“Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.'”(Genesis 11:4)
The history of mankind is marked by hatred, violence, warfare, and animosity. From time to time idealistic human beings have come forth to try and unite peoples and nations under the rule of one world government or leader. All have succumbed to failure due to the greed and sinfulness of humans as well as the action of God Himself. We see God’s action in response to man’s hubris clearly at Babel.
After the flood, the population of humanity grew rapidly. And with the growth of humanity came an increase in wickedness. Mankind as a whole was filled with self-centeredness and pride, much as it is today. And much like today, people wanted to celebrate themselves and their achievements. To that end the ancient people met together at Babel and decided to build a city and a huge tower into the sky. They sought to attain divinity, to proclaim how great, noble, and wonderful human beings are, to rebel against God.
The Lord God stepped in to prevent this, to halt mankind’s efforts at unity. The Lord God scattered human beings across the earth by confusing their languages so that any attempts at cooperation between peoples led only to frustration, acrimony, and enmity. Some particularly nasty results of this disruption included polytheism and all the false religions that deviate from God’s truth. The story of Babel tells us of the birth of Babylon, the religious, intellectual and cultural capital of the ancient world, the showpiece of ancient human civilization but also the origin of all false religion, of all that stands opposed to Almighty God.
Mankind is still seeking to regain that divinity and unity through various means: technology, government, the media, and eclectic spirituality. All such means are attempts to break down barriers and assert control over the world and over people. They are all doomed to fail. Democrats, Republicans, Conservatives, Socialists, and the UN may seek to make all people one, but it will not and cannot happen without the work of the Lord. True unity comes only by faith in Christ and the action of the Holy Spirit