The Table of Nations

Let me invite you, this morning to turn in your Bibles to Genesis 10. Genesis chapter 10 for our time of study in God's word, this morning. if you want to give a title, to the message this morning, it would be The Table of Nations. as we continue in our study through the Book of Genesis, we come this morning to Genesis chapter 10, and my goal, this morning is to preach from Genesis chapter 10 verse 1 all the way to verse 32.

00 ye of little faith. How many of you read Genesis 10 this past week in preparation, a few of you. one of my favorite commentators at the beginning of his discussion of this chapter said, it is an open question as to whether any preacher should preach on this chapter from the pulpit. and, but when I read that, I thought, he doesn't really know the cornerstone congregation.

If he did, he would, know that you are up for, a chapter like this, and we are, gonna work our way through, these verses today at somewhat of a brisk pace and try to receive what the Lord has for us from, from these verses, but you'll have to put your thinking caps on and gird up the loins of your mind and be ready to engage with the text, this morning. Let me start off with a quote from, Vaddi Bockham, from his book, What He Must Be If He Wants to Marry My Daughter. listen to what he says in one of the final chapters of his book.

I am a black man.

Not only that, I am a very large, deep, dark milk chocolate man. However, some people insist on saying that when they look at me, they don't see color. I guess that's supposed to sound pious. However, when I hear that cliche, it doesn't sound pious at all.

In fact, it sounds foolish. How dare we ignore the variety that God placed in creation. When I look at people of different ethnic backgrounds, I see the handiwork of God. God did not make a mistake when he made me a black man, nor did he do something that he meant for people to ignore.

There's a lot of wisdom in what Vaddi Baum is saying in this quote, as people of varied ethnicities as we are, we have differences between us that our God intended. These differences are the handiwork of God and should not be ignored, but appreciated. But they should not divide us. And that's why I appreciate what Vaddi Bakham goes on to say in His book, What He Must Be If He Wants to Marry My Daughter.

He goes on to affirm that while we are different in various ways, we are all one family in Noah. Listen to what he says. The Genesis account makes it clear that only 8 people survived the flood. And every people group on the planet descended from this single clan.

We are all one in Noah. Every people group on the planet can trace itself back to the ark. And what? That makes us all family.

Vadi Baum is a man who gets his anthropology from the Book of Genesis and so should we. And the knowledge of how to view our differences in the context of our common ancestry is nowhere on its full display as it is here in Genesis chapter 10, which means that this chapter has something to teach us. About how to appreciate the things that make us unique from one another, while at the same time cherishing our common humanity that makes us family. In Genesis chapter 10, just a few things by way of introduction, we see the divine blessing upon Noah and his sons in Genesis 9:1 come to pass.

God had destroyed all of humanity through the global flood, and he spared Noah and his three sons and their wives, but God did more than that. In Genesis 9:1, we're told that after the flood, God blessed Noah. And his sons, and God commanded them. He spoke to them a, a command that was imbued with power, when he said, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

And in Genesis 10, we see the power of that spoken blessing. From God. From the small beginning of 8 people who came off the ark, we see the explosion of chapter 10 and observe the fulfillment of the blessing that God had bestowed upon Noah and his sons. We see how the God who had wiped out all of humankind in the flood is now repopulating the earth with image bearers of Himself.

I should also point out before we get into these verses that Genesis 10 is utterly unique in all of ancient literature. Other cultures have their own creation accounts and most other cultures have their flood accounts, but no other culture on the planet even attempts to do what is done here in Genesis 10. Henry Morris says there is no comparable Catalog of ancient nations available from any other source. It, Genesis 10, is unparalleled in its antiquity and comprehensiveness.

The archaeologist William Albright says that Genesis 10 stands absolutely alone in ancient literature without a remote parallel even among the Greeks. Additionally, when you look at the names, and we're gonna find more than a couple of names in this chapter. and you look also at the historical record from secular history and archaeological evidence as well as ancient names. For cities and through the rest of the Old Testament, what you find in ancient history is consistent with the record of Genesis 10.

And this leads the archaeologist William Albright to say that this table of nations in Genesis 10 remains an astonishingly accurate Document. What is the purpose of this chapter in the narrative of Genesis? notice how verse one begins. It says, now these are the records of the generations of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and sons were born to them after The flood.

You might want to underline the word born, and then the words after the flood. So we learned that what's gonna follow is the record of the sons born to Shem, Ham, and Japheth after the flood. And then notice the final verse of this chapter. Where the text says, 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.

