A New Babel!!!
Look at the world around you...it's an amazing place.
Technology is progressing at an incredible, and at times alarming rate. Humanity can now communicate not only with each other instantly, no matter where they are in the world, but they can also communicate with humans in the International Space Station. Humanity can create 3-D printed homes, organs and food products. Humanity can even conduct a surgery where the surgeon is not even present in the room and may even be in a completely different country. Humanity has learnt to harness natural forces and turn it into electrical energy. Humanity can even create a 35m giant statue that moves and speaks/sings, onto which you can project any image of a person you want (check out The Giant 2021 and see for yourself). Humanity has learnt how to heal...and how to kill.
All of this points to one thing...and one thing only...HUMANITY!!!
This focus on humanity and what it can achieve all stems from the fall in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat of the Tree of Knowledge (knowledge of good and evil), as found in Genesis 2:16-17. Yet after being tempted by Satan, who said in Genesis 3:4-5 "Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” - so now we know things...things that both breed goodness and evil.
There is one thing that humanity has done from almost the beginning (aside from killing each other)...that is to build structures that reach into the sky. From ancient times till now, the reason still remains the same...they scream out "Look at us!!!! Look at what we can do!!!" .
Using the ‘Flood’ of Noah's time, God poured out his wrath on all of humanity. Why did he do that? Genesis 6:5 tells us the answer..."Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Part of that evil was pride...especially the love of self, self worship and self adoration.
Within 200 years of that point, when humanity had effectively started again through the lineage of Noah, humanity had returned to the way it was before. Now humanity has reached the point that it is already forgetting the ways of God, and the influence that God should have within their lives. Rather, humanity is looking inwardly at itself, full of pride.
The result can be found in Genesis 11:1-9, where it tells the story of the Tower of Babel - "Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel —because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth."
So, let's unpack this story a little, and see why we can see this being mirrored in our own time.
A) They had one language:
This meant that coordination, communication, expression of ideas/concepts and the telling of truth and/or lies - was easy, fluid and without barriers. This meant that as evil rose to take control of humanity it did so with little to stand in its way.
Evil is not necessarily the actions of a person/s...rather it is the condition of their heart. A person/s who lets evil dwell within their heart, will always act in an evil manner. Thus, evil can be transmitted from person to person through what is spoken, for what is spoken is the fruit of our hearts.
With one language evil was able to be promoted and spread easily and quickly.
Now if you have a close look at today's world. You can see that there are a couple of key languages that are spoken around the world that are the basis for economic and political communications...why? Because it's easier that way...it expedites the process of getting what you want.
Additionally, the language of social media (like emojis, GIFs etc) , and the short video platforms all enable people from various ethnic and language groups to say the same thing and be understood by all.
Now, what is this renewed ability to communicate globally resulted in? - the rise of evil practices. Just like in the time of the Tower of Babel - globalised communication has enabled the spreading of evil ideologies and ungodly perspectives.
B) The Use of New Technologies:
The Bible notes things for a reason, and in the Tower of Babel story it notes that they moved from building with stones to using mud bricks. This is a vitally important point that is made - even though it seems mundane and unnecessary.
If you build with stones (really means large rocks and/or boulders), you are limited in the shapes, sizes and height that you can build. However, with bricks you can build a wider variety of shapes, sizes and you are able to build higher. So, by developing a new technology, they were able to build a structure stronger and higher - thus increasing the "Look at we did!!!" factor.
In today's world, there are technological advances being made all over the place. ALL OF IT!!! points back to humanity. None of it is done to glorify, worship or honour God.
In fact, many technologies that are created are turned around and used for the promotion of people’s (or corporate) greed, their lust for power and influence, and to have the ‘world’ think highly of them. Rather than to help those in need, or to help those who are sick or frail. Just look at the medical field. Some of the most amazing technological breakthroughs of the past several hundred years have come from the medial field – however, the ability to access top of the range health care is solely the domain of the wealthy. Why is this the case? Because the bio-medical corporations value money over the health and welfare of the global citizenry.
