Year 7, Day 10: Genesis 10

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Genesis 10 gives us a really neat geography lesson.  Yes, I’m serious.

First, we hear about the people of Japheth.  Japheth’s people go north.  These are the people of Asia Minor, Greece, Thrace, and southern Europe.  By and large, they are nearly irrelevant for the rest of the witness of the Old Testament.  But we’ll come back to this point.

Second, we hear about the descendants of Ham.  Ham’s descendants become the main opponents to God’s plan in the world.  These are the Egyptians, the Canaanites, the Philistines (specifically), and most of the other people found in the region of Israel.

Third, we hear about the people of Shem.  It is from his name that we derive the word Semitic.  These are Abraham’s people.  These people are the people who settled in the areas of Iraq and Iran.  The Persians are from Shem.  The Assyrians come from Shem.  The people of Lebanon and Syria come from Shem.

Why is all of this important?  Do you remember the odd little story about Noah’s drunkenness last chapter?  Pay attention, because this goes to show us that human beings don’t change much once we get an identity.

Remember that it was Ham that who could have cared less about Noah’s dignity.  It is Ham’s descendants that will be the primary antagonists to the Hebrew people throughout all time.  Ham starts off caring about himself and his desires and not caring about others.  It isn’t a surprise that these people by and large continue to oppose what God is at work doing in the world.

Also remember that it is Japheth and Shem who come along and preserve Noah’s dignity.  These are people who do care about others and do look to the needs of others before themselves. These are the people that God continues to use all throughout history.  Abraham comes from Shem.  The Assyrians, who God uses to judge his own people, come from Shem.  The Persians, who God uses to return His people from exile, largely come from Shem. 

Furthermore, do you remember the descendants of Japheth that we talked about earlier?  To whom does the Gospel spread after Christ’s death?  Who become the primary preachers and teachers for dozens of generations after Christ?  Naturally, it is the descendants of Japheth.

I think that it is really neat how these generations play out in connection to the story about Noah’s drunkenness.  It does truly go back to identity as a people.  I’m not trying to say that people can’t change their identity.  Through Christ, all things are possible, including changing identity!  But it is really a neat connection between identity and action.  It is also a really neat place that we can stop, sit back, and reflect on from where our identity come.

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