“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)
After the flood, the population of humanity grew rapidly. And with the growth of humanity came an increase in wickedness. Mankind as a whole was filled with self-centeredness and pride, much as it is today. And much like today, people wanted to celebrate themselves and their achievements. To that end the ancient people met together and so decided to build a city and a huge tower into the sky. They wanted to attain godlike stature. This sounds somewhat like the serpent’s temptation of Eve in Eden, to be like God (Gen. 3:5).
God steps in to prevent this, to halt once again mankind’s efforts at divinity. And God scattered human beings across the earth and languages became so diverse that any attempts at cooperation between peoples led only to frustration and enmity. Included in this disruption is the polytheism, the false religions that deviate from God’s truth. The story of Babel tells us of the birth of Babylon, the religious, intellectual and cultural capital of the ancient world, the showpiece of ancient human civilization but also the origin of all false religion, of all that stands opposed to Almighty God.
Mankind is still seeking to regain that divinity and world unity through various means: technology, government, the media and eclectic spirituality. All such means are attempts to break down barriers and assert control over the world and over people. They are all doomed to fail. True unity comes only by faith in Christ and the action of the Holy Spirit.