01-40 Hope for the Nations

Genesis 10:1-32

(Pastor who wanted to teach one of his deacons a lesson in humility so he had him read Scripture with lots of names)

It depends on who you ask—as to how many nations/countries there are in the world today. UN—193 (does not include Vatican City or Palestine) but recognizes sovereign states (Taiwan, Kosovo, Northern Cyprus, Cook Islands, etc.) which would bring the total to 206. The CIA Factbook recognizes 266 world entities.

If you’re following any news at all—you can see there are powerful divisions among the nations that are even now threatening another world war. The US promised to send 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, a move that Russia interprets as “evidence of direct and growing U.S. and European involvement in the conflict.” Only the Lord knows how this conflict will turn out (we should pray—estimates of 200K casualties on all sides).

But this present war depicts the reality that nations are divided against one another and they are ultimately divided against God (all on account of sin). But what is truly remarkable is that the nations did not start out divided. In fact, there was a profound unity that was shared b/t nations—and it was described by the Lord

Genesis 11:6 NASB95

6 The Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them.

Genesis 10 has been called “The Table of Nations.” This chapter records the genealogy of Noah’s 3 sons (SHJ). I would also have you note the structure of this genealogy—centers around a common idea:

Genesis 10:5 NASB95

5 From these the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.

Genesis 10:20 NASB95

20 These are the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, by their nations.

Genesis 10:31 NASB95

31 These are the sons of Shem, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, according to their nations.

Genesis 10:32 NASB95

32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, by their nations; and out of these the nations were separated on the earth after the flood.

This is taking into account the even of ch 11—Babel.

MAP—this is what Moses meant when he said:

Genesis 9:19 NASB95

19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.

There are 70 names in all listed in ch 10. Much has been made of the numerical significance of “70” being that of “totality.” Perhaps Moses intended to convey this sense of the totality of the world’s population which comes from these 3 sons. But sometimes too much can be made of numerology…so I’d caution, just be careful not to read too much into the number “70” here.

Before we go any further, I wanted to unravel the birth order (since some have asked about it). I’ve been telling you for some time that SH&J is not the birth order. Let me show you why. First (Ham is the easy one):

Genesis 9:24 NASB95

24 When Noah awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son had done to him.

Now, looking at 10:21: According to NASB & ESV Shem is the older brother of Japheth. Solved, right? No! Other English translations KJV, NKJ, NIV indicate that Japheth is the older (elder) brother. So there is confusion among these translations—but we can do a little more investigation to find the answer.

Genesis 5:32 NASB95

32 Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

There are some who believe the 3 were triplets but very unlikely and it is better to understand that Noah “began” having children at the age of 500.

Genesis 11:10 NASB95

10 These are the records of the generations of Shem. Shem was one hundred years old, and became the father of Arpachshad two years after the flood;

This tells us that Shem was 98 when the flood ended. Gen 7:6,11 reminds us that the year-long flood began when Noah was 600. This means Shem was 97 when the flood began. The means that Noah would have been 503 when Shem was born (according to 5:32)—his firstborn was at 500. We know Ham is the youngest which makes Japheth the oldest, born when Noah was 500.

I don’t know why the NAS & ESV choose to translate it that way—b/c Shem is clearly not the older brother.

Japheth (and his descendants) make up “the geographical horizon” (the outer fringes of the known world) and we would call them “Indo-European nations.” We see fulfillment of Gen 9:27. His 7 sons lived mostly north and east of Canaan. Gomer dwelt north of the Caspian Sea. Tubal and Meshech settled around the southern shores of the Black Sea. Tiras lived west of the Black Sea in Thrace. Madai occupied the area south of the Caspian in what became Media. And Javan populated Ionia, the southern part of Greece. The sons of Javan spread around the northern Mediterranean as far west as Tarshish or southern Spain.

Ham had 4 sons (vs 6) and settled primarily in NE Africa, the eastern Mediterranean and southern Arabia. Cush populated the territory of the upper Nile south of Egypt. “Egypt” here really means “Egypts” and indicates Upper and Lower Egypt. No one is sure where Put was put! But Canaan settled in what was later called “Palestine,” after the Philistines. The descendants of Canaan (vv 15-19) reads like a “most wanted” list of Israel’s most ardent enemies.

Shem had 5 sons (vs 22) and they become the Shemites (Semites—Semitic people). Elam’s descendants lived between the Medes to the north and the Persian Gulf to the south. Asshur’s descendants were the Assyrians in northern Mesopotamia. Arpachshad was the father of the Chaldeans in southern Mesopotamia. Lud’s descendants were the Lydians of Asia Minor. And the Arameans dwelled in today’s Syria.

What is most interesting of Shem’s lineage: Eber (24-25) which is related to the word “Hebrew.” It will be shown later that Eber is the ancestor to the Hebrew people (Abram 14:13—shared descent from Eber thru Peleg in ch. 11).

