Genesis 12:10-16

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10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11 And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, "Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. 12 Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you." 14 So it was, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful. 15 The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house. 16 He treated Abram well for her sake. He had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels. ~ Genesis 12:10-16

Today, we continue our study of Genesis 12 where we are given the process whereby our faith in the God of the Bible grows. God intercepted Abram who was a Gentile before he became a Jew in the land that is known as southern Iraq today. That which made Abram a Jew which means "thank you" was the inculcation of the culture of God into his soul. This is why our faith is so important because it is the vehicle whereby the culture of God is delivered into our being. 

Having considered the first few principles involved in the development of our faith: the word of God creates faith in the believer, and authentic faith in the God of the Bible leads to obedience to Him, and obedience to God leads to reassurance from God, we move toward the next principle involved in the development of our faith. 

In v.10 of today's passage we read, "Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land."

God led Abram to the land of promise but there was a famine there. Through this very uncomfortable experience, Abram was about to learn the next principle involved in the development of his faith in the God of the Bible which is: God will always test and stretch our faith so that it will grow even stronger.

The Promised Land was mountainous and it was completely dependent on two seasons of rain in order to grow its crops and provide water. One of several purposes behind famines was to teach Abram that everything comes from the Lord and so he was to be completely dependent on Him. He also discovered that direction and deliverance is found in the Lord alone.

The famine in the promised land was not what Abram expected, so he made the decision to go to Egypt where food could be found. The man of faith didn't have much faith in that moment and so he turned away from the place that God had directed him to go and he looked to Egypt for answers. When we are being defined by anything other than the Lord, we will find that we will come out more unfulfilled than before.

In v.11-13 of today's passage we read, "11 And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, 'Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. 12 Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you.'"

Since Abram was born 352 years after the flood, he was about 75 years old at that time and Sarai was about 65. When Abram and his people arrived on the outskirts of Egypt, he began to entertain misguided and delusional fears. Abram's fears reached an all time high when he thought Pharaoh would take Sarai to be one of his wives because of her great beauty. Sarai must have been really pretty since she was sixty-five and Abram was worried that Pharaoh would want her as one of his wives. And, since Sarai was the half sister of Abram according to Genesis 20, Abram was not technically asking Sarai to lie about her identity. This all happened because Abram looked to Egypt rather than to God for his need for food.

For Abram, one bad decision led to another. The minute we move away from the control of God, the old self comes to the surface and we stoop to falsehood, hypocrisy, and deceit. Like our faith in the God of the Bible has failed us down through the years, Abram's failed him here. A husband who is out of the will of God is dangerous to his family and to himself. Since Abram was out of step with God, he placed his wife and family in jeopardy. Interestingly, there is never a mention that Abram prayed while he was either in Haran or in Egypt. Only while he was in the land of Canaan. 

Having said that, I must add that this is the way our faith develops. There are times that we must fail in order to succeed. In most of these instances, our failure is discovered in our lack of ability to hold up our faith. It is in these crucial moments that we are more convinced that it is the Lord who is the secret to our success.

In v.14-16 of today's passage we read, "So it was, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful. 15 The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. He treated Abram well for her sake. He had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels."

Notice those words: "When the Egyptians saw" and "The princes of Pharaoh also saw her." It is the way of the world to make decisions on the outward. Oh there is nothing wrong with being attracted to one's spouse, but do not let the outward be the primary means by which we decide. God always exhorts us to look deeper. Every time we make a choice we turn the central part of us, the part of that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. In this scenario, we are slowly allowing the devil a foothold or we are allowing God to inculcate His culture in us.

In Titus 2:11-12 we read, "For the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation for all people training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age."

The word grace appears 131 in the Bible and 124 of those times, we discover it in the New Testament. And then, 86 from the pen of the Apostle Paul. It is the grace of God that put our unrighteousness in our past. It is also the grace of God that reveals to us the substantiveness of God's truth in our lives. And, when we see that, we will find it impossible to be defined by this world any longer.

One of the biggest pillars of God's grace is His patience. When we are being taught by the grace of God, we will make decisions that are in concert with the will of God. The grace of God teaches us that we are totally accepted by God through the finished work of His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. This means we cannot out sin God's grace. That means we should never doubt our salvation in Christ. And, this frees us to be real and authentic. It is the grace of God that frees us to learn from Him His culture which is quite different from all of the cultures of this world.

Genesis 12:7-9

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7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. 9 So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South. ~ Genesis 12:7-9

Today, we return to our study of Genesis 12 which is about the development of the faith of the believer in the God of the Bible. We have already considered the first two principles regarding the growth of our faith in this chapter including: The Word of God creates faith in the believer in v.1-3, and according to v.4-6, authentic faith in the God of the Bible leads to obedience to the God of the Bible. Today, we will consider the third principle involved in the development of our faith in the God of the Bible.

In v.7 of today's passage we read, "Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, 'To your descendants I will give this land.' And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him."

In the phrase, "Then the Lord appeared to Abram" we discover the next step in the development of our faith in the God of the Bible. It is: Obedience leads to reassurance. This is the first time the phrase, "the Lord appeared to," occurs in the Bible. With this phrase God gave to Abram an unconditional promise, "To your descendants I will give this land."

In Galatians 3:16-18 we read, "16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, 'And to seeds,' as of many, but as of one, 'And to your Seed,' who is Christ. 17 And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. 18 For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise."

Paul clearly points out that the promise was to the Lord Jesus who shared it with Abram and the Jewish people. Of course, it is the Lord Jesus who earned all of the blessings that God gives us. In response to this promise from God, Abram built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. In building the altar, Abram made an open profession of his growing reassurance in the God of the Bible. The altar is always a declaration of one's allegiance throughout the Bible.

In v.8 of today's passage we read, "And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east."

