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13 Mizraim begot Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, 14 Pathrusim, and Casluhim (from whom came the Philistines and Caphtorim). 15 Canaan begot Sidon his firstborn, and Heth; 16 the Jebusite, the Amorite, and the Girgashite; 17 the Hivite, the Arkite, and the Sinite; 18 the Arvadite, the Zemarite, and the Hamathite. Afterward the families of the Canaanites were dispersed. 19 And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon as you go toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; then as you go toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. 20 These were the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands and in their nations. ~ Genesis 10:13-20
Today, we return to our study of Genesis 10 where we are given the genealogies of Jephthah, Ham, and Seth. Having considered the first part of Ham's genealogy, we continue that study. As we pointed out in our last study, more space is used in this chapter to describe the line of Ham than either of the other brothers.
In v.13-18 of today's passage we read, "13 Mizraim begot Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, 14 Pathrusim, and Casluhim (from whom came the Philistines and Caphtorim). 15 Canaan begot Sidon his firstborn, and Heth; 16 the Jebusite, the Amorite, and the Girgashite; 17 the Hivite, the Arkite, and the Sinite; 18 the Arvadite, the Zemarite, and the Hamathite. Afterward the families of the Canaanites were dispersed."
Canaan means "servant." It was Canaan who received the curse of servitude from Noah and these are the accursed descendants of him. Eleven groups of people descended from Canaan. Despite this, we see later in the Bible that grace is found even towards those who are willing enough to believe in the goodness of God as seen in the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, the curses in this life can yield the greatest outcome; only if we are served by it rather than being defined by it. If our curses serve us into seeking the Lord, the curse becomes a blessing.
There were three descendants of Canaan who found the Lord’s grace and they are recorded in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 1. Of the five women mentioned in that genealogy, only Mary is an Israelite. Ruth was from Moab which was from the line of Shem, and the three others mentioned were from the line of Canaan. The first was Tamar who was the daughter-in-law of Judah. The second was Rahab the harlot of Jericho who hid the spies of Israel and was brought into the people of Israel when she married Salmon. And the third was Bathsheba who came through the line of Shem.
In v.19-20 of today's passage we read, "19 And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon as you go toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; then as you go toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. 20 These were the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands and in their nations."
These locations are given to indicate that the Canaanites settled in the land that would eventually be given to Abraham and then to his son Isaac and then to his son Israel. Before Abraham and his son arrived, the Canaanites inhabited the land of promise. Subsequently, many of these people groups were destroyed in conquests and battles with Israel. But many of them survived partially intact or after having interbred with other people groups. The accomplishments of these people have been immense and today Ham’s children fill the earth as a result.
One of those groups are the Chinese people. The Chinese have a tradition that their first king, Fohi, which is Chinese for Noah, appeared on the mountains of Chin which was surrounded by a rainbow after the world was covered with water. He sacrificed animals to God, just like the Genesis story. And he had a great grandson named Sin, which again perfectly matches the Bible. The Sinites, named after Canaan’s son Sin, lived at exactly the time that the Chinese culture developed. Even today the Chinese culture is called the Sino culture after Sin.
Another flood tradition within the Chinese culture comes from the Miao tribe of southwest China. It’s said that before they were ever visited by missionaries, they believed that God had once destroyed the entire world by flood because of man’s wickedness, but He saved a righteous man named Nuah, his wife, and their three sons. Nuah’s sons names were Lo Han (Ham), Lo Shen (Shem), and Yah-hu or Japheth. They and pairs of animals were all saved by building a giant ship.
The Chinese also have a Book of History known as the Shu Jing which was compiled by Confucius. This book speaks about an Emperor Shun who ruled about 2200BC when the first dynasty began. He worshipped and sacrificed a bull to Shang Di or the Heavenly Ruler. Shang Di corresponds to Shaddai who the Almighty of the Bible. Apparently, these sacrifices to Shang Di went on until 1911 when the last Chinese emperor was deposed.
The story of the Bible is that despite whom we are, or where we have come from, God looks at us all the same once we have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. It doesn’t matter what our color is, where we were born, how much money we have, or any other thing. All of us are or were enemies of God, but He reached out to us through His word which tells of His Son the Lord Jesus. It was He who lived the perfect life that no one has ever lived and it was He who willingly laid down His life so that we could be saved. We are all either sons of Shem, sons of Ham, or sons of Japheth. And they are all sons of Noah who came from Adam. We bear sin’s guilt and the Lord Jesus Christ came to this earth to take it away from us so that we can spend eternity in heaven apart from sin and death.
