Genesis 10 "The Table of Nations"

“Now this is the genealogy of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And sons were born to them after the flood.” (v.1)

This chapter deals with “The Table of Nations,” which lists the genealogy of Noah’s descendants and tells us where the various people groups and nations throughout history originated. Not only is this a remarkable chapter, it is also a remarkably accurate and is even acclaimed by those not of the faith. 

Henry Morris writes, “Dr. William F. Albright, universally acknowledged as the world’s leading authority on the archaeology of the Near East, though himself not a believer in the infallibility of Scripture, said concerning this table of nations, “It stands absolutely alone in ancient literature, without a remote parallel, even among the Greeks, where we find the closest approach to a distribution of peoples in genealogical framework…The Table of Nations remains as astonishingly accurate document.”

One of the mistakes made by many today (including the church), is to believe that the these three sons of Noah end up producing what people refer to as the three main races of people, with the Hamites representing the black skinned people, the Japhethites the white skinned Caucasion people, and the Shemites the Oriental people. 

The concept of race is not found in the Bible, it's a distinction of modern day thinking. All people on the face of the earth are descended from Noah and the characteristics that typically define races are merely genetic characteristics that can be calculated through the existence of recessive and dominant genes.

This chapter deals with the table of nations, not races and is a interval that occurs before the next chapter (11) that tells us how all of the various languages came about in the first place, at the Tower of Babel. But for now, chapter 10 summarizes that, “the nations” were separated into their lands, every one according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.” We will get the “how” in chapter 11. 

The Truth: “These were the sons of Noah, from these the whole earth was populated.” (Genesis 9:19)

Genesis 9 "God's Covenant With Noah And All Flesh"

Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, “Now behold, I Myself do establish My covenant with you, and with your descendants after you; and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you; of all that comes out of the ark, even every beast of the earth. “I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth.” God said, “This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth.” (vv.8-13)

The worldwide flood had ended, the waters had receded, and life was about to start anew. God had preserved not only human beings, but also two of every kind of animal in the Ark (Gen. 6:19-21) with which to repopulate the earth. The basis for this fresh start is a new covenant, symbolized in the new phenomenon of the rainbow. The parties to this covenant include every creature that had been on the Ark, in addition to Noah and his family. This is the only time in Scripture that animals are explicitly mentioned as participating in a covenant.

The Flood being universal, affected the whole of the created world. So the promise that there would never be such a flood again (Genesis 9:11, 15) is likewise a promise to all of creation, “an everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth” (Genesis 9:16; note Revelation 5:13). God made the promise because He did things in the post-flood world to guarantee that the exact evil conditions of the pre-flood world would never be precisely duplicated. These things included the imprisonment of the angels who sinned with human women (Jude 6) and shortening the lifespan of man.

For the Christian, the rainbow should act as a reminder of the faithfulness of God in every one of His promises. For God does not only look at the rainbow on earth and remember the covenant; He also looks at the rainbow that surrounds His throne (Revelation 4:3), which also speaks to His Glory (Ezekiel 1:28) It’s comforting that God set so close to Himself a reminder of His promise to man – not that He needed it, but it's there.

The Truth: God’s perpetual covenant of peace. “For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you. For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed, says the LORD, who has mercy on you.” (Isaiah 54:9-10).

Genesis 8 "Go Out Of The Ark"

And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, that the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and indeed the surface of the ground was dry. And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dried. Then God spoke to Noah, saying, “Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you: birds and cattle and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him. Every animal, every creeping thing, every bird, and whatever creeps on the earth, according to their families, went out of the ark. (vv.13-19)

Here, the command to leave the ark is given and obeyed. Just as Noah did not enter, neither does he leave the ark, without divine direction. Genesis 7:11-13 says that Noah entered the ark on the seventeenth day of the second month of the six hundredth year of his life. This is now almost a full year later, "and in the second month of his six hundred and first year Noah left the ark." And, just as the ark was loaded with animals before the flood, it was now unloaded almost a year later. Living things from the ark would once again repopulate the earth.

The application here is that we should learn from Noah's example, to watch for and listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit, to direct us in our life’s journey. While our life experience may not be as dramatic as Noah's, nevertheless we too should patiently seek God's direction through prayer and the reading of His word. Then, as Noah, never waver. 

The Truth: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Genesis 7 "God Invites Noah Into The Ark"

 “The LORD then said to Noah, "Come into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.” (v.1)

This invitation indicates that God was in the ark and would be with Noah in the ark, so He called Noah to come into the ark with Him. Spurgeon writes, “Notice that the Lord did not say to Noah, ‘Go into the ark,’ but ‘Come,’ plainly implying that God was himself in the ark, waiting to receive Noah and his family into the big ship that was to be their place of refuge while all the other people on the face of the earth were drowned.” 

