The Table of Nations
Text: Genesis 10
Core Idea: This table of nations is more than just a list of ancient tribes – it’s a theological roadmap showing God’s unwavering commitment to redeem His people. It’s our story. Then, let’s go and make disciples of all nations so that they would also know the saving love of God. Let’s unite people under the banner of Christ.
INTRODUCTION
Well, we’re currently going through the Book of Genesis – looking at how all things started. And last week, we were reminded that the flood was not enough to purge the wickedness in the human heart – and that sin was alive and well in the new world. And because Noah did not guard his heart, because he let his guard down, sin, like a beast, devoured and consumed him – leaving him covered with shame and disgrace. Now, when one of his sons, Ham, saw his father passed out naked in the tent, he went out to tell his two brothers – making it publicly known what Noah had done in private, not out of his concern for Noah, but simply to expose him. But his brothers, Shem and Japheth, did not give into that temptation – instead, they covered Noah’s body with a garment to minimize his shame. So, when Noah woke up and found out what his sons had done, he cursed Ham but blessed Shem and Japheth. Now, despite His disappointments, God wasn’t going to retract His blessings on mankind, for He had made a covenant with Noah. Then, what we’ll see today is God’s blessing being fulfilled as Noah’s descendants multiplied and filled the earth.
Now, I’ll be honest. When I decided to preach through the Book of Genesis, verse by verse, there were a few passages that made me hesitant – one of them was this. Why? Because it’s just a list of names of people we do not know or care about – names that are, in fact, even hard to pronounce. There are no inspiring stories, no convicting commands, and no comforting encouragement here to move us – it’s just another genealogy. So, I asked myself, “Do I really want to preach through this, or should I just tack it on to other sermons almost as an afterthought? Even if I decide to preach from this, will I have enough material to share?” It turns out I have more than enough to share. So, if you thought we would have a shorter sermon today, you’re probably going to be disappointed. In all seriousness, as I was wrestling through this, God led me to 2 Timothy 3:16-17, which says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Yes, it’s true that this is not the most exciting passage you’ll read in the Bible, but I firmly believe that God can use it to speak to you today – to give you truths that will strengthen your faith and fill you with life because everything in the Word is there for a purpose. So, I will continue to be committed to expositional preaching – being faithful to all Scripture, not skipping through texts that may be more difficult to understand or handle. If I encourage the church to read the Bible in its entirety, why wouldn’t I do the same with preaching? So, with that in mind, please turn to Genesis 10 – let me read this for us.
1 This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah’s sons, who themselves had sons after the flood. 2 The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshek and Tiras. 3 The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah. 4 The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites and the Rodanites. 5 (From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own language.) 6 The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put and Canaan. 7 The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah and Sabteka. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan. 8 Cush was the father of Nimrod, who became a mighty warrior on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; that is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD.” 10 The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Uruk, Akkad and Kalneh, in Shinar. 11 From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah 12 and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah – which is the great city. 13 Egypt was the father of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, 14 Pathrusites, Kasluhites (from whom the Philistines came) and Caphtorites. 15 Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn, and of the Hittites, 16 Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, 17 Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, 18 Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites. Later the Canaanite clans scattered 19 and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim, as far as Lasha. 20 These are the sons of Ham by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations. 21 Sons were also born to Shem, whose older brother was Japheth; Shem was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber. 22 The sons of Shem: Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram. 23 The sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether and Meshek. 24 Arphaxad was the father of Shelah, and Shelah the father of Eber. 25 Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg, because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan. 26 Joktan was the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 29 Ophir, Havilah and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan. 30 The region where they lived stretched from Mesha toward Sephar, in the eastern hill country. 31 These are the sons of Shem by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations. 32 These are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood. Amen. This is the Word of God for you today.