You might want to underline the word separated, and then after the flood. You put these two statements together, and we have the purpose of Genesis chapter 10, which is A, to tell us who was born. From Noah's sons after the flood, and B, to tell us how they got separated on the earth after the flood. What this means is that Genesis 10 is not a still frame picture, but a motion picture that involves the movement of people, people being born and then moving about.

The planet. Warren Weirsby describes this chapter in this way. He says this is a genealogy plus an atlas plus a history book. We're watching the movements of peoples and nations in the ancient world.

So the way we're gonna study this chapter this morning is we're gonna observe 3 parts to the explanation that Moses provides us of how the human population multiplied and separated on the earth. And the 3 parts obviously are the sons of Noah. Japheth will be first, and then Ham, and then Shem. So the first part is how JFest descendants multiplied.

And settled. Let's get into the text beginning in verse one. Now, these are the records of the generations of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and sons were born to them after the flood. By the way, the wording here is very specific in telling us that what follows are the generations of these three sons.

that were born after the flood, so they would have gone onto the ark childless, and any children born to Noah's three sons were born after the flood. The sons of Japheth, look at verse two. The sons of Japheth were Gomer and Magog and Madai and Javan and Tubal and Mathek and Terras. What I'm gonna try to do this morning is I have a map on the screen behind me.

and if you look on that map, like the orange on the map represents generally where the sons of Japheth ended up, populating. And settling. The yellow that you see on the map is where Shem's descendants generally settled, and the green on the map is where Ham's descendants. migrated and settled.

And so verse two, we learned of these sons of Japheth and archaeological and historical data suggests that these individuals ended up settling in regions ranging anywhere from southwest Russia to Turkey to Greece, and I've got little red dots. Can you guys see the red dots? That'll just give you a rough idea of where they, they settled. The sons of Japheth were Gomer.

Oh, look at this, verse 3, the sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz and Riphha and Tarma. Make sure I'm OK, there we go. Ashkenaz is actually, associated with modern-day Germany. In fact, there are Jews who live in Germany now, and they're called Ashkenazic Jews.

Rifa is associated with eastern Turkey and Tarma is associated with central, Turkey. Look at verse 4. The sons of Javan were Alicia and Tarshish, Kitim and Dodanim. Alicia is associated with the island of Cyprus.

Let me see if Oh, I don't, it's not. Yeah, it's not working. anyway, You see that big island, see where Kaim is in Alicia? That, that island, the big island there is the island of Cyprus.

Tarshish is associated with Spain, so that's quite a journey. that they would have journeyed. Kaim is associated with Cyprus also and Doanim is associated with southwestern Turkey, though some would also suggest the possibility of northern Greece. Verse 5, from these, the coast lands of the nations were separated into their lands, everyone according to his language, according to their families, and their nations.

You might read verse 5 and see the word language and ask, where did the languages come from that contributed to the dividing of the human race if the Tower of Babel had not happened yet. That happens in chapter 11, but I would just say keep in mind that chapter 10 and 11 go together and it's not strictly chronological. The Tower of Babel incident in which the languages were confounded happened inside of Genesis chapter 10 and we'll unpack that next week. Notice the fourfold criterion, their lands, language, families, and nations.

We're being told here that these peoples ended up dividing and being separated from one another based on geography, based on language, family connection, and political, states. So these are the descendants of Japheth and how they multiplied and dispersed. Next, the narrative moves to the descendants of Ham, and this brings us to the next part of the explanation of how humankind multiplied and settled. Are you guys still with me?

OK. verse 6, the sons of Ham were Kush and Mitzraim and Put and Canaan. Let's see, as you see on the map, Kush would represent like modern day, generally the area of modern-day Ethiopia. Mitzraim is actually the Hebrew name for Egypt.

So we would associate that with the location today of Egypt. And then put, if you want to know where put was put, think of modern-day Libya. in fact, the Greek Septuagint, the ancient translation of the Old Testament, translates often put as the Libyans. OK.

So the general location today. of the nation of Libya is where we would associate put. And then Canaan, obviously had descendants who settled in the land of Canaan. The sons of Kush, look at verse 7.

