Genesis 11

The Bible tells us the story of the gathering of the Kingdom of God. In that story, the account of the Tower of Babel has great significance. The gathering and reuniting of mankind in the new heaven/earth is best understood with the backdrop of the prior scattering of the nations.

Long ago the whole earth had one language. This enabled mankind to work together on projects of joint concern. That might sound like a very good thing, but it was not. Cooperation and efficiency toward a common endeavor are only good if the goal of the common effort is good. If our goal is bad, scattering may serve the purposes of God more than gathering.

In Genesis 10 we had observed division in the accounts of Shem, Ham, and Japheth. How did this division come to pass? Some portion of mankind had migrated from the east to a plain in the land of Shinar, a name that is later used for Babylonia. These people had a sense of purpose, and they were working together. They said, “Come, let us make bricks.” They wanted to make a large structure in order to build for themselves a city with a tower, making a name that would be tied to this one notable achievement through which they could gather for generations and have access to heaven.

Mankind feels the division between heaven and earth, and they try many different methods to achieve transcendence and longevity. We feel the problem of death, for we know intuitively about the immortality of the soul, and we would like to find some way to reach into the heavens. We would like to solve the problem of the division of heaven and earth through our own plans and initiative.

Of course this is a laughable enterprise. We cannot get to heaven that way. Our efforts can cause a great deal of trouble as we try to find an alternative to whatever solution God may have to this problem. The problem is ultimately one of conquering death by conquering the limitations of our mortal existence on this earth. Man could never fix our troubles, yet God had announced from the beginning that He would use man, though the solution would come in a way that no one could have possibly discerned. The seed of the woman would suffer in a victorious battle that would bruise the head of the serpent, but what did all this mean? Man would have to wait and listen for God's Word. He would have to trust. Yet the great men who settled in the plain of Shinar were unwilling to hold off for the many generations that were necessary before the Lord's own solution would appear.

The problem was obvious. We die. After the flood, the life expectancy of mankind takes a precipitous decline. Within a few hundred years or so, we are finding people living lifespans that are more recognizable to us. When death feels so imminent, and the land of the dead seems beyond our reach, could a building project make the difference now? These men thought so, and they began to build. So many people try to build a stairway to heaven and a name for themselves that will last, yet in a few hundred years who can remember the best efforts of even the most fruitful people?

The Lord was not pleased with their enterprise. He came and saw what they were doing, and within the eternal counsel of the Godhead and in the great assembly of the heavenly host of men and angels, the God of heaven and earth determined to scatter mankind upon the earth so that they would not be so successful at their vain and self-seeking project.

There was a change that took place in human society at this time. After the division that the Lord brought among the peoples of the earth, men could no longer understand each other, and they were further dispersed, moving to the places that are listed in Genesis 10.

All of this fit into the eternal purpose and plan of God. The heaven and earth problem would be solved, but not by man building his own tower. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, would be the one safe link between heaven and earth. In Him we have the solution of time and place that we desperately desire. In Him we have eternity, and in Him we even have the truest Friend in the present heaven, a place that will one day descend upon the earth in a beautiful act of fulfillment and renewal.

From this point on, man in all his great endeavors would have to battle within the confusing futility of a world of Babel. But patiently, over some centuries, the true saving plan was moving forward. Shem would father Arpachshad, and Arpachshad would father Shelah, Shelah would father Eber, Eber would father Peleg, Peleg would father Reu, Reu would father Serug, Serug would father Nahor, Nahor would father Terah, and Terah would father Abram.

This Abram would have the miracle baby Isaac through Sarah, and Isaac would father Jacob, who would father the twelve sons that would father the tribes of Israel. One of those sons, Judah, would be the ancestor of Jesus Christ, and these Jesus would be preached to the nations. All of this would take thousands of years.

Mankind, who has neither patience nor lifespan for a project that takes that long, could never have solved the heaven/earth divide, no matter how high the tower that he built. The reuniting of heaven and earth required a towering righteousness and a towering love. The second Adam, Jesus, is the perfect man for this kingdom work, and He has proved His great love for us in that He died for us knowing that we would one day be hard at work on our various Tower of Babel schemes. Man cannot build a tower to heaven. The tower to heaven has come to earth for us in Jesus Christ, our King. He is our all in all.