And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
The Lord personally intervened to inspect the rebellious city and tower and to defeat its purpose and overthrow it by sending angels to bring it to nothing. It was built by Noah's descendants after the flood who separated from God's worshipers for Shinar, refusing His direction to disperse and replenish the earth in order to stay united in one body under a universal empire with their city as its metropolis. They raised a stupendous tower toward heaven to avoid being scattered, to secure themselves against another deluge by human devising rather than trusting God, to make themselves independent of Him, and in pride to make a name and monument to their own power and wisdom. When the work was already lofty He answered the cry of those who loved and obeyed Him by confounding speech so that orders were misunderstood, harmony ended in strife, work stopped, lightnings cast down the upper portion, and the builders were scattered abroad. He had delayed in mercy to let character be revealed and give opportunity to repent, thereby showing that He bears long with perversity yet marks all resistance to His just and holy law, restrains iniquity, and as supreme ruler brings ambitious human movements to nothing but confusion.
The City and Builders
The city and tower belong to Noah's descendants after the first great apostasy following the flood, when those who desired to forget their Creator and cast off the restraint of His law separated from His worshipers and journeyed to the plain of Shinar on the banks of the Euphrates, with some among them resenting Him for destroying the antediluvian world by the flood. They built in direct opposition to God's direction to disperse throughout the earth to replenish and subdue it and to scatter abroad in colonies, for they determined to keep their community united in one body and to found a monarchy with their city as metropolis of a universal empire that should eventually embrace the whole earth. The city held a tower meant to reach unto heaven, of stupendous height intended to be the wonder of the world, so high that no flood could rise to the top and so massive that nothing could sweep it away. When partly built it was already occupied as a dwelling and fitted with splendidly furnished rooms for idols, while the people rejoiced in success.
They built to avoid being scattered and to secure their own safety beyond the reach of another deluge by human devising rather than trusting God's provision of deliverance in the ark, and to make themselves independent of God. They built in pride and defiance to exalt themselves, to make a name and monument of their power and wisdom perpetuating their fame to the latest generations, to ascend to the clouds to ascertain the cause of the flood, and to draw others and future generations away from God into idolatry. The city and tower was a great idol-building and memorial of rebellion. Its glory was intended to command the admiration and homage of the world and render the founders illustrious.
The undertaking was a confederacy born of rebellion in which the great majority were fully united in a heaven-daring enterprise for self-exaltation and not for God's glory. Had it succeeded a mighty power would have borne sway banishing righteousness and the knowledge of Jehovah's law, closing the door to peace, happiness and security, inaugurating a new religion by mixing religious ideas with erroneous theories, ignoring the divine statutes which are holy, just and good, substituting laws framed from selfish hearts to carry out selfish purposes, and demoralizing the world, with determined men urged on by the first great rebel. Those who separated to build corrupted the sacrificial system first given after the fall and taught from Adam to his descendants, as it had been corrupted before the flood. Having no faith in the coming Redeemer they offered sacrifices to idols and gods of their own choosing to please them and gain favor, prosperity and riches, teaching that the more valuable the offering the greater the pleasure, leading to extravagant offerings and even the frequent sacrifice of human beings to senseless idols, under cruel laws made without divine grace that passed over debasing crimes lightly while visiting small offense with cruel punishment.
The record stands nine generations after the flood, when lives averaged 332 years, far below the 912-year average of the nine generations before the flood, showing physical deterioration in decreasing longevity toward seventy years in Moses' time and about thirty-five years now, since no death of children was recorded during the first 2000 years and it was uncommon for a son to die before his father. The verse stands about the time of the dispersion from Babel when Nineveh was founded.
The Lord Came Down
The coming down to see the city and the tower was an interposition to examine the work and to defeat its purpose and overthrow its memorial of rebellion, carried out by sending angels to bring the builders' purposes to nothing. The city and tower was a great idol-building raised for self-exaltation, and His coming meant marking all devices to resist His just and holy law, then confounding language so that orders for material and directions were misunderstood and reversed, stopping all harmony and work and ending in reproach and strife and bloodshed, with lightning breaking off the upper portion and casting it down. He came in mercy to the world when the people proved fully united in establishing an independent, rebellious government without God, to check rebellion and to make men feel that there is a God who rules in the heavens.
