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“The king [Nebuchadnezzar] spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:30).
“And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant” (Jeremiah 51:37).
The Babylonian empire was a mighty empire in its day, and Babylon was no doubt a beautiful city. The hanging gardens that Nebuchadnezzar built for his wife are still regarded as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Yet the Lord foretold by the prophet Jeremiah that the city would become heaps of rubble, and a dwelling place for wild animals.
Babylon was eventually destroyed and fell into ruin. In fact, the whole site of the city was so obliterated that many historians began to wonder whether the city had existed at all. Historians were not convinced until excavations that took place about 180 years ago revealed that Babylon had in fact been a famous city.
All this shows us that human glory and fame is very temporary, and that even the best of man’s attempts to build something permanent often fall into ruin after some years. You and I, as believers, have the privilege of building for eternity, and of using our time and resources for heavenly glory, not earthly glory.
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