The Failure of Our Ancestors
Book of Genesis Chapters 10 through 11
When we come to these chapters that cover genealogies, we are tempted to skip over them and when we do, we find out later we have missed some important information.
The Bible is not a history book, but the Bible does contain much history and just like all the other Scriptures these things of history are the complete truth!
These chapters in the Book Genesis teach us the beginning of the history of the world.
No matter what nation that exist today, nor what people describe as the races, all of them are the descendants of Noah and his family!
No matter our color we are the descendants of Noah!
The word “race” is never mentioned in the Bible and “race” is not relevant!
The Bible speaks of nationalities.
The Bible speaks of three peoples, the Jews, the Gentiles, and the Church.
The Bible speaks of the only two type of humans. the saved and the lost.
What is relevant is that the Bible deals with mankind, humans!
We must understand that we are the architect of our own circumstances that we find ourselves in today!
One of the greatest truths in the Bibles is found in the Book of Acts.
Act 17:26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
Act 17:27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
Act 17:28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
The foolish world may not accept this truth, but it is still the truth!
In fact the world may reject the Word of God, but it does not make the Word of God any less the truth!
*****Gen 10:1 Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.
Throughout the Bible we will see that word generations. In fact 118 times the word generations can be seen in the KJV Bible which I use.
We know that the average life span of humans is 70 years now and it will remain that way no matter how far science has developed, until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We must also understand the Lord Jesus Christ is the Master of Life, and our lives are in His hands to do as He pleases!
These 70 year life spans, did not begin until after the death of Abraham and Sarah.
Our Scripture insists that from now on, the Bible will deal with the generations of man after the flood and these generations will begin with the sons of Noah.
This passage of Scripture we will see unfold until the Lord Jesus Christ returns the second time to this earth!
He has already come once to provide for our salvation!
*****Gen 10:2 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
We must understand that the Bible is earliest table of nations known to mankind.
This same table describes the birth of the nations upon this earth.
It is unmatched in all the world and nothing even comes close in all of literature!
Japheth was not the youngest of Noah's sons as some believe, but probably the oldest of Noah's sons and was born one hundred years before the flood.
Gen 9:24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.
Japheth is the father of the Gentile nations in Europe and North of Asia. We could say the white race even though the Bible does not ever use the word race.
Modern ethnological science has proven that there is a three-fold division of the human family just as God says in the Book of Genesis.
The accuracy of this table of nations in the Book of Genesis cannot be denied!
The Gentiles are the descendants of Japheth.
Gen 10:5 By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
All nations had there beginning with Noah who was a blood descendant of Adam and patriarch in the blood line to the Messiah born of the virgin Mary a descendant of King David and whose Father is the Holy Ghost.
Notice also the Son named Magog who is well known to us in prophecy.
*****Gen 10:6 And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.
Ham was the youngest son of Noah as we have already seen.
Ham is the Father of the Oriental nations.
Ham and Egypt are interchanged in some Scriptures.
Ham is also the Father of the African nations.
In fact the meaning of the name Ham is "sun-burnt".
It was Ham who provoked the wrath of Noah, his father by an act of indecency towards him.
It was God who killed the first lamb to cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve and this had been taught all the way down to Noah that nakedness exposed to others was indecent.
It is this act that caused Noah to curse Canaan who was the fourth son of Ham.
We will learn that it was the descendants of Shem who would destroy the descendants of Canaan.
This curse was not directed toward Cush, Mizrai, nor Phut.
It was Cush who begat Nimrod the first ruler of all the world.
Gen 10:8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.
Gen 10:9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.
Gen 10:10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
Nimrod was not just the first ruler, but also the first tyrant of this world!
He decided himself to defy God and be the first tyrant making himself out to be some god.
Slavery was one of the things that began in the days of Nimrod as he made slaves to build his gigantic tower to nowhere.
It is said that Nimrod was not trying to reach Heaven with his tower, but to be high enough to survive if God sent another flood, which means he ignored the Word of God!
Nimrod wanted to be worshiped as god!
Noah had another son by the name of Shem.
*****Gen 10:21 Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.
It is from Shem that the Hebrew children and the Arabians begin their existence.
Before Adam died Methuselah had lived 243 years.
Before Methuselah died Shem was 100 years old.
Before Shem died Abraham was 148 years old and Isaac had been married for 9 years.
These things should give us an idea of how Abraham was very acquainted with Jehovah God even if did live in what we call modern day Iraq.
