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Reflections Group eMember
6/22/2021
The Table of Nations
Genesis Chapter 10 - 11
ICE BREAKER:
Your fondest memory, or story about your father. Please share.
Question #1: How much of your ancestry do you know or can find out?
Genesis 10 (Let App read)
1 These are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood. 2 The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. 3 The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. 4 The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. 5 From these the coastland peoples spread in their lands, each with his own language, by their clans, in their nations. 6 The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan. 7 The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan. 8 Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. Therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.” 10 The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 From that land he went into Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, and 12 Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city. 13 Egypt fathered Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, 14 Pathrusim, Casluhim (from whom the Philistines came), and Caphtorim. 15 Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn and Heth, 16 and the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, 17 the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, 18 the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterward the clans of the Canaanites dispersed. 19 And the territory of the Canaanites extended from Sidon in the direction of Gerar as far as Gaza, and in the direction of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. 20 These are the sons of Ham, by their clans, their languages, their lands, and their nations. 21 To Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth, children were born. 22 The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram. 23 The sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. 24 Arpachshad fathered Shelah; and Shelah fathered Eber. 25 To Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided, and his brother’s name was Joktan. 26 Joktan fathered 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 The territory in which they lived extended from Mesha in the direction of Sephar to the hill country of the east. 31 These are the sons of Shem, by their clans, their languages, their lands, and their nations. 32 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.
Lesson: Chapter 10 - Reports the daunting task of Noah’s family member to repopulate the earth. Naturally, several biblical nations find their origin in Noah’s family members, including the Egyptians, Greeks, and Hebrews.
JAPHETH’s SONS. This line represents many of the biblical nations in what is now known as Europe, and Asia Minor. From this line came the Magog was father of the Scythian people. MADAI the Medes, who teamed up with the Babylonians to put and end to the Assyrians. JAVAN was the father of the Greek people. All these are mentioned in Assyrian inscriptions discovered by archaeologists.
Since Ham was the father of black people (see Gen. 10:6), and since his descendants were cursed to be slaves because of his sin (Gen. 9:25-27), some have argued that Africans and their descendants are destined to be slaves.
Due to this “curse of Ham” theory, there existed a myth of inferiority with apparent biblical roots in Christian history and culture. This myth became an authoritative on because it was rooted in a purported (alleged) theology, and slave owners used this twisted belief system to sustain a perverted sociology. Unfortunately, this contributed to the establishing and continuation of a distorted myth of black inferiority in American Christian psyche.
This interpretation of the “curse of Ham” is incorrect due to multiple reasons. Canaan, Ham’s son, was cursed, not Ham himself. How then could all black people everywhere be cursed? The Bible also places limitations on curses - only three of four generations at most (Exod. 20:5). Moreover, the curse that Canaan and his descendants would be slaves finds its most obvious fulfillment in the ongoing defeat and subjugation of Canaan by Israel (see Josh. 9:23; 1 Kgs. 9:20-21). The descendants of Ham’s other sons (Gen. 10:6) have continued to this day as national peoples in Ethiopia (Cush), Egypt (Mizraim), and Libya (Put).
SHEM. He is referred to as the “chosen line” because the the Hebrews descended from him. In the Hebrew language, the name Eber is the origin of the word “Hebrew”. The entire Hebrew nation descended from Shem, and Eber.
Question #2: What have you built that you were very proud of, and wanted to show off?
Genesis 11:1 - 9
1 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 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. 4 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.” 5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. 6 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. 7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.
Lesson (Gen. 11:1-4)
The flood had destroyed all of the earth expect for Noah’s family, from which God wanted to repopulate the earth. However, it was not long until human pride resurfaced. The story of Babylon let us know the persistent nature of sin, and humanity’s need for a savior.
A key theme hinges on the word east (11:2). When God sent Adam and Eve out of the garden, he sent them east (3:24). After, Cain killed Abel, he too went east (4:16). “East” represents a journey away from God. The people of Babel migrated from the east to come together with the purpose of “...making a name for ourselves”
These people made a declaration of independence from God (Gen. 11:4). Instead of pursuing God’s agenda, to fill the whole earth, (Gen. 9:1) they became self absorbed. They wanted to do everything to prevent being scattered (Gen. 11:4). Their efforts would be man-centered, not God-centered.
Lesson (Gen. 11:5-7)
God was not threatened by what humanity was doing, but rather he recognized that unified sinful humanity had enormous potential to once again sour God’s creation. So in order to put the brakes on evil’s proliferation, God decided t dis-unify them and confuse their language. Unable to communicate with one another their plans were stopped in their tracks, and now were forced to get back on God’s plan to scatter, and fill the earth.
Genesis 11:10 - 31
10 These are the generations of Shem. When Shem was 100 years old, he fathered Arpachshad two years after the flood. 11 And Shem lived after he fathered Arpachshad 500 years and had other sons and daughters. 12 When Arpachshad had lived 35 years, he fathered Shelah. 13 And Arpachshad lived after he fathered Shelah 403 years and had other sons and daughters. 14 When Shelah had lived 30 years, he fathered Eber. 15 And Shelah lived after he fathered Eber 403 years and had other sons and daughters. 16 When Eber had lived 34 years, he fathered Peleg. 17 And Eber lived after he fathered Peleg 430 years and had other sons and daughters. 18 When Peleg had lived 30 years, he fathered Reu. 19 And Peleg lived after he fathered Reu 209 years and had other sons and daughters. 20 When Reu had lived 32 years, he fathered Serug. 21 And Reu lived after he fathered Serug 207 years and had other sons and daughters. 22 When Serug had lived 30 years, he fathered Nahor. 23 And Serug lived after he fathered Nahor 200 years and had other sons and daughters. 24 When Nahor had lived 29 years, he fathered Terah. 25 And Nahor lived after he fathered Terah 119 years and had other sons and daughters. 26 When Terah had lived 70 years, he fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran. 27 Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot. 28 Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 29 And 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 Iscah. 30 Now Sarai was barren; she had no child. 31 Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there.
The genealogy slows as we approach Abram (Gen. 27-32). Abram’ father Terah, moved his family from Ur (a wealthy city in Mesopotamia) to go to Canaan, the promised land (11:31). However, Terah stopped short in the land of Haran (modern day Syria).
Closing: (Rhetorical Questions)
Is your current life a monument to yourself of God?
In what areas of life are you being tempted to settle for less than what’s best?