The Tower of Babel was built on the plain of Shinar, a site probably in ancient Babylonia in southern
Mesopotamia, some time after the great flood of Noah's time. A symbol of man's sinful pride and rebellion, the structure was
built to satisfy the people's vanity: "Let us make a name for ourselves" (Gen. 11:4).
The pyramid-like tower was expected to reach heaven. These people were trying to approach God on their
own self-serving terms, but they learned that the gates of heaven cannot be stormed. Men and women must approach the holy
God in reverence and humility.
This tower was built of bricks and mortar, since no stones were available on the flat plains of southern
Mesopotamia. The Babel Tower appears to be similar to the ziggurats the ancient inhabitants of southern Mesopotamia built
as places for the worship of their gods. Both Assyrian and Babylonian kings prided themselves on the height of these pagan
temples, boasting of building them as high as heaven.
One such tower, built in Ur, Abraham's ancestral city in southern Mesopotamia, about 2100 B.C., was
a pyramid consisting of three terraces of diminishing size. The temple was climbed by converging stairways. The uppermost
part of the tower was an altar devoted to pagan worship.
God interverned to prevent the builders of Babel from partaking of the power and glory that belongs
only to Him. The language of the builders was confused so they could no longer communicate with one another. In their frustration,
they abandoned the project. Then the prideful builders were scattered abroad (Gen. 11:8,
8). How small and weak this tower was in comparison to God's power! Humankind's misguided efforts at self-glorification
brought on confusion and frustration and their dispersion throughout the world.
