Babel: A lesson on Fame and Unity

 

Genesis 11:1-6

At one time, the whole Earth spoke the same language. It so happened that as they moved out of the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled down.

They said to one another, "Come, let's make bricks and fire them well." They used brick for stone and tar for mortar.

Then they said, "Come, let's build ourselves a city and a tower that reaches Heaven. Let's make ourselves famous so we won't be scattered here and there across the Earth."

God came down to look over the city and the tower those people had built.

God took one look and said, "One people, one language; why, this is only a first step. No telling what they'll come up with next—they'll stop at nothing! Come, we'll go down and garble their speech so they won't understand each other." Then God scattered them from there all over the world. And they had to quit building the city. That's how it came to be called Babel, because there God turned their language into "babble." From there God scattered them all over the world.

The tower of Babel has two great implications.

1. We lose divine perspective when we try to make a name for ourselves. This is one battle I've faced through the years- to get my name on one more piece of paper, to see one more opportunity to be in front of people. But I always learn the lesson that this is simply illusion and folly. When I choose to make a name for myself I lose the real joy of what I do as a writer, artist and teacher.

2. God says something amazing about the nature of unity. It is powerful! Babel is a negative example of the power of unity. The Bible proceeds to give us examples of holy unity. Is there anything that we could do as a church which would be more powerful than unity.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12:

Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:

If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!

Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?

Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.