More than a Name

Introduction

Well, good morning!

Listen, it feels great to be back with everyone this morning, on this Lord’s Day…to continue studying through the book of Genesis. And I hope as we’ve been walking through this verse by verse, chapter by chapter, you’re seeing the importance of expository preaching…seeing the importance of actually using the Word of God to do the preaching. I hope you can see that a preacher doesn’t need to tell you a bunch of 30 minute personal testimonies…but instead, I hope you can see how the Scriptures are enough…how the Scriptures are the source of our growth as we’re being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. That’s the purpose of preaching…and that’s the purpose of us coming together…And when we honor the Scriptures…and when we place the proper authority on the Scriptures…God is glorified as we study it together.

But listen, before we do that…let’s recite our mission verse together this morning. Matthew chapter 28, verses 19 and 20…that’s what we center our mission and vision on…that’s the kind of church and the kind of believers we wanna become…And so, I’ll get us started…you finished us up.

You ready?

Matthew 28:19–20 (ESV)

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

[Prayer]

Alrighty…if you have your Bibles…and I hope that you do, open ‘em up with me to Genesis chapter 10…Genesis chapter 10. If you remember…we covered the first 9 chapters of Genesis…we talked about creation, the garden, the fall, the promise, the flood, and then the rainbow covenant and then last time we met, Noah’s sin and this constant cycle we see with humanity and their struggle with the flesh.

And listen, as we continue on into chapter 10 this week, I have to admit, this message…it had to be one of the least anticipated sermons I’ve ever approached. Listen, I love to preach…I love to study, I love to teach you what God’s shown me through the week. But I mean, just skim through Genesis chapter 10…it’s tough…and while it’s another genealogical account…it’s nothing like the first one we studied together in Genesis chapter 5. It’s a difficult passage…but just as God always does, He opened my eyes and He allowed me to see His heart here…to understand the text’s meaning and purpose and how it points to Him and man’s salvation. And I mean it just humbles you.

But listen, if you’re there with me…let’s stand as we read this passage together…I think you’ll understand real quickly why this text intimidated me. We’ll read chapter 10 in its entirety. It says this:

Genesis 10:1–32 (ESV)

These are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood.

The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan (Jay-van), Tubal, Meshech (Me-shack), and Tiras (Tear-ras). The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz (Ash-ka-noz), Riphath (Rip-hath), and Togarmah (Toe-gar-ma). The sons of Javan (Jay-van): Elishah (Elisha), Tarshish, Kittim (Kit-tim), and Dodanim (Doe-done-nim). From these the coastland peoples spread in their lands, each with his own language, by their clans, in their nations.

The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan. The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah (Hav-va-la), Sabtah (Sab-ta), Raamah (Ra-ma), and Sabteca (Sab-tea-ca). The sons of Raamah (Ra-ma): Sheba and Dedan (De-den). Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. Therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.” The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech (A-wreck), Accad (A-cad), and Calneh (Cal-ma), in the land of Shinar (Shee-nar). From that land he went into Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah (Cal-la), and Resen (Ra-sin) between Nineveh and Calah (Ca-la); that is the great city. Egypt fathered Ludim (Lou-dim), Anamim (A-na-mim), Lehabim (La-hay-been), Naphtuhim (Na-fa-two-him), Pathrusim (Path-ra-sim), Casluhim (Cas-sa-lim) (from whom the Philistines came), and Caphtorim (Cap-torn-him).

Canaan fathered Sidon (Si-done) his firstborn and Heth (Hath), and the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites (gir-ga-shites), the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites (Ar-va-dites), the Zemarites (Zem-ar-rites), and the Hamathites (Ham-a-thites). Afterward the clans of the Canaanites dispersed. And the territory of the Canaanites extended from Sidon (Si-done) in the direction of Gerar (Ge-rar) as far as Gaza, and in the direction of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah (Ad-math), and Zeboiim (Za-bow-im), as far as Lasha (Lay-sa). These are the sons of Ham, by their clans, their languages, their lands, and their nations.

To Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber (E-ber), the elder brother of Japheth.” (by the way I mentioned last week about the order of the sons, there’s some debate on what the youngest son meaning was in Hebrew back in chapter 9 and what the elder brother meaning here actually means…so just a reference for you). The text continues, “, children were born. The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad (R-park-shad), Lud, and Aram (A-room). The sons of Aram (A—room): Uz (Oz), Hul (Hull), Gether, and Mash. Arpachshad (R-park-shad) fathered Shelah (She-la); and Shelah (She-la) fathered Eber. To Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg (Pee-leg), for in his days the earth was divided, and his brother’s name was Joktan (Jok-tan). Joktan (Jock-tan) fathered Almodad (Al-mow-dad), Sheleph (Shu-left), Hazarmaveth (Hazar-may-veth), Jerah (Jer-rath), Hadoram (Had-door-ram), Uzal (Ozz-la), Diklah (Dick-la), Obal (O-bal), Abimael (A-bim-ma’el), Sheba, Ophir (Or-fifth), Havilah, and Jobab (Joe-bab); all these were the sons of Joktan. The territory in which they lived extended from Mesha in the direction of Sephar (Sea-far) to the hill country of the east. These are the sons of Shem, by their clans, their languages, their lands, and their nations.

These are the clans of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, in their nations, and from these the nations spread abroad on the earth after the flood.

Thank you, you can be seated.

Listen, I think the application’s pretty apparent here, right? I think we all understand the text and we can all just go home at this point because these 70 names listed here, it’s just obvious what God’s telling us! [I’m joking of course]

But listen, through study…through prayer…through the illumination of the Spirit…it’s really humbling what God can reveal…even in passages like this. It might not seem like there’s much here…but listen to me, we see everything we need to know about God here.

And I get it…its in these kind of passages where we’ll start by reading the first couple of verses and then we just kind of say, “Well, God knows how to say the names and God knows the purpose,” right? And listen, you’re right…He absolutely does…and that’s the point today…number 1, we see God’s knowledge of the nations....number 2, we see God’s heart for the nations…and then lastly, we see God’s plan for the nations.

Listen, if you would…bear with me as I walk you through this chapter and help you understand how this chapter’s arranged…why it’s arranged this way…and listen, let’s take that information and discover together where Genesis 10 is leading us…not only in its near fulfillment with Abram…but what it’s ultimate meaning to the nations and to the world?

And so, if you’re there with me…let’s dive into the text together.

I. God’s Knowledge of the Nations

Point number 1…God has knowledge of the nations.

Listen, as we go through Genesis chapter 10, it’s not an exhaustive list of names here…it doesn’t list out every single person that comes from these genealogical lines. No, there’s a purpose here…just like everything else that we see in Scripture.

If you go back to Genesis chapter 9, verse 1…God says to Noah and to his sons, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” Well, Genesis chapter 10, the entirety of these 32 verses, it shows us that they were obedient to that command. They were fruitful!

But listen, these names…they’re real people…real people that came from the line of Noah…but they’re more than that. And the names that end in “im” in our English translations, they refer to groups of people. And so, we see individuals listed here and we see people groups listed here.

And listen, as you go through Genesis chapter 10…you see that it’s really broken up into three different family groups. The first one, in verses two through five, is Japheth. And if you care about this kind of stuff…you might wanna just note that this is the father of the Indo-Europeans. Gomer is the father to countries like Rome and Greece and then to the east in India. Three of Japheth’s sons that are mentioned here; Magog, and Tubal, and Meschech (Me-shack), they give rise to the Russians. Javan (Jay-van) is a reference to Greece. Listen, I don’t wanna bore you here but in summary, here’s what we have…we essentially have all the people groups listed here from the Aegean Sea to the Caspian. That’s what’s indicated here…Japheth and his line, they settle into Europe and Persia and India. That’s the first set.

The second family group we see here is Ham, in verses 6 through 20. The father of Africa, Mesopotamia, and to the east. Cush is the Bible’s term for what we know as Ethiopia, Put becomes a people we know as Libya…the sons of Cush, they become nations on the shore of the Red Sea, the southern district of Arabia. One name that’s super important and will be next week when we get to chapter 11, is the name Nimrod. Nimrod builds an empire…and here in our text this morning, it says that he’s a mighty hunter. And listen, here in northwest PA, that would probably be a tremendous compliment, right? I want nothing more than for my wife to recognize that I’m a mighty hunter. (She sees things differently.) But listen, that’s not the idea here…Nimrod’s a hunter of men, he devours people. He’s a tyrant. You understand? He’s not a good dude. He’s all about self-glory. He found two cities…Nineveh and Babylon…we’ve already talked about some of these in past sermon series, but listen both are known for wickedness and rebellion against the Lord. Nimrod builds his kingdom in Babel, which is a tribute to the glory of men and we know that anything minus Jesus, it won’t stand, but listen we’ll talk more about that next week.

