“Then they said, “Come, let us build
ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make
a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth
(Genesis 11:4).”” Let us make a name for ourselves building a tower that
reaches to heaven. The example of human pride and selfishness are obvious when
I read about the Tower of Babel. I also see something else. The parallel to
religion, specifically Christian religion, is obvious as well. The Tower of
Babel was designed to reach to the heavens. In other words, mankind, in the
energy of its own flesh, was going to reach up to God. This is the definition of
religion; man plus works trying to reach God. It is the exact opposite of
faith. Faith is the recognition that God, in Christ Jesus, reached down to man
in love and forgiveness based on His works, not our own. Much of modern day
religion is founded on men and women trying to “make a name for themselves” by
building their own modern-day Towers of Babel. We call them mega-churches;
large, multi-million dollar buildings attended by thousands, with names like
the Crystal Cathedral or the Faith Dome. They are designed to call attention to
the pastors in charge of them and the people who attend their services.
Similarly, while God took it upon Himself to disburse the people desiring to
build the Tower of Babel, the people in these mega-churches, because of religion,
disburse themselves by leaving these churches after experiencing the impossible
task of trying to meet the demands put on them in their walk with the Lord.
Finally, God seems to indicate that it would have been possible for the people
to complete the Tower of Babel and reach the heavens. However, there is no
indication at all that this would have resulted in the people gaining entrance
into heaven. It is not any different with those in charge of these
mega-churches teaching religion to the people. If one were to successfully
navigate all the religious requirements put on them, they still would fall
short of entering heaven. If a person,
or people, could reach heaven they would “make a name for themselves” for sure.
However, the Bible is all too clear that, “it is by grace you have been saved,
through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).” Making a
name for yourself gives you something to boast about. There will be no boasting
before God because no Tower of Babel we try and build or the religion taught
from its pulpit will result in us reaching heaven.
The gods of Egypt
“‘For I will pass through the land of Egypt
on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man
and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am
the Lord (Exodus 12:12).” How often do we skip over the main reason God sent
the plagues on Egypt? It was not only to convince Pharaoh to release the Jewish
nation, but to judge the gods of Egypt! What were the plagues? First, God
turned water to blood. Next was the plague of frogs. Lice are the third plague. A plague of flies was the fourth. The fifth
plague was livestock. All these were followed by boils, hail, locusts, darkness
and the death of the firstborn. Now, I am sure a historian could go into
greater detail as to how all these plagues related to a specific Egyptian
deity. However, when I look at these I see God striking down much of everything
mankind worships when we don’t place faith in Him. When I see a plague on water
and livestock, I can’t help, but think of those today who seemingly worship
food and are fixated on what we eat and drink. Plagues involving lice and boils
remind me of how so many people worship the human body; fitness, appearance,
trying to defy age, etc. Plagues of hail and darkness are environmental
reminders.
We all know too well the current fixation on the environment with
the hype surrounding things like global warming. Finally and, perhaps, most
importantly, is the plague against the firstborn. Today, one could say we are
worshiping death with the devaluing of human life with issues like abortion and
the recent trend of mass murders. In many ways we are a modern day Egypt in
that sense. What plagues could God send our way? Thankfully, Jesus Christ took
the penalty for our sins so that nothing stands in the way of one desiring to be
saved except for that person’s unbelief in His death, burial and resurrection.
However, be mindful that “he who does not believe the Son shall not see
life, but the wrath of God
abides on him (John 3:36).” God judged the unbelief of Egypt with plagues. If
you choose not to believe in Him now, through faith in Jesus Christ, you have
already been judged and His wrath remains on you. It is time to put away faith
in the false gods of creation and place faith in the God of Creation.
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