Satan didn’t waste any time in making his third attack upon the Seed of the woman. Ham, one of Noah’s sons, showed total disrespect for Noah and for his faith in God by committing a shameful sin against him (Gen. 9:20-27). It was through the lineage of Ham that Satan initiated his attempt to turn the seed from God.
Satan used an interesting approach in trying to destroy the lineage of God’s promised Seed. He sought to unite all mankind against God.
One Leader
Satan began his plan to unite mankind against God by raising up a leader from the descendants of Ham. Ham gave birth to a son named Cush and Cush gave birth to a son named Nimrod.
“Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, ‘Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel.” (Gen. 5:8-10)
We read two interesting things about Nimrod’s character. First, he was a “mighty one in the earth.” Remember, we read in Genesis 6:4 that the children of the ungodly marriages during Noah s day were “mighty men” and “men of renown.” Nimrod was much like these men. He was a powerful man who was well known and respected by men. We know he was also a leader of men for we read in Genesis 10:10 that he began a kingdom. The realm of his power was “on the earth.”
Second, Nimrod was a “mighty hunter before the LORD.” It could be that he acquired his reputation with men because of his prowess at hunting animals, which were now given by God as food for man (Gen. 9:3), however the qualifying expression, “before the LORD,” indicates that his hunting may have been of a much more serious nature. The expression may sound positive as translated in the English, but it actually means that Nimrod set himself in defiance against the Lord. More than just a hunter of animals, Nimrod was very possibly a hunter of men’s souls; one who sought to turn men away from God. As we study Nimrod, his kingdom and his wicked purpose in building the tower of Babel, we find that he is a type of the Antichrist.
One Kingdom
Verse 10 of Genesis 5 tells us that Nimrod began a kingdom called Babel. The very fact that Nimrod began a kingdom, implies that his people refused to be ruled by God. Nimrod’s kingdom, Babel, was the beginning of Babylon, the wicked city which has set itself against God and His people throughout its history (i.e. under Nebuchadnezzar). Babylon will have a similar purpose when it is rebuilt in the future (Rev. 17,18).
One Language
The situation that existed in Nimrod’s day is described in Genesis 11:1.
“Now the whole earth had one language and one speech.”
Everyone on the earth at this time spoke the same language, thus there were no problems communicating between the peoples of the earth.
One People
We read further in verse 2,
“It came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there.”
All of mankind journeyed together to the land of Shinar and dwelt there. The action of these people appears to be in direct opposition to the Lord’s command in Genesis 9:1 to “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” Instead of filling the earth, the people all stayed together in one place.
One Purpose
“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. 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.'” (Gen. 11:3-4)
The people, under the direction of Nimrod, were intent on one purpose, “to make a name for themselves.” The total emphasis is upon themselves, instead of upon the LORD. They were totally self-centered, “let us make bricks,” “let us build ourselves a city and tower” and “let us make a name for ourselves.” They sought to build according to their plan, not God’s. They sought to build a city and a tower for themselves, not for God. The tower was, in all likelihood, a religious tower which was to be used to worship the creation rather than the Creator (Rom. 1:21-25). The expression “whose top is in the heavens” may even have reference to a worship of the heavens (i.e. astrology). Finally, they sought to make a name for themselves. They did not want to call upon the name of the LORD, nor did they wish to be called by the name of the LORD.
One World Government
The situation that existed here and the purpose intended by the people here is very similar to the one world government that Satan will establish during the future tribulation period. It, too, will be established here upon the earth. It will be headed up by Satan’s man, the Antichrist (cf. Nimrod). It’s sole purpose will be to turn men from God so that they will worship Satan (Rev. 13:4-8,11-15).
What was the final result?
“But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. 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. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.’ So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. 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. 11:5-9)
We notice several key statements in this passage. We see that the people had only begun to do this, but they had proposed or imagined to do much more (i.e. to eventually worship other gods). If they were not stopped, they would be unrestrained in what they wanted to do. To restrain them, the LORD confounded their one language so they could not understand each other. He scattered the one people upon the face of the earth so they could not continue building the city and tower. In effect, God brought total confusion to Satan’s plan, hence the name of the city was called, Babel, which means “confusion.”