But here’s what I want you to notice…look at that phrase, “Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.” Meaning, God saw all of this…He knew the heart of Nimrod…it was known to Him. And here’s what this statement tells us…here’s what this entire account tells us…God has knowledge of the nations. Listen, all sin…all self-glory…all unrighteousness…it all happens before the Lord…He sees it, He’s not fooled by it, He’s not surprised by it. All mankind will be accountable for their sin and there’s no sin and never will be any sin that’s committed that the Lord has not seen. And Nimrod, he can build a mighty city, and he can build a mighty reputation, and be greatly feared, and he can try and do what no one else can accomplish…but listen, all of his sin and all of his rebellion, it takes place before the Lord, because in front of the Lord, all things are laid bear. In fact, the very name Nimrod…it literally means, “let us rebel.” His whole life, its a testimony of rebellion. And so, we have the people of Africa and Asia here.

And then we get into the third part, verses 21 through 31…and we see the line of Shem…the Middle-East. And listen, I think it’s fitting Shem’s listed last here because it’s gonna lead straight into the story of Abraham and the father of Israel. And so, Asshur would become the founder of the Assyrians. And Eber, interesting name here, his name means to “pass over.” It’s actually from his name Eber that we get our English word for Hebrew. And so, these families, they would settle into the regions of the Middle-East.

And as you scan through the text I’ve already read for you and look through the lines of Japheth, and Ham, and Shem…what you see here is this very important lesson that God has knowledge of the nations. He knows who they are…He knows where they are…He knows everything they do.

And so, let me ask you a questions this morning…with God’s knowledge of the nations…is it a good thing or a bad thing…an encouragement or a discouragement? Well, I think that depends on them…on their standing with Him. If I tell you as a child of God that God knows every detail of your life…that He never leaves you or forsakes you, that He’s always near you…that He’s sovereign over all things in your life. As a believer, that gives us great encouragement…because we wanna be found in Christ and we understand that when our day of trouble comes, we don’t look to the mountains and the hills, we look to the one who made the mountains and the hills. He’s our sovereign Creator…our Master…our God.

But listen, if you don’t know this one true living God, there’s nothing more frightening than for me to tell you the biblical truth that He knows everything about who you are. No secrets. We speak about hidden sins…but understand, there are no hidden sins…because God has knowledge of the nations. Both as a group…and as individuals. He knows His creation. He created you…made you in His image…you belong to Him…and for that reason, He knows you. And that’s a great encouragement for us as believers. But my friend, if you don’t know God as the one true living God and if you’ve not come into a relationship with Him through His Son Jesus…then I wanna be real honest with you…I wanna be transparent…understanding that God knows you in this way, that should cause you to tremble…because just as God has knowledge of the nations…God knows you and who you are and where you are and what you do…He knows how you live…He knows your heart. And the heart is deceitful and wicked…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And if you’re busy trying to build your kingdom, if you live for your glory and not for His…the fact that the judge of the earth has perfect knowledge of your every word-deed-and thought, it should cause you to tremble.

That’s point number 1…God has knowledge of the nations.

2. God’s Heart for the Nations

The second point is that God has a heart for the nations. And listen, we really see this coming out of Genesis 10.

Listen, when we examine this chapter and these people and these different people groups…you can’t help but see the sin there that exists. Sin becomes rampant…it’s just a few centuries after the flood and yet again, sin dominates the heart of man. I mean in just a little bit of time since the earth was judged in such a severe way…here comes sinful humanity showing their allegiance to idolatry and their unwillingness to worship the one true God…and listen, you know that when Noah gets off the ark he’s telling everyone about what God’s done…He’s telling His grandkids and great grandkids of the judgement of God and the grace of God in sparing them. He’s got to be telling them that man’s sinful and God’s holy and therefore man must repent. They have to know about these things…they have to know about the righteousness of God…You can’t have an event like the flood and be clueless, right? And yet, when we travel through the table of nations in Genesis chapter 10, what we see largely is a people that are ungodly and turn their back on the one true God.

We’re gonna see this really manifested in next week’s text with the Tower of Babel…but listen, mankind, yet again…is wicked and perverse and separated from God. And what’s fascinating about chapter 11, chronologically, it actually takes place before chapter 10…chapter 10’s showing where the people were scattered after the Tower of Babel.

But listen, what we see when we put Genesis chapter 10 and 11 together, its that their division its because of their rebellion against God. The people wanted to become like God…which for the record’s the same sin of Adam and Eve…but they wanna become like God…and in their rebellion, they try and do their own thing.

Just look at Genesis 11…obviously we’re gonna go through this in more detail next week…but just look at verse 1.

Genesis 11:1–8 (ESV)

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar (Shee-nar) and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.

That’s what happened first, Genesis 11…and then chapter 10 tells you where they scattered. It’s interesting that we have mankind here trying to build a name for themselves and all it takes is one spoken word of God to disperse them. Man’s not near as strong as he thinks he is. Not near as mighty as he thinks he is.

