Upon completion of my master’s degree with credits in educational technology, I decided to build a career in educational software development. I spent countless hours working on a very creative project intended to accompany a high-school textbook. Then, the publisher decided to change the title of the work. No matter how hard I tried, I could not adapt the software program to the new title. Frustrated, yes, but I began to discern that God was closing the door. If I wanted to be within his will for my life, I needed to walk away from this work and open the door to ministry that awaited me.
Human aspirations grew as the various streams of the human family gathered at Babel. They tried to ascend to the heavens to reach into the realm of God. Man called his proposed city, Babel, meaning the gate or the court of God. The Hebrew account is in striking agreement with the Babylonian legends stating the building of the tower was an unrighteous attempt to scale the heavens.
Regarding the date of the event, Genesis tells us that the division of the human race occurred in the days of Peleg, who was born 100 years after the flood. By 150 years after the flood, with average birth rates, the sixth generation would have been born and the human race would have numbered 30,000 people at that time.
Some historians have thought the tower of Babel, constructed between 1400-900 BC by King Nimrod, was the temple of Bel situated in the center of Babylon. That tower was destroyed by Xerxes. Most believe, however, the tower of Babel was the tower of Borsippa, the suburban site two miles south of there. Considerable ruins of this ancient city still remain. Now called Birs-Nimrud, it lies approximately 55 miles south of current day Baghdad, Iran. Originally, the tower was the observatory of the Chaldean astronomers. Its name means the tower of languages.
With ungodly unity firmly established, the audacious wickedness of men would have led to more and more dreadful endeavors. The fair and just God came down to see the city. In his wisdom, he allowed the builders to carry on their wicked project before utilizing methods to defeat this evil undertaking. God has effective ways of ending the projects of proud men. He often divides them among themselves.
If they could not understand one another, they could not help one another. Through a direct manifestation of divine power, God deprived them of the ability to comprehend one another. Their language was confounded. How the Lord confounded it is not explained, but has been speculated as both (1) an inward process of changing the ideas associated with words, and (2) an outward process of alteration of the mode of pronouncing words. Misunderstanding led to mistrust. Then, unity became difficult.
This resulted in the people being scattered abroad. When they saw that the hand of the Lord was against them, they left what God fought against. They departed according to their families and the language they spoke to the places given to them. The difference in dialect was only understood by those of the same tribe. Those who had a common language congregated and formed a separate community among themselves. A progressive migration ensued. Thus, God’s purpose for the people to be fruitful and multiply and replenish the land would be fulfilled. The dispersion of mankind put an end to the ambitious project. The city was abandoned to the tribe of Nimrod.
So much defiance toward God’s will exists in our world today. The builders of Babel symbolize self-righteous people. They make up the greater part of the world and under various forms of religion, they espouse a works covenant. They all speak the same language, seeking and declaring justification to God by their own works. Turning their backs to God’s righteousness by grace, their goal is to be seen by others, be applauded for their work, and make a name for themselves. We cannot enter the kingdom of heaven by our own righteousness.
Our God has a beautiful plan for each one of us. As devoted followers, we would do well to turn away from all defiance toward God and live our lives in accord with his will, allowing the Scriptures and the Spirit to guide us.
Friends, I plan to take the summer months off from blogging. This will provide time to update my website and social media sites. I will also post a few book reviews to Goodreads and complete an e-book, A Biblical Worldview. Best of all, I look forward to a fun and restful vacay at the ocean! See you back on the blog in September. Blessings!
Becoming Biblical 