After leaving the shade of the Terebinth tree, Abram moved to a mountain east of Bethel and west of Ai. Bethel means "House of God" and it was there that Jacob saw the ladder reaching up into heaven. In the Gospel according to John, the Lord Jesus claimed that the ladder was analogous of Him. At every turn God was giving Abram the reassurance he needed to move forward in a trusting relationship with Him. And, as Abram responded in the affirmative, God gave Him further revelation.

Ai, which was east of where Abram pitched his tent, means "heap of ruins." The spot where Abram was in this passage is a picture of everyday life for us on this earth everyday. The house of God, Bethel, is a picture of being defined by God and the heap of ruins, Ai, is a picture of being defined by anything other than God which will always lead us to ruin. When we pitch our tent, we are saying this world is not our home. Like Abram we are passing through this world; our true home is in heaven. We will either be servants of the Lord and step onto the ladder, which is a picture of the Lord Jesus, and go to heaven, or, will we be servants to sin and be destroyed in the heap of ruins.

In v.9 of today's passage we read, "So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South."

After meeting with the Lord, Abram traveled toward the South. As we will see this will lead to the further testing of Abram's faith. A faith that cannot be tested is no faith at all. The first nine verses of this chapter provide for us the testimony of Abram and that will be followed up by the testing of his faith. We do not have a testimony without the tests. Though Abram had finally made it to the promised land and he trusted in the promises of God, he had yet to learn of the substance of the Promise Giver. He stood in the same place as any new Christian finds himself, "in the Spirit," having not yet learned to "walk in the Spirit."  This is where we will pick up this most interesting story in our next study.

Genesis 12:4-6

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4 So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. 6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land. ~ Genesis 12:4-6

Today, we return to our study of Genesis 12 where are given the beginning of the story of Abram. In our last study we considered from the life of Abraham this principle: The word of God creates faith in the believer. We considered that it was after God had spoken to Abram that faith was born in him. Today, we will consider the next principle found in v.4-6, that authentic faith in the God of the Bible leads to obedience to the God of the Bible.

The Old Testament is like a picture book, illustrating with fascinating real stories spiritual truths that are further explained in the New Testament. Aside from Moses, no Old Testament character is mentioned more in the New Testament than Abraham. Abraham is widely known as the model of faith in the God of the Bible. No wonder Genesis 12 chronicles what faith looks like and how it is developed.

In v.4 of today's passage we read, "So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran."

Abram departed as the Lord had commanded him. In doing so, Abram was being obedient to the Word which he had been given by the Lord. It’s probably good to note that the Word of the Lord to Abram is the same as the Word of the Lord today. The only difference is that instead of it coming in dreams, in visions, or in prophetic utterances, it now comes to us primarily in the pages of the Bible. Yes, there is and has always been that still small voice, but for it to be the Word of the Lord, it must always be in line with the principles that God has given us in His Word.

This verse notes for us that Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram was born in the year 2009 BC and his father died in the year 2084 when Abram was 75 years old. Once his father was dead, Abram left Haran and headed to the Promised Land.

In v.5 of today's passage we read, "Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan."

As the leader of his family, Abram led them in the way the Lord was leading him. In order to lead, we must be led. Our lives should be clearly marked by knowing the Lord for ourselves and making Him known to others. Abram's father, Terah, died before entering the Promised Land. I think of the many who have had this story etched on their tombstones down through the years. It is truly sad to think of these many who started out on their journey of faith in the God of the Bible, only to never have enter into the glories represented by the land of promise. 

In v.6 of today's passage we read, "Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land."

After entering Canaan, Abram went as far as Shechem which means "shoulder" which is to the Hebrew a symbol of strength. Shechem is a key location in both the Old and New Testaments; it is located between Mount Gerizzim and Mount Ebal. Here, God later met with Abram. Shechem was the very spot where Israel’s daughter Dinah was raped and Israel’s sons Simeon and Levi killed all the men of the town for it. Shechem was the very spot where Joseph’s bones were buried after Israel returned from Egypt. And, Shechem was a town which belonged to the Levites. After Israel divided and became two countries, Shechem became the capital of the ten northern tribes of Israel. Shechem is also the same town known in the New Testament as Sychar where the Lord Jesus spoke with the woman at the well in John 4. Needless to say, a lot happened in Shechem.

At the end of today's passage we read, "And the Canaanites were then in the land." The Canaanites were the pagan tribes which afflicted Israel all through their history. When Israel came back into the land after their stay in Egypt, God ordered the extermination of these tribes, but Israel failed to carry through with God's orders. Therefore, these people hounded and bothered and afflicted Israel as a thorn in their side throughout their history. They are thus an accurate picture for us of those manifestations of evil we live with and continually wrestle against today. These afflicters are known by us as lust, envy, jealousy, impatience, intemperance, irritability, and greed; just to name a few. These are our daily enemies, these manifestations of self which make our existence a life of continual conflict.

Although we hate these expressions of the flesh, they are reminders that this world is not our home. This is why the development of our faith in the God of the Bible is so very important. This is what we are being given here in Genesis 12 which gives us understanding of how our faith in God is developed. We have seen that it is the Word of God that creates faith in us, and, this faith is evidenced by our obedience to God's commands. As we have seen today, Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him. Stay tuned, for tomorrow we will see the next step from the life of Abram on how our faith in the God of the Bible is developed.

But before we conclude today's study, let me point you back to a phrase that is in the middle of v.4: "And Lot went with him." The ripple effect of our walk with the Lord must never be forgotten. You and I have salvation today because of ripple effects set in motion by the faithfulness of others. For those who have yet to hear the Gospel, our God-impacted lives speak volumes. By God’s grace, and through our obedience to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, you and I will set those ripples in motion as we continue to be impacted by God's ministry in our lives. The key to it all is that we trust Him.

