Hello, my
faithful readers! You have my greatest apologies for neglecting to write last
week. Two major things happened in my life and to be honest…I plain forgot
(proving that I am human). First and most drastic…my computer crashed! A
tragedy for any author. Fortunately, I did have the most important
accomplishment – a novel I am writing – backed up. And that is the second very
major feat that occurred last week. I finished (at least the first writing) of
the last chapter and thus my book! For those of you who don’t know, I have been
working for the last year on a Christian historical fiction novel. Hopefully it
will be out in print in a few months. I will keep you posted!
So, we are
starting a new series – the Tower of Babel.
We will delve into all the mysteries surrounding it and answer any questions
you may have. Let’s get started...
The first
question is Was there really a tower of Babel, and if so, why was it built?
The answer
is an undeniable yes there was an actual, very large building constructed in
ancient times in the city called Babel!
How can I be so sure? First we have the authority of scripture (Genesis 11:3-4)
“3 Then they said to one another,
‘Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.’ They had brick for
stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. 4 And
they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is
in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad
over the face of the whole earth.’”
In
addition, other historical documents have recorded the event of the Tower of Babel. For example, Alexander the Great attempted to
rebuild the tower after he found it in ruins. “Some 10,000 workers cleared away
the rubble but with Alexander's death in 322 B.C., the project stopped.”[1] Yet another even earlier description came from Herodotus, the Greek historian. He traveled to Babylon about 460 B.C. and wrote this eyewitness account: "In the midst of the temple a solid tower was constructed, one stadium (about 200 yards) in length and one stadium in width. Upon this tower stood another, and again upon this, another, and so on, making eight towers in all, one upon another. All eight towers can be climbed by means of a spiral staircase, which runs around the outside.”2 this is the description of a ziggurat, the earliest form of the great pyramids. Ziggurats are found throughout the world…more on that in another blog!
So now that we have established a huge tower had actually been constructed in the city of Babel, why was it built?
Some authorities believe the people of that time were afraid another global flood would destroy the land and therefore built it for security. However, God’s covenant said the earth would not again be destroyed by water. And to give a little credence to the intelligence of the people of that time, they would have erected a tower serving that purpose on top of the highest nearby mountain (the city of Babel in located on the plain of Shinar between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, on low flat lands). In addition, only a few humans could have gathered at the very top…so this more than likely was not the reason for the construction.
No, the
bible records was really happened; “Come, let us build
ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a
name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole
earth.” (Genesis 11:4). This is a direct rebellion against God’s instructions
to the people in Genesis 9:1 “So God blessed
Noah and his sons, and said to them: ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the
earth.’” In order for eight people to fill the earth, their decedents would
have to depart from the place of their parents.
“It
is possible that the tower was built under the guise that it was a place for
sacrifice unto God. This would have prevented people from going too far since
they would have to come back to offer sacrifices at Babel.”[2] The
bible records Nimrod, the first King, was mighty among men. Other historical
records note he was more like a tyrant, and worshipped demons. It would be
reasonable to think he wanted to rule the entire known world at that time,
preventing by any means, his subjects to leave and fill the earth.
But once
again, God demonstrated his power forcing his earlier command to come to pass.
For it was at the tower of Babel
that the languages became scrambled. And when men could not understand each
other, they moved away with other like speaking families. In the end, God
accomplished His will.
This is
true about everything God does. If only we could bring into our actions the
notion, obedience is better than sacrifice, how much better off we would be!
Again, my deepest apologies for missing last week. I hope
you enjoy this series…
Until next time,
God Bless and take care,
Willow
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