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6 The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. 7 The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabtechah; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. 8 Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.” 10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 From that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, 12 and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (that is the principal city). ~ Genesis 10:6-12
Today, we continue our study of Genesis 10 which is full of genealogy. In this chapter we have been given the genealogies of Japheth, Ham and Shem in that order. Having considered the genealogy of Japheth in our last study, today we consider the genealogy of Ham.
In v.6 of today's passage we read, "The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan."
After the Flood, Noah enjoyed wine a little too much and became inebriated as a result. While his father was both drunk and naked in his tent, Ham went into his father's tent and saw him in that condition. Then Ham told his brothers about his dad's drunkenness and nakedness. This elicited a curse from Noah but since God had already blessed Ham, Noah cursed Ham's youngest son, Canaan. This curse impacted the entire line of Ham, specifically the line of Canaan.
Interestingly, more space is used in this chapter to describe the line of Ham than either of the other brothers, Shem or Japheth. For this reason, it’s important to know who these people became and how they affect both God’s people in the Bible and future prophecy. The line of Ham has been the subject of a tremendous amount of abuse and some have tried to justify illegal slavery based on Noah’s curse of Canaan. It is from Canaan that the African people have descended. The curse placed upon the son of Ham was one of servanthood, not abusive slavery.
Ham means "passionate;" it can also mean "burnt" or "dark." Both of these descriptions perfectly fit the people who descended from him. Most of the darker people of the world descend from Ham, however, other dark groups of people are found in both the lines of Shem and Japheth.
The first of Ham’s sons was Cush which means "black" and today Cush is known as Ethiopia. The second son of Ham was Mizraim which means "double straits" and they became the people of Egypt. The next son of Ham was Put which means "a bow." The Libyans come from Put along with Cyrene, Tunisia, Somalia, and the Sudan.
In v.7 of today's passage we read, "The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabtechah; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan."
Here, we have five sons of Cush. In the next verse we’ll see another. They’re divided up and named based on their importance to the story of the Bible. Out of the five sons listed in this verse, only one has the names of his sons listed too, Raamah. His sons are Sheba and Dedan. Once again, these are listed because they are relevant to the biblical story and how they will interact with God’s people. There probably were others born to these sons of Ham, but only these are listed. These sons and grandsons spread all around the borders of Israel. They are from North Africa, Arabia, and as far as the area of Iran to this day.
In a beautiful example of God’s faithfulness to the line of Cush we read in the book of Jeremiah, about one of his descendants, an Ethiopian eunuch named Ebed-Melech, who saved Jeremiah’s life by getting him out of a pit full of mud. It was so bad that Jeremiah had actually sunk into the mud, so this eunuch went to the king to get permission to pull him out. In order to get him up, they had to put worn out clothes and rags under his armpit and it took thirty men to pull on the ropes. Because of what he did, in the next chapter, God remembered Ebed-Melech during the horrible siege and eventual overthrow of Jerusalem. The very first descendant of Ham to receive the Lord Jesus as his Savior in the book of Acts was also from the line of Cush. He was the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8 who worked for the Candace, the Queen of the Ethopians.
In v.8-9 of today's passage we read, "8 Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, 'Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.'"
Along with his other sons, Cush begot Nimrod. This is an enigmatic figure mentioned only a couple times in the Bible and his name means "we shall rebel" and comes from the word marad which specifically means "to rebel." The word marad in this case was used to describe rebellion against God and His light.
Nimrod was the first active figure mentioned of all of the Noah’s grandsons. Up to this point, we’ve only had names and places mentioned, but now we get real details on an individual. As a "mighty hunter," Nimrod became a leader and gathered people under his command in order to make himself a ruler of the area he would settle. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. This meant he rebelled against the Lord and against His authority. Just like Cain before the flood, Nimrod rebelled against God and His light or truth.
In v.10-12 of today's passage we read, "10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 From that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, 12 and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (that is the principal city)."
Nimrod was a mighty hunter, but he was also a mighty builder, and a mighty leader. Like Cain who established the first recorded city and culture, it is Nimrod who follows this same path after the flood. The line of Cain, though wiped out in the flood, was symbolically alive and well in Nimrod.
Nimrod established the city of Babylon, which means "confusion." Babylon was in Shinar and was the city in spiritual opposition to God. Babylon is where evil and wickedness reigned. Babylon to this day is located east of Jerusalem. When man was sent out of Eden and away from God’s presence it was to the east. When the Israelites were in fellowship, or at peace with God, they possessed the land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem, but when they were disobedient, they were cast out of the land to the east, to Babylon in the land of Shinar.
In the book of the Revelation, the Babylon of the future, is described as the great Harlot and will be centered in Rome, right where the Vatican now stands. At some point in the future, probably after the Rapture of the Church, the city of Rome will become the leader of all spiritual opposition to God and direct the forces of evil against Jerusalem, the city of Peace. Underscored here is the utter uselessness of being so close to the truth but in the end hearing those words of the Lord Jesus, "Depart from me for I never knew you." Simply put, it is better to be known by God that it is to know God, although one flows for the other.
Religion has always been so very dangerous to man. Although Christianity is grouped with the religions of this world, it is not a religion because religion is man earning the favor of God which is utterly impossible. It is only by the grace of God that anyone is made right before God through the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross of Calvary. As we read in John 17:3, "Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."
