The 'Babelisation' of Mankind

The 'Babelisation' of Mankind

Genesis 10-12 | Psalm 4 | John 4

"Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth" - thus saith man!

The account in Genesis 11 of the descendants of Noah seeking to use their new-found skills to build a tower that 'reached to the heavens' is a prime example of a pair of troubling tendancies of mankind that often go together: trusting in himself and desiring to glorify himself.

It was their desire to glorify themselves that led these men to build the tower, trusting in their own skills and abilities. Whatever the extent of their success, it is interesting to note that although the tower was to 'reach the heavens', the Lord "came down" (i.e., from the heavens) to see the tower. Perhaps this is a comment on the abilities and power of mankind in contrast to God. Nevertheless, God sees the rebellion of mankind in this act and judges - resulting in the 'babelisation' of mankind.

It is amazing to see the amount that man trusts in himself yet questions God our creator. In today's Psalm, David commented regarding those who were seeking to replace him as king of the land: "O men...How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?" These men were seeking to replace God's chosen king (David) with one of their own choosing (Absolom, David's son), thinking they knew better. But David can say, "the Lord will hear when I call to him", and "I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety". David trusted in and respected God, whilst his opponents were relying on themselves and seeking their own ends. We find out later that God's cause was victorious and David became a mighty king of Israel.

As another example, in today's reading of the Gospel According to John, we see that Jesus was well-received in Galilee but attributed this to His previous miracles: "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders...you will never believe" (v.48). Jesus said this following the request of a royal official, who "begged him to come and heal his son". However, when Jesus affirmed to the man that his son would live, the man took Jesus at his word and his son was cured at that very moment.

And so we have seen through various examples the differences between trusting yourself and seeking your own ends; and trusting God, seeking His aims. The men building the Tower of Babel (seeking their own desires) didn't "make a name for themselves" in the building of a high tower, but instead incurred the judgement of God. David's enemies seeking to install their own king were eventually overthrown whilst David, trusting in God, was a great and powerful king of Israel under God. Finally, the royal official in John 4 was rewarded for his faith in Jesus, with the healing of his son.

Jesus later said: "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." (John 14:12-14)

It remains that trusting in God rather than yourself can be very hard, and is somewhat unnatural. Similarly, seeking God's glory and not your own is against the very fabric of western society.The world we live in revolves around the great "me": "I'll do it, because I want it and I deserve it." It can be a great challenge for the believr to escape this mentality, but it is what we're called to do - utilise the strength of God to work according to His will trusting that He will care for you as is best for you. If you consider it honestly, such an approach to life, trusting in the one who knows all is much better than using only your own strength to somewhat blindly seek to do what you think may be the best thing for you. There's a reason why the phrase was coined: "God knows best".

Pray now, and before God consider those areas of your life that you're not trusting Him, and ask for His strength in overcoming these problems. Ask Him also that you may be seeking his will over and bove yours, trusting that His way is not only best for Him and others, but also for you.