Articles
Why Did God Stop The Building Program?
Why Did God Stop The Building Program?
Scriptural Text: Genesis 11:1-9
For as long as God would allow us to walk the earth, we will always be involved in a building program. We are to build Christian character. We are to build up the body of Christ. We are to keep our souls, encourage the spiritually sick, and evangelize the lost. As Christians, we have a purpose in life and this purpose is summed up in 3 words “To Glorify God.” In Genesis 11:1, we read where there was a point in history where everybody on the earth was of one language and one speech. There was no confusion because everybody spoke the same language and was speaking the same thing. People all over the world were able to communicate and work together on anything because they all spoke the same language. If Christians today speak the same thing, then everybody would be worshipping God the same way. We are commanded, by the word of God, to speak the same thing, be of the same mind, and of the same judgment (1 Corinthians 1:10). Ever since the foundation of the world, God has always wanted His people to have unity and to work together. However, the working together must not compromise our relationship with Him. This is one of the problems with denominationalism. They believe in unity in diversity. They believe if they just have one common thread, then they can continue to teach different doctrines, but this has never been in the mind of God! So, it is important we understand speaking the same language and having the same speech was not the problem in this story. In Genesis 11:2, they were journeying (or moving, if you will) and they found a place where they decided to dwell. The problem did not lie in their moving from one place to another. In Genesis 11:3, they began to talk among themselves. They agreed to make bricks and slime. There’s nothing wrong with a group of people wanting to work; if only we could instill this mentality in men today. So, the people wanting to work were not the problem in this story. The problem came in Genesis 11:4. The Bible reads, “And they said, Come, let us build us a city and a tower whose top reaches into the sky, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered over the whole earth.” I see 4 problems in the text.
Problem #1: They Said, “Let Us Build Us A City”
They wanted to build a city, but there was nothing wrong with the land in which they were living. However, they were not building the city for God, but they were building the city for themselves. They were looking to establish their own righteousness. We are beginning to see the problem was not the action, but the problem was the motive behind the action! God never commanded them to build a city. Besides, anything man-made is destined to fail! After this incident, Abraham moved from one country and began to sojourn in a strange land, not to build a city for himself, but to look for a city with a foundation. He didn’t look for any foundation, but he looked for the city whose foundation was of God. Listen to your Bible! In Hebrews 11:8-10, the Bible reads, “[Urged On] by faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and went forth to a place which he was destined to receive as an inheritance; and he went, although he did not know or trouble his mind about where he was to go. [Prompted] by faith he dwelt as a temporary resident in the land which was designated in the promise [of God, though he was like a stranger] in a strange country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs with him of the same promise. For he was [waiting expectantly and confidently] looking forward to the city which has fixed and firm foundations, whose Architect and Builder is God.” If we do anything, then it is important we have faith. Whatever we do, especially for the glorification of God, we must do it by faith. If we are going to walk, then we must walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). So, if God did not give the command, then there was no faith in the project. If there was no faith in the project, then the project was not pleasing to God. If the project was not pleasing to God, then it was not for God in the first place, but rather it was for their self-righteousness. For all things we do, if we want to succeed at it, then we must have the approval of God!
Problem #2: They Said, “Let Us Build Us A Tower”
They wanted to build a tower in the city for themselves. The tower they were building was not for God. The sad part about this whole situation is the people came together and worked diligently to do something totally against God’s will. However, it is hard to get a whole congregation of God’s people to do something, which is His will. The first thing we mention is “The church is always asking for money,” yet the people in this story did this work without murmuring or complaining. The second thing mentioned is “We don’t have enough time to do a work of this magnitude,” but the people in this story had a devotion that was so strong; time was not an issue. When people get together on something, they can do anything they want to do. God does not like altars, towers, buildings, tabernacles, churches, or anything else being built, unless He authorizes it. In Genesis 6:14, God told Noah and nobody else to “Make yourself an ark of gopher or cypress wood; make in it rooms (stalls, pens, coops, nests, cages, and compartments) and cover it inside and out with pitch (bitumen).” When the rains came down and the waters flooded the earth, only Noah’s ark remained. During the kings of Israel and Judah, many kings went contrary to God’s will and built altars to other gods, but God saw fit all altars not authorized by Him were destroyed. In 2 Chronicles 34:3-5, God used King Josiah to destroy the altars of the false and idol gods in Judah and Jerusalem. In Matthew 17:4-5, Peter saw Jesus transfigured on a mountain with Moses and Elijah. Peter said, “Lord, it is good and delightful that we are here; if You approve, I will put up three booths here – one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” However, God had to intervene and destroy the thought of his imagination. Why? #1: God never gave Peter the command to build a booth or a tabernacle. #2: If we are going to build a tabernacle, then we ought to build it for God and God alone! God didn’t even allow Peter to finish talking for the Bible reads, “While he was still speaking, behold, a shining cloud [composed of light] overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, This is My Son, My Beloved, with Whom I am [and have always been] delighted. Listen to Him!” Everything we do must be done by the authority of God. Throughout the Bible, God has never authorized anybody else to build a church, except Christ (Matthew 16:18). Even today, God has not authorized anybody or given the command to anyone to build a church, except Christ. God never told Martin Luther to build a Lutheran church. God never told Roger Williams to build a Baptist church. God never told Boniface III to build a Catholic church. God never told John Wesley to build a Methodist church and the list goes on and on. How do I know this? I know this because Psalms 127:1a reads, “Except the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.” Any house, any church, any tabernacle, or any religion will never come close to that which God has already built. Just like God stopped this building program, God is going to stop every other building program not authorized by Him. Listen to your Bible! In Matthew 15:13, Jesus said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be torn up by the roots.” There is going to come a “rooting up” day. Let us make sure we are not in a church or a religion that is going to be rooted up by God!
