Tower of Babel Introduction
In this short article we discuss how the Tower of Babel as described in Genesis represents how unity with God was lost through the development of religion rather than the popular belief that religion unites us with God. We only have to look at what the Bible says and study it closely to find that the development of religion was something alien to what Jesus ever wanted.
Tower of Babel Traditional Story
The story of the city of Babel is recorded in Genesis 11:1–9 and it describes how everyone on earth spoke the same language. As people migrated from the east, they settled in the land of Shinar. People there sought to make bricks and build a city and a tower with its top in the sky, to make a name for themselves, so that they not be scattered over the world. God came down to look at the city and tower, and remarked that as one people with one language, nothing that they sought would be out of their reach. God went down and confounded their speech, so that they could not understand each other, and scattered them over the face of the earth, and they stopped building the city. Thus the city was called Babel.
Babel = the confusing sound of many people talking at the same time or using different languages. (Cambridge Dictionary)
Tower of Babel Scripture Interpretation
Genesis 11: 1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.
People saw the unity of things and not separation as we see today with society fragmented. Today we have many denominations of all the religions.
Genesis 11: 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
from the east = from the spiritual side and into carnal mind. They forgot their spiritual nature as they moved away from the east. (The Garden of Eden is also in the East).
plain = ‘confusion’ that they are gravitating towards. Remember Mount Ararat was a high point (spiritual place), now we are on the plain which is the LOW point. Our heightened spiritual perspective has now gone.
Genesis 11 : 3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar.
Brick = made out of slime, mud and represents the LOWER part of us.
Genesis 11: 4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
They want to build a way to heaven. They don’t want to sacrifice themselves inside and let God come to them, they want to make the terms on which this happens.
They want to build a doctrine (religion) as a way to get to heaven. Meditation is all about being still and letting God in, not trying to build your way there on your own terms and with your own ideas.
Genesis 11: 5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
Genesis 11: 6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
Genesis 11: 7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.
Denominations result in people spend time fighting one another so they will not damage the true kingdom of God. We see this in the world with sects of different religions hating one another and they have taken their eye off the ball with regards to Gods true nature.
Genesis 11: 8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
This results in religions building their own unique ways to God which become EXCLUSIVE i.e. their own ego comes to the fore and they claim to represent the only true way to God.
Mark 3: 25 “A house divided cannot stand “
This applies to religion and they are therefore no threat to the Kingdom of God at all. Only humility will begin to reconcile them with God.
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