The sons of Kush were Siba and Havala and Sata and Rama and Saecha, and the sons of Rama were Sheba and Dadan. In a nutshell, Siba is associated with southern Egypt and all the rest of these sons of Kush are associated with the Arabian landmass that we would associate today with Saudi Arabia. at this point of the narrative, all these names are mentioned, but there's a single individual, a son of Kush, that is singled out and considerable space is given to him, and that is his son Nimrod.

and look at what it says beginning in verse 8.

This is the ultimate son of Kush. His name was Nimrod. It says now Kush became the father of Nimrod. You'll note here that Morris said about Nimrod in Genesis 10 than any other character in this chapter.

He clearly was a man of staggering influence when it comes to political prowess. Personal power and charisma. Nimrod is literally one of the greatest and most powerful men to ever walk the earth. Observe how he is described.

he was a mighty one on the earth. Verse 8, he became a mighty one on the earth. And that word mighty one, speaks of a champion, somebody who is superior in strength and in courage. This is the word that was used back in Genesis 6 to describe the Nephilim prior to the flood.

At the very least, we know that Nimrod was a man of enormous physical power and political power with an audacious courage and boldness to match. Look how else he's described. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. A mighty hunter.

As one writer says, this title mighty hunter could refer to someone who is a harmless hunter in the fields, or he may be one who huntsmen. To enslave them. The same writer goes on to join other commentators in saying that almost certainly the expression mighty hunter does not refer to Nimrod's exploits in bagging game as an animal, but that it indicates that men and not beasts. were hunted by him.

If that seems crazy to you to think of somebody hunting people, then ponder what happened this past week when two individuals, at the very least, 2 individuals hunted and terrorized and killed 14 people and injured others just 8 miles from here. Think of the attacks in Paris a few weeks ago. This is the way hunters of men behave. Nimrod was a hunter of men.

He killed when necessary and he conquered when conquering men served his purposes. Warren Weirby suggests that we should think of Nimrod as a tyrant, ruthlessly conquering men or people. Nimrod is not just described in this passage as a mighty hunter, but as a mighty hunter before the Lord. Literally this expression could be rendered, he was a mighty hunter in the face of Jehovah.

In the face of Yahweh. In the face of Jehovah. And if this is the intended meaning, it speaks of Nimrod's defiance against God. Apparently, Nimrod was brazen.

He didn't hide his deeds, he didn't hide his evil, he committed his atrocities in full view of the Almighty and did not care what God saw. Henry Morris tries to bring all of these ideas together when he suggests that Nimrod here is being described as a mighty tyrant in the face of Yahweh or Jehovah. Interestingly, the Jerusalem Targum which reflects a very ancient understanding of this very passage says this by way of way of paraphrasing the meaning here. Nimrod was a power was powerful in hunting and in wickedness before the Lord, for he was a hunter of the sons of men, and he said to them, depart from the judgment of the Lord and adhere to the judgment of Nimrod.

Therefore, it is said, as Nimrod, the strong one in hunting and in wickedness before the Lord. Another thing about Nimrod that we observe in this passage is that he evidently inspired copycats and established a standard. of greatness. It seems that Nimrod inspired many Nimrod copycats in his day and in the days that followed, he was so impressive of a person that any future Nimrod wannabes were measured against the standard that he had set.

Observe what the text says, Therefore, it is said, like Nimrod, a mighty hunter, Before the Lord. You might want to underline the word like in your text at the beginning of this slogan, like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord. This slogan indicates that people try to be like him, which is why the slogan begins with the word like. About 15 years ago, people used to say, I wanna be like Mike, talking about Michael Jordan, one of the greatest basketball players to ever play in the NBA.

And for several years, probably even to this day, any new superstar in the NBA is compared to Michael Jordan. And it would be a compliment to say you are like Michael Jordan. No one has ever said that to me. but that's what's happening here.

Nimrod was such a great man on many levels that he inspired people to be like him. And the greatest compliment that people could receive. In the minds of many was to be told, you are like Nimrod, the mighty hunter in the face of Jehovah. Observe what we learned next about Nimrod, and that is that he built an empire and cities.

The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erek and Akad and Kalne in the land of Shinar. From that land, he went forth into Assyria and built Nineveh and Rehoboth Ir and Kaya and Rezin between Nineveh and Kaya. That is the great city. What this tells us is that the empire of Babylon and other important cities were founded by Nimrod, who was a descendant of Ham.