Problem #3: The Goal Was For The Top Of The Tower To Reach Heaven
If man honestly believes he can build a tower that will reach heaven, then he also believes he has discovered or can create another method to get to God. Today, we as Christians understand there is only one way to God. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me.” If we want to get to God today, we must come by Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only way, which means if we attempt to get to God by some other means than Jesus, then we will never reach Him. Jesus is the only truth, which means any other method mentioned outside of Jesus and His word is a lie. Jesus is the only life, which means if we think we can live life without the Lord, then we have no life at all. The Bible makes it clear Jesus is the only way. One way to God is not a new theology, for it was only one way to get to God during the time the tower of Babel was being built. Men lived prior to this time and they were pleasing to God. Cain killed Abel because God respected Abel and not Cain’s offering (Genesis 4:3-8). Therefore, if man wanted to get to God, he had to have God’s respect. In order to have the Creator’s respect, he had to do exactly what the Creator commanded. Enoch, the father of Methuselah, was translated because he walked with God (Genesis 5:22-24). So, if a man wanted to get to God, he had to walk with the Creator. Nobody can do his or her own thing and still walk with the Lord. Enoch walked with God, which means he followed the footsteps of God. Noah was saved during the flooding of the earth because he walked with God; he was a just man and was perfect (Genesis 6:9). Hence, if a man wanted to get to God he had to be just, living his life to do those things that are right in the eyesight of God. If man wanted to get to God, then he had to be perfect, meaning he had to be spiritually mature. He could not be involved in the unrighteousness of the generations and the people during his time, but had to make a stand for the Lord. It is clear the men of Babel already had a way to get to God. They didn’t have to build a city. They didn’t have to build a tower to reach to heaven. All they had to do was do what God said, be just, be spiritually mature, walk with Him, and everything would have been all right! However, just like the people in this story, we have folks like this today; men and women who are not pleased with God’s methodology and rather go out and establish their own religions, churches, and organizations. Just like God put an end to this foolishness, God will also take vengeance on them that know not Him and obey not the gospel of Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).
Problem #4: They Said, “And Let Us Make Us A Name, Lest We Be Scattered Upon The Face Of The Whole Earth”
Now we are getting into the whole motive of the project. They were not building a city and a tower for the glorification of God, but rather for the glorification of themselves. Their motives were all wrong! The people of Babel were only concerned about making a name for themselves; then they had the audacity to come up with a “logical reason” as to why. The reason was if they ever left town, they wanted everybody to know they used to live there. They wanted to be remembered forever. They were looking for a sense of immortality, meaning indestructible. However, they failed to realize if they walked with the Lord, they would live forever with Him. If they just understood the fact if they had obeyed God He would make their name great (Genesis 12:2). In Genesis 11, they were looking to make a name for themselves, but in Genesis 12, God made Abraham’s name great. Therefore, all they had to do was wait on the Lord (Isaiah 40:31). The people of Babel did not wait on the Lord! If they had waited on the Lord, then God would have given them strength to do His will and nobody else’s. If they had waited on the Lord, then God would have given them the wings to soar in righteousness towards the pearly gates of heaven to be with Him forevermore. If they had waited on the Lord, then God would have given them the endurance to fight the good fight, to finish the course, and to keep the faith (2 Timothy 4:7). If they had waited on the Lord, then God would have given them the intelligence to walk in the light, for in Him there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5-7) and they would not have grown weary in their well doing. However, they chose to be evildoers rather than righteous followers. Therefore, God cut them off and stopped their building program. The people of Babel totally disobeyed God all in the name of a tower, all in the name of a city, and all in the name of popularity. But if they had just waited on the Lord, then they would have inherited the earth! They were trying to make a name for themselves, but there is no better name than to be called a child of God! They were hung up in trying to be better than other people, but in God, they would have been better off! Wait on the Lord and He will make a name for us! Wait on the Lord and He will never forget us! Wait on the Lord and He will give us rest in the city of the New Jerusalem! Wait on the Lord and He will give us a mansion that is better than a tower. All we have to do is just wait on the Lord!
