The tower-builders of Babel.
I. THE IMPIETY OF THEIR DESIGN.
1. Ambition. They were desirous of achieving fame, or "a name" for themselves. Whether in this there was a covert sneer at the exaltation promised to the Shemites, or simply a display of that lust of glory which natively resides within the fallen heart, it was essentially a guilty purpose by which they were impelled. In only one direction is ambition perfectly legitimate, viz; in the direction of moral and spiritual goodness, as distinguished from temporal and material greatness (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:31). Only then may the passion for glory be exuberantly gratified, when its object is the living God instead of puny and unworthy self (cf. Jeremiah 9:23, Jeremiah 9:24; 1 Corinthians 1:29, 1 Corinthians 1:31).
2. Rebellion. Setting its head among the clouds, "exalting its throne above the stars," it was designed to be an act of insolent defiance to the will of Heaven. The city and the tower of Babel had their origin in deliberate, determined, enthusiastic, exulting hostility to the Divine purpose that they should spread themselves abroad over the face of the whole earth. And herein lies the essence Of all impiety: whatever thought, counsel, word, or work derives its inspiration, be it only in an infinitesimal degree, from antagonism to the mind of God is sin. Holiness is but another name for obedience.
II. THE MAGNITUDE OF THEIR ENTERPRISE. The undertaking of the tower-builders was—
1. Sublimely conceived. The city was to ward off invasion from without, and to counteract disruption from within. Gathering men of a common tongue into a common residence, engaging them in common pursuits, and providing them with common interests was the sure way to make them strong. If this was the creative idea out of which cities sprung, the Cainites, if not pious, must at least have been possessed of genius. Then the tower was to touch the skies. Unscientific perhaps, but scarcely irrational; "an undertaking not of savages, but of men possessed with the idea of somehow getting above nature." And though certainly to aspire after such supremacy over nature in the spirit of a godless science which recognizes no power or authority superior to itself was the very sin of these Babelites, yet nothing more convincingly attests the essential greatness of man than the ever-widening control which science is enabling him to assert over the forces of matter.
2. Hopefully begun. The builders were united in their language and purpose. The place was convenient for the proposed erection. The most complete preparations were made for the structure. The work was commenced with determination and amid universal enthusiasm. It had all the conditions of success, humanly speaking—one mind, one heart, one hand.
3. Suddenly abandoned. "They left off to build the city." So the most prosperous undertakings often terminate in miserable failure. The mighty enterprise was mysteriously frustrated. So have all such wicked combinations in times past been overthrown. Witness the great world empires of Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome. So in the end will the great mystery of iniquity, of which that early Babel was the first type.
III. THE INSPECTION OF THEIR WORK.
1. No work of man can hope to escape the eye of God. Even now he is minutely acquainted with the thoughts, and words, and works, and ways of every individual on the earth (Proverbs 15:3; Hebrews 4:13), while there is a day coming when "there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed" (Matthew 10:26).
2. Every work of man shall be judged at the bar of God (Ecclesiastes 12:14; 1 Corinthians 3:13). The Divine verdict upon human undertakings will often strangely conflict with the judgments of men.
IV. THE CONCLUSION OF THEIR TONGUES.
1. As a fact in the experience of the builders, it was—
2. As a judgment on the persons of the builders, it was—
V. THE DISPERSION OF THEIR RANKS.
1. Judicial in its character. In its incidence on the builders it wore a punitive aspect. Providences that are full of blessings for the good are always laden with curses to the wicked.
2. Beneficial in its purpose. The scattering of the earth's population over the surface of the globe was originally intended for what it has eventually turned out to be, a blessing for the race.
3. Unlimited in its extent. Though the original dispersion could not have carried the tribes to any remote distances from Shinar, the process then begun was intended not to rest until the earth was fully occupied by the children of men.
VI. THE MEMORIAL OF THEIR FOLLY. This was—
1. Exceedingly expressive. The unfinished tower was designated Babel, or Confusion. It is well that things should be called by their right names. The name of Babel was an epitome of the foolish aim and end of the builders. The world is full of such monuments of folly.
2. Self-affixed. So God often compels "men of corrupt minds" and "reprobate concerning the faith" not only to manifest, but also to publish, their own folly.
3. Long-enduring. It continued to be known as Babel in the days of Moses and long after—an emblem of that shame which shall eventually be the portion of all the wicked.
Learn—
1. The sinfulness of ambition.
2. The folly of attempting to resist God.
3. The power of God in carrying out his purposes.
4. The mercy of God in dividing the nations.
5. The ability of God to re-gather the divided nations of the earth.