success and placing God in the periphery. Just as happened with the tower of Babel generation, God snuffed off his ivory tower of riches by taking away his life! The rest is history...
God brought down the tower of Babel as a reminder to human societies that He is and will forever remain sovereign over all creation and that true and lasting success under the sun can only be achieved if we fear and honor God. No human society is outside His sovereign reign or authority, no matter how advanced it may be. This lesson was hopefully learned by the brick and mortar society of Nimrod's civilization.
The NKJ 2007 Commentary observes that when God dispersed the people of Babel, this marked the third divine judgement after the expulsion Adam and Eve from Eden (Gen 3) and the flood that destroyed the wicked generation of Noah's day (Gen 6-9).
MORAL LESSONS FROM THE BABEL GENERATION
What do we learn from the story of the Tower of Babel?
1) Evil is perpetuated under a society that walks away from God and rejects His sovereignty. Their succeeding generations will perpetually wallow in moral ruin until a godly person or generation rises and draws people back to God. Nimrod fell away from God and his offspring went further and further away from the revelation and knowledge of God. The rest, as they say, is history.
2) Human effort and ingenuity that does not glorify God is doomed. Some contemporary societies today have template humanistic prescriptions for the problems confronting this world. They are dead wrong! This present evil world is so polluted with wickedness that nothing can secure it against God's judgement. Jesus' lament in Matthew 11:20-24 is instructive.
God brought down the tower of Babel as a reminder to human societies that He is and will forever remain sovereign over all creation and that true and lasting success under the sun can only be achieved if we fear and honor God. No human society is outside His sovereign reign or authority, no matter how advanced it may be. This lesson was hopefully learned by the brick and mortar society of Nimrod's civilization.
The NKJ 2007 Commentary observes that when God dispersed the people of Babel, this marked the third divine judgement after the expulsion Adam and Eve from Eden (Gen 3) and the flood that destroyed the wicked generation of Noah's day (Gen 6-9).
MORAL LESSONS FROM THE BABEL GENERATION
What do we learn from the story of the Tower of Babel?
1) Evil is perpetuated under a society that walks away from God and rejects His sovereignty. Their succeeding generations will perpetually wallow in moral ruin until a godly person or generation rises and draws people back to God. Nimrod fell away from God and his offspring went further and further away from the revelation and knowledge of God. The rest, as they say, is history.
2) Human effort and ingenuity that does not glorify God is doomed. Some contemporary societies today have template humanistic prescriptions for the problems confronting this world. They are dead wrong! This present evil world is so polluted with wickedness that nothing can secure it against God's judgement. Jesus' lament in Matthew 11:20-24 is instructive.
It is regrettable that some technologically advanced societies have today "locked" God out of their way of life by passing laws that limit and control religious freedoms and outlaw the preaching of the gospel of Christ.
3) True religion is one that leads men to God rather than away from God. Jesus says in John 14:6 that "I am the Way the Truth and the Life". There is only one way and He alone is that Way. Many religions today attempt to lead people to God by their own means. We can only reach God through the way outlined in the Bible and by no other means.
Have you found the way to God?
Some argue that all religions ultimately reach God. This statement is informed by New Age deception based on the Babel philosophy. Only the worship of the true God of Scripture guarantees us eternal security now and in the world to come.
Some argue that all religions ultimately reach God. This statement is informed by New Age deception based on the Babel philosophy. Only the worship of the true God of Scripture guarantees us eternal security now and in the world to come.
4) Human civilization and advancement is not secured by its innovations or sophistications but by the fear of God. The Bible teaches that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10; Prov. 1:7; 9:10-11).
5) God's thoughts and ways should prevail over man's ways. Isaiah 55:8 says that God's ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Do you follow your ways or God's ways?
6) Except the LORD build the house they labor in vain that build it (Psalm 127:1). Once we get the foundation of lives on the wrong footing, we shall be doomed to fail in the end. Jesus used the metaphor of a city built on quicksand rather than on rock to show that only true faith survives the turbulences of this evil world.
On what foundation is your faith anchored?
7) True spiritual unity is only attained when God's covenant people are united under the Spirit of God and the authority of His word as one body belonging to Christ. Any organized religion in which Christ is not at its center is doomed.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, we can say that the generation that erected the tower Babel is a perfect illustration of our godless and evil society today that mocks God's covenant community and frowns at the revelation of Scripture. They are so deceived by the advancement of human civilization that they no longer sense the presence and reign of God in their midst. Such a society is on a ticking time bomb to self destruction.
7) True spiritual unity is only attained when God's covenant people are united under the Spirit of God and the authority of His word as one body belonging to Christ. Any organized religion in which Christ is not at its center is doomed.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, we can say that the generation that erected the tower Babel is a perfect illustration of our godless and evil society today that mocks God's covenant community and frowns at the revelation of Scripture. They are so deceived by the advancement of human civilization that they no longer sense the presence and reign of God in their midst. Such a society is on a ticking time bomb to self destruction.
Where do you belong?
Shalom
© Ezekiel Kimosop 2019
This article was revised on 16th July 2021.
Shalom
© Ezekiel Kimosop 2019
This article was revised on 16th July 2021.
For more articles by this writer visit www.ezekielkimosop.blogspot.com
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