A TOWERING PROBLEM OF FEAR AND UNBELIEF ~ EXPOSING HYPOCRISY ~ Part 9

Answers in Genesis offers support for the fact that what happened at the Tower of Babel was approximately 106 years post Flood. There are great arguments on both sides as to the motive for the tower’s construction. Some say it was a safeguard against another Flood. Others say it was just a special gathering place to keep people together instead of filling the earth as God had commanded them. There’s often a lot of rationalization that takes place when our flesh sets its focus on something it wants, so there may be numerous reasons the people decided this was ‘the right thing to do…for them’.

 

As nomadic agriculturists, simply coming upon a rich fertile plain may have been a test of faith to see whether they were going to obey God or cater to their own sinful flesh. 1 John 2:15-17—Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God continues to live forever. They may have rationalized, “We’re just so tired of journeying from place to place; what would it hurt if we just settled down for a little bit? We can keep each other here all together in unity. All good things come from God, and He gave us the blessing of this rich, fertile ground. He must be okay with this. This just feels right!” Our flesh is very good at rationalizing what it sets its heart upon. In fact, often we can take something that is in direct disobedience to God’s Word and try to spiritualize it into being something we believe would honor Him. “We can build a tower, a place where we can bring our sacrifices to God.” Someone long ago said, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Many examples of this are given in Scripture. 1 Samuel 15:22—Samuel said, “Does the LORD have as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than a sacrifice, and to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.”

 

They conceived a plan when they should have been recognizing the test and asking the questions: “What does the Lord want us to do?” “What has He told us to do?” “Will we obey God to be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth?” Or, “Will we fall into the temptation to cater to our own flesh?” James 1:13-17 says: No one is to say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it has run its course, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers and sisters. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. All sin begins when our flesh is enticed by its own lusts and desires to give it what it wants. It begins with a desire or a thought. “Hey, I’d really like to have that. I can’t afford it now, so I’ll charge it and pay for it later. Nowhere in God’s Word does He specifically say that’s a bad thing.” We are tempted to do something that appeals to our fleshly desires…a want but not necessarily a need. When that lust has conceived (it has been fertilized by turning it over and over in our minds in rationalization) it gives birth to sin. When we sin, we do what we want to do that will gratify our flesh without any consideration to whether it is something God would want me to do. And when sin has run its course, it brings forth death.

 

As they journeyed east, they found a plain. This word can mean to encounter something, but it can also mean to “find something that is sought after” or “to find something that was lost”. I don’t know how the Spirit of God meant this word to be understood here, but I do know that as He inspired the Word of God to be written, He knew the hearts of the people that were being written about.

 

Genesis 11:3—And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar.

 

They found…and they said…”Come, let us make…

 

God said, “Keep moving; fill the earth.” With one language and one voice in full agreement they are excited to encourage each other to, “Stay. Come on, let us work together! We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

 

Notice they use tar for mortar which is the same substance Noah used to waterproof the ark. Moses’ mother also used tar when she waterproofed Moses’ basket. “Archaeology has revealed that this type of kiln-fired brick and asphalt construction was common in ancient Babylon.” (Morris)

 

Their intentions and determinations were so set and so strong that even though there weren’t enough stones lying around to build this monument, they had to make their own brick instead. “Oh, God didn’t provide us enough stones? Lush, fertile land, but no stones? No worries. We will overcome all obstacles!” This was not spontaneous giving into temptation. They had counted the cost of their disobedience.

 

Genesis 11:4—And they said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name; lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

 

And they said…”Come, let us make for ourselves a name…”

 

Genesis 1:26a—Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…”

 

Said is the same word used for when the people are speaking in Genesis 11 and in Genesis 1 when God is speaking within the Trinity. Let Us make in Genesis 1 is the same phrase used in the second part of Genesis 11:4—…and let us make for ourselves a name…

 

God made much of man when He created him in His image, according to His likeness. For man to try to make a name for himself is the epitome of pride. It is man trying to be his own god.

 

When I first read this, it stood out to me that the tower is modified by the possessive pronoun ‘whose’. Whose top can mean ‘head’. This made me think of another towering structure that was erected in Babylon by a narcissistic king who was in the business of making a name for himself. Daniel 2:32—"The head of that statue was made of fine gold…” Nebuchadnezzar and the kingdom of Babylon was that head of gold. Head is a form of the same word phrase whose top in Genesis 11:4. Daniel’s vision of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream talks about how the kingdoms of the world will be crushed by a stone that will become “a great mountain and will fill the whole earth.” This is Christ and His Kingdom which shows us that His gospel will go forth and His purposes will not be thwarted by any actions of man.