Listen, just as we’ve been studying all year…with the spoken word of God, He makes the heavens and the earth…He makes the stars and the moon and sun…He makes vegetation…He forms the animals of His power…His forms mankind…and here’s creation trying to rise up and take the sovereignty from the Creator and all it takes is the simple spoken word of God to confuse them and to disperse them.

And listen to me…when you try and live for your name instead of His, you’ve missed it.

But look at this…not only does God have knowledge of the nations…but we see His heart for the nations here as well. It’s true that the threat of nations is no real threat to Him. In fact, you might know Psalm 2. It says:

Psalm 2:1–3 (ESV)

Why do the nations rage

and the peoples plot in vain?

The kings of the earth set themselves,

and the rulers take counsel together,

against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,

“Let us burst their bonds apart

and cast away their cords from us.”

Listen, God’s in heaven…He sees the nations rage…and He scoughs at them…He laugh’s at them…man’s not a threat to Him. And yet, while God’s not threatened by their rebellion…neither will He give up on them.

Genesis 10…its literally a list of people and groups…most of whom went their own way…who turned their back on God…and listen, God would’ve had every right to bring final judgement to ‘em. Not by water…because He’s given us His promise He won’t do it that way…but He could’ve done anything else He chose to…because they were deserving. They were idolatrous…they were rebellious. And yet, God put his rainbow in the sky to remind His people of His grace. Genesis 10 is not a list of people that deserved God’s grace…And listen, neither are we. And that’s the point. You’re not here today because you’ve earned this…you’re here today because Jesus has…You don’t believe today because you achieved it…You believe today because of the Spirit of God in you that continues to give you faith. We were sinners…we were rebels…we were idolators…and God pursued us in grace…because He has a heart for us.

In grace, He sent forth His Spirit…in grace, God reached down to us…all of us, if we were to trace our family lineage…we’re not a group of people who’ve earned salvation. None of us have…none us could. We’re all a collection of people, only here because our God has a heart for the nations....because God has a heart for His people. You’re here today because of grace.

When you read Genesis 10…and when you read what these nations would become…and what they would do…and some of these men listed in Genesis 10, some of these guys would become extremely violent and extremely wicked. Some of these men did things so atrocious, we can’t even speak of them in a worship service. You understand? And yet…God’s put His rainbow in the sky…and He offers grace. And He graciously pursues.

And real quickly…I think its important to know that there’s a total of 70 names in Genesis 10. That number 70, its significant. It represents totality. It takes 7 and 10, which becomes a number of totality. Listen, let me show you this…we see this in Genesis 46:27. It says:

Genesis 46:27 (ESV)

And the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two. All the persons of the house of Jacob who came into Egypt were seventy.

Turn with me just real quickly to Exodus chapter 1. Keep Genesis 10 marked but just look at Exodus 1 with me.

Exodus 1:1–5 (ESV)

These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar (E-sa-car), Zebulun (Zeb-ba-lyn), and Benjamin, Dan and Naphtali (Naf-taa-lee), Gad and Asher. All the descendants of Jacob were seventy persons; Joseph was already in Egypt.

It’s an important number…its a number that represents totality. You see it again in Exodus 24, verse 9:

Exodus 24:9 (CSB)

Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab (Na-Dab), and Abihu (A-by-who), and seventy of Israel’s elders,

Its 70 because it represents totality. We see the same idea when Jesus sends off the 70 disciples to share the gospel, right? That’s Luke chapter 10…but according to the KJV…it’s 70. It’s totality. He’s sending them to the nations! He takes the gospel to them.

And so, God has knowledge of the nations but He also has a heart for the nations. Here’s all these people’s sin, the same state as before the flood…and yet God doesn’t destroy them. Because He has a heart for them. Because He’s gracious…and He’s patient.

That’s the second point.

III. God’s Plan for the Nations

But listen, that’s not all we see here…we see that God also has a plan for the nations…that’s the last point. It’s not just that He has a heart for them…He has a plan to redeem them.

What we’ll see next week, humanity…we’re united in our ancestry but we’re divided by geography and language and culture. Sin creates distance…it creates distance between us and God…and even distance from each other. Sin separates us. It’s why we put up fences…its why we have to lock our doors. It’s why we have prisons…because we have to separate humanity from each other because even though we have one common ancestry…so much about us, divides us.

And so, the question for us this morning…where’s our hope? How can we be reunited?

Listen, when we read through Genesis chapter 10…at the very beginning we have Noah, and we have Shem, and Japheth…and we have Ham. They’re all coming from the same people, right? But by the time you get to the end of chapter 10, its so many people groups and nations, scattered…divided…how in the world, can sinful humanity be united?