From these 3, earth’s population grew and following the event in ch 11—Babel, the nations began to spread out over the other continents of the world. Now, one immediate consequence of this table of nations is the reality that every person on the face of the earth who has lived since the flood can know for certain that their lineage goes back to Noah. This makes every human related. This means, among other things, that there is truly only 1 race—the human race. Now, there are obviously different ethnicities…which tie people together on the basis of cultural backgrounds (ethnic is from the Gk “nation”).

Racism is purely a product of the sin nature in its rebellion against the Creator God. Charles Darwin subtitled his book Origin of Species “The Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life.” It was his contention that the darker skinned people “race” of Africa were deemed sub-human as he was trying to document natural selection.

Thomas Huxley (strong proponent of Darwin) wrote: “no rational man, cognizant of the facts, believes that the average negro is the equal, still less the superior, of the average white man.”

Hitler justified his atrocities of exterminating what he called “the unfit” races that polluted Europe based on evolutionary thinking. Sir Arthur Keith (well-known anthropologist and evolutionist) “the German Fuhrer…has consciously sought to make the practice of Germany conform to the theory of evolution.” Racism is the product of the sin nature, rebelling against the Creator—prompted by the prideful hatred of fellow human. To be sure, there are no racial differences among people of all the nations—we are all human (one race). We should be careful to have our minds renewed by the transforming power of God’s Word.

With the Table of Nations before us…I want to point out 3 truths that emerge from Ch 10.

I. God Is Sovereign Over the Nations

We’ve already seen the sovereignty of God over His creation in many ways. God’s sovereignty should be defined as the “uncontested exercise of His power over His creation.” Bringing creation into existence is the exercise of God’s power. The privilege of issuing commands and judgment to Adam & Eve, reveals the exercise of power over creation. Removal of Adam & Eve from the garden reveals that. The universal flood demonstrates God’s sovereignty. Ch 11 and the confusion of languages in the aftermath of the tower of Babel manifests the unfolding of God’s sovereignty over the nations. For that there must be an absolute omniscience of the nations—that God intimately knows that nations.

So Moses, under the inspiration of the Spirit, compiles a list of the nations that come out of Noah’s 3 sons. This list is not exhaustive but it is thorough and shows us that God truly knows the nations and the ones listed here are named for a specific purpose.

Genesis 10:32 NASB95

32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, by their nations; and out of these the nations were separated on the earth after the flood.

This act of separating (flows out of judgment in ch 11) is God’s sovereignty over the nations.

Acts 17:26ff

God is the sovereign ruler. “made from one man…”

Gks thought that all non-Gks were barbarians. Jews thought all non-Jews were dogs. There has always been groups of people who consider themselves better than and more superior to other peoples. This is human pride. Sinful, proud hearts overlook this truth of God that He created from 1 man (Adam) every nation.

This strikes a blow against discrimination. If there were ever a direct statement of Scripture that confronts discrimination/racism in the world…it is right here.

God expresses His sovereign rule over His universe…first by creating, then…

By determining their “appointed times…” refers to the rise and fall of nations (Dan 2:36ff). The Lord God has appointed the duration of every nation—when it comes to power and when it leaves. He even establishes the governing authorities within those nations (Rom 13).

God also establishes the boundaries of the nations’ habitation. God puts nations in specific geographical locations (He did this with Israel Dt 32:8). He also determines the extent of their conquests and kingdoms (Is 10:12-15).

This word “determine” comes from Gk horizo. It means to mark off, to set, appoint, fix (used of the plan of redemption, the cross; pre-determined plan of God).

God has determined the things pertaining to the nations of the world even from before creation…foundation of the world. He doesn’t sit in heaven trying to figure out what would be the best course of action for the world…who He should put in power, remove from power, which nation should win this war or that war…this has already been determined by God…has to be if He is to freely express His sovereign rule over His universe—and in particular over every nation.

II. God Is Serious about the Sin of the Nations

If you take a closer look at the people in Gen 10 you will see that the vast majority of those listed represent ungodly nations that come forth from them.

What we can say about Noah’s sons and their children is that knowledge of the flood was direct. They carried with them the truth that there is 1 God. They also recognized that all the descendants trace their roots back to the same man—Noah. Because of this, all the peoples of the earth are 1 people and they had all inherited the same sin nature which separated them from God and from one another. They also understood that there was only 1 way of salvation—by faith.

So what happens—especially after Babel is that these family groups begin to spread out and they quickly begin to forget God. And they begin to invent other gods (becoming polytheistic)

Romans 1:23 NASB95

23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

And this is only the beginning of their waywardness. The nations that are recorded in Gen 10—what would become of them: some became so extremely violent and wicked (extends to this day). Some were guilty of vile atrocities that God would punish thru His chosen people—Israel.