He came in answer to the prayers and cry of those who loved and feared and obeyed Him at the time of the first great apostasy after the flood, who humbled themselves and pleaded for Him to interpose Himself between His cause and the plans and methods of men. Those faithful witnesses refused to join the confederacy to thwart His purposes, and their pleading called forth His examination of the city and tower. He delayed judgment in mercy for their sake, to give time for true character to be revealed and ample opportunity to repent before He acted. For the sake of those who remained loyal He gave the people time to reveal their character, holding back judgment until the ungodly heeded not His counsel but carried out their own purposes.
Among the men of Babel were God-fearing men who had been deceived by the pretensions of the ungodly and drawn into their schemes, yet refused to join the confederacy and were not deceived by its wonderful representations and grand outlook. For their sake judgments were delayed, giving the ungodly time to reveal their true character while the great majority stood fully united in a heaven-daring undertaking for self-exaltation and not for His glory. When the tower was already lofty, so that workmen at the top could not speak directly with those at the base but orders passed through men stationed at different points, God confounded their language so that wrong or unneeded material was called for and directions were misunderstood and reversed. This ended harmony and cooperation in confusion and dismay, stopped all work, and brought reproach, rage, strife and bloodshed, and lightnings from heaven broke off the upper portion and cast it to the ground as evidence of His displeasure, and He did not allow them to finish but scattered them.
The tower was already lofty when the work was stopped: angels confused the builders' language, they could no longer work together, their work was brought to an end, and the top was struck down as a sign that God is supreme. It shows that God bears long with the perversity of men, giving ample opportunity for repentance, while marking all their devices to resist the authority of His just and holy law, stretching out His unseen hand to restrain iniquity. He rules in the heavens and is able to confuse and multiply confusion to teach men that they are only men, so that such ambitious movements gain nothing but confusion. It gives unmistakable evidence that the Creator, infinite in wisdom and love and truth, is the supreme ruler of heaven and earth whom none can defy with impunity.
As the Most High comes down to see what the children of men have built, the time of His investigation is at hand when He will examine the building of proud men who seek heaven through riches and power. His sovereign power will then be revealed, and the works of human pride will be laid low. Great building could not keep doom out or protect the builders of ancient Babylon from His judgment. The division of human speech became a barrier between people as a result of sin, and this barrier will no longer hinder communion in the future.
The Lord personally intervened to inspect the rebellious city and tower and to defeat its purpose and overthrow it by sending angels to bring it to nothing. It was built by Noah's descendants after the flood who separated from God's worshipers for Shinar, refusing His direction to disperse and replenish the earth in order to stay united in one body under a universal empire with their city as its metropolis. They raised a stupendous tower toward heaven to avoid being scattered, to secure themselves against another deluge by human devising rather than trusting God, to make themselves independent of Him, and in pride to make a name and monument to their own power and wisdom. When the work was already lofty He answered the cry of those who loved and obeyed Him by confounding speech so that orders were misunderstood, harmony ended in strife, work stopped, lightnings cast down the upper portion, and the builders were scattered abroad. He had delayed in mercy to let character be revealed and give opportunity to repent, thereby showing that He bears long with perversity yet marks all resistance to His just and holy law, restrains iniquity, and as supreme ruler brings ambitious human movements to nothing but confusion.
The City and Builders
The city and tower belong to Noah's descendants after the first great apostasy following the flood, when those who desired to forget their Creator and cast off the restraint of His law separated from His worshipers and journeyed to the plain of Shinar on the banks of the Euphrates, with some among them resenting Him for destroying the antediluvian world by the flood. They built in direct opposition to God's direction to disperse throughout the earth to replenish and subdue it and to scatter abroad in colonies, for they determined to keep their community united in one body and to found a monarchy with their city as metropolis of a universal empire that should eventually embrace the whole earth. The city held a tower meant to reach unto heaven, of stupendous height intended to be the wonder of the world, so high that no flood could rise to the top and so massive that nothing could sweep it away. When partly built it was already occupied as a dwelling and fitted with splendidly furnished rooms for idols, while the people rejoiced in success.
They built to avoid being scattered and to secure their own safety beyond the reach of another deluge by human devising rather than trusting God's provision of deliverance in the ark, and to make themselves independent of God. They built in pride and defiance to exalt themselves, to make a name and monument of their power and wisdom perpetuating their fame to the latest generations, to ascend to the clouds to ascertain the cause of the flood, and to draw others and future generations away from God into idolatry. The city and tower was a great idol-building and memorial of rebellion. Its glory was intended to command the admiration and homage of the world and render the founders illustrious.
