Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. ² And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. 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.”

⁵ But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. ⁶ And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. ⁷ Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” ⁸ So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. ⁹ Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth. (Gen. 11:1-9)

The story in Genesis of the Tower of Babel is fascinating. Here we have the population of the whole earth in one place. They spoke one language and were unanimous in working together to build a city. And not just a city, but a tower to reach into the heavens as Scripture says.

But, if the people of the earth were getting along & working together, why would God confound what the people were doing? Simple. It wasn’t according to His will. Remember, since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, God had begun a plan for the redemption of mankind. He had also begun to prophecy through His prophets of His plan to redeem His people.

So when this group gets together and starts building a tower to the heavens, they were building for themselves. For they declared “We will make  a name for ourselves”.

Does God want us to have a name for ourselves?If He did why would Scripture declare:

⁹ Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phillippians 2:9)

I certainly don’t see a declaration that we are saved in our own name. For Christ declared:

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6)

Doesn’t He want us to be united?Of course He wants His people to be united, but not in false unity. A false unity that ignores the principles of Christ.

Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. (ICor. 1:10)

But there is a deeper and simpler lesson here. When they were making a name for themselves, they were really trying to carve out their own salvation in their own way.
They were rejecting Christ and God’s plan for Salvation.

It’s not too different today as religion adds to or takes away from the simplicity of what Christ has done on the Cross. This happens when we follow the traditions men have created that aren’t found in Scripture. Or when Scripture is twisted in a way that leads us away from Christ if we believe it.

Let’s be careful brethren, and examine our lives in the light of Scripture.

¹² Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

By humility and the fear of the Lord
Are riches and honor and life. (Proverbs 22:4)