Genesis 12:1-3

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1 Now the Lord had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." ~ Genesis 12:1-3

Today, we transition into Genesis 12 where we are introduced to the next section of the book. Having consider Creation in Genesis 1-2, the Fall of Man in Genesis 3-5, the Flood in Genesis 6-9 and the Tower of Babel in Genesis 10-11, today we begin our study of the first of four men in Genesis 12-50. The first of these four men of faith in the God of the Bible is Abram who is covered in Genesis 12-25. One-fourth of the book of Genesis is devoted to the life of Abraham whose name appears 234 times in the Old Testament and 74 times in the New Testament.

Abram was the second son of Terah and he left Haran to go to the Promised Land when he was 75 years old. His father Terah would have been 130 when he had Abram in the year 2009. But Terah was 70 when he had his first child. That means that Haran, the oldest son, was 60 years older than Abram. According to Acts 7, it was after Terah died that God called Abram to move to the Promised Land. The book of Genesis covers more than 2,000 years and more than 20 generations; yet, it spends almost a third of its text on the life of this one man, Abraham.

As we transition into Genesis 12, we go from studying four great events to studying four great people for the next 39 chapters. Those four people will dominate the landscape in the book of Genesis. Interestingly, the first eleven chapters of Genesis cover some 2,000 plus years historically. The next 39 chapters only cover 350 years. Abraham's name was originally Abram, and it was not until years later that it was changed to Abraham. The reason for this change was highly significant, and we shall examine it later in the narrative. 

In v.1 of today's passage we read, "Now the Lord had said to Abram: 'Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you.'"

This is the first time God spoke to Abram. With this initial communication, we see the first step involved in the development of faith in the life of the believer. It illustrates that it is the Word of God that creates faith in the believer. In Romans 10:17 we read, "So then, faith comes by hearing, and hearing comes by the word of God." This means that our faith in the God of the Bible is born in our hearts once God has spoken to us and we have heard Him with our hearts. The Greek word translated "word" in Romans 10:17 means the spoken word of God. Although we do not hear God's voice with our ears, we do hear it with our hearts. And, when we respond to God's spoken word, we experience the birth and/or the continued growth of our faith in Him.

In this call, Abram was asked to cut three specific ties; the first was to his country, the second was to cut his ties with his family, and the third was that he was to leave his father’s house. Abram was being called to cut all these ties and to move to a place that he had never seen before and it was a call that was without even an explanation as to why. But, as we will see, as Abram learned to obey the voice of God, he was given the life that he truly wanted.

In v.2 of today's passage we read, "I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing."

Abram was told by God to leave his country and in place of it he would be made into a great nation. Abram was told to leave his family and in place of this he was promised to be blessed. And he was told to leave his father’s house and in place of it he was promised that his name would be made great. When we look at what Abram gave up and what he received, the difference was immense. He gave up a land of idolatry to inherit the covenant land from God. He left his family and he would become the father of many nations. He left his father’s house and he became the man of faith, renown throughout history.

This is the way God works in the life of those who are wise enough to allow Him to define them. What we give up for the sake of Christ is to be counted as trash in comparison to the incredible blessings that God grants. Nothing which is left behind can compare to the beauty of what lies ahead. And, as always, when God defines someone, that person will know his best life while here on this earth.

In v.3 of today's passage we read, "I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

Although the Abrahamic Covenant is an unconditional covenant from God to Abraham, Abraham had to hear the instructions from God and then obey the call of God on his life in order to realize the many blessings that were included in the covenant. As this verse suggests, we have all been created with two basic yet profound needs: to be blessed by God and to be a blessing to others. 

The first fruit of the Spirit listed is love. The one crucial link between our being loved by Christ and our loving others is the Holy Spirit. Love for others is a fruit that grows in our lives by His doing. Our ability to love others comes from being loved ourselves. And, to the degree that we are love ourselves will be the degree which we can love others. This does not happen without the ministry of the Holy Spirit to us. The Christian life of love is a supernatural life. It is not produced by merely human forces. It takes resources that we do not have. Left to ourselves we cannot love. 

Genesis 11:27-32

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27 This is the genealogy of Terah: Terah begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran begot Lot. 28 And Haran died before his father Terah in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 29 Then Abram and Nahor took wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and the father of Iscah. 30 But Sarai was barren; she had no child. 31 And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there. 32 So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran. ~ Genesis 11:27-32

Today, we conclude our study of Genesis 11. In this set of verses, Moses finishes the genealogy of Terah. This genealogy is the sixth that the Bible has given us – the generations of the heavens and the earth; the generations of Adam; the generations of Noah; the generations of the sons of Noah; the generations of Shem, and now those of Terah.

Terah was not a believer in the God of the Bible. According to Joshua 24:2 Terah worshipped other gods. So, these three boys, Abram, Nahor, and Haran were born into an unbelieving family. Their family was influenced strongly by the astrology of Babel, they worshiped the moon god. Since the name Terah comes from the Hebrew the word for moon, he was named after the moon god by his father Nahor.

In v.27 of today's passage we read, "This is the genealogy of Terah: Terah begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran begot Lot."

Here we have Terah and his sons listed. And then, right after that, it says, “Haran begot Lot.” Although Lot is not Terah's son, he is his brother's son, he is mentioned because he will show up again later in the narrative, in a significant way. This is why the Lord chose to mention his name here. And, as we have seen before, when God in a seemingly random way, mentions someone out of their place, it means their involvement is the narrative will be somewhat significant.

In v.28 of today's passage we read, "And Haran died before his father Terah in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans."

