Monday, January 10, 2011

Genesis: Chapter 10

Truly this chapter is one of those incredible treasures that hides behind a mask of detailed genealogy.  The roots of all studies of anthropology are found in this portion of God's Word.  All of mankind traces itself to Noah and his children; the birth of 70 nations is shown here. 

All of the coming pages of scripture flow with accounts that involve the nations first glimpsed in this chapter.  Babylon--from Tower of Babel to Revelation -- and all it represents is prominent in God's Story.  Nineveh--and its evil people who responded to the reluctant Prophet, Jonah--is founded by a son of Ham.  Nations which would battle God's chosen nation of Israel even till today are seen at their founding in this chapter:  Jebusites, Ammorites, Hivites and so much more.  The peoples of every continent, Europe, North America and Asia..the ancestors of America are traced back to Noah's descendants.  It's interesting stuff!

But most exciting of all is the descendant line of Shem.  Our Lord and Savior came through the blessed line of Shem.  Do you remember yesterday's reading?  Noah's curse and blessing was wrapped up with these words:  God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. (Genesis 9:27).  In the tents of Shem, in Jesus Christ we are able to dwell in unity for eternity.  Though one of Shem's descendants was named Peleg (meaning in his days the earth was divided), all is brought together in Jesus. 

And a final interesting 'tidbit' from McGee's Through the Bible commentary:  He notes that scripture always lists the 'rejected' lines first, then drops the subject permanently and moves onto the line of blessing.  Isn't that a good idea for all of us?  There are things that must be put behind--we need to drop the subject far more often than we do--and then press forward to the plans and blessings of God.

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