Nimrod must have been a man of incredible energy and vision. Though he was no doubt a man of great evil, he was a visionary who built an empire and founded cities with all of the organization, administrative skill, and all the benefits to people that would come as a result of that. People who study this passage observed that Nimrod must have been one of the most impressive men to ever live. As one writer says, Nimrod is remembered for two things that the world admires, personal prowess and political power.

When it comes to these two things, Nimrod had it all, and he was a descendant of him. Look at verse 13 as we move on and the narrative. by the way, the inside the blue circle there is the area where the cities are that he had established and the empire that he built in Babylon. But verse 13, it says Mitzraim became the father of Ludem and Ananim and Lehabim and Naftuhim.

And Pathruim and Kazuhim, from which came the Philistines and Kafarre. Notice how the names are all, they all end with the E, which is one of, it's the masculine plural ending in Hebrew. So this tells us that Ms. Raimm's oldest son's name was Ludd.

And coming forth from Ludd were all of his descendants who were the Ludim. Ms Raim had a son named Anna, and coming forth from Anna were the Annaim. Moses is focusing here on the peoples that descended from Mizrahim and dwelt in or around ancient Egypt. Interestingly, we're told here that the Kas Luhem were the people from whom the Philistines came.

And if anything about the Old Testament, the Philistines loom large in Israel's history. We know from Amos 9:7, you might want to write that reference down, Amos 97, that the Philistines came from the island of Crete. At some point, they migrated to Canaan and settled there and proved to be a constant thorn in Israel's side. Another one of Ham's sons was Canaan, and we now learn about his descendants.

Verse 15, Canaan became the father of Sidon, his firstborn in Heth, and the Jebusite and the Amorite and the Gurgite, and the Hivite and the Archite and the Syanite, and the Arvedite, and the Zimmarite and the Hammite, and afterward, the families of the Canaanite were spread abroad. Interesting names, huh? In fact, R. Kent Hughes says this about this passage.

He says the descendants of Canaan listed in verse 17 sound to our ears like an entomologist's list of something for the pest controller. Hivites, archites, cyanites, and termites. Actually, these people did prove to be pests to Israel. They were hard to drive out, they were hard to get rid of, and the Israelites ended up being far too willing to allow them to stay in the land, though God had told them to drive.

The out. As far as their territories go, says the territory of the Canaanite extended from Sidon, as you go toward Garar, as far as Gaza, as you go towards Sodom and Gomorrah and Adma and Zebohim, as far as Lasha. These are the sons of Ham according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, by their nations. Notice those distinctions, that fourfold distinction again.

Sidon is a city in the northernmost point of the land of promise, and then Gaza represents a southwestern point, Sodom and Gomorrah. These other cities represent a southeastern point of the promised land. The description that's given here bears similarities to how God describes the Land of Promise later in the Old Testament. Clearly, Moses is wanting us to know that these Canaanites are dwelling in the land that God promises to Israel, and it will be Israel's task to conquer them.

And to drive them out. So that's the record for Ham's descendants. Next is Shem's descendants, which brings us to the next part of this presentation in Genesis 10 of how the descendant of Noah's sons multiplied and settled. But just double check, you guys still with me?

All right. Part 3, how Shem's descendants multiplied and settled. It says also to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, and the older brother of Japheth, children were born. Verse 22, the sons of Shem were Elam and Asher and Arak Shad, and Lud and Era.

Based on ancient inscriptions and data from the Old Testament, Elam is associated with the area east of the Tigris River. Asher and Araksht are associated with Assyria, and Ludd is associated with modern day Turkey and Arum is associated with modern-day Syria. The descendants of Aram, look at verse 23, the sons of Aram were Uz and Hull, and Getther and Mash. I love the name Mash.

Sounds like a good name for a boy. all of these probably dwelled in the general area of modern Syria. It is largely the descendants of these sons who are right now flooding into Europe. And elsewhere.

These Syrian refugees that we read in the news about are largely the descendants of Shem, just as Abraham. was and the children of Israel through a different lineage. As we'll see. Verse 24, his other son, Arak Shad.

We're told that Arak Shad became the father of Shelah, and Shelab became the father of Eber. Two sons were born to Eber. The name of the one was Peleg, for in his days, the earth was divided, and his brother's name was Jactan. We will find out in chapter 11 that Eber was the one from whom Abraham descended.

The word Hebrews comes from the word Eber. Interestingly, enough, the people of Saudi Arabia share Eber as a common ancestor. their common ancestor is Eber, making them all technically in that sense, Hebrews, in that sense of the term. The difference is that the Arabians descended from Eber through the line of his son Joctan, and the Jews descended from Eber through Joctan's brother Peleg.