Haran, the older brother of Abram, died in Ur of the Chaldeans before the family left town. The death of Abram's older brother  was big for the development of Abram's faith in the God of the Bible, as we will see. I have learned that when something awful happens in our lives, God is always there to use that awful experience to draw us closer to Himself. For me, it was through the death of my dad that I first trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior. As we will see, God undoubtedly used the death of Abram's brother and his dad to introduce Himself to Abram.

In v.29 of today's passage we read, "Then Abram and Nahor took wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and the father of Iscah."

The two remaining sons of Terah both married: Abram married his half sister Sarai. We learn later in Genesis that she was the daughter of his father Terah, but they had a different mother, meaning Terah had more than one wife. Nahor, on the other hand, married the daughter of his oldest brother Haran. And then we have another daughter of Haran mentioned, Iscah. And, as we have seen many times before, when a person is mentioned like this in the Bible, even if it’s only once, their name will be important to something else that will yet be born out in the future.

In v.30 of today's passage we read, "But Sarai was barren; she had no child."

Sarai's barrenness impacted the course of human history in enormous ways and it continues to do so to this day. Sarai is the first person mentioned in the Bible who is barren, but there will be many more in the pages of the Bible. When a statement like this is made in the Bible, an incredible story awaits to unfold that blows the minds of it readers. 

In v.31 of today's passage we read, "And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there."

On their trek to Canaan, they stopped in a place called Haran. Terah their father knew he couldn’t go on, maybe because he was just too old. Instead of going any further, it seems they established a home in the land and called it Haran after their dead son and brother. Abram didn’t leave Haran until Terah died.

In v.32 of today's passage we read, "So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran."

Terah was born in the year 1879 and he had his son Abram in the year 2009. Terah died and Abram was called to move to the land of Canaan in the year 2084. Terah was 205 years old at his death and he is the last person to live over 200 years of age and believe it or not Shem is still alive at this point. All of these dates and times underscore the veracity of this unfolding story. And, it is yet another reminder that God works in the lives of real, fallible people so that His purposes might come to a sure and purposeful fruition. 

Learning to trust Him and subsequently follow Him is our responsibility as we go through what God has planned for us. The beauty of it all is that God will always meet us where we are and He will always work out a tapestry that we could have never imagined. Through it all, He takes us to places that we never would have intended to go in order to produce in us what we could not achieve on our own. When we go through the trials of this life, we must see them as sure signs of the goodness of God shown in and through our yielded lives. Even though these trials are most often unwanted, through them we gain the ability to see Him with our hearts and to see life through His eyes. Even the trials that we face are mile markers along the road that are leading us to the greatest life that we could have ever imagined. 

Genesis 11:10-26

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10 This is the genealogy of Shem: Shem was one hundred years old, and begot Arphaxad two years after the flood. 11 After he begot Arphaxad, Shem lived five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. 12 Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, and begot Salah. 13 After he begot Salah, Arphaxad lived four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters. 14 Salah lived thirty years, and begot Eber. 15 After he begot Eber, Salah lived four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters. 16 Eber lived thirty-four years, and begot Peleg. 17 After he begot Peleg, Eber lived four hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and daughters. 18 Peleg lived thirty years, and begot Reu. 19 After he begot Reu, Peleg lived two hundred and nine years, and begot sons and daughters. 20 Reu lived thirty-two years, and begot Serug. 21 After he begot Serug, Reu lived two hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters. 22 Serug lived thirty years, and begot Nahor. 23 After he begot Nahor, Serug lived two hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. 24 Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and begot Terah. 25 After he begot Terah, Nahor lived one hundred and nineteen years, and begot sons and daughters. 26 Now Terah lived seventy years, and begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. ~ Genesis 11:10-26

Today, we return to our study of Genesis 11 where we find ourselves only 100 years after the Flood and sinful man has forgotten the lessons learned from the Flood. It is not fear, not even fear of God that changes the human heart. It is only the grace of God that changes the heart of a sinner. In Ezekiel 36:26 the Lord said, "And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart."

Not long after the Flood, sinful man traveled to Babylon which means confusion. Such is the destination of the life not guided by the God of the Bible. With man's move to Babylon, the world moved ever increasingly away from God. Man's continuing move away from God galvanized his resolve against God to the point that he defied Him openly by building the Tower of Babel. In response, God did what was necessary to halt man's destructive move away from Him; He limited man's ability to bring together his efforts to destroy himself.

In today's passage, God takes us back before the Tower of Babel to list the line of Shem. Although God had given us a more detailed listing of Shem's lineage in Genesis 10, here in Genesis 11, God hones in on a sliver of Shem's lineage in order to show us how Shem's line led us to the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

In v.10-11 of today's passage we read, "10 This is the genealogy of Shem: Shem was one hundred years old, and begot Arphaxad two years after the flood. 11 After he begot Arphaxad, Shem lived five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters."

This is now the fifth genealogy that the Bible has given us thus far. The Flood ended in the year 1657 BC and so Shem was 100 years old in the year 1659 when his son Arphaxad was born. After Arphaxad was born, Shem lived 500 years and so he died in the year 2159.

In v.12-13 of today's passage we read, "12 Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, and begot Salah. 13 After he begot Salah, Arphaxad lived four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters."

Arphaxad was born in the year 1659 and he had Salah in the year 1694. Arphaxad died in the year 2097 at 438 years of age.

In v.14-15 of today's passage we read, "14 Salah lived thirty years, and begot Eber. 15 After he begot Eber, Salah lived four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters."

Salah was born in the year 1694 and he had Eber in the year 1724. Salah died in the year 2127 at 463 years of age.

In v.16-17 of today's passage we read, "16 Eber lived thirty-four years, and begot Peleg. 17 After he begot Peleg, Eber lived four hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and daughters."