Let’s go through this passage under three headings:
· THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD
· THE STORY OF OUR SALVATION
· THE MISSION FIELD FOR THE CHURCH
1) THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD
Even though this passage takes the form of a genealogy, it would be more accurate to say that this is a table of nations (hence, the title) because it deals with peoples rather than with individuals – Some individuals are mentioned, but they’re named more as the head of the group they belong to. So, for example, verse 13 says, “Egypt was the father of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites,” and so on. Now, the names we read here may not mean much to us, but this passage is incredibly important not just to the Christians but also to the rest of the world because you won’t find any document like this that tells you about the history of not just a nation but the entire human race. Think about it. If a country were to retrace its history, that document would purely focus on its own history – they may mention a brief history of their surrounding nations but never the whole world. Why? Because it seems irrelevant – there’s no connection. But that’s exactly what this passage is presenting – a map that shows how mankind spread throughout the earth. William F. Albright, a Christian archaeologist, writes, “Genesis 10 stands absolutely alone in ancient literature, without even a remote parallel, even among the Greeks, where you find the closest approach to a distribution of peoples in a genealogical framework. The table of nations in Genesis 10 remains an astonishingly accurate document.”
Now, as much as this table may seem like a random list of names to us, it’s actually carefully organized and structured to communicate important messages to the readers. Three observations. Number one, when we add up the names of Noah’s descendants, we get the number 70. This is worth pointing out because the number 70 holds profound symbolic and historical significance in the Bible, as it often represents totality and completeness. So, for example, when Jacob’s family entered Egypt at Joseph’s invitation, it says there were 70 individuals – implying the whole family had moved. When it says that the Babylonian exile lasted 70 years, it means that the judgment of God has been fully administered. Then, it’s no coincidence that there were 70 names recorded in this table – it’s telling us that all the nations of the earth are represented here. Second, the list is structured around the three sons of Noah. Verse 1, “This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah’s sons, who themselves had sons after the flood.” What this means is that every single person who lived after the flood shares a common ancestry in Noah and his sons – there’s no exception. We all come from the same source. Third, even though the order of Noah’s sons in verse 1 is given as Shem, Ham, and Japheth, their descendants are presented in reverse order. So, the first to be addressed is Japheth. I actually prepared a map so you can have a visual image of their dispersion. The descendants of Japheth are in red, the descendants of Ham are in green, and the descendants of Shem are in yellow. Now, this map is not a precise representation of their territories, but it still gives us a general understanding of how these people spread throughout the earth. So, the descendants of Japheth make up the outer fringes of the world from the Israelites’ point of view as they moved and settled in modern-day Asia and Europe. We don’t have a lot of information on who these people are because they’re farthest from the Israelites – they had less impact on them. Just on a side note, all the commentaries do offer detailed information on where each individual may have settled (ex. Gomer settled near Germany, Javan near Greece, Tiras near Italy, Tubal near Russia, and so on) – but I’m not going to spend time doing that here because it doesn’t add much to this sermon other than the fact that it may satisfy your curiosity. So, if you want to know more about it, ask me separately, and I’ll point you to the resources with all that information. Now, the second in order is Ham (in green). Here, we have a list of names that may be more familiar to those who have read the OT: Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, Nineveh, Sodom, and Gomorrah. Interestingly, a lot of them ended up becoming the enemies of Israel – they attacked, they enslaved, they tempted, and they seduced the people of God. Lastly, we see the descendants of Shem (in yellow), who moved into modern-day Mesopotamia, Syria, and Arabia. If you were here last week, you might remember the name “Eber” – which is where we get the word “Hebrew.” In other words, through Eber comes Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the Israelites we read about in the Bible. Then, here’s the reason why the names were ordered this way – it’s because the author wanted Shem as the climax of this table. The focus is given to the Israelites – and all other names simply provide a context for their history. Remember that this book was first written to the Israelites – so it makes sense as to why this table of nations is written from their perspective.
