Today we begin Genesis Chapter 11.
For the Complete Jewish Bible, click here.
For the King James Version, click here.
“Come, let’s build ourselves a city with a tower that has its top reaching up into heaven, so that we can make a name for ourselves and not be scattered all over the earth.”-Genesis 11:4
The story of the Tower of Babel is the story of anti-God imperialistic ambition.
We are told that the whole world was of one language and in this sense filled with a sort of homogenous superiority.
This story reminds me of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan during World War II.
Germany wanted to take over all of Europe.
Japan wanted to be ruler over all Asia.
They both wanted to establish new orders in their respective countries that would last a thousand years.
No wonder these two nations became partners during World War II.
Both Germany and Japan had great ambitions for their nations but they were NOT God’s ambitions.
The story of Babel is exactly the same.
It is the story of mankind unwilling to accept subordination to their Creator by building a tower “to make a name for ourselves and not be scattered“.
Right off the bat, the people were going against God’s original command to literally spread out and populate the planet and one can sense the grave dangers that technology poses when it is not accompanied by a reverence for God.
The first hint of rebellion is that we are told that the world’s population journeyed from the East.
Remember whenever we encounter the direction East, it is almost always connected to a Godly spiritual matter.
In this case, we are told that mankind moved AWAY FROM the East as opposed to MOVING TOWARDS the East.
In other words, mankind wanted to separate themselves and be independent of God.
They wanted to make a name for themselves.
They wanted to establish their own city state, their own tower in their own one language.
This desire is at the heart of nationhood to this very day!
And God wasn’t going to have any of it.
He came down and stopped them.
He confused their languages and forced them to scatter across the earth per His original command.
You see unity in the sense mankind, including the church defines it is a false doctrine.
The world during this time had a unified vision and purpose that they thought was good.
Yet when we examine the Scriptures, we do NOT see God unifying.
We see God dividing, electing and separating!
Moving forward in our Torah study, when we see Israel wind up in Egypt and then when we begin studying the Levitical (priestly) laws, we will see God hammer home repeatedly to Israel to separate themselves from unholy nations and customs and make distinctions between the clean and unclean, and the pure and impure in all facets of their lives.
In conclusion, the story of Babel informs us that ALL nations except Israel have at the origin of their history rebellion against God.
And God has appointed a day when He will judge the whole world.
The fact that this judgement has not yet come is because He is willing that not any should perish.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
Because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.-Acts 17:31
Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”-2 Corinthians 6:17
1. Sorry, but the earth is a sphere. If we kept moving toward the East, we would end up in the same place.
2. In the earlier post, Rich said it is to move toward the West (not the East), but this post, the direction is just the opposite.
3. Currently, California is in rebellion. Some of God’s people actually cannot stand the California Government policy, and they are moving toward the East. If we, the California Christians, move toward the West, it would be the Pacific Ocean. In reality, we have no place to move. I admittedly do not want to move to Mainland China, or Tibert, or Irag.