A Great Name: Part 1

 Genesis 11:1-9

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and fire them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone and bitumen for mortar. 4 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.” 5 The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. 6 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. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth, and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.”

The people of Babel wanted to make a name for themselves.  They wanted earthly fame and the material things that fame brought to them.  So they built a tower that was unlike anything humans had ever built; taller than any other building.  

The tower they built was a monument to themselves; something that would stand for eternity and everyone who saw it would be awed by their achievement.  

And their name that they so coveted would not stand for goodness, or kindness, or love or anything Godly.  It would stand for pride.  Their brick and mortar tower was  a monument to their pride.

The people of Babel poured their energy and time and talents into self-glorification.

And God was forgotten.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)