Make a Name for Ourselves

Genesis 10-11

After the flood, Noah and his descendants multiplied and began to fill the earth. That was God's plan, so they were faithful to Him. But something happened along the way that is hard to understand or explain. Noah died and it seems that the message of the flood went with him. Wickedness began to fill the earth again.

Noah's family grew to great numbers and began to look for a homeland to call their own. The steep mountains of Armenia were no place for a civilization to grow, so we are told that "they found a Plain in Shinar and settled there." (ch11, v 2) They all spoke one language and shared a common life. It would seem that all is well and life is good. However, when humans are involved it seems that the good life can only last just so long. Pride enters in to the picture. The people decide that they are to be a great nation with a great city for its capital. So they begin to build a tower that is to be so tall that it reaches the heavens. The purpose in all this is that "we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth." (ch 11, v 4) Self-reliance, self-adulation and self-determination were the goals of their efforts and they sought to defeat God's purposes in dispersing them throughout the earth. There are no real surprises in any of this; all we have to do is look around at the world today. People are people :-). Empires with great capitals have risen and fallen through the centuries; people seeking to elevate themselves by banding together to build a great nation.

We know the rest of the story. God is displeased by their attitudes and defeats them by confusing their language and disperses them throughout the earth. We understand this to be the origin of languages and the establishment of nations. What had started with prideful attitudes, ended with God defeating their arrogance. Solomon gives us God's view of pride in Proverbs 16:18; "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." When we seek glory for ourselves and elevate our will over the will of God, destruction is on our doorstep. This story is played out over and over in scripture, from David to Solomon to Ananias and Sapphira and many others, pride is the problem.

What is the message that God is wanting us to hear through this story? Is it that God hates skyscrapers? Does God hate nations? Of course not! The issue is the heart. What is the intent of my heart? Am I seeking my own glory or am I seeking to magnify God? Does my heart lead me to seek my will or God's will? These are not new questions; rather these are questions that have been troubling man from the very beginning. Eve can tell you all about it. Adam is well acquainted with pride. Cain, Ham, Abraham; they can all tell you the story of pride. You and I (just like them) will battle pride throughout our lives. May we determine to live lives of humility, submitting our lives to His will. May the intent of our hearts be to elevate God in all we do. "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." (Proverbs 11:2)