The expression in verse 25 telling us that Peleg's That in his day, the earth was divided is probably a reference to the Tower of Babel incident when the people were divided by language and dispersed from there and we'll learn about this incident next week in Genesis chapter 11. It's noteworthy here that the line of Israel through Pelle., Israel ends up descending from Peleg, yet the table of nations stops here with Peleg. Moses is gonna pick up here with Peleg and elaborate further on his descendants in the next chapter.

In chapter 11, we're gonna learn that Peleg is the great, great, great grandfather of Abraham.

Whom the Genesis narrative will pick up with in Genesis chapter 12. Well, the descendants of Joctan is in verse 26 and following. Joctan became the father of Almodad and Shelef and Haza Marveth and Jerah, and Hadaram and Azal and Dikla, and Obal and Abimael, and Sheba and Offer and Havilah and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joctim.

Pretty much every name in verses 26 to 29 are associated with locations in the landmass. The southern landmass of Arabia. Where did they settle? Verse 30 says, now their settlement extended from Mesha as you go towards Sefar, the hill country of the east.

We actually don't know where these locations are, but we can presume that they represent two extreme locations in Arabia designed to show the extent of probably the east and west. extent of their settlements in Arabia. Verse 31, these are the sons of Shem according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, and according to their nations. Again, notice the four categories, families, languages, lands, and nations.

The human race is united in its ancestry yet divided and separated by these four categories. The chapter closes with a final summary statement that communicates the purpose of the entire chapter, verse 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 So there we go. What do we learn from Genesis chapter 10?

Let's try to sweep together a few things that we can observe here. first of all, we observe the unity of the human race. The unity of the human race. One of the key messages of Genesis 10 is that we are all descended from Noah, the righteous, and this makes us family with one another.

In this sense, we are one. With our fellow men. Whatever has happened since that divides us, all of us can trace our lineage back to the righteous Noah. This should cut the heart right out of the sin of racism.

Vadi Baum is right when he says that the sin of racism not only denies our oneness in Adam, but it also denies our oneness in Noah, a truth that is loudly trumpeted here from Genesis chapter 10. Genesis 10 transports us upstream all the way back to Noah and his three sons and shows us that we in the community of man are all family. We have a common ancestor, and that is Noah. Nehem Sarna, a Jewish commentator, describes Genesis 10 in this way.

He says this strangely perplexing miscellany of peoples, tribes and places is no mere academic or scholastic exercise. It affirms, first of all, the common origin and absolute unity of all humankind after the flood. Then it tacitly but effectively asserts that the varied instrumentalities of human divisiveness are all secondary to the essential unity of the international community, which truly constitutes a family of man. The Jewish concept of this unity of the human race reflected in this chapter was actually remarkable and way ahead of its time.

No other nation thought this way about everybody on the planet. Other cultures did not embrace the unity. Of the human race. For example, one writer describes the way the ancient Egyptians thought in this way, the ancient Egyptians exclusively reserved for themselves the designation men while regarding all other peoples as descended from the enemies of the gods.

Other cultures did the same thing. They do something similar today. They dehumanize other ethnic groups and view themselves as superior. This is what Hitler did.

It's what some in America did during the days of the institution of black slavery. But a view of man that is informed by this chapter would lead a person to say, what Paul says in Acts 17:16, God made from one man, Noah, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth. This means that we are one race. There are many nationalities, but we are one race.

There are many languages, but we are one race, the human race, and that makes us family. There's something else that we see in Genesis 10. And that is the diversity of the human race. The diversity of the human race.

According to Genesis 10, there's 4 things that differentiate people and generate variety in the human family. Those things are lands, language, families, and nations. We find these things mentioned in verse 5, verse 20, and verse 31. These are 4 things that end up creating remarkable diversities that add texture and fabric to the human family.

With different languages come not only different modes of expression, but also different modes of thought. People who speak different languages don't just speak differently, they literally often think differently on a variety of levels. Our different lands, or geography shape our character in a lot of ways. People living in the harsh conditions of Siberia are shaped by those conditions and they end up being very different in their personalities and character from people who are living in the tropical conditions of the Bahamas.