Noah spent the years before the flood in active obedience. He not only believed God would send the flood; he obeyed what God told him to do in preparation for it. During the time that the ark was being built (120 years), was a period of grace given by God to allow men to see the error of their ways and repent, but now we see that time had passed (Genesis 6:3), for Noah received instructions from GOD to enter the ark with his family, and with the animals. He was also informed that within seven days God would cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights (Genesis 7:4).

Noah, the animals, and his family had to wait in the ark seven days for the rain to come. They had never seen rain up to this time. This was a real test of faith – to wait a week after more than 100 years of preparation. Can you imagine?

Some wonder how the animals came to Noah or how Noah got them. In Genesis 6:20 God said the animals would come to Noah. God probably put a migratory instinct into them for the ark. God never has a problem getting the animals to do what He wants. Only man is more stupid than the animals. As God showed Isaiah, "The ox knows its master and the donkey its owner's manger; but Israel did not know, My people do not understand. Woe to the sinful nation, a people whose guilt is great" (Isaiah 1:3-4).

Certainly everyone must make their own decision regarding salvation, but seeing the reality of faith lived out in your house every day would be a dynamic hard to ignore. Leadership begins at home and it starts at the head of each household. May God give all of us the strength of Noah to lead through example every day despite the decaying culture around us.

The Truth: “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house.” (Acts 16:31) 

Genesis 6 "The Great Wickedness Of Noah's Day "

Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the LORD said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, every creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. (vv. 5-8)

This says a lot concerning man's character. It means there was no aspect of man’s nature not corrupted by sin. A more emphatic statement of the wickedness of the human heart is hardly conceivable. Jesus said of His second coming, as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be (Matthew 24:37). In other words, the conditions of the world before the coming of Jesus will be like the conditions of the world before the flood; Exploding population (Genesis 6:1), sexual perversion (Genesis 6:2), demonic activity (Genesis 6:2), constant evil in the heart of man (Genesis 6:5), and widespread corruption and violence (Genesis 6:11).

God’s sorrow at man, and the grief in His heart are striking. This does not mean that creation was out of control, nor does it mean that God hoped for something better but was unable to achieve it. God knew all along that this was how things would turn out, but our text clearly tells us that as God sees His plan for the ages unfold, it affects Him. God is not unfeeling in the face of human sin and rebellion.

While God commanded all the earth to be cleansed of this pollution, He found one man with whom to begin again, Noah. Noah did not find favor in the eyes of men; they hated and persecuted him because both by his life and preaching, he condemned the world: but he found grace in the eyes of the Lord, and this made him truly more honorable than the men of renown.

We also see in verses 9-10 that Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time and that he walked with God. Noah believed in God’s character, that He is good, even when faced with the reality that his Lord was about to destroy the world as he knew it. He “walked with God” through believing in His justice, His good purposes, and His right actions. Noah had "FAITH" in the Lord.

When the rest of the world was wicked, Noah kept his integrity. What a great example for us to follow. 

The Truth: “By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” (Hebrews 11:7)

Luke 24 “Hope Restored, He Is Risen”

^"He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'" (Luke 24:6-7)

Luke 24 contains two themes throughout the chapter; 1) the fulfillment of Christ's teachings on His death, burial and resurrection and 2) the continued struggles His disciple had in seeing this truth as it was; predicted, unfolded, and completed before their every eyes.

After Jesus's death, His disciples were blinded by their grief, discouraged, lost, afraid, and did not see this event for what it was, the fulfillment of all that the prophets have spoken! They saw His death as the end of their Messiah and His kingdom here on earth, not reconciling it with what He had taught them. (Matthew 20:17-19)

It took the Lord Himself appearing to; Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, to Peter, then the twelve collectively showing them His hands and His feet, eating with them and finally opening their understanding to the scriptures, before their blindness turned to joy and their hope restored. (v.45)  

Just as it took the infallible truth of the scriptures to open the eyes of those who walked with Jesus then, so it may be with our loved ones today as well. With so much evil in our world, we need to keep praying that our Lord will bring His truth into their lives and open their understanding to His love and grace.  

The Truth: Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.” (Matthew 20:17-19)

"The Crucifixion of Jesus and Good Friday"

 “So he (Pilate) delivered Him (Jesus) to them (the chief priests) to be crucified. So they took Jesus and led Him away.” (John 19:16)

After being betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter, delivered to Pilate (who found no fault in Him at all but had Him scourged anyway). After being mocked by the roman soldiers, crowned with a crown of thorns and beaten while being blindfolded, Pilate had Jesus brought out from the Praetorium (where these actions had taken place) and said to the chief priests and officers, "You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him" (v.6). 

