From 1972 through 1973 I worked in a small, artsy shop dedicated to fabricating lightweight convention displays. The shop owner was a somewhat eccentric architect named Donal McLaughlin. Given his laid back approach to producing the displays, it was difficult to imagine he once inhabited the rarefied circle commissioned to encapsulate the purpose of the United Nations in a now instantly recognizable symbol. Because he acted as the symbol’s primary designer, he considered it his crowning achievement. In an interview conducted on his 100th birthday, he expressed optimism that U.N. activities were mankind’s best hope to achieve lasting, worldwide peace.
This week’s scripture, Genesis 11:1-9, describes another’s rarified human circle with a similar lofty ambition. Those human efforts are described in these salient verses.
The whole earth had a common language and a common vocabulary. …they said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” (They had brick instead of stone and tar instead of mortar.) Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens so that we may make a name for ourselves.” Genesis 11:1-4a
It’s in our nature to be awestruck by human architectural fabrications. Buildings or enclaves pointing toward the heavens, harboring mysterious, spiritual purposes, are especially intriguing. Therefore it’s unsurprising that the archetypal “Tower of Babel” drew notable attention during its construction.
…But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people had started building. And the Lord said, “If as one people all sharing a common language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be beyond them. Come, let’s go down and confuse their language so they won’t be able to understand each other.”
So the Lord scattered them from there across the face of the entire earth, and they stopped building the city. Genesis 11:5-8
It’s noteworthy God didn’t thwart this building project before it began. Although He was thoroughly aware of its progress, He waited to intervene until construction was well underway. This raises a question. Have you ever started a project or a serious relationship without consulting God first? Or have you merely placed your own desires above the ones God has clearly mandated? I certainly have done one or the other on more than one occasion and paid the price.
Compare the fabrication of the “Tower of Babel” with two previous enterprises God actually authorized.
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it! Genesis 1:28 NET
God saw the earth, and indeed it was ruined, for all living creatures on the earth were sinful. So God said to Noah, “I have decided that all living creatures must die, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. Now I am about to destroy them and the earth. Make for yourself an ark of cypress wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it with pitch inside and out.
Genesis 6:12-14 NET
It’s intriguing that one of God’s primary mandates to the first humans was to fill the earth and subdue it! as opposed to clustering around a tower built of inferior materials. Also the tar used in Babel and the pitch used by Noah are the same substance. Might these be two of many subtle “God jokes” interwoven in scripture?
It’s strangely comforting to know that when our human nature draws us off course, God doesn’t instantly throttle our efforts. He often allows us to feel the confusion of being on the wrong path or experience the frustration of getting marooned on a poorly maintained trail because of failure to follow directions. Even more aggravating, He may allow us to follow our best ideas into territory where we experience painful, even expensive, mishaps.
Our human fabrications merit divine intervention as did the “Tower of Babel” project. Take a few moments to consider these categories of divine intervention.
Positive: Listen and obey when a scriptural directive is obvious. Psalm 127:1-2
Redirective: Prayerfully turn to Him when you detect your future plans utilize a detrimental amount of human understanding.
Curative: Discover purpose and blessing in God’s intervention and/or rescue – especially when experiencing a self-made disaster that feels like punishment. Start by thanking Him for grace for restoration and for new options to flourish.
by Kathleen Petersen