Now, what can we take away from this? One thing’s for sure – considering that all of us can trace our history back to one man (Adam), it would be foolish for us to discriminate and divide people according to their skin color or their culture. No one or no people group is superior or more valuable than others, for there is but one race – our DNA comes from the same source. Now, as much as this is true, this alone is not enough to bring people together because we’ve all been stained by sin. So, instead of honoring others, we look down on them. Instead of serving others, we want to be served. Instead of promoting peace, we slander, gossip, and quarrel. Then, is there any hope for us? Absolutely – and the answer is found in Genesis 3:15, where God said to the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel.” Satan struck the heel of Jesus on the cross, for this is where He suffered and died – but ironically, Jesus crushed the head of Satan on the cross, through His death, for He paid the penalty of sin for us so that we would be forgiven and set free from the power of sin. In other words, Jesus alone makes unity in diversity possible, for He removed one thing that was preventing unity in mankind – sin. Paul says in Galatians 3:28-29, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Brothers and sisters, it’s not just foolish but also detrimental to the witness of the gospel if we as the church don’t pursue unity in the way we do life together. Then, let me ask you, “Are you working toward the unity of our church? Are you making every effort to bring people together, or are you driving people apart by gossiping, slandering, or sowing discord? Are there types of people you ignore, tend to dismiss, intentionally avoid, or quick to judge? Or are you ready to humbly submit to the work of the Spirit and love them because of the love you have received from Christ?” Friends, with the help of the Spirit, let’s make this place a safe place for all to belong. I love how Eugene Peterson interprets 1 Corinthians 12:13-14 in the Message: “By means of His one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which He has the final say in everything. (This is what we proclaimed in word and action when we were baptized.) Each of us is now a part of His resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain – His Spirit – where we all come to drink. The old labels we once used to identify ourselves – labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free – are no longer useful. We need something larger, more comprehensive. I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less.” The nature of the church is that there is this unbreakable unity in this vast diversity because of Christ, who brings us together. Then, let’s make this visible in our community. Let’s be a church that joyfully gathers around the banner of Christ. But let’s also make this love visible outside the church, for we’re called to be agents of unity and peace wherever we go. Let’s shine the light of Christ by loving those who are different from us, not because we want to be politically correct, not because we don’t want to be canceled, but simply because we love the Lord who designed this world to be beautifully diverse. Let’s do that this week. So, that’s the first point.
2) THE STORY OF OUR SALVATION
If we’re honest with ourselves, the reason we don’t pay close attention to genealogies like this is because we think that these names are irrelevant to us – because we think that they have no bearing on our lives today. I want to show you that that is not true – if you’re a Christian, this passage is much more relevant than you think, for it’s directly connected to the story of your salvation. Now, to help you see that, we need to look back to Genesis 9. Last week, we talked about how Noah cursed Ham for exposing his shame while blessing Shem and Japheth for covering his shame. Listen to Genesis 9:25-27, “Noah said, ‘Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.’ He also said, ‘Praise be to the LORD, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. May God extend Japheth’s territory; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth.’” At first glance, it doesn’t make any sense why Japheth wasn’t blessed directly. Shem and Japheth both acted honorably. But why is Japheth blessed indirectly – by living in the tents of Shem? What does that even mean? How will that happen? But it all makes sense if you understand who the descendants of Japheth and Shem are. The word “Japheth” comes from a Hebrew word that means “to extend.” This is important to note because the table of nations here clearly shows that Japheth is the forefather of the people who have spread across Europe and Asia – those who extended their reach to the ends of the earth. In other words, the Gentiles. In contrast, verse 21 tells us that Shem was the great-grandfather of Eber. As I shared before, Eber is where we get the word “Hebrew” – which, by the way, is another way to describe the Israelites. Then, think with me. God here was promising to bless Japheth and his descendants (the Gentiles) through Shem and his descendants (the Israelites). Do you see that? This is important to point out because this is what we read in the rest of the Bible – that the Gentiles will be blessed through the Israelites. What this means is that Genesis 10 shows us the pattern of God’s salvation plan for us – through a chosen people, God will bring the nations to Himself. In fact, let me be even more clear. The Gentiles will be blessed through one specific descendant of Shem – Jesus Christ, the serpent-crusher. Does that make sense? All that to say, Genesis 10 is more than just a list of ancient tribes. It’s a theological roadmap showing God’s unwavering commitment to redeem His people – which, by the way, includes you and me since most of us, if not all, are considered Gentiles.
Then, what does this mean for us? If we truly believe that we come from one of Noah’s sons, we can be sure that the table we see is not just a random, irrelevant genealogy – instead, we’re witnessing the story of our salvation unfolding in detail for the very first time in human history. Think about how mind-blowing that is – our salvation plan began to be actualized here at the dawn of this new world. You and I were in the minds of God as He established this pattern of salvation from the very beginning. So, when we read this list of names, yes, it may not warm our hearts or inspire us – but one thing it can do is strengthen our faith by reminding us that we, too, are part of this story, that we’re products of God’s sovereign plan that started in the beginning of time. This is not just a random story about people who lived thousands of years ago. This is not just a story of one small nation called Israel, but this is telling our story – your story and mine. Then, brothers and sisters, may this bring great comfort to your hearts today, knowing that if God did all this in the past to secure our salvation, we can be sure that He will continue to do all He can to secure and complete our salvation plan in the future. We may not see how God is going to work all things out, but everything that’s happening in our lives, every person we meet, every friendship we cultivate, every decision we make, every circumstance we encounter, and even the mundane part of our lives, much like this list of names, are all being used by God to establish His purpose. Nothing happens outside His control. Just because we cannot understand His purpose and plan doesn’t mean that He’s not sovereignly working in our lives – that His will is not being worked out. So, trust the Lord today. This table is a reminder that just as He carefully orchestrated our salvation plan from creation, our God will continue to carefully orchestrate all things to complete His salvation plan and carry us home.
