This week's BSF study covered Genesis chapters TEN and ELEVEN.
A ruthless ruler, a militaristic forceful king... his name meant "let us rebel".. the mighty Nimrod... was a descendent of Noah's spiteful son who had attempted to create family dissension in the after-the-flood early days.
Genetically transferred anger? A bitter disposition aged and fermented? Nimrod had might, skill and political acumen and knew how to play on another's fears and weaknesses and he was honored for his ambitious appetite for power. Many gave allegiance to the imposing Nimrod for who can ignore that he had power and influence as well as lead a flourishing civilization... It perhaps would not have been a good idea to go against his agendas.
And so this week we read about the Tower of Babel, the magnificent project that would reach for the sky to bring man shoulder to shoulder with God. Babel meant "gateway to a god." The mighty nation wanted to make a name for themselves and not be scattered over the face of the earth. They weren't building a tower to say hello to God; they were proclaiming that they were above God. This was not a matter of national pride; it was arrogance and domination. And a powerful kingdom with wealth, a military force, great architects, and a king that wanted to be a god couldn't be swayed from such ambition.
I read a little on the history of a "military state" paradigm and found what a clever way to build a powerful society. I was curious how such unity among the people can be created.
If you were a little boy born to a military state, you can kiss your mommy goodbye when you turned seven. You would then move to a barracks where you will be trained to be strong, aggressive, and compliant... basically you would be raised to be a submissive OX trained to listen and follow orders. You would be fed well as a sophisticated beast of burden for imperialistic purposes and you will not be freed to pursue your personal interests until after 30.
The women of a military state would enjoy more freedom. You would need to be fit so that you can produce healthly strong babies for the nation that you called home. If you gave birth to a dodgey baby, it would be taken out of the city and left to die.
The great human enterprise of building the Tower of Babel wasn't only a tribute to national pride but also conformity... The story brought to my mind the fine line of defining unity. What is solidarity? What is conformity? Where is there choice? Where is there freedom of thought?
From a perspective, we see ambition shooting for the heavens with a fanfare of arrogance.. "Come let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the world."
But from a higher perspective God saw a city rise like a dollhouse. The tower was not a mountain, a sunset, a new planet. The tower was ambitious but not awe-inspiring..
It seems that this powerful society was a bit insular by its pride and maybe ruled heavy-handedly.
And so God threw and spanner in the works... saying...
"Come, let US go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."
Again... "US" intrigues me.. God is not a singular and simple entity.. And so conformity was thwarted... orders could not be issued nor followed and the people dispersed throughout.
Confusion here was a good thing and created a truer gate toward God and thinking than could have been provided by the power and force of man.
JNET
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