United with a wrong purpose
3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. 4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”
~Genesis 1:3-4
Noah’s descendants multiplied as God commanded but… they were supposed to scatter all over as they multiply. As new generations grew, the story of God’s deliverance and obedience to His words may have dimmed through the years. Instead of scattering, they wanted to stay together in one place. And united, they developed this idea of building a tower.
Most probably under the leadership of Nimrod, they purposed to build a tower that reached the heavens; something that kind of reaches God Himself. Though they couldn’t possibly accomplish that, but they were seriously having this intention of making it as tall as humanly possible. Why?
Their goal was to create something that would highlight themselves, their talents, and their abilities; a physical evidence that will make them shine among all the other tribes. They wanted to be famous and be the envy of everyone who sees even from distant places.
Where is God in all these? Pride was brewing in their hearts, much like we are reminded how Lucifer was full of pride that He wanted to be like God! He got the angels to rally with him in his rebellion and where did that get them? They all fell.
We all know that when our motives stray from obeying God’s will and following the path He leads, that all our efforts, though seemingly unified will lead to destruction. Because of His love for us, God intervened. And He struck where it was impossible for man to recover. Imagine using confusion and miscommunication to cut the pride? Amazing! God works in mysterious ways. The “Babel-like” attitude ended and they themselves did not comprehend what and how it happened.
Sometimes God’s interventions are humanly incomprehensible so that is why, daily we must surrender ourselves to His will so we will understand His plan for us and we will be able to reach the ultimate destination He desired for all of us.
Thank you, Jesus, for allowing us to understand your ways.