Genesis 11:4: And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top [may reach] unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
At the time in history that this passage of scripture describes, all the people of the world were gathered in one place, with one language, and one leader; one prevailing system of thought that wasn’t good- Man can be his own god and do his own thing.
The view is given by the ancient Jewish historian Josephus that, being located in time rather close to the Great Flood, this civilization thought they could build a tower that reached all the way to heaven, so that if another flood ever came, everyone could avoid it and shake their fists at God Himself for thinking he could destroy them again! The tower was the first of many that would be built over centuries by the Sumerians, who used the towers as places of ritualistic, human sacrifice. Either way, the people were full of all knowledge except the knowledge of God.
Daniel 12:4 tells us that at the time of the end “knowledge shall be increased.” It is not to be believed that knowledge is evil and that gaining knowledge is a vain pursuit; however, it is evident over time that man’s knowledge and the search for it has led many to believe that knowledge has done away with God, or has even become God itself.
At a period of time known for its wealth of information and knowledge, called the Renaissance, most maps showed that the world was flat, rather than the sphere that we all know that it is today. Whether Columbus was the first person to discover the roundness of the earth or not, his exploration certainly brought Europe’s attention to the fact that no one was going to fall over the edge of the planet once they disappeared over the horizon. It is told that Columbus got his inspiration from the scripture in Isaiah that proclaims God to sit upon the circle of the earth. How amazing that the knowledge of God would have such an impact on the knowledge of the physical world! More amazing still is the lack of the knowledge of God that corresponded with the mainstream ignorance about the shape of the earth we live upon.
Modern technology, bringing to our fingertips instant and constant information, has created a world that is practically void of horizons. Anything that anyone could ever desire is within sight and within grasp, and if it cannot be found instantly or electronically, it must not exist! There are no more frontiers, nothing left to learn, or nothing undiscovered that would not soon be discovered.
And, in the world’s eyes, there is certainly nothing that we must know that we can learn from God! Like the people of Babel, who for all their knowledge was unable to recognize that they were smaller than Almighty God; like the Europeans of the Renaissance that, for all of the enlightenment they were obtaining, were still certain that at the end of the sky was a chasm to fall into; the world today goes on about life, better informed and better equipped than any previous generation, and yet less aware of the existence, future judgment, or the present love of Jesus Christ.
The world is becoming flat again- with all that there is to learn, do not forget that there are some things that only God can show us, hidden behind a horizon that will not drop you off into coldness and darkness, but will deposit you into the loving arms of the Savior- Jesus Christ.
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