Right after the curious mention of Nimrod is an also curious mention of the tower of Babel.
The Text is actually pretty straightforward about what happened. The people came together, built a tower, but were then punished as a result.
What did they do wrong?
Babel Shows Power of Unity
On the one hand, I would argue that the Tower of Babel story shows what happens when you have unity amongst a group of people.
In Genesis 11:6, God Himself comments on this: “If they begin to do this…then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.”
What an amazing testimony about brethren working together in harmony! If we all pull as one, then we can affect way more change and growth than if we’re all pulling individually.
Babel Reveals Man’s Pride
On the other hand, Babel is also a monument to the pride of mankind. Their goal, as they stated in Genesis 11:4, is to “make a name for ourselves.”
In other words, they wanted to give themselves some form of significance. They wanted to erect a monument in their own honor to give themselves a status.
This obviously can’t fly.
The one thing that God concerns Himself with — especially in the Old Testament — is His Name. He talks about the honor that we are supposed to give Him as the Creator of all things. A massive monument to humanity doesn’t really help with that.
People still try to erect these types of monuments today. They post on social media about all the things they’ve done, they mention their achievements in the breakroom, they ignore what you’re saying to talk about how great they are.
Blah, blah, blah.
When was the last time though, you heard people go out of their way to talk about the great things that God has done for them?
Taking it a step further, when was the last time you talked to other people about the great things God has done for you?
Maybe you’re creating your own version of Babel inside your heart. If so, you better tear it down before God does.