People living in a desert climate with desert terrain, end up being different in their lifestyle. And character in many ways than those who live in the tropical rainforest of Brazil. Factors such as climate and terrain are huge factors in shaping the character, the personalities of people, the nations. The political states that we become a part of.

shape us in profound ways. The Japanese culture is quite different than the Spanish culture, which is very different from the Ethiopian culture. The United States culture is very different from the Saudi Arabian culture. Our national histories, the uniqueness of those histories and our laws and our customs and religious beliefs shape us and make us different.

And then there's family, a word that is used 5 times in Genesis 10. There's probably no social unit that shapes us more than the family that we are a part of and that we came from. We are shaped by the combined influence of our grandparents and parents and siblings and children and cousins and nieces and nephews and aunts and uncles. All of these entities.

are stated in Genesis 10, and they all conspire to make us different. There are no two people who are exactly alike, and this is what makes the human family. So interesting. Where these differences and distinctions are good and noble and morally neutral, we should admire them and celebrate them as reflections of the imagination and creativity of God.

Genesis 10 features a beautiful tapestry of diversity, all of it having derived from the same ancestry. Unfortunately, this tapestry is marked profoundly by sin also, and we see that play out in the rest of scripture. We also see in this passage, in this chapter, the sovereignty of God over the nations. In orchestrating the movement and the settlement of the peoples of the earth.

All of this is happening in fulfillment of God's spoken blessing upon Noah and his sons and his mandate for them to populate the earth. They're actually obeying the mandate that the sovereign God had given to them. God is also the unseen orchestrator of these movements, and he's creating these separations. Between peoples.

We're gonna learn in Genesis 11 how God deliberately intervenes. And confounds languages in order to ensure that the spreading and separation happens as the nations become dispersed. God is the orchestrator of this. In fact, Moses himself says this in Deuteronomy 32:8, he says, the Most High gave the nations their inheritance.

He separated the sons of man, he set the boundaries of the peoples. Paul says the same thing in Acts 17. Listen to what he says to his audience on Mars Hill in Acts 17:26, and he, God made from one every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation. As Warren Weirsby says, Jehovah is the God of geography and of history.

He is in control and he's in control of What is happening here and unfolding here in Genesis chapter 10. It also means that the present Syrian refugee crisis, this movement of peoples is under God's complete sovereignty. While there may be human causes for what is happening, we need to remember that God is sovereign over geography and over history. And he is always doing a million things that we can praise and thank him for.

That said, this refugee crisis is a problem, and we should pray for our world leaders that they will have the wisdom of Solomon and know what to do with these refugees in a way that ensures the safety of their respective countries while at the same time treating these refugees with the respect that they're entitled to as image bearers of God and as sons of Shem. Shem. would expect no less of us. Our own hearts should be that they experience the love of Christ and be saved.

There's a final thing that we see in Genesis 10, and that is a tension that begs for resolution. There's a palpable sense of tension that we're left with at the end of chapter 10, and this tension is intentional on the part of Moses, who's an amazing writer. Yes, we see chapter 10. As being the fulfillment of the divine blessing of Genesis 9:1.

And everyone is reproducing and spreading over the face of the earth. But we also see in this chapter, mankind, hopelessly scattered across the face of the earth, divided from one another and from God. And this leaves us wondering, what will happen next? Is this the end of the story?

Absolutely not. What will happen next is that God, in Genesis chapter 12, as chapter 12 begins, God is gonna choose Abraham, a son of Shem. And call him out and promise Abraham that through you, and you, all the families of the earth are going. To be blessed.

And that word families that God uses there is used 5 times in Genesis 10 and 5, 1820, verse 31, and verse 32. All of these families that are identified in Genesis 10, God speaks to Abraham, and says, through you, through you, I'm going to bless all of the families. Of the earth. And starting in chapter 12, we see the story of God setting in motion his plan to bless all the families and nations of the earth that are identified in Genesis 10.

It'll be through Abraham that the people of Israel would arise and God's destiny for Israel was that Israel would be a light to the nations, according to the prophet Isaiah. And beyond that, it would be through Israel that the Messiah, Jesus Christ would come, and God would send the Messiah into the world, not just because he loved Israel, but because God so loved the world. He loved all of these families and nations that are identified here in Genesis 10, every one of them. And so it shouldn't surprise us that after Jesus died and after he was raised, he calls upon his disciples to testify of Him.

I want you to tell people about me and what I have done and dying and being raised for their salvation. And I want you to start in Jerusalem. And then go throughout Judea, and then Samaria, and then I want you to go to the uttermost parts of the earth. Testifying to all the nations, all the families of the earth about me.

