Tuesday, January 09, 2007
The Tower of Babel
Segment one of my obscure thoughts:
One thing that I realized I had always learned wrong is the story of the Tower of Babel. Was I the only one who thought from the stories told on the old “flannel board” that God confused the people’s speech because they were building a tower to try and reach heaven? I always thought he was really worried about what the people would be able to accomplish if they were this united in this project. The truth is (as I read it now, you may can tell me that I have still missed the point…) that God just wanted them to spread out. They were trying to start an inclusive sort of city that said “look at us, we have built a great tower” and they wanted to be able to stay together. God’s plan was for them to scatter over all the earth. The best way to accomplish this was to confuse their speech. It seems that God has never been real pleased with people who wanted to enclose themselves in a fabulous structure and all just “stay together”.
I wonder if we can apply this lesson to our lives today? Was I the only one that misunderstood this as a child?
One thing that I realized I had always learned wrong is the story of the Tower of Babel. Was I the only one who thought from the stories told on the old “flannel board” that God confused the people’s speech because they were building a tower to try and reach heaven? I always thought he was really worried about what the people would be able to accomplish if they were this united in this project. The truth is (as I read it now, you may can tell me that I have still missed the point…) that God just wanted them to spread out. They were trying to start an inclusive sort of city that said “look at us, we have built a great tower” and they wanted to be able to stay together. God’s plan was for them to scatter over all the earth. The best way to accomplish this was to confuse their speech. It seems that God has never been real pleased with people who wanted to enclose themselves in a fabulous structure and all just “stay together”.
I wonder if we can apply this lesson to our lives today? Was I the only one that misunderstood this as a child?
Comments:
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I have always understood and taught the passage to mean that God stifled their tower construction because of their inward focus instead of giving the glory to God. I still believe that was part of it. The end of verse 6 God says,"If as one people...they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them." Maybe God saw them becoming independent of Him, and knew their self reliance would lead to eventual destruction so he killed two birds with one brick. As they say at Waffle House...He scattered and smothered 'em.
I have often looked at that passage in the context of the beginning of languages. I think for a lot of us it was just the confusion. It probably contributed a lot to bias and prejudice too. It is a shame we can live more unified. He wants the church to live as one. We can't seem to get past our Babel tendencies though.
# posted by 
: 3:59 AM, January 10, 2007
: 3:59 AM, January 10, 2007
I think all points are valid. Whatever the purpose of the "scattering", the was God's will and as always He took control of the situation for His purpose.
Donna -- you're not the only one. I had that same wacky idea when I was younger.
I like your perspective. It is especially relevant/convicting for me, as our church is building a new building.
I like your perspective. It is especially relevant/convicting for me, as our church is building a new building.
Donna,
First, everything you said was right. I would add that it was all about human effort and human ingenuity--what WE can do as opposed to reliance on the Lord. The people wanted to make a name for themselves instead of giving glory to God's name.
Humanist manifesto II sates that "No deity will save us. We must save ourselves" (something like that). This was the same attitude of the builders at Babel. There is nothing new under the sun.
First, everything you said was right. I would add that it was all about human effort and human ingenuity--what WE can do as opposed to reliance on the Lord. The people wanted to make a name for themselves instead of giving glory to God's name.
Humanist manifesto II sates that "No deity will save us. We must save ourselves" (something like that). This was the same attitude of the builders at Babel. There is nothing new under the sun.
I thought the same thing but I thought he gave them different languages to confuse them so they couldn't finish the tower. I always wondered how tall the tower could have been!
I serve as another confirmation that you were not alone in that understanding, Donna! Of course, we're from a very similar part of the world, so that may play into it. The explanation just didn't seem to be enough... but I never bothered to question (that was highly discouraged). Thank God He grows us into understanding Him better.
I wouldn't trade anything for being on this journey with you!
I wouldn't trade anything for being on this journey with you!
Donna, years ago someone pointed out to me the importance of the word "name" as in "Let's make a name for ourselves." In the very next chapter, part of God's promise to Abram is, "and I will make your name great." Quite a contrast, yes? Because of the proximity and connection of the two passages, I think of "name" as being the interpretive key here.
The really cool thing to me is that God is undoing the curse of Babel in Christ. I believe that humanity was united in its apostasy at the time, so God cursed them in such a way that apostate humanity could never be united again. In Christ, that curse can be undone because we can unite in worship and service to God. There are a lot of things in Luke's account of Pentecost in Acts 2 that subtly point back to the Septuagint's language in Pentecost. God definitively united people of different languages in that moment, and now he continues to unite us through the same power--the Gospel and the Holy Spirit! Good News Indeed.
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# posted by : 1:03 PM, January 12, 2007
: 1:03 PM, January 12, 2007<< Home
