Babel

Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth. – Genesis 11:4-9

In their pride and hubris, the people of Babylon rebelled against God and began building a “tower to the heavens” on their own foundation, using their own knowledge and abilities. How often do we try to do things on our own, building on sinking sand [Matthew 7:24-27], rather than on God’s firm foundation? May this striking image be a reminder that nothing we build on our own will stand, but, if we build with God, following his path, what is built will be built to last.