Death by Roman crucifixion was a result of the whole body weight being supported by the stretched arms of the victim. When nailed to the cross, there was a massive strain put on the wrists, arms and shoulders often resulting in a dislocation of the shoulder and elbow joints. The rib cage was constrained in a fixed position, which made it extremely difficult to exhale, and impossible to take a full breath. The victim would continually try to draw himself up by his feet to allow for inflation of the lungs enduring terrible pain in his feet and legs. The pain in the feet and legs would become so unbearable, that the victim was forced to trade breathing for pain and eventually die of suffocation. The length of time required to die from crucifixion could range from hours to a number of days.

The punishment of Roman crucifixion was chiefly inflicted on slaves and the worst kind of criminals. Crucifixion was considered a most shameful and disgraceful way to die and condemned Roman citizens were usually exempt from crucifixion. The manner and process of crucifixion was that after the criminal had been scourged and sentence had been pronounced, he carried his cross to the place of execution, which was just outside the city. (John 19:17) The criminal was next stripped of his clothes and nailed or bound to the cross. Before the nailing to the cross took place, a medicated cup of vinegar mixed with gall and myrrh (the sopor) was given, for the purpose of deadening the pangs of the sufferer. (Mark 15:23)

Roman Crucifixion was typically carried out by specialized teams, consisting of a commanding centurion and four soldiers. It was common to leave the body on the cross after death. However, it sometimes became necessary to break the legs of the criminal (as mentioned of the thieves in the Gospels) because Jewish law expressly forbid bodies to remain on the cross during the Sabbath day. Jesus died this death for you and for me, that we might have forgiveness of sin - through His atonement. 

So why is today called "Good Friday" instead of "Bad Friday" or something similar? Because the suffering and death of Jesus, as terrible as it was, marked the dramatic culmination of God's plan to save His people from their sin. The Law required a blood sacrifice for sin, so God poured out His wrath against sin on Jesus, the perfect sacrificial substitute, in order that forgiveness and salvation would be possible for all nations. Jesus endure the cross on "Good Friday" knowing it would lead to our salvation, His resurrection, and the fulfillment of God's plan of redemption. Good Friday marks the day when wrath and mercy met at the cross, but the best is yet to come, as Jesus would rise from the dead and conquer death for us all. 

The Truth: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

Genesis 5 “Enoch Walked With God”

“Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.”

Enoch, the son of Jared (v.18), was carried away to be with God in a miraculous way. One moment he was walking with God, and the next moment he was not. Enoch’s “walk” speaks of a true, deep relationship with God, walking in faith and agreement. And, after walking like this with God for 300 years, God took him. 

Hebrews 11:5 tells us about the foundation of Enoch’s walk with God: “By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, and was not found, because God had taken him. For before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” Concerning our walk with God Spurgeon writes, “If men walk contrary to God, He will not walk with them, but contrary to them. Walking together implies amity, friendship, intimacy, love, and these cannot exist between God and the soul unless the man is acceptable unto the Lord.” 

It seems Enoch began to walk with God in a special way after the birth of Methuselah (having children will do that to you, but raising children will bring a realization of one’s need for God). The name Methuselah means, when he is dead, it shall come. At the birth of Methuselah, Enoch obviously had a special awareness from God that judgment was coming (the flood). Interestingly enough, when Methuselah died, the flood came the next day. God kept him alive longer than anybody (969 yrs) to give people as long as possible to repent.

Enoch, the seventh descendant from Adam, spoke a prophesy that is recorded in Jude 14-15 that states, “Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” Now here he prophesied was the second coming of Jesus Christ. Ten thousands of his saints will come with Jesus Christ to execute Judgment upon all of the ungodly on the earth to convince them of all of their ungodliness and wicked deeds. Obviously, after walking with God for 300 years they spoke of many things, including "the day of the Lord."

Because God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance He still waits at the right hand of the Father in Heaven until the fullness of the gentiles comes in. Still giving mankind time to repent. While some may see this as slackness due to extend time He has given, remember in His realm "a day is as a thousand years, and and a thousand years as a single day" (2 Peter 3:8, Psalm 90:4) So in His timing, its only been a few days. 

As we get ready to celebrate Easter (Christ's resurrection from the dead) this Sunday, now would be an excellent time to start your walk with God. Simply say the prayer to the right on this page "Connect with God," and begin your journey with Him today.   

The Truth: “By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:5)