Before he ascended, he will speak to his disciples and he will tell them go into all the world and make disciples of all the nations. You see how it all fits together? As one writer says, the church is commissioned to go into all the world isn't a New Testament afterthought. It's written into the warp and woof of the Old Testament story.

And we see it here. Coming back to Genesis 10, the Israelites would read a chapter like this, and if their eyes were opened, as one writer says, they would see all the nations arranged around them and would better understand their mission and their destiny by having this map in front of them. Genesis 10 is the list. The locations of the nations around the world that God is about to promise Abraham.

That he will bless through Abraham. Consequently, the Israelites should have had an optimistic view of history. They should have looked at all of the nations around them with an eye of faith and known that history is heading in a direction that will result in all of the families of the earth and nations of the earth experiencing blessing through Abraham. Attached to what is about to be revealed in the coming chapters, Genesis 10 would encourage the Israelites, as one writer says, to regard all nations as future partakers with them of the same salvation and to embrace them with an interest of hopeful love unheard of elsewhere in the ancient world.

The religion of the Bible, the religion of Christianity is for all the world, it's for every people of every nation. Under heaven on earth. In this sense, Christianity is the ultimate cosmopolitan religion. I can say to you that regardless of your ethnic background, the color of your skin, regardless of your national history, or your language, that two things are true about you.

Number 1, you are as I am a descendant of Noah, and that makes us family. And number 2, God wants you to come to the knowledge of the truth, and he wants me to tell you about the possibility of salvation through Jesus. Who died for all of the nations. If you are a Christian, I ask you this morning, do you have a heart for the nations?

Do you feel privileged to play a role? In the ancient and cosmic plan of God to bless people of every nation through Christ, do you think, do you live as a missionary sharing Christ with others? Can you look into the face of any fellow human being of any ethnicity, including the Syrian refugee and say to them, you are my relative, and I have some good news to share with you about Jesus. Right now guys, our world is so divided, it's so fractured with wars and with rumors of wars, with terrorist attacks and mass shootings and with fear and hate and counterattacks.

That come in response, and we long for the day when the ancient promise of God is fulfilled. We long for the day when all the families and nations of the earth will truly experience the fullness of God's promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:3. We long for the day when people of every tribe and tongue and nation are gathered around the throne of God, singing the praises of Jehovah God. Genesis 10 is a list of nations and families that God is about to promise Abraham that he's gonna bless through Abraham.

This should change the way we think when we look at our world map today because of Jesus Christ, we have an optimistic view of human history. Because we know of God's plan to unite all the nations under the rule of Jesus Christ. Guys, there's coming a day when the lion is going to lie down with the lamb, and when the peoples of Saudi Arabia and Iraq and Iran and Syria, and the United States will be singing the praises of Jesus Christ as their sovereign Lord and King. Let us share Christ with others and show them the love of Jesus in anticipation.

Of that day and be a part of this cosmic ancient mission to see to it that all the nations of the earth are blessed through Abraham. And his ultimate descendant, Jesus Christ. Let's pray together. Lord, there's not in our passage today.

Things to tickle our ears. This requires us to think. But if there ever was a day when we need To think deeply and carefully. It's today If there ever was a day when we need to look at a world map.

And to see that world map through your eyes and through the vision that is given in scripture, it's today. If there ever was a day when we need to see that you are sovereign over history, and all that is inside of that history, it is today, you are not in heaven right now wringing your hands over global developments and national developments, you are sovereign. And you are bringing your purposes to pass one stage at a time. And the day will come when every knee will bow to the Lord Jesus Christ and confess that he is Lord.

And the nations will be under his wonderful, beautiful rule, and we'll give glory to Him who died and who was raised. And with the eye of faith. We look at our world map and we look at our fellow men as we're taught to do on the pages of scripture. We ask that you would give us cosmopolitan hearts that are big and large, that do not just embrace those of our own ethnicity, those of our own language.

Large enough, Lord, to embrace the world just as Jesus did. You so loved the world and help us to be like you. And so love the world as well. We thank you, Lord, for all that you have given to us and for the opportunity we have to give of our offerings to you in return.

We're delighted to do so, Lord, and we ask that you would receive these offerings. And do much with every penny that is given for the glory of Jesus Christ and for the accomplishment of this ancient and ever relevant mission. To bless all the nations. We ask these things in his name and all God's people said.