Remember Who We Are

On my list of Scriptures to read when I am looking for hope, for good reading, for a dose of "umph" in my day... Genesis 10 is not on there. It is not easy beach-reading. It does make for good material when you're trying to get to sleep perhaps. So, when I sat down to read today and saw that this was going to be my reading, I sighed and read through the chapter, highlighting some of the following texts...

This is the family tree of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth...

"The sons of Japheth... the sons of Javan... the seafaring peoples developed from these, each in its own place by family, each with its own language. (Seriously, that's about the most interesting thing about them)." - From Verses 1-5.

Interestingly, Moses' pattern in many of his writings is to get the "lesser information" out of the way first, so it is not surprising that little is said of them since Moses's own people of his day didn't have much in the way of encounters with any of Japheth's sons.

So, on to Ham.

"The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put, Canaan" (verse 6). So there are some fairly familiar names... names that the Children of Israel would've been a lot more concerned about.

"Cush also had Nimrod. He was the first great warrior on Earth. He was a great hunter before GOD. There was a saying, "Like Nimrod, a great hunter before GOD." His kingdom got its start with Babel, then Erech, Akkad, and Calneh in the country of Shinar. From there he went up to Asshur and built Nineveh..." (From verses 8-12).

There are some that think Moses was complimentary of Nimrod. I don't think so. He also wrote about the men of renown before the flood, giants known for great evil, setting themselves up as superior, giants of arrogance. If you just go further into Scripture, Nimrod's towns don't have a good reputation. Nineveh was later going to be destroyed if Jonah didn't preach. Babel--Babylon--would be a town throughout Scripture that was used to illustrate nations, systems, or governments that set themselves up as their own god, in defiance of the true God, or not in need of God. Babel--I'm getting ahead of myself, but--Babel would build itself up to reach the heavens on its own, a tribute to its own greatness. Babylon--Nebuchadnezzar, in Daniel 4, would strut around bragging about "this great Babylon that I have built..." The whore of Revelation that goes by that name sets itself up in opposition to God and His people.

That's a lot of words to say that, in my opinion, Moses thought of Nimrod as an arrogant oppressor... like in the last century of our time saying, almost tongue-in-cheek, "That great leader, Stalin."

Going on... "Egypt was the ancestor to the Ludim, the Anamim, the Lehabim, the Naphtuhim, the Pathrusim, the casluhim (the origin of the Philistines), and the Kaphtorim" (verses 13-14).

"Canaan had Sidon his firstborn, Heth, the Jebusites" (the origins of Jerusalem come from them)" the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites... Later the Canaanites spread out, going from Sidon toward Gerar, as far south as Gaza, and then east all the way over to Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and on to Lasha" (from verses 15-19).

So, as we read of the sons of Ham, we see a lot of nations there that would become infamous as enemies to the Children of Israel, people in direct opposition to Yahweh.

Moses writes that "Shem... was ancestor to all the children of Eber." It is commonly thought that it is from "Eber" where the name "Hebrew" may have come. We read of Peleg, so named because the human race was divided in his day (spoiler alert for Genesis 11). I've heard some suggest that "Jobab" may have been Job. (Verses 21-31).

Finally, he finishes with "This is the family tree of the sons of Noah as they developed into nations. From them nations developed all across the Earth after the flood" (verse 32).

As much of a struggle it was to concentrate on Genesis 10 without the temptation to fill in the blanks, here are a few of my thoughts on this mostly-read-quickly chapter that is, nonetheless, part of God's Word.

1. People are quick to forget God. Nimrod was Noah's great-grandson who established cities known throughout the history of Scripture as being in direct opposition to the purposes of God. One has to wonder if his attitude--and that of his related clans--was one of resentment for the curse handed down to their father, Ham, in Genesis 9:24-27. But really, how different are we? We don't have to be directly fighting God to forget Him. Blissfully going about our lives as if He isn't there is not too far removed from being in opposition.
• The Gospel teaches us that Jesus Christ was the very image of the Father. He told Philip, in John 14:9, "... anyone who has seen me has seen the Father..." The Bible teaches us that humanity is made in God's image, so every human being we look at is an opportunity to remember God, and remember that Jesus Christ came to save every person (every child of God/Adam/Noah) and restore the image of God in them.
2. People are quick to forget their common ancestry. We all share fathers. 1st God, 2nd Adam, 3rd Noah. We owe our existence, regardless of our culture of origin, to God's action through Noah to protect humanity, made in His image. When Moses wrote Genesis 10, it could be that he was pointing out that their "enemies" were also their "brothers."
• The Gospel teaches us that Jesus Christ was an even "better Noah." He came to a world not dissimilar to the pre-flood world. He came to rescue people who would be rescued from the flood of sin we are surrounded by. He came to rescue everyone... not just people who look like us, or speak like us. We owe our eternal existence to God's action in Jesus Christ.
3. Moses was concerned with Israel's identity... and such is our concern. He pointed out their ancestry. He pointed out how their ancestry was different than that of their oppressors and opponents.
• Our first identity, as followers of Jesus, is "Followers of Jesus." He is our identity. He is our nation. We are a "chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light" (1 Peter 2:9). Regardless of your origin with Shem, Ham, or Japheth, Jesus came for you! He came and won the victory at the cross, giving Him the right to restore His identity and image in us!

Remember who you are today. Accept the gift of Jesus' death on the cross, and accept the greatest ancestor we could ever have. In Jesus, even Genesis 10 comes to life!