Eber was born in the year 1724 and he had his son Peleg in the year 1758. Eber died in the year 2188 at 464 years of age. He is the last person who would live to be more than 450 years of age and in fact, he is the last one who would even live beyond 300 years. Man’s years drop quickly after the flood.

Interestingly, Eber means "One from beyond" or "He who crossed over." It is from Eber  that we get the term "Hebrew." Eber was alive at the time of the divisions of languages and he certainly was the father of the family line that maintained the original language of the earth which we call Hebrew today. Since his name means, "He who crossed over" and it’s recorded that his descendants lived in Ur which is on the opposite side of the Euphrates from Babylon, it’s probable that he and several generations of his descendants moved away from Babylon to Ur some time after the time of the Tower of Babel. In Genesis 14, we will see the word Hebrew used for the first time in the Bible when speaking of Abraham who was the man who "crossed over" the Euphrates and away from the area of Babel. In Joshua 24:2 we read of Abraham’s father who lived on the other side of the Euphrates and worshipped other gods.

In v.18-19 of today's passage we read, "18 Peleg lived thirty years, and begot Reu. 19 After he begot Reu, Peleg lived two hundred and nine years, and begot sons and daughters."

Peleg was born in the year 1758 and he had Reu in the year 1788. Peleg died in the year 1997 at 239 years of age. He died 191 years before his father Eber and 9 years before his great, great, great grandfather Noah. Peleg is the last person in this line of Shem who was mentioned in the generations of the sons of Noah in Genesis 10. He was listed with his brother Joktan, and Joktan’s sons were mentioned, but not Peleg’s. Joktan is no longer relevant to the story and so this line in Genesis 11 focuses on Peleg and those who come after him. It is he, not Joktan, who is an ancestor of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In v.20-21 of today's passage we read, "20 Reu lived thirty-two years, and begot Serug. 21 After he begot Serug, Reu lived two hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters."

Reu was born in the year 1788 and he had his son Serug in the year 1820. Reu died in the year 2027 at 239 years of age.

In v.22-23 of today's passage we read, "22 Serug lived thirty years, and begot Nahor. 23 After he begot Nahor, Serug lived two hundred years, and begot sons and daughters."

Serug was born in the year 1820 and he had his son Nahor in the year 1850. Serug died in the year 2050 at 230 years of age.

In v.24-25 of today's passage we read, "24 Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and begot Terah. 25 After he begot Terah, Nahor lived one hundred and nineteen years, and begot sons and daughters."

Nahor was born in the year 1850 and he had his son Terah in the year 1879.  Nahor died in the year 1998 at the age of 148. This was 22 years before his father Serug and 8 years before his great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather Noah. Noah was still alive in the 9th generation when Abraham’s father Terah was born and even when Nahor died. The environment of the post flood world was obviously much harsher on humans than it was before the flood. And this harshness has a cumulative effect, transferring down the line. We know this because Noah lived 350 years after the flood and each generation lived less than the one before. 

In v.26 of today's passage we read, "Now Terah lived seventy years, and begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran."

Terah was born in the year 1879. Abram, one of Terah's sons is listed first in this verse, but he was not the oldest. We know this because the oldest son, Haran, died back in their hometown of Ur. Abram was actually the second son of Terah. With this verse so ends the generations of Shem and leads us into a new section of the biblical account which will focus on Abram and his sons.

And, so, we complete the genealogy that has led us to Abram. Whereas the focus on the line of Shem in Genesis 10 showed all the various people groups that came, in Genesis 11, it narrows down to focus on one line, the line of those who believed in the God of the Bible. As we see throughout the Genesis, this story is an ongoing juxtaposition between those who believed in the God of the Bible and those who did not. Most in today's world believe the value of a person is measured by their achievements in this world or their status in it. This is not the emphasis discovered in the Scriptures. In fact, in the Scriptures we discover that our value is truly measured best by the object of our faith, and, the God of the Bible has the best definitions for things.

Genesis 11:6-9

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6 And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. 7 Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. 9 Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth. ~ Genesis 11:6-9

Today, we continue our study of Genesis 11. In our last study we considered the first five verses of this chapter wherein we discovered the building of the Tower of Babel and the reason behind its build. The Tower of Babel is a case of a self-fulfilled prophecy. As you know, Babel means confusion. And, of course that is what the people who thought they were making a name for themselves ended up, in a serious state of confusion.

In v.6 of today's passage we read, "And the Lord said, 'Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.'"

God’s response to man’s arrogance and presumption was to make it harder for them to communicate and thus harder to unite in their rebellion against God. Since God knew the immense potential in the people whom He had created in his image, He had to step in and do something. What God did in confusing and disrupting the goals of man at the Tower of Babel was tantamount to what He did in the Garden of Eden when He placed the angels with the sword at the Tree of Life. So, God multiplied their languages in order to limit their ability to exalt themselves and find security apart from Him.

This is the road that Lucifer has always led mankind down, away from God. But, the key to overcoming the activity and influence of evil in our lives and in our world is to recognize it and then expose it. We best expose evil for what it truly is by exposing it to the light of God's Word. And, when we expose evil to the light of Christ, evil loses its power in our lives and in the lives around us. Since the Bible is no mere human writing, but is authored by God Himself, it has a unique power to transform the human heart, to "make us wise unto salvation." God's Word enlightens our minds, unveils His plan of salvation through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, teaches us His ways, and shows us how to live as His people on this earth. In order to meet with confidence and wisdom the many challenges of our time, we must be renewed in our zeal to meet the Lord daily through the study of His Word. This is how we fend off the onslaughts of the evil one.

In v.7 of today's passage we read, "Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech."

Here again, God refers to Himself in the plural. He said, "let us go down." Even though the word "Trinity" is not used in the Bible, the concept is all throughout. All three Persons of the Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, comprise the one, perfectly unified God. They share the same nature and essence, and they are all the same God, but each individual Person of the Trinity is distinct and unique.

