The Great Debacle

“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

Man in his natural state is at enmity with God. In the depths of our hearts we know it to be true. We want independence, to have the ability to be our own gods, sole arbiters of truth, enabled to do whatever we want whenever we want to do it. And even though man wars with his words, actions, and attitudes, God still lavishes His love upon us.

One of the greatest indicators of man’s rebellion and desire for life apart from God is seen in Genesis 11 in the Great Debacle. It’s amazing to see men united to do anything today. Trying to get two men to agree wholeheartedly to anything is about as easy as trying to capture wind in one’s hand. However, while earth was still in the morning hours of its history, man did unite together in the most ambitious building project ever. Moses, the human author of Genesis, records their thoughts: “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.’" If we just were to look at the words alone, such thoughts seem to be innocently ambitious. After all, in our world today, we have towering skyscrapers, immense stadiums, and such massive architectural projects that would have made the ancient project in Genesis 11 look miniscule in comparison. But, we must look beyond those seemingly innocent words and rather at the intent of the heart that stains the pages of Holy Scripture.

It is God’s reaction to their project that enables us to comprehend what was going on:

“And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the LORD said, ‘Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them”—Genesis 11:5-6.

What were they trying to do? At first glance it looks as if God were jealous, like a child angry that his friends didn’t invite him to play. But it’s not a child, but the one true God, man’s Creator, incensed at the perversity of man’s desire to create a world without Him.

Babel is about man trying to build a world without God. It is man trying to exert his independence from God. Man was attempting to exalt himself, to be the captain of his own destiny. Look for a moment at man’s reason for building a city in verse 4: “…in order not to be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” Man was trying to create his own security apart from God. And then they built a tower with its top to the heavens “…in order to make a name for themselves.” The builders at Babel were trying to elicit praise from others. Whenever man tries to create his own security or to elicit praise apart from God, such projects are doomed to failure.

It is no wonder that the name of the city, Babel, with the verb balal, means “to confuse, to mix, to mingle.” But babel is also the Hebrew word the Old Testament uses for the city of Babylon. And just like Babel, Babylon is the symbol of man’s desire to dethrone God and enthrone himself in God’s place. It is the great rebellion.

It began in the Garden. Man, believing that God didn’t desire his best, ate of the forbidden fruit. In a very peculiar twist, man tried to be God and ended up dying. The tragic consequences of that choice haunt men in shadows and dreams, the ever constant reminder that something has gone terribly wrong. And such thoughts trouble the mind of man until one realizes that God acted in Christ to provide the redemption of man. It’s the great reversal, when death started to go backwards. In a profound and ironic twist, man tried to be God and died, but then God became man and died for us, in order that we, through Him, might live.

It is only through the cross that life can have true and lasting meaning. It is through the cross that God provided redemption and righted man’s rebellion through the suffering of God’s righteous servant. We can try and build our lives apart from God, but just like the men and women at Babel, we will meet with abysmal and unalterable failure. Christ is the creator of life and author of salvation and His meritorious death showed God’s judgment against a life built apart from Christ.

How about you? Are you building your life on anything other than Christ and His Word? Know this—it will fail. It is promised to fail. The cross is God’s guarantee that it has failed. Only the life that is ordered according to Christ and His Word will succeed.

May God enable each one of us to build our lives according to that which will endure forever, Christ and His Word. Amen.