Read Ellen G. White, “The Tower of Babel,” pp. 117-124, in Patriarchs and Prophets.

 “They decided to build a city, and in it a tower of such stupendous height ... These enterprises were designed to prevent the people from scattering abroad in colonies. God had directed men to disperse throughout the earth, to replenish and subdue it; but these Babel builders determined to keep their community united in one body, and to found a monarchy that should eventually embrace the whole earth. Thus their city would become the metropolis of a universal empire; its glory would command the admiration and homage of the world and render the founders illustrious. The magnificent tower, reaching to the heavens, was intended to stand as a monument of the power and wisdom of its builders, perpetuating their fame to the latest generations.

 The dwellers on the plain of Shinar disbelieved God´s covenant that He would not again bring a flood upon the earth. Many of them denied the existence of God and attributed the Flood to the operation of natural causes. Others believed in a Supreme Being, and that it was He who had destroyed the antediluvian world; and their hearts, like that of Cain, rose up in rebellion against Him. One object before them in the erection of the tower was to secure their own safety in case of another deluge. By carrying the structure to a much greater height than was reached by the waters of the Flood, they thought to place themselves beyond all possibility of danger. And as they would be able to ascend to the region of the clouds, they hoped to ascertain the cause of the Flood. The whole undertaking was designed to exalt still further the pride of its projectors and to turn the minds of future generations away from God and lead them into idolatry.” — Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 118, 119.

 1. What example do we have from history, or even the present, of the trouble that can come from those who seek to make a name for themselves?
 2. How can we, as a church, avoid the danger of seeking to build our own Tower of Babel? What are ways we might actually be seeking to do this, even subconsciously?