Shem was the father of the children of Eber, known as the father of the Hebrew speaking people.
This same verse reminds us that Shem had as a brother Japheth the father of the Gentile people which we know when Jesus returns the Hebrews, and the Gentiles will form the Church of the Living God!
Most important of all, the promised Messiah could come from the descendants of Shem.
Shem is the father of the Hebrew people! The father of those who are blessed.
Ham was the father of the Canaanites! The father of those who are cursed.
*****Gen 10:23 And the children of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.
Gen 10:24 And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber.
Gen 10:25 And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan.
In this passage we see that Uz was also a descendant of Shem and a very important man was also from the land of Uz.
Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.
Two sons born to Eber one Peleg and one Joktan.
There is a note attached to the man named Peleg.
"For in his days the earth divided":
1) We know the earth was divided by language during the days of Nimrod.(The Hebrews probably kept their language)
2) We know the families of Joktan and the families of Peleg separated themselves.(Joktan formed the Arabian peoples)
3) The Hebrew word used for Peleg is "earthquake".(All the continents were divided as we see them today)
Much of the earth changed during and after the flood, but many more changes have occurred.
The earth was one large island until the flood of Noah, but since the flood we see how the earth is now with much separation of the different continents.
I believe much of this happened during the days of Peleg who lived for about 250 years.
One of the most overlooked things in all this, is that there is no one race superior to any other race, we all had the same distant family, Noah and his family.
We are all the same blood relatives!
Act 17:26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
*****Gen 10:32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.
We know that the Messiah would come from the line of Shem.
Luk 3:36 Which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad, which was the son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech,
Luk 3:37 Which was the son of Mathusala, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, which was the son of Maleleel, which was the son of Cainan,
Luk 3:38 Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.
This Canaan is sometimes called the second Canaan because of the hatred for the Canaanites but Luke said he gave us the truth.
The one thing we know for sure is the everyone spoke the same language at this time!
It is believed that the Hebrews kept their language which would mean that the Hebrew language was the same language of Adam, but most Bible scholars disagree.
There is coming a pure language that we all will speak.
Zep 3:9 For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent.
That pure language will originate from Heaven!
The fact remains that one of the languages still spoken in the world is the language of Adam and Eve!
*****Gen 11:1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.
Gen 11:2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
After Babel all the many languages came about. Today, not even one nation has just one language with its borders.
Here in America everyone should be forced to learn our national language, but this is not the only problem.
Even two people when they meet together one will have a different meaning for the same words.
The meaning of words has changed from time to time!
As an elder, I can barely understand our young people today.
When we do not speak the same language then there is a distrust between us!
When words do not mean the same as when we speak them, then it causes confusion.
We should go back to God's command to Noah.
Gen 9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
The earth could not be replenished if all the people lived in one location!
God intended for the people to spread out upon the earth.
Remember Nimrod had taken control of these people and he was not about to follow the Word of God given to Noah.
Remember Noah lived 350 years after the Ark came to rest and Nimrod rebelled against Noah and moved the people to the land of Shinar and put in roots to stay.
This is the land of Mesopotamia or we say Babylonia or Chaldea.
It is a plain where there was no stone.
In contrast Israel is a place where there is so much stone you can hardly walk without stepping on one.
No stone means they had to make brick, so we see that these were intelligent people, just not righteous people.
Humans have always had intelligence! Nothing like what the evolutionist teach today!
They began to rebel against the Word of God.
*****Gen 11:3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.
Gen 11:4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
We know that the land of Shinar is in modern day Iraq.
In order for brick to be used for lasting structures then it had to baked in ovens. Sun dried brick will not stand up to the climates very well.
Slime or bitumen could be described as earth-resin in its earliest stage to become petroleum or kerosene, and it was plentiful in the subterranean fountains not far from Babylon.
It also provided for lights as torches.
In reality, by the actions of Nimrod these people gave up their tents in an attempt to build a city which went against God's command.
God did not have a problem with cities, but they did need to spread out to be in obedience.
All the people decided that this was a good idea to give in to Nimrod rather that trust the Lord.
They wanted to build a tower that could be seen from the whole world.
The Tower of Babel was designed as a religious center, today called a ziggurat.
Built as staircases to Heaven a deception to people who fall into the traps of Satan.
They felt that they would be safer as a group rather than travel in small parties.