The answer’s what we studied a few months ago in Genesis chapter 3, verse 15. That God’s going to send a redeemer. Adam and Eve, they sin in the garden…they try and cover themselves…to kind of hide and cover their own shame. And listen, God rejects that. He’s saying, “I won’t have my wrath appealed by the work of your hands. Instead, I’ll send a redeemer.” That’s what He promises in Genesis 3:15.

The hope for the world is in the redeemer that would come. The hope for the nations is the Messiah…who would be the bridge between sinful man and a holy God…all while being able to bring sinners together. He’d unite divided people. Jesus is what we have in the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15…Jesus is the one that unites our sinful hearts in this place today. That’s what we have in common, right? One God, one Savior, one faith, one baptism, one salvation…once in for all…handed down to the Saints…that’s what we have in common this morning.

I heard a pastor say once, “If you knew about me, what only God knows about me…you wouldn’t have come today....But listen, if I knew what only God knows about you, we wouldn’t have let you in.” Why? Because we’re all sinners.

So, how do we get such sinful people like us together then? Only through the blood of Christ…its one Savior. It’s the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15. It’s the Messiah who would come, God Himself…who would die in our place. That’s the essence of the gospel…and that’s the plan of God. He knew on our own, we’d always remain divided…divided from each other and divided from Him…and because He has a heart for His people, He created a plan to redeem us on His own.

And listen, that’s exactly what we see here in this passage. Do you realize that as you look at these people and groups listed here in Genesis 10, that from these people, would come the Messiah…Immediately as we get into chapter 11, the story hones into a guy named Abram…and we’re gonna talk a little bit about him in two weeks but we’re gonna cover his story mainly next year in 2024…he’s the father of Israel…and through him, Jesus would come. And from Abram, all of the nations would be blessed.

These people here in Genesis chapter 10, they might’ve been divided and scattered…they might’ve been sinful…but the reality is, God always had a heart for the nations…and He’s always had a plan to redeem them. He always had a plan to step in and take their place so that they could be united.

Closing

Listen, so many of us ask the question, “Why doesn’t God just judge evil?” Well, aren’t you glad that God didn’t do that 10 years ago, or 20 years ago, or 30 years ago? Aren’t you glad that God was patient with you? Listen, it’s because ultimately God has knowledge of the nations, and He has a heart for the nations…and He has a plan for ‘em…because our God, He’s a God of grace.

And listen, here’s what that means for us…if this is God’s heart…shouldn’t it be ours as His people? Shouldn’t we do everything in our power to do the same? I mean isn’t that what our mission verse is commanding us to do? Isn’t that the mission God gives us? Guys, do you see the importance of this? Do you see the importance of missions and evangelizing and church planting, its all about aligning ourselves with the heart of God. And the nations, that’s the heart of God.

Every head bowed, and every eye closed.

Guys, for the last several months, we’ve been laying out this vision that we feel God calling us to. We’re committing ourselves to sharing the gospel…to discipling believers…to building each other up…to bringing the gospel to the nations by going on mission and by planting churches…how are you involved in the mission of God this morning? And listen, we’ve tried our best over this past year to show you that it’s not Pastor Steven’s mission…or the deacons mission…or our board’s mission…it’s God’s....it’s why He’s called you…it’s why He’s gifted you…it’s why He’s brought you to First Baptist Church. How are you helping to build each other up at FBC and how are you helping us become a church without walls?

Guys, get involved…get involved in Sunday school and home groups…disciple someone in a knot group. Get involved, align yourselves with the heart of God. Because just as God had a plan for the nations, His plan for the church was to go to the nations. And so, what do you need to do this morning to align yourself with God…what do you need to change or to let go of? Listen, do that!

But friend…if you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior…then I call you today to repent. Don’t waste one more day building the tower of your own name and of your own earthly kingdom. Repent and trust the Lord. Trust that Jesus is the substitute for your sins and that He’s the answer to your redemption. Listen, it doesn’t matter your background, it doesn’t matter your circumstances…the only hope you have this morning…its not found in drugs or money or sex…its found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. And so, I call you to repent and believe in the risen Christ this morning.

Listen, would you do that? Would you place your faith in trust in Jesus? Don’t wait another minute…don’t wait for chance. Take the step today and give in to the Spirit of God. And so listen, these next few minutes, there yours to respond…and that’s my challenge to you this morning…whoever you are, whatever God’s telling you. Respond to whatever it is He’s putting on your heart…humble yourself and enter into His presence. You respond. I’m here if you need me. I’ll close us in just a moment.

[Prayer]