The undertaking was a confederacy born of rebellion in which the great majority were fully united in a heaven-daring enterprise for self-exaltation and not for God's glory. Had it succeeded a mighty power would have borne sway banishing righteousness and the knowledge of Jehovah's law, closing the door to peace, happiness and security, inaugurating a new religion by mixing religious ideas with erroneous theories, ignoring the divine statutes which are holy, just and good, substituting laws framed from selfish hearts to carry out selfish purposes, and demoralizing the world, with determined men urged on by the first great rebel. Those who separated to build corrupted the sacrificial system first given after the fall and taught from Adam to his descendants, as it had been corrupted before the flood. Having no faith in the coming Redeemer they offered sacrifices to idols and gods of their own choosing to please them and gain favor, prosperity and riches, teaching that the more valuable the offering the greater the pleasure, leading to extravagant offerings and even the frequent sacrifice of human beings to senseless idols, under cruel laws made without divine grace that passed over debasing crimes lightly while visiting small offense with cruel punishment.
The record stands nine generations after the flood, when lives averaged 332 years, far below the 912-year average of the nine generations before the flood, showing physical deterioration in decreasing longevity toward seventy years in Moses' time and about thirty-five years now, since no death of children was recorded during the first 2000 years and it was uncommon for a son to die before his father. The verse stands about the time of the dispersion from Babel when Nineveh was founded.
The Lord Came Down
The coming down to see the city and the tower was an interposition to examine the work and to defeat its purpose and overthrow its memorial of rebellion, carried out by sending angels to bring the builders' purposes to nothing. The city and tower was a great idol-building raised for self-exaltation, and His coming meant marking all devices to resist His just and holy law, then confounding language so that orders for material and directions were misunderstood and reversed, stopping all harmony and work and ending in reproach and strife and bloodshed, with lightning breaking off the upper portion and casting it down. He came in mercy to the world when the people proved fully united in establishing an independent, rebellious government without God, to check rebellion and to make men feel that there is a God who rules in the heavens.
He came in answer to the prayers and cry of those who loved and feared and obeyed Him at the time of the first great apostasy after the flood, who humbled themselves and pleaded for Him to interpose Himself between His cause and the plans and methods of men. Those faithful witnesses refused to join the confederacy to thwart His purposes, and their pleading called forth His examination of the city and tower. He delayed judgment in mercy for their sake, to give time for true character to be revealed and ample opportunity to repent before He acted. For the sake of those who remained loyal He gave the people time to reveal their character, holding back judgment until the ungodly heeded not His counsel but carried out their own purposes.
Among the men of Babel were God-fearing men who had been deceived by the pretensions of the ungodly and drawn into their schemes, yet refused to join the confederacy and were not deceived by its wonderful representations and grand outlook. For their sake judgments were delayed, giving the ungodly time to reveal their true character while the great majority stood fully united in a heaven-daring undertaking for self-exaltation and not for His glory. When the tower was already lofty, so that workmen at the top could not speak directly with those at the base but orders passed through men stationed at different points, God confounded their language so that wrong or unneeded material was called for and directions were misunderstood and reversed. This ended harmony and cooperation in confusion and dismay, stopped all work, and brought reproach, rage, strife and bloodshed, and lightnings from heaven broke off the upper portion and cast it to the ground as evidence of His displeasure, and He did not allow them to finish but scattered them.
The tower was already lofty when the work was stopped: angels confused the builders' language, they could no longer work together, their work was brought to an end, and the top was struck down as a sign that God is supreme. It shows that God bears long with the perversity of men, giving ample opportunity for repentance, while marking all their devices to resist the authority of His just and holy law, stretching out His unseen hand to restrain iniquity. He rules in the heavens and is able to confuse and multiply confusion to teach men that they are only men, so that such ambitious movements gain nothing but confusion. It gives unmistakable evidence that the Creator, infinite in wisdom and love and truth, is the supreme ruler of heaven and earth whom none can defy with impunity.
As the Most High comes down to see what the children of men have built, the time of His investigation is at hand when He will examine the building of proud men who seek heaven through riches and power. His sovereign power will then be revealed, and the works of human pride will be laid low. Great building could not keep doom out or protect the builders of ancient Babylon from His judgment. The division of human speech became a barrier between people as a result of sin, and this barrier will no longer hinder communion in the future.