The camera pans across an open plain and there we see a gathering of mankind.
The most powerful among them tell the surrounding peoples, “Come, let us make bricks” (11:3). And then, “Come, let us build a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens . . . We will make a name for ourselves” (11:4). God hears this and tells an army of angels, “Come, let us go down and confuse their language” (11:7).
Here’s the tension: When the globalists call together a let’s go up!, the heavens call together a let’s go down! It’s like a battle scene where two impressive forces rush the field toward one another. Except, in this case, the battlefield is vertical. It’s heaven versus earth. Earth is advancing on heaven, looking to annex new territory for itself, but God organizes a counter-offensive to protect what is His. His heavenly army falls upon the earthly city, infiltrates their tower, and confuses the frequency of their communications. The people scatter. Their defeat is swift. God and His angels return to Heaven victorious. The credits roll and Psalm 89 plays...
Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord,
your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!
For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord?
Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord,
God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones,
and awesome above all who are around him?
O Lord God of hosts,
who is mighty as you are, O Lord,
with your faithfulness all around you?
The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours;
the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.
That would be the movie I suppose. But I must say, mankind has come up with a clever idea in Genesis 11. They have devised a plan to effectively recreate Adam. With all humanity concentrated in a single structure under one aim, one language, and one headship, then in theory, mankind would wield as much power as Adam had. Even God says nothing would be impossible for them (11:6). Unfortunately their aim is not Let us glorify God as Adam did; let us serve Him with our united energies. Instead, their driving motivation is Let us make a name for ourselves.
As readers, we ought to appreciate the significance of the story. Here we stand at the threshold of world history, when post-flood man comes to recognize the great power of community to overcome and master nature. Commenting on the passage, Rabbi Hirsch explains how their leaders decided to create a tower that would dominate the skyline. This structure would preach the preeminence of community over the individual. The individual, so limited by personal constraints, gradually becomes nullified by the collective.
Hirsch writes, “If the community presents itself as an end instead of a means to an end, then mankind’s whole moral future is lost . . . The idol of hollow aims is created, aims that bring about no blessing. For the sake of these aims, the individual is expected to sacrifice his life, and the community renounces its allegiance to the individual. Individuals, of course, weep at the loss of a loved one, but when the community builds its edifice of glory, the toll in human life is of no importance. The community says: “Let us burn whatever there is, never mind what we destroy, as long as it will aid in building the edifice of our fame, renown, and glory.” Millions may die, yet the community is easily comforted and adds new layers onto the edifice of glory. Thus, the community becomes an end in itself. The community no longer exists for the sake of the individual. Instead, individual members are compelled or enticed to submit and sacrifice themselves for the whole.”
Suffice it to say, Genesis 11 is an ancient warning forwarded to all future citizens of history. The tower represents the State and its suppression of the individual. But God builds His spiritual house with individuals. 1 Peter 2:5 refers to us believers not as bricks but as living stones. Stones, like people, are each unique; no two are exactly alike. Meanwhile the State would hope to turn stones into bricks. Bricks are manufactured to be exactly the same. They are interchangeable, easily stacked, and easily replaced.
Again, the tower represents the State and its suppression of the individual. As we think about this, I want to compare/contrast two structures not far apart in the Bible: the tower built by the people in the plain of Shinar and the altar built by Noah in the mountains of Ararat.
- Both of these structures are built (banah, בנה) by man. In both cases, a large portion of humanity is involved. (Noah is 1/8th of the world’s population when he builds his altar.)
- Babel’s structure is made of bricks; Noah’s is made of stone.
- Babel’s is a collective work; Noah’s is a personal work.
- Babel’s is dedicated to man’s glory; Noah’s is dedicated to God’s glory.
- Babel’s elevates Babel; Noah’s elevates all the earth. (As it is said, his altar of stone is a continuum of earth, lifting it heavenward.)
- Babel’s sends up a spirit of pride; Noah’s sends up a spirit of humility.
- Babel’s tower rises high into the sky; Noah’s “tower” is only a few feet tall yet it ascends far higher.
- Babel’s structure seeks to reach the heavens yet God has to go down to it.
- Noah’s structure reaches the heavens because it comes up to God as a pleasing aroma.
One last note:
If God does not intervene in Genesis 11, then nothing that man does will be impossible. If God does not intervene in Genesis 3, then man will live forever.
Living forever? Accomplishing the impossible? Both seem like positive things. Why would God intervene to prevent such things from happening?
Context is clutch.
- In the context of Genesis 3, to live forever in a fallen world is to be forever separated from life as God intended it.
- In the context of Genesis 11, to accomplish anything we propose is to accomplish nothing that you propose.
- God separates man from the Tree of Life so that we may escape our fallen state.
- God separates man from one collective so that we may escape a fallen State.