3) THE MISSION FIELD FOR THE CHURCH
Earlier, I shared the significance of the number 70 in the Bible, as it often represents totality and completeness. Then, it’s no coincidence that there were 70 names in Genesis 10 – implying the totality of all the nations and people groups represented in the world at that time. And it’s no coincidence that Jesus sends out 70 disciples to preach the gospel later on. Listen to what Luke 10:1 says, “After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place where He was about to go.” Now, you’re obviously thinking, “Wait, Jesus sent out 72 disciples, not 70. What is Woohyun talking about?” Yes, I see that, too. But if you have your Bible, you’ll see a small footnote saying some manuscripts say 70. The truth is that scholars are still not sure which is the accurate number – so translations like the NIV and ESV use 72 while others like the KJV and HCSB use 70. But one thing’s for sure – scholars all agree that both 70 and 72 signify completeness and totality. Then, when Jesus was sending out 70 disciples, He was basically saying, “I’m sending out a gospel worker for every nation. I’m sending you out not just to reach the Israelites but also to reclaim and regather the 70 nations of the earth. I’m sending you out to spread hope to the world.” And I firmly believe that that call is now passed down to us – the church. Jesus said in Matthew 28:19-20, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Then, what we see in this table is not just a random list of nations but target countries we need to go out and reach – it’s our mission field.
The truth is that it’s so easy for any church to become inward – to focus on ministries for our people, to expand our program, to enlarge our territory, and so on. But, brothers and sisters, Lord willing, we’re going to be on the other side of this. Yes, it’s true that we’re currently not involved in global missions for now – but that’s our goal. That’s where we want to be – simply because it’s the vision that God gives to all churches. We worship a God who wants to redeem not just a few of the nations, not most of the nations, but all the nations. Now, this doesn’t mean every person will be saved – He’s not going to twist people’s arms to make them submit even if they don’t want to. But it does mean that there will be some from every nation, tribe, people, and language who will be saved. In fact, that’s not just my own wishful thinking – that’s literally the vision God gives us in Revelation 7:9-10, which says, “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’” Just imagine this scene unfolding before your eyes. How overwhelming would it be to see all peoples coming together to worship our God? This is what’s going to happen – and God wants to use all of us to accomplish this plan. We’re not just part of this salvation plan – we also have a part to play. Then, here’s one simple application for you – pray. Take this table of nations and pray that God will send His workers to all people groups so that they will hear and respond to this life-giving gospel. Pray for yourself that you’ll be ready when God calls you to go and share the gospel with those around you. And pray for our church that God will give us a great vision for missions – pray that the hearts of our people will be filled with passion for the world and that we would be generous and sacrificial in the ways we engage in this task of bringing the gospel to the world. As our name suggests, may we become a church that shines the light of Christ everywhere we go – that we’ll point people to the ultimate Lighthouse, Jesus Christ, for He will lead us to life everlasting.
CONCLUSION
Lighthouse family, this table of nations is more than just a list of ancient tribes – it’s a theological roadmap showing God’s unwavering commitment to redeem His people. In other words, it’s our story. Then, let’s go and make disciples of all nations so that they would also know the saving love of God. Let’s not divide people but make every effort to unite them under the banner of Christ.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) The passage emphasizes that all humanity comes from the same source. How should this shape our attitudes toward race, ethnicity, and cultural differences today? How does sin continue to be a barrier to unity among people? What role does Christ play in breaking this barrier?
2) How does seeing your salvation as part of a bigger story (going back to Noah and even Adam) impact your faith?
3) What does it mean for the church to be outward-focused rather than inward-focused? How can we participate in God’s mission to reach all nations as individuals and as a church?