The Tower of Babel is a monument to what man can accomplish when he puts his mind to it. With nothing but his ego, man can destroy mankind in the name of Man. The greatest enemy of humanity is Humanism (desire for self-realization and rejection of religion and the supernatural).

Approximately 150 years after the flood, around 30,000 or so of Noah’s descendants migrated from the region of Ararat into the Mesopotamian plain. In a stunning display of ingenuity (that is, clever inventiveness), industry (that is, hard work), and camaraderie (that is, mutual trust and togetherness), they began to bake bricks and build themselves the tallest tower known to man. For real, imagine getting permits for these blueprints. Try to get the committee to agree on the color of the walls. And they did.

One thing they had going for them was that they all spoke the same language. Never again have so many people worked at such a massive project with such great understanding of one another and with such unity of purpose. It was their purpose, however, that made the monument a disaster.

The voice of the people 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)

Here they could live in security, free from danger. Here they could live in unity, free from division. Here they could live in immortality, free from unimportance, if not in body then at least in remembrance. They would make a name for themselves.

Even though the LORD had to “come down” to see what the boys had built, the LORD said, “this is only the beginning of what they will do” (verse 6). What’s wrong with that? Didn’t He make man to relate and create? It’s not as if they’re doing indecent things with angels. There’s no comment about conflict or killing one another. They are using the raw materials to make something great. “Nothing they propose to do will now be impossible for them.” They are in position to make great progress.

God does not think it’s great. He responded by confusing their language, which ruined their relationships, which wrecked the project, which stained their reputation. Why? Why did the LORD kick over their sandcastle? Why did God react to their strengths as if they were hideous? Aren’t man’s strengths His own likeness in them?

Let’s go back to the why? question and lessons learned about God and image-bearers from Confusion Tower. Was this the act of a worried and vindictive God? “If you guys aren’t going to play how I want, then you can’t play at all” sort of attitude? No. His punishment was not driven by fear or a vindictive spirit, it was merciful. There are four considerations that point this direction.

First, His power.

The God in chapter 11 is not a new character. He is the same God we read about in chapter one, creating the immense and intricate universe. He is the same God we read about in chapter six, flooding the entire planet in demonstration of His purity and power. God was not afraid for Himself or of losing His position. This punishment was not fearful; He had no personal loss to fear.

Second, His promise.

He’s within His rights to kill them on the spot. This sort of rebellion is flood worthy, but He promised He wouldn’t destroy the earth with a flood. In fact, He said in 8:21, “Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done.” But His hands weren’t tied behind His back; He could have made it a lot worse for them than complicating their communication. That He is faithful to keep His word to this bunch is no less merciful because it is righteous. This punishment fit within His merciful promise.

Third, His pattern.

When Adam and Eve sinned, God didn’t kick them out of the garden because He was trying to hurt them.

The the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” …[and] He drove out the man. (Genesis 3:22-24)

It was merciful punishment that protected them from eating of the tree of life, living forever, and living with the guilt of knowing that all hurt and death started with them.

In Genesis 11, when the LORD is concerned that this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them, Who is He concerned for? Himself? No. He’s concerned for them! They don’t know what they’re doing. They don’t realize that what they most want is the thing that they can least afford. He’s protecting them by punishing them. He’s protecting them from their worst enemy: themselves.

This is paradigm shaping stuff here. Genesis frames our view of God and the world, and this is a cornerstone.

What does it mean to be human? Being human is more than walking around on two legs or having opposable thumbs. Being human involves more than having a brain or even ability to communicate with others of the same kind. Being human includes the capacity for relationships—deep, intimate, and unified, as well as capacity for responsibilities—studying, stewarding, making things.

The people of Babel had both of those things. They had ease of communication. They clearly had been being fruitful and multiplying. They were creating and building. What were they missing?

Relationship and responsibility by themselves are NOT what it means to be human. Relationship and responsibility are parts of bearing God’s image. Relationship and responsibility are reflections of God.

By using their relationships and responsibilities to make a name for themselves, the people were not reflecting God’s image, they were trying to be their own image. They tried to be their own source of light rather than depend on the true source and life went dark. They were trying to create a new gravity while (verbally) denying the current force.

I don’t want to go all über-philospher here, but men who act (study, teach, relate, build, work, play) apart from God are not fully men. They are not something other than human, but they are something less than fully human.

By using their abilities to “make a name for themselves,” they were consciously not reflecting God’s image. They were trying to be their own image, and “man” isn’t anything without God.