My question is, who were they afraid of? They were the only people upon the earth and God put a fear of them in all the animals!
They were afraid because of that tyrant Nimrod told them all these things.
People have great fear today when tyrants and foolish leaders are in charge!
It is fear that is used by the Democratic Party today in America.
They had forgotten the promises of God.
Jas 2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
God had saved these people and you would have thought they would acknowledge Him, but they should also have considered His Almighty Power.
The safest place we can ever be on this earth, is in the will of God!
The most dangerous place we can be is outside the will of God, for then we are alone against the world.
Nimrod had demanded their faith to be in him.
He said "let us make a name for ourselves"
He said "let us make us a tower to reach into the heavens"
He said: let us stay right here and not be scattered abroad upon the face of this earth"
We as Christians know that there is only one way to get to God's Heaven.
Did these people think that they could reach into God's Heaven or had Nimrod changed the intent of God to form his own religion, as most wicked rulers do when they think of themselves as little gods.
Why is it that every wicked ruler wants to begin his own kingdom and make new rules for everyone?
Today we have a group of politicians who want to abandon our Constitution which has served us well since our beginning, and write something new designed for small groups of people always leaving out the backbone of our nation?
The one thing about city dwellers is that they never consider who will provide them the necessities of life!
A city cannot provide for itself. They would have been far better off to have done what the Lord had told them to do!
So the Lord looked upon what they were doing because He knew their thoughts.
*****Gen 11:5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
Gen 11:6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
In reality nothing can escape the eyes of God!
Did God and the Holy Spirit and the Lord Jesus come down to the earth to see this? Probably not, but we must understand, God does what God wants to do anytime God wants to do it.
I believe God does still come down and walks upon this earth!
In reality God does not have to come down from anywhere because God is everywhere, and His power is with Him at all times.
Many times the Holy Spirit will use our human traits to describe the actions of God, to keep our relationship with Him simple.
This is called "anthropomorphic" language.
When God does come down to earth, He is coming to cause some action that He has forewarned us about!
We should understand that we stand on very shaky ground when we defy our Lord!
These people were of one mind and one accord just as those before the flood, and if left on their own, the earth would never have been populated and this group would have eventually perished not being able to support themselves.
Ecc 11:8 But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.
Ecc 11:9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.
Why do these things never work?
Psa 2:1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
Psa 2:2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
Psa 2:3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
Psa 2:4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
Psa 2:5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
The foolish things we think we can do on our own, without God are comical in His eyes!
I am so glad we have a "loving" God full of "Mercy" and "Grace"!
This is one time in the Bible when we can actually see that the will of God is forced upon the people, but still for their own safety.
The will of God and the plan of God will move forward at His pace until the Lord returns!
God is working behind the scenes every day to accomplish what He has set out to accomplish!
God is visible or at least His actions are visible, we are just to blind to see them!
These people would pass these things down to those that came from them, until God told Moses to write it all down.
We can believe all these things in the Book of Genesis are accurate!
*****Gen 11:7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
Here again we see Elohim, the Triune God. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit take the necessary action, this time to cause no harm to anyone, but just to separate themselves to do as the Lord had commanded.
God will get His will done one way or another!
We will never be able to dictate to God our own will!
God knows the godless purpose of wicked men, and He will not allow things to happen that go against His perfect plan of salvation!
*****Gen 11:8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
Gen 11:9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
That name Babylon has been around since the Book of Genesis and all it has ever meant is confusion.
Nimrod built the city of confusion.
Nimrod built the Tower of confusion.
These people have been confused ever since!
These things are still with us because this is Satan's main tool to use against us.
The Lord did not confound the languages because of Satan!
The Lord confounded the languages put His plan into action!
You see this world is operating under the Will of God even when the world goes against God in every way!
This world will improve if it admits God is right and the world is wrong.
We must also remember God does not make threats, but He does give warnings, because it is He that holds our future in His hands!
God did not give anyone a second chance because He does this all the time.
The things of this world must move along just as written down the God's Book of Truth and no one can change this.
No President.
No world leader.
No action by congress.
No action by the UN.
None of these things can change what God plans to do and everything God does is for the Church.
Why are there all the different races, the different languages, the different cultures? Because wickedness explodes upon the innocent.
Why are you born in the color of your skin? Because all our heritage from the time of Noah rebelled against God.
When you take the skin off, we are all the same under our skin!
Do not blame God for your situation, blame sin!
Amen