 

Several years have passed since the dream, and Nebuchadnezzar erects an image of himself made out of all gold (he doesn’t want it to be smashed!). It is sixty cubits high and sixty cubits wide (90 feet by 90 feet). When the music played, the people were commanded to fall down and worship the golden image of the king. Nebuchadnezzar is bringing everyone together religiously…to worship him!

 

We all build monuments to ourselves when we attempt to make a name for ourselves. As I said in previous posts, we are not here to make a name for ourselves but to make God’s name great.

 

Notice the reasoning for attempting to make a name for themselves…lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.

 

This story is known as the Tower of Babel, but that physical tower is not the problem. Men build skyscrapers today. They are not all towers of Babel, so to speak. Common language, communion, and unity were not bad things. Gathering together is not a bad thing. Think about this: I was for a few short years part of a very large church in California. It was, no doubt, the most diverse body of worshippers of which I was ever a participant. Although we were a diverse body, we used one language for the purpose of worship and in doing the work of God. That was God-honoring and God-glorifying. It was a good thing. If that same group of believers used their common language to promote disobedience, that gift of common language would be sinfully perverted in an attempt to thwart God’s will and purpose for language.

 

And just a note: Thinking back to yesterday’s post, it would have been a very different worship experience if all those who spoke in a different language were trying to speak during the worship service at Grace Community Church. What confusion that would bring. It would not be edifying to the believer who was there to worship with others in like-minded faith and fellowship.

 

In this verse, we see the problem, and it is glaring. And they all said (agreed)…let us build for ourselves…let us make for ourselves a name…LEST WE BE SCATTERED ABROAD OVER THE FACE OF THE WHOLE EARTH. Their intent was to do something to PREVENT GOD FROM DOING SOMETHING ELSE. The problem is man! Arrogance, rebellion, and pride are the root of the activities here, and they are in the heart of every man. Any man who believes he is able to thwart God’s Almighty hand is foolish. The heart of their disobedience was fear so I think it’s interesting to see how fear is linked to foolish pride.

 

I have been known to be somewhat of a ‘helicopter mom’. A friend in prison called me out on that one (as if I could control anything my kids did or did not do from a prison cell!) I landed that helicopter there, but sometimes I stare at it too long until I preach God’s sovereignty to myself. After Missy died, I tightened my grip on my other children, the oldest being 20 years old! As a mother, I can understand the significant problem here. As mothers, we tend to want to do everything possible to ‘gather’ our families together. We think of unique ways to do so. I remember an instance that resulted in a major meltdown by me several years ago. My family was going through our prison trial. As a result, we chose to hole up in our home for the majority of our days. I knew my boys loved to sit outside under the stars at night around a fire. With what I thought was a wonderful idea, I asked my husband if we could purchase or make some sort of fire pit or fire ring in order to facilitate my ‘gathering’ instincts. When he said, ‘No,’ I had a complete meltdown. Why couldn’t he understand I didn’t actually want a fire pit for any other reason than that I was trying to bring us all together in a different setting? By the time I stopped sobbing (an hour or so later) Greg and the boys were looking for a fire pit online that we could get as cheaply and as soon as possible!

 

I guess I get the fear these people had. It has been a sin I have struggled with throughout my walk with Him. He has used the trials in my life to pry my fingers from those things I hold onto too tightly. I have watched many mothers agonize when their children get married and move across the country. We struggle with the fact that God does call our children away from us to go out and make His name great. And that is sinful. But the struggle is real. We somehow think there is more security when we are together. We think we are a greater protection over them than He is. Ouch! We think we cannot survive without those we love most gathered among us. God is our high tower. He is our security. There is a reason we are called to love Him above all…even those with whom He has richly blessed our lives. The Lord’s calling on our lives is a call to sacrifice for His glory. It’s not about what we want. But when we are obedient to Him, He blesses us more than we could ever imagine.

 

Those at work building this Tower of Babel knew God’s will for their lives. They clearly understood the command and knew that obedience was tied to the blessings of His covenant with them. They did not need to fear. Fear is ultimately the sin of unbelief. They did not believe God would keep His promises to them to bless them. They thought they knew better. Rationalization of their sin convinced them of that. Instead of placing their faith in the solid bedrock foundation of His Word, they placed their faith in bricks and tar.