Genesis 11:4-6, “Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.”
The LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built.
And the LORD said, “Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.”
I suppose that God could have been afraid that if they actually reached the Heavens, then they would constantly be ringing God’s doorbell, and he would never have any alone time to watch cartoons. But I think there is a better explanation. It could be, that as far back as Genesis, God had a little bit of a mad-on for the concentration of wealth and power in one place. The concern of God that, “nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them,” I find likely referring to the idea that if those in charge have too much power, then they will be able to do whatever they want, and no one can stop them. Babel (a non-veiled subversion against the Babylonians) then shows that God is concerned with those who make the bricks (you didn’t think Nimrod made them, did you?) more than those who lived in the palaces built by them.
Alas, while God prevented the earliest people from disaster, the people soon chose it for themselves. Once God’s plan for restoration of the world kicked in, the chosen people Israel, meant to follow God alone, soon abdicated their leadership to a king.
1 Samuel 8:5, “You are old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations.”
So God relents and works with the nation as they were and as they wanted to be. Nevertheless, God places stringent requirements on those kings, which of course, all go un-followed.
Is that why Jesus talks about the Kingdom of God so much? Not because it is good to have a king. Not because it is the right way to do government. But because throughout history, humans abdicate their authority and voice to powerful representatives, and in ironic fashion, the kingdom of God places the authority and responsibility into the hands of the community itself?
Matthew 23:11, “The greatest among you will be your servant.”
Is that one of your problems? You set aside some alone time to watch cartoons and people keep ringing your doorbell?
Good post. I do believe that is one of the most important themes in the Babel story. I like how you picked up on the concern for the description of the bricks. Most people forget about that part of the story.
I think the OT demonstrates a constant struggle where humanity continues to find ways to usurp God as their king. Through out the Torah and Judges, God is the one over Israel. Only when necessary does He put a human in place to “rule” or maybe better stated be His voice over Israel.
In Samuel, we see Israel usurp Gods authority in asking Samuel to anoint a king. God gives in to their request and history shows how humanity is incapable of ruling.
God later reestabliahes His reign through Jesus and humanity is once again given a chance to be God’s voice in His creation