Deuteronomy 20:16–18 NASB95

16 “Only in the cities of these peoples that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, you shall not leave alive anything that breathes. 17 “But you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite and the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, as the Lord your God has commanded you, 18 so that they may not teach you to do according to all their detestable things which they have done for their gods, so that you would sin against the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 9:4–5 NASB95

4 “Do not say in your heart when the Lord your God has driven them out before you, ‘Because of my righteousness the Lord has brought me in to possess this land,’ but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is dispossessing them before you. 5 “It is not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart that you are going to possess their land, but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord your God is driving them out before you, in order to confirm the oath which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

God didn’t command Israel to utterly destroy the Canaanites b/c they stood in the way of God’s promise to Abraham. The Canaanites (in fulfillment of Noah’s prophecy) were sinful, wicked, evil people—fully deserving God’s judgment.

They were guilty of incest, adultery, bestiality, homosexual relations, sorcery, divination, necromancy, and child sacrifice:

Leviticus 18:6 NASB95

6 ‘None of you shall approach any blood relative of his to uncover nakedness; I am the Lord.

Leviticus 18:19–25 NASB95

19 ‘Also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness during her menstrual impurity. 20 ‘You shall not have intercourse with your neighbor’s wife, to be defiled with her. 21 ‘You shall not give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God; I am the Lord. 22 ‘You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination. 23 ‘Also you shall not have intercourse with any animal to be defiled with it, nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it; it is a perversion. 24 ‘Do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these the nations which I am casting out before you have become defiled. 25 ‘For the land has become defiled, therefore I have brought its punishment upon it, so the land has spewed out its inhabitants.

These are difficult things to mention—but this is what the nations do when they reject God and rebel against Him. God told Israel:

Deuteronomy 18:9–13 NASB95

9 “When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations. 10 “There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. 12 “For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord; and because of these detestable things the Lord your God will drive them out before you. 13 “You shall be blameless before the Lord your God.

God is serious about the sin of the nations. His command to Israel was a manner of judgment upon those nations but there is something else that you should see about God:

III. God Is Sincere In His Plan to Redeem the Nations

He told Israel:

Deuteronomy 4:5–8 NASB95

5 “See, I have taught you statutes and judgments just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do thus in the land where you are entering to possess it. 6 “So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ 7 “For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is the Lord our God whenever we call on Him? 8 “Or what great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole law which I am setting before you today?

Isaiah 49:6 NASB95

6 He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Let me take you back to Acts:

Acts 17:26-27;

God is sovereign over the nations for 1 major purpose (determining boundaries and times) and that is for the timeless expression of His love toward the world; so that they would hear the gospel of JC.

God declares that history will not come to an end until the gospel has been shared among all the nations on the earth.

Matthew 24:14 NASB95

14 “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

To guarantee this universal proclamation of the gospel to every nation on the earth, God sends forth a great angel to circle the earth and announce the good news of the everlasting gospel to every person:

Revelation 14:6–7 NASB95

6 And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; 7 and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.”

So God is sincere in His offer of salvation. He does not delight in the death of the wicked but desires that all should repent and live (Ezek 18:32). Believers will continue to debate the issue of God’s election and human responsibility (both are in the Bible). God has chosen those whom He will save, but He also holds every person accountable for believing the gospel—I don’t know how this works but God does. And God is sincere in His offer for eternal life. He is sincere about the forgiveness of sin and redemption that is found in JC. He Himself has said:

Romans 10:9–13 NASB95

9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13 for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

(taken from Joel 2:32)

Well, a long chapter with 70 names. And I’m sure you were wondering how I would ever preach something to take home (I was wondering this myself). The nations are to be pointed to God and the gospel—that they might grope for Him. That term means to search for something in an uncertain fashion. This is what it is like for humans (without God) to search for God.

Homer (Gk poet) uses this word in the famous story of Cyclops. The giant one-eyed Cyclops had captured Odysseus and his men, and Odysseus had gotten him drunk and then blinded Cyclops with a sharp stake. The epic’s hero wanted to sneak out of the cave where he and his men were being held. But it was difficult b/c Cyclops was groping around, feeling after Odysseus so that he might find him and kill him. This is the same word.

In our sin we are as blind as the blinded Cyclops. But as Paul demonstrates from Rom 1, creation still points us to God. Here the goodness of God still points us to Him even though we can’t see Him.

But the reality is even though we can’t see Him, He is still not far from His creation.

Jeremiah 29:13 NASB95

13 ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Let me close with 2 questions:

Have you…Rom 10:9? confess/believed?

Are you actively tellings others about the good news of God’s gracious salvation? We all have different opportunities and gifts. But we all share 1 faith—lets proclaim here and abroad!

One day, the treasured possession of LJC will include believers from every tribe and tongue and people and nation (Rev 5:9). What a marvelous God!