THE HISTORY OF CIVILIZATION: Genesis 10

We have in this chapter the development of the various children of Noah and the resulting nations that come through the three sons of Noah.

As with last week’s sermon, this will be more of a Bible study than an actual sermon. But this chapter, as with chapter 11, provides the final part of the account from which the remainder of the entire Scripture.

The first two chapters of Genesis presents the creation of everything. Chapter three presents the Fall. In the middle of chapter three on to the end of Revelation 22 we see Redemption and Restoration.

While we could get really nerdy connecting each one with a particular people group, I will not bore you with the details. Where an important aspect appears I will simply highlight it and provide connecting Scripture.

With that said, let’s look at the History of Civilization.

We note first, not in age but in appearance, the Sons of Japheth.

I. The Sons of Japheth- Genesis 10:1-5

If you remember, we first learn of Japheth in Genesis 6:10. He is listed last in that verse. He is also found in Genesis 9:18, and he is listed last there as well. We saw last week that Japheth behaved in a godly manner with the nakedness of their father (see 9:23). Then, in chapter ten, he is also listed last.

From 10:21, we learn that Japheth is the oldest, and from 9:24 we learn that Ham is the youngest, placing Shem as the middle son (shout out to all the middle children!!).

The reason I raise this point is that in Scripture the firstborn enjoyed the place of privilege. This can be seen in Abraham’s account, Jacob and Esau, and the twelve sons of Jacob.

The firstborn (in many cultures) typically received unique blessings and privileges, including the majority of the inheritance. There are many other aspects of the importance of the firstborn, but as we see in this passage (and will observed numerous times in the book of Genesis), though the first born, Japheth did not receive the ultimate blessing.

Japheth has seven sons, who then go on to have many sons of which he records seven grandsons of Japheth (only from two sons, Gomer and Javan), and these individuals spread throughout the “coastlands of the nations.” This is not an exhaustive list (compare it with Matthew’s genealogy in Matthew 1:1-17). Nor was it meant to be exhaustive.

Unlike records today, the people of Israel are writing with a specific goal in mind: the record of God’s redemption through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Turn with me for a moment to 1 Peter 1:10-12. This reveals the insights into how the Word of God developed. Luke records a similar statement in Luke 24:27, “Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things written about himself in all the scriptures.”

Moses, then, is recording what is necessary for his purpose, which is tied back to Genesis 3:15. We also note that Japheth’s children end up inhabiting the coastlands of the nations. You will notice the mentioning of “according to its language, according to their families, by their nations.” This point connects it with the event after chapter 11 when God confuses the languages of humanity in order to spread them abroad.

The children of Japheth, as we briefly noted last week, play an important role in redemptive history. But for now, we move on the Noah’s youngest son, Ham.

II. The Sons of Ham- Genesis 10:6-20

III. The Sons of Shem- Genesis 10:21-32