Do not free a camel of the burden of his hump: you may be freeing him from being a camel. Do not go about as a demagogue, encouraging triangles to break out of the prison of their three sides. If a triangle breaks out of its three sides, its life comes to an end. (G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy, 35-36)

What happens when we free a man of his God-reflecting nature? What happens when we act as if neutrality is possible for humans? That’s why I said men who act apart from God and His truth are not really men. They walk around in two dimensions thinking everything is good. From the front a lot of things look similar. But when they turn to the side they are thin. They have no chests. Only those who do what they do to reflect God’s image, therefore, only those who live according to what is really real, live in all three dimensions.

The more they try to make a name for themselves, the more they miss the point of being humans. The more they attempt to redefine reality, the more they live outside of it. We’re made to enjoy worship, but there is no joy worshipping ourselves. The greater their pride, the greater distance between themselves and God. He is man’s best good. His punishment humbles men so that they might turn to Him. Confusing their language was an antidote to their arrogance, with the aim of humbling them for their good.

God knows this. That’s why He doesn’t let the people at Confusion Tower have what they think they want. God does not let them continue unabated in their attempt to be their own image.

Stirring the pot might make the beans uncomfortable, but it also keeps them from burning on the bottom.

Fourth, His purpose.

That this punishment is merciful is also demonstrable from the New Testament commentary.

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. (Acts 17:26-27)

The “one man” is usually Adam speak, and it’s true, everyone goes back to him. But the “one man” from whom nations come is Noah. Their times and places are determined by God” (in order) that they should seek Him.”

He frustrates their plans not because He’s mean but because He’s merciful. He doesn’t always allow men to have what they want because what they want will destroy their souls. He won’t let them drink the poison they’re convinced will satisfy them no matter how thick the latte foam. They attempted to construct a city, a tower, and a name for themselves. God demolished their plans, their presumption, and their pride. He did it so that His name would be the highest, and that was good for them.

By punishing them He invited them to humility. By inviting them to humility He was inviting them to true humanity and the joy of dependence on Him. The confusing of language was a reminder and an invitation to repent and turn toward joy as a glory-reflector.

Conclusion

They wanted to make a name for themselves; so they did. They will forever live in infamy, well-known for their foolish pride and half-finished project. We remember their city, Babel, related to the word for “confusion.” For all their abilities, technology, and organization, they will forever be known as the confused.

Let’s be clear, though, that abilities, technology, and organization were not the problems. The brick making, city and tower building weren’t the problems. The problem is that their hearts were wrong. Motivation matters.

I have spent a lot of my Christian life being confused, thinking that there were some parts of life that were neutral. I knew God required one kind of worship and not another. But it seemed obvious to me that men could go to school and learn all about creation whether or not they referenced God. It seemed to me that men could build sturdy houses or develop interesting websites or write true books. In one sense they can, but two-dimensional humanity.

Education, employment, creativity, family, are appropriate parts of image-bearing. They can all likewise be idols. In every project we either reflect the image of God in us or we rebel against our original nature and against God. How high the bricks are stacked isn’t as important as Who the stacked bricks are meant to reflect/honor. No brick stacking is neutral/unreflective.

Should men ever build towers? That is, should men build business, build temporary structures or systems visible in this world? Some unbelievers believe that nothing matters. Therefore, building is vain, it’s futile. Other unbelievers believe, like the men in Babel, that building is a way to be someone. It’s vain, but self-obsessed. Both of those are wrong.

More specifically, should Christians build towers? I think there are three possible answers Christians might give.

First, No, Christians should not build towers because visible things are perishing, only invisible things are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18), and we are only pilgrims in this world (1 Peter 2:11). It is, therefore, wrong to build.

Second, No, Christians should not build towers because the Jesus does not command us to. It may not be wrong, but it is not wise. It is a waste of time when Jesus does commission us with so many spiritual things to do.

Third, Yes, Christians should build towers (or help build or invest in the building of) because such building expresses God’s glory. Visible things may be temporary, and God Himself made them and gave them to us to enjoy and use. Believers are dual-citizens of heaven and earth. Our heavenly citizenship has priority and it keeps the motivation for our earthly work from being hideous.

We are working to persuade men to stop suppressing the truth about the Creator and attempting to redefine men in the image of Man. We are warning those who think that all the rewards come in this life on this earth. And we are working to convince and motivate Christians to build.

Humility doesn’t require not doing amazing things; humility is doing amazing things for God’s name. Architecture can either be war against God or worship of God. It is worship to depend on each other as image-bearers modeling the Trinity. It is damnable to depend on each other as replacements for the Trinity.

He’s patiently letting some build their own cultural Chump Towers. He lets men build up more wrath for themselves. We Christians ought to obey, build towers, and do it as image bearers. May we raise our kids to know how to be who they are, with a worldview with Christ as Lord over it all and them as His reflections in it all. May God be pleased to make the right sort of hard-working, successful, holy, and honorable image-bearers using their strengths for His name.