It was at this point in time that God confused the language of the people by their lip, their speech, not by their words. And this explains why all the way back in v.1 of the chapter the idea of the language of man was divided into two parts. As the people were working, their speech became confusing to one another to the point where one person would ask for a brick and the other person would bring a stick. In no time at all, fights broke out, people killed each other, and decided to pick up their families and bail out of the God-sized task they had set out on.

In v.8-9 of today's passage we read, "8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. 9 Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth."

As the people moved out into the world with their increasingly distinct languages, they developed written languages to assist them in their lives and to keep their cultures tied together. Here then is a miracle of God which disperses the people of the world and which caused devolution from one culture and monotheism to a cacophony of cultures and a world rife with religious beliefs which encompass the earth even to this day. But by another miracle of God, the world’s people are reunited in the family of God and all speak in one voice, not as individuals, but through God’s manifestation of Himself in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the true Universal Translator for everyone who has been reunited into God’s family through His shed blood.

The credit for the dispersion of the people is given solely to the Lord. It is He who directs the winds which blow across the nations and through time and it is He who fashions the changes in everything, from the transformation of the caterpillar into a butterfly, to the number and size of the nations on the earth. He is in complete control of everything that happens around us.

The city the people left behind was called Babel, which means confusion in the Hebrew language. Spiritual Babylon is the city of confusion even to this day. In the place where religion is developed by man, there is confusion. In the place where people attempt to please God through their works, there is confusion. And in the place where God’s word is disregarded or distorted, there is confusion.

This is why God has given us His word because His word reveals His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ who reveals to us the unseen Father. There is nothing confusing in that scenario. Apart from this revelation, there is only confusion and disorder, but when we open our eyes and our hearts to the truth of God’s word, confusion is replaced with right thinking. Anger is replaced with peace. And discontentment is replaced with the hope of a better life at the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The tower of Babel teaches us one major lesson: we were never meant to center our lives on who we are and what we can do, but on God who created us. The tower of Babel illustrates for us the fatal delusion of all man-made religion that says that through superior effort man can reach God. The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is infinitely more beautiful than any other religion because it says that, although man is sinful and God is holy, man can be forgiven and gain access to the presence of God if he’ll only repent of his sins and look in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ for his salvation.

Genesis 11:1-5

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1 Now the whole earth had one language and one speech.  2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. 3 Then they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. 4 And they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth." 5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. ~ Genesis 11:1-5

Today, we transition into Genesis 11. Within just a short 100 year period of time after the Flood, the world had walked away from the knowledge of what happened and had not only rejected the God of the Bible and the lessons learned from their recent history. They had actually come together to work against God and establish their own society and religion apart from Him.

In v.1 of today's passage we read, "Now the whole earth had one language and one speech."

There are two key words used here that are used to describe the communicate the people of the world had at that time. The first word is "language" which is the Hebrew word that literally means "lip." They had the same lip. The second word is "speech" which means "words." The whole earth had one language and one speech that enabled them to be unified apart from God. They did not understand that communal living is not doable apart from God.

In v.2 of today's passage we read, "And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there."

The people moved east. That is a way of saying that they went away from God and His presence. Just as man was cast out east of Eden, just as Cain moved further east of Eden to the Land of Nod, they all wandered away from God. The land of Shinar was the same area that Cain dwelt before the Flood and it is the same area which has been in complete spiritual opposition to God to this day. It was in Shinar that false religion got its foothold through Cain. 

In v.3-4 of today's passage we read, "3 Then they said to one another, 'Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.' They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. 4 And they said, 'Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.'"

The Tower of Babel was a religious building, intended to expose man to the mystery of the heavens and to God. That, perhaps, is what is meant here by the statement that they intended to build a tower with its top in the heavens. They were impressed by its greatness architecturally, that is, it was a large undertaking for the men of that day to build and they thought of it as reaching into heaven. But they also unquestionably were thinking of it as a means of communication with God, of maintaining contact with Him. 

These two verses point to us every false religion that has ever existed. The first six words of v.3, "Then they said to one another," reveals the guts of false religion, the worship of self. These people had rejected God’s way of approaching Him and decided that they could make up their own way to get to Godlike status. 

From the day they decided to build the tower onward, the motto of humanity has been, "let us make a name for ourselves." This motto reveals one of the basic philosophies of humanism which says, "Glory to man in the highest, for man is the master of all things." That is the central thought of humanism, glory to mankind.

The saying, "All paths lead to God," finds its origin here at the Tower of Babel. But God has and always will reject this notion. The biblical model reveals man doesn’t work his way back to God; the biblical model reveals that God must come to man otherwise man is doomed in his sin. In the land of Shinar which was away from God, the people had determined that their way to God was the right way, so they built their tower to heaven. This is exactly what every false religion on earth has in common; works-based salvation.

Not only were they defying God by attempting to work their way to Him, but they were also attempting to defy Him should He ever presume to go back on His word about flooding the earth again. The problem with religion is that the people of the world are really motivated by their own glory, not God's glory. They thought that if they built this tower, they would somehow be able to be like God. And, they succeeded through uniting their efforts.  The only problem was that it didn't work.

In v.5 of today's passage we read, "But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built."

When the Lord came down before the flood, a different type of terminology was used. Before the flood there was still a place where the Garden of Eden was located. Before the flood, the Lord talked with Adam and Eve, and with Cain. Before the flood there were cherubim who guarded the Garden of Eden. Before the flood, God spoke with Noah in several different ways and He established a covenant with him. And before the flood, the Lord was the one who shut the door to the ark. 