The medical field is but one example – the industrial military complex spends billions of taxpayer dollars on developing weapons that make it easier to kill each other, enslave multitudes, or rule tyrannically over nations and ethnic groups.
We still make insanely high buildings - using modern technologies and materials. And we still make them for the same reason. Yet across the world millions of people live in sub-standard housing, or are homeless. Which brings us to the next point...
C) "Let us make a name for ourselves!!!":
Pride...vanity...self worship...inflated ego....these sinful attitudes and perspectives are at the heart of every evil thing humanity does.
It was plainly evident in the time of the Tower of Babel. They spend time, energy, resources and wealth to make a statement and to make 'a name for themselves'...sounds eerily familiar right.
Shine a light on today's society and culture...you see this every day, all day...non-stop!!!
People are expressing their vanity, pride, ego and self-worship all over their social media accounts, in how they present themselves in public, how they act towards other people.
Some people even are deemed to be 'influencers' - people who spend all their time, effort, resources and wealth for making a name for themselves on whatever online platform they choose to utilise.
Yet none of it is for the glory of God, or his worship.
Galatians 5:24 says"Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." - clearly those who believe in Jesus have to set aside their fleshly desires and in a sense 'die to their selves' - rather than upholding their self.
So, what were the consequences of the actions of those who were building the Tower of Babel in all their humanistic pride?
God caused them to speak in different languages so that they could no longer communicate with each other. Thus the transmission of evil notions was slowed, and now faced barriers in its spread.
God scattered them all over the world, so that they could not gather and act on their pride and vanity. Thus the effects of it were diluted and diminished.
God stopped the building of the Tower of Babel. God will top those things that take the focus of worship away from Him and leave them in ruins. Historically, within the region (for a very long time) it was well known where the Tower of Babel was, and what the message of its ruins meant.
At a time when all of the socio-cultural elements of humanity aligned to create the Tower of Babel, they led to God acting in a mighty and severe way. So too shall it be in our time. The world now speaks with a globalised voice, it now acts with globalised intent and direction. The world is flooded with Humanism. It celebrates its pride, vanity and self-worship, it revels in its sinfulness and evil.
Humanism...is...not...a...modern...concept!!!!
Yet, humanity has created a New Babel...upon which they are attempting to be 'Gods', wanting to be divine...finally fulfilling the lie that Lucifer first fed Adam and Eve all those eons ago. Yet, just like the Tower of Babel, it will not work.
Humanism has been at the heart of our sinful acts since the Fall. Satan helped turn our attention away from God, and put it solely back onto ourselves. God will not stand idly by and watch humanity turn its back on Him again. There is a limit...there is a measure by which God will say "Enough is Enough!!!" - that there is enough sin and evil being perpetuated in the world. Then his wrath shall come.
That time is quickly approaching. God will send his Son, Jesus, to gather up those that believe in Him and place the fulness of their faith in Him. Then after the wrath of God is poured out upon the nations, Jesus will return to rule.
Our relationship with God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) matters. If we do not have a relationship with Him, and we are living a life full of pride and vanity, one that reflects the worldly 'humanism' - then we will face the wrath of God.
This is the time, this is the moment where we can call out to God and ask for forgiveness for all that we have done wrong in your life. All those thoughts, ideas, actions that are fruits of a vain, prideful heart that chose to rebel against God, and sought to do our own thing.
Now is the time to stop living for ourselves and to start living for God. Now is the time to stop trying to 'make a name for ourselves!' and to start lifting the name of God high.
I pray that God God works on our hearts, minds and souls - turning them back towards him. I pray that you lay down our pride and vanity at the foot of the cross, upon which Jesus died for our sins. May God cleanse our hearts, may he strengthen us and prepare us to be used for his Kingdom in a mighty way. May God bless us mightily as we draw close to him.
Written: June 18th 2022