Then they 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)
The Bible often times creates more questions than it answers. Sometimes it's hard to know exactly why this is here, let alone what it means. Why would God create if he knew that we would sin? Why would he create if he knew that it would cost him the life of his son? Why would he create if he knew he would have to send people to hell? The tower of Babel is no exception. Why would God not want the people to speak the same language? As one person put it to me today, "What is wrong with working together?" Like I said, sometimes it seems the Bible just gives us more questions than answers. This doesn't mean it doesn't provide answers, it does, and we shouldn't see these questions as something to be discouraged about. These questions challenge our understanding of the way things are. They cause us to question things that we know, or thought we knew. They challenge us to learn more, to solidify what the Bible really teaches. We should allow these questions to encourage us to know God & his word more.
The answer to the tower of Babel is possibly found in verse 4 of chapter 11. The people gather together for the purpose of "making a name for themselves." Is this why God created? So that his creation could make a name for themselves?
The Bible tells us that God created man in his image & he commanded Adam & Eve (as well as Noah & his family) to "be fruitful & multiply." God's command was to multiply HIS image, HIS glory, HIS name to the ends of the earth, not our name. God brings confusion to these people that leads to their dispersion & subsequent spreading of the image of God to the ends of the earth.
I'm not sure if you have this problem, but I have noticed that I tend to make life about me. Everything in the world revolves around me, right? Everyone exists for me. Everyone lives for my purpose, including God. This is the way that we are prone to think. We are naturally bent toward the world revolving around us. We exist to build up ourselves, look out for number 1, & do what it takes to preserve ourselves. This, however, is the opposite of what God created us for. God created us for him (Colossians 1:16). God created us not for our glory but for his. He created us for his purposes not for ours. He created us for his name to be made known, not mine! What's crazy about this, if we are honest, is that we are most satisfied when we are living our lives making much of him & most miserable when we live in the delusion of life revolving around us.
What are we living for, his name or ours? Whose kingdom are we building, his or ours?
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