After the flood, Noah built an altar at the top of the mountain of Ararat and the smoke of the offering soared even higher to reach the Lord. His presence since the time of the flood has been symbolically on high. So now, with the building of the tower, the Lord descended to bring about judgment and to deliver unwanted discipline on those who had so quickly and so shamefully had been disobedient to the commands they were given from God through Noah.

God told them to fill the earth, to populate the earth. Sinful man's response was one of defiance. They congregated together to build a city that was supposed to reach all the way up to God. It wasn't that building a city was wrong, it was that they built a city for themselves exclusive of God. There have been many archaeological discoveries that revealed these seven level towers made out of mud bricks called ziggurats. These towers were used to worship the zodiac and they used them to look to the stars for direction. Instead of looking to the God of creation, instead of trusting Him for their future, they looked to creation for direction. "But the Lord came down to see the city." And, in so doing, man was held accountable.

Genesis 10:21-32

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21 And children were born also to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder. 22 The sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram. 23 The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. 24 Arphaxad begot Salah, and Salah begot Eber. 25 To Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan. 26 Joktan begot Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 29 Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan. 30 And their dwelling place was from Mesha as you go toward Sephar, the mountain of the east. 31 These were the sons of Shem, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands, according to their nations. 32 These were the families of the sons of Noah, according to their generations, in their nations; and from these the nations were divided on the earth after the flood. ~ Genesis 10:21-32

Today, we close out our study of Genesis 10 where we are given the genealogies of Japheth, Ham and Shem. Having considered the first two genealogies, we now come to the genealogy of Shem. When Noah pronounced his curse and blessings, it was Shem who received the spiritual blessing and the first place over the rest of Noah’s seed. Since before time began God has had a plan to reconcile sinful and rebellious man to Himself and He decided to do it through real people who really lived. And, along the way He has given us insights into the human condition and what does and doesn’t please Him. Down through time, all who have fostered in their hearts a response of faith to God have experienced His grace. And it is this grace that leads us to salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ.

In v.21 of today's passage we read, "And children were born also to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder."

Eber was the great, great grandson of Shem. And yet despite this, he is brought into the picture at the same time that Shem’s son’s are to be mentioned one of 70 names mentioned here. Eber will be mentioned again and again denoting the  importance he had in the story of delivering the Lord Jesus Christ to this world. It is from Eber that we get the word "Hebrew." It has the same consonants that form the word for "Passover."  The Hebrew people are literally "the people of the Passover." This tucked away message merely illustrates that God is always at work in the context of the chaos that man's rebellion from God has created.

In v.22 of today's passage we read, "The sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram."

Shem means "fame." He is the father of all of the Semitic peoples of the world which includes Jews and Arabs. Shem had five sons. The first was Elam which means "eternity." His line has lead to the Elamites and Persians of the world today. Asshur which means "strong" is the descendent of the Assyrians and Northern Iraqis. Arphaxad which means "I shall fail as the breast," has as his descendants the people of the Southern Iraq, the Hebrews, the Moabites, and the Jordanians. The fourth son of Shem was Lud, which means "strife." His descendants are those people groups in Asia Minor (today's Turkey) and North Africa. And the last son of Shem mentioned here is Aram, which means "exalted." Aram's people are the Syrians, and the Lebanese.

In v.23 of today's passage we read, "The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash."

Little is known of these sons of Aram. Evidently the children of Aram had more contact with Shem than his other grandsons (except through Arphaxad) since none of the others are listed here. As we know, Job came from the city of Uz which is what we know as Jordan today.

In v.24 of today's passage we read, "Arphaxad begot Salah, and Salah begot Eber."

We have gone from Shem to his son Arphaxad and then down the line. First the sons of Shem were mentioned and after that came the side branch which were the sons of Shem’s son Aram. They were specifically listed because the sons of Aram play such a large part in the later pages of the Bible as they interact with the chosen line of Israel.

In v.25 of today's passage we read, "To Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan."

Peleg interestingly means "divided." He was named for the judgment of God at the tower of Babel. As we will see in Genesis 11, when the world was one big empire under Nimrod, God came down and judged and divided it. He divided them into separate locations and separate languages. Nimrod was a contemporary of Eber. So, Babel was built with its tower in Eber’s lifetime. And Eber named his son Peleg when he saw what God did to Babel. So, Eber, whose name means "Hebrew," named his son, in those days when the Earth was divided.

In addition, what is known as the "continental divide" or the separation of the continents, happened at this point in history. Peleg in Greek it means "sea." The word archipelago comes from this word. The Greeks called the Aegean Sea "Archipelago," or the first sea, drawing the name from this man, Peleg. Peleg's brother "Joktan" name means "small." The people who came from Joktan are all located in Arabia. 

In v.26-30 of today's passage we read, "26 Joktan begot Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 29 Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan. 30 And their dwelling place was from Mesha as you go toward Sephar, the mountain of the east."

This whole chapter presents to us a story about how far man fell away from God and how fast he fell away from God. All of mankind, down throughout our history, has known the true God of the Bible to varying degrees. The varying of the degrees was not created by God but by man who either chose to respond to the evidence that God has given everyone including our conscious and creation or not. It is not God's fault that different people groups abandoned their knowledge of God. Many believe it is unfair that some have more access to the gospel than others but the history shows who is to be held responsible for this difference. As a result of the unsaved man's rebellion away from God, he became mired in idolatry started which was on full display at the Tower of Babel. It’s still going on. It will, ultimately, be judged by God at the end of time. Interestingly, in the middle of all of these names, there was one who sought the God of the Bible, the famed Queen of Sheba who came to visit Solomon in search of the truth. Sheba was located in Ethiopia. 

In v.31-32 of today's passage we read, "31 These were the sons of Shem, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands, according to their nations. 32 These were the families of the sons of Noah, according to their generations, in their nations; and from these the nations were divided on the earth after the flood."

