Next we come at the issue biblically. What do we do with this alienating, isolating impulse which has created an epidemic of loneliness in our world? Let's walk through our story together.

Our text begins, "Now the whole world had one language and a common speech" (v. 1a). We are now six generations from Noah; as many as 30,000 people are alive on the earth. They have "one lip" and "one speech" so far, as we might expect.

"As men moved eastward," out into the uninhabited world, "they found a plain in Shinar and settled there" (v. 2). This is the flatlands between the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, in the heart of modern-day Iraq. The area was especially fertile in those days, so that grain harvests typically yielded 200- to 300-fold, and palm trees grew all over the land. They had no enemies as yet, and so did not need to settle in mountains where they could protect themselves. So this was a perfect location.

"They said to each other" (v. 3a), no exceptions or dissenters. "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly" (v. 3b), literally "burn them to a burning," making them stronger than sun-baked bricks. They used "tar for mortar" (v. 3c), a kind of bitumen found throughout the region which literally glued the bricks together. Millions of these ancient bricks have been found; they are typically a foot square and two to three inches thick, and are perfect for building tall structures.

They had this purpose in mind: "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves" (v. 4a). Today we still use their phrase "make a name for ourselves." We already "have" a name, given by our parents. We "make" a name by our own efforts and success. In this way we seek to leave a legacy, a permanent mark on this world, lest we be "scattered over the face of the whole earth" (v. 4b).

Remains of their tower still exist. It was designed to be approximately 300 feet square at the base, with seven levels of decreasing size, and was intended to reach 290 to 300 feet in height. Think of a football field cubed, and you'll have the idea. It was by far the largest building in the ancient world for generations.

But compared to the greatness of God it was so tiny that he had to "come down" to look at it (v. 5).

He knew that such pride would lead only to further rebellion and destruction, so he chose to "confuse their language" and defeat their plans (v. 7). And then he "scattered them from there over all the earth" (v. 8), the very thing they tried to prevent by their own egotistical actions.

He could have crushed them, destroyed them with fire, or devastated them with disease. This was an act of grace, to keep us from hurting ourselves further.

As a result, the place is called "Babel" (from which we get "Babylon"), an ironic word play. The Assyrians used the word for "gate of god"; the Hebrews used it for "confusion." Whenever we try to build the former, the latter results.