Nerd Alert!

In Genesis 11:1-9, we read the account of the construction of the first sky scraper.

The city would end up being called Babel, because of something God did there.

We see in this passage that there was a common language and a united group of people.
So united, in fact, that they could accomplish anything they wanted to.(Genesis 11:6)

It is in this verse of scripture where my nerdy imagination bounds out of control. In the previous verse, we see that the tower had already been built. It must have really been something to see, for even the Lord came down to see it.

What else had man accomplished in this time period? Had they developed more advanced technology than we know about? Could that civilization have advanced at a much more rapid pace than ours? We live in a world of diverse and conflicting views and different political and religious ideologies. Building projects sometimes stay in the planning stages for years before a single design can be agreed upon. But the society in Genesis 11 was united in purpose and ideology.

Is it possible that they could have developed technologies beyond what we have today? Could they have been further along in their understanding of science and mathematics than we are now? With such a Utopian society and such singularity in purpose, I suppose it is possible. It's kind of fun to think about, anyway.

The only problem is that what they were united in and what they were building a monument to was themselves. (Genesis 11:4) A whole city and a wondrous tower dedicated to the worship of man kind.

This was just a couple of generations past the sons of Noah. It was starting again already. (Genesis 6:5-6)

God could have gone ahead and scrapped everything and started over. But He chose mercy. What He did at Babel was an act of pure grace. He confused the languages. He took away their unity and dispersed them throughout the earth.

This jolt was needed for them to remember their dependence on God, not themselves. For them to return to Him. To remind them.

Job said it best. "I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted." (Job 42:2)

God is AWESOME!