The lineage of Abraham, the father of all who place their faith in the God of the Bible, came from Shem. Abraham is the biblical example of justification by faith according to Paul’s writings. All of these names reveal that God has always worked through time and history and slowly unfolding His beautiful plan of salvation for all willing and humble enough to believe in Him. In the end, the lesson of Noah is one that we all need to take to heart. God loves all of the people of the world and He extends to all who call on and trust in Him forgiveness of and deliverance from sin. And in place of that He promises eternal life.

Genesis 10:13-20

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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. 

Genesis 10:6-12

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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."

Genesis 10:1-5

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1 Now this is the genealogy of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And sons were born to them after the flood. 2 The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. 3 The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. 4 The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. 5 From these the coastland peoples of the Gentiles were separated into their lands, everyone according to his language, according to their families, into their nations. ~ Genesis 10:1-5

Today, we transition into Genesis 10 which is often referred to as the table of nations. Sadly, this chapter is often passed over without any in-depth study or thought. But it’s been placed in the Bible by God and therefore it will always render blessing from Him. As we see in this chapter, 70 nations came from Noah's three sons. Out of Shem came 26 nations. Out of Ham came 30 nations. And out of Japheth came 14 nations. 

In v.1 of today's passage we read, "Now this is the genealogy of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And sons were born to them after the flood."

This is the fourth genealogy in the Bible. So far we have seen the generations of the heavens and the earth in Genesis 2; the generations of Adam in Genesis 5; the generations of Noah in Genesis 6; and now we come to the genealogies of the sons of Noah. As you know, Noah means "rest" and he had three sons. From these three sons of Noah, the world divided into seventy nations. This passage, therefore then, is the table of the nations.

Previously Noah’s blessing to Shem was, "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem, and may Canaan be his servant." Rather than directly blessing Shem, Noah said, "blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem." This blessing was spiritual in nature. And the line of Shem since then has been the main spiritual line of man, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Regardless of the validity of the religion, the spiritual nature of the people has continued for over 4000 years.

Amazingly, the three sons of Noah were represented at the cross of the Lord Jesus. The sons of Shem sold Him, they tried Him, they convicted Him, and they handed Him over to the Romans to be crucified. Ham was represented by Simon of Cyrene who acted as the servant, just as Noah prophesied, when he carried the crossbeam for the Lord Jesus to the Place of the Skull where He would be crucified. The sons of Japheth were given the executive responsibility for what occurred when Pilate tried Him and the Roman soldiers actually pierced His body with the nails and the spear.

In v.2-5 of today's passage we read, "2 The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. 3 The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. 4 The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. 5 From these the coastland peoples of the Gentiles were separated into their lands, everyone according to his language, according to their families, into their nations."

The lineage of Japheth was given first here because he was the firstborn of Noah and possibly also because his lineage was the furthest removed geographically from the Israelites. In this account, fifteen names are mentioned including Japheth, the seven sons of Japheth, and seven grandsons. This son's part of the overall genealogy is the shortest of the three.

Interestingly, some of the descendants of Jephthah are mentioned in Ezekiel 38 and even in the book of Revelation as people who will come against Israel during the Tribulation in the future. These sons of Japheth became the coastland peoples of the Gentiles. Because of this, they more easily branched out around the world than Noah’s other sons. From the coastlines, they became the great sea-going adventurers of the world.

The descendants of Japheth are also known as the Aryans who split into two main groups. One group settled in Europe and the other in India. These groups, although varying widely in skin tone, are of the same origin. The descendants of Japheth have always been at the forefront of scientific understanding, rivaled only by the sons of Shem. History is replete with names like Newton, Pasteur, Galileo, Kepler, Copernicus, and Faraday. 

Japheth's first son was Gomer from who we get our English word Gaul, or Gallic. These are the people, interestingly enough, to whom the New Testament Epistle to the Galatians was written. They migrated to the north and settled in Spain, France and in Britain. From these come most of the early families of Western Europe and, consequently, of the Americas as well.

The oldest son of Gomer was Ashkenaz. He and his descendants first settled around the Black Sea and then moved north into Scandinavia. Another of the sons of Gomer was Riphath who located in Central Europe. Another son was Togarmah who was the ancestor of the present-day Turks and Armenians, who also migrated northward into Southern Germany. The word, Germany comes from Togarmah. Once we remove the first syllable we are left with the basic root word for Germany.

Two others of the sons of Japheth were Madai and Javan. While the Medes/Persians came Madai, Javan is the ancestor of the Greeks. His name, Javan, is still found in Greece in the form of Ionia. The Ionic Sea and Ionian Peninsula all derive their names from Javan. His sons were Elishah and Tarshish, whom most scholars associate with Spain. Then there was Kittim who settled in Cyprus; and Dodanim, who settled around the Black Sea.

In Psalm 120 we read of dwelling in the tents of Meshech. Meshech was a son of Japheth and it is from his name that we get the name Moscow. We also see in Psalm 120 the name Kedar who was a son of Ishmael and therefore a son of Shem. For 2000 years, the Jewish people were exiled around the world and dwelt in the tents of foreigners, but now God has restored them to their homeland. In His sovereign way, He has faithfully protected and returned His unfaithful people and He will continue to do so as the world comes against them during the great Tribulation.

All of this underscores the faithfulness and the sovereignty of the God of the Bible. He has never rendered a wrong decision, experienced the wrong attitude, taken the wrong path, said the wrong thing, or acted in the wrong way. He has always been and always will be right. He is righteous. And he has complete sovereignty over all things. Needless to say, we can trust Him with every fiber of our being. Even the unwanted moments of our lives have great significance and will render great blessing as we doggedly continue in our pursuit and in our trust of Him.