Written by MELODY
The Tower of Babel, in biblical literature, was a structure built in the land of Shinar (Babylonia) sometime after the Deluge. The story of its construction, given in Genesis 11:1–9, points out the pride and disregard of God’s command as stated in Genesis 1:28 – “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
By implication, the story of the Tower of babel attempts to explain the reason for the existence of diverse human languages in our world today.
According to Genesis, the Babylonians wanted to make a name for themselves by building a mighty city and a tower “with its top in the heavens.” God disrupted the work by so confusing the language of the workers that they could no longer understand one another. The city was never completed, and the people were dispersed over the face of the earth.
As children of God and citizens of His Kingdom, we are called to a submissive relationship with our Lord and Savior—who is our King. Whenever we try to build our churches or salvation upon any other foundation, sin takes over. When exercised apart from God’s sovereign rule, independence becomes arrogance, honoor becomes pride and autonomy becomes idolatry.
When we allow politics to bleed over into the structure of the Church or the foundation of our own salvation, it can become easy to forget where our true allegiance rests. It makes it much easier to bond together with groups of like-minded disgruntled “citizens” to wage war against and declare independence from the very people our King came to seek and save (Luke 19:10).
Just like the people of Babel felt justified in, and empowered by their pursuit of self-engineered excellence, an autonomous church—or Christian—can be deceived into believing their own efforts will help them reach “the heavens.” But the Bible is clear that the only way to reach God is through the Lord Jesus Christ. Our reliance on Him for our salvation and for the building of His Church is essential (Ephesians 1:22, John 14:6, John 3:5).”
FAST FACTS
Babylonia, was an ancient cultural region occupying southeastern Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (modern southern Iraq from around Baghdad to the Persian Gulf).
The city of Babylon was the capital of this area for so many centuries, the term Babylonia has come to refer to the entire culture that developed in the area from the time it was first settled, about 4000 BCE. Before Babylon’s rise to political prominence (c. 1850 BCE), however, the area was divided into two countries: Sumer in the southeast and Akkad in the northwest
Reference
- Griffin, A. (2021) What Can Christians Today Learn from the Tower of Babel Story? Bible Study Tools, <https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-stories/the-tower-of-babel.html>.