BETTER THAN BABEL: THE POWER OF GOD-CENTRED UNITY

Trevor S. Ferguson

February 24, 2011

Genesis 11:4-7 (KJV)

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.

⁵ And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

⁶ And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

⁷ Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.

Nehemiah  2:17-20 (KJV)

¹⁷ Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.

¹⁸ Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.

¹⁹ But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?

²⁰ Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.

INTRODUCTION: THE PROJECT AT BABEL

The building of the Tower of Babel is often regarded as a symbol of what can be accomplished when people unite for common action. This is based upon the account in Genesis 11 which details how the generation after the flood came together to construct a tower which would reach up to the heavens. The people had a detailed plan for building the tower; they would use bricks burnt in fire [to give the tensile strength as opposed to sun-dried bricks], and mortar to hold the bricks together. They were united in their efforts and all spoke the same language. The reality though is that BABEL WAS A FAILED PROJECT! Despite having the necessary ingredients for success, their project came to a grinding halt and ended up in ruins.

What was it that the Babel project lacked? Why did this great united effort come to naught? The problem was that the Babel project lacked one central ingredient: GOD

Let us look at the narrative in verse 4 of Genesis 11: Let us make US a city, let us make US a name, lest WE be scatted abroad… The Babel project was about the people, about their city and about their name!

The end result was that God came down and confounded their language and so that they could no longer understand each other and thus abandoned their great building project. In the end they had no city, they had no name and instead of a united people they became a divided – scattered abroad upon the earth.

Today I want show from the scriptures an example of a united effort that was BETTER THAN BABEL and to show that GOD-CENTRED UNITY is powerful in accomplishing tasks and overcoming obstacles as we work in the kingdom of God.

EXPOSITION: NEHEMIAH LEADS ISRAEL IN REBUILDING THE WALL OF JERUSALEM

Nehemiah’s building project does not enjoy the popularity of the Babel story, but it is by far superior to Babel in that while Babel was a failed project, Nehemiah’s rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem was an astounding success! 

Let us recount the story in brief. The story begins when Nehemiah’s brother Hanani, after a visit to Jerusalem, reported to him how that the people in Jerusalem were in great affliction and reproach and that the walls of the city were broken and the gates burned with fire. Nehemiah was moved and eventually requested of the king that he (Nehemiah) be sent to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls of the city. When he came to Jerusalem he went by night to view the walls and the gates of the city for himself, then he gathered the people together and outlined his plans to them; he  then challenged the people “… let us build up the wall of Jerusalem that we be no more a reproach ” (verse 17). The people responded – Let us arise and build! In preparation, they strengthened their hands for this good work!

Soon after that decision they were faced with opposition from Sanballat and Tobiah but Nehemiah responded – The God of heaven will prosper us: therefore we will arise and build (verse 20).

The task was great. It is believed that the wall was about two and a half miles long and enclosed about 220 acres; however Nehemiah appointed 41 groups each with a leader to work on 42 sections of the wall / gates. The end result was that this mammoth task was completed in 52 days!! (chap. 6:15)

REFLECTION: WHY DID BABEL FAIL, BUT NEHEMIAH SUCCEED?

What was the difference between the efforts of the people at Babel and the efforts of the Nehemiah’s team?

We noted above that the Babel project was about the people, about their city and about their name; in contrast Nehemiah’s project was about God’s people, God’s city and God’s name! Babel failed because the builders failed to include or to consider God in their plans. Notice the difference with Nehemiah’s plan: Firstly, it was conceived through prayer (verse 5), secondly, the hand of God (God’s blessing) was upon Nehemiah, thirdly, it was driven by noble and righteous purpose – removal of the reproach from his people, preserving the honour of his forefathers and protecting the interest of the people of Israel and the city of Jerusalem, fourthly, there was a dependence upon God. In addition to the above, Nehemiah had the full cooperation and backing of the people as it was said “the people had a mind to work” (chapter 4:6). Nehemiah also used division of labour and appropriate delegated responsibility. Other factors that contributed to Nehemiah’s success included the following: the people were prayerful and watchful as they worked; the people demonstrated courage, determination and faith in the face of major opposition.

APPLICATION: LESSONS FROM BABEL AND NEHEMIAH

1.       United effort is powerful, but Unity without right purpose will ultimately fail

2.       United effort with righteous purpose and with God at the centre will overcome great obstacles and will ultimately bring great success

3.       United effort is strengthened by a willingness to work and by appropriate delegation of responsibility

4.       We must be determined to complete the tasks that God has set before us

5.       We must be willing to fight (spiritually) when faced with opposition

CONCLUSION   

Let us resolve to work together in unity to build the kingdom of God! As we unite let us ensure that God is in the centre of all our plans. At the individual level let us ensure that God is at the centre of our lives; all of us need to be of a common purpose if we are to accomplish God plans for our lives and for his church.