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Genesis 10:1-32
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 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 the phrase:
MAP—this is what Moses meant when he said:
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):
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.
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.
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 even 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.
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 every 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).
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