Genesis 10:21

Genesis 10:21 says,, 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 through Eber, one of the great grandsons of Shem, that the Hebrews descended.  Though they were a weak people nationally, they were the people that God chose to work through to accomplish His salvation plan.  They were set apart, not because of their greatness, but because of their weakness in the eyes of the world.  God does not often choose the rich and powerful to work through, but instead chooses the weak and lowly.  Even those who are rich and powerful must acknowledge their own weakness before God to claim His salvation.   It also points out that Ham was evidently the younger brother of Japhteth, through whom the Gentiles were descended.  Though a separate group of people throughout the Old Testament, the Jews and Gentiles were descended from the same person, Noah, and were reunited as one people spiritually, followers of Christ, in the New Testament.  Verse twenty-two states, The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.  Verse twenty-three adds, And the children of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.  Verse twenty-four concludes, And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber.  We are now back to Eber, who has already been brought up.  Verse twenty-five states, 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.  It was during the days of Peleg that the earth was divided, most likely referring to the dispersion at the tower of Babel.  Verse twenty-six says, And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,  Verse twenty-seven adds, And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah,  Verse twenty-eight continues, And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba,  Then verse twenty-nine states, And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan.  Verse thirty says, And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east. This simply tells us where some of Shem's descendants lived.  Verse thirty-one declares, These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.  Then verse thirty-two concludes, 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.  I believe that what this means today is that by birth we are all equal in God's view.  Though God chose to work through a particular group of people in the Old Testament, that does not mean that everyone else was doomed.  God has always worked to redeem anyone and everyone who will put their faith in Him.

Genesis 10:1

Genesis 10:1 says, Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.  This chapter follows the genealogy of Noah's three sons.  Verse two says, The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.  The next few verses follow the descendants of Japheth.  Verse three adds, And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.  Verse four concludes, And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.  We are not given the descendants of all his son's but only of two.  Verse five says, By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.  The Gentiles were descendants of Japhath.  The next few verses follow the descendants of Ham.  Verse six says, And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan. Verse seven adds, And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan. Verse eight states, And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.  One of the son's of Cush, Nimrod, was singled out and declared to be one of the mighty men in the earth.  Verse nine declares, He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.  He was known to be a mighty hunter before the Lord.   Matthew Henry says that this does not mean that Nimrod followed God, but in fact Nimrod set himself up as the one to be followed.  Verse ten adds, And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.  Babel was a part of his kingdom, and we will later read of its significance.  Verse eleven says, Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,  Then verse twelve adds, And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.  Matthew Henry says that after the dispersion at Babel that Nimrod built these cities in Assyria.  Verse thirteen says, And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,  Verse fourteen adds, And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim.  Verse fifteen states, And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth,  Verse sixteen adds, And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,  Verse seventeen continues, And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,  Then verse eighteen concludes,  And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.  These were many of the people who would later fight against the Jews, and eventually they were spread abroad.  Verse nineteen states, And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.  This simply tells us the size of the land of the Canaanites.  Verse twenty says, These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.  We will look at the sons of Shem separately.

Genesis 9:20

Genesis 9:20 says, And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:  Noah became a farmer, basically, and he planted a vineyard.  Noah went back to work.  He did not suddenly feel that everything was owed to him.  When we accept Christ, we are called to work, not to be worshipped nor to demand the riches of this world.  Verse twenty-one states, And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.  Noah evidently made wine, and then drank too much.  Noah was the man who found mercy in the eyes of God, but he was not a perfect man.  He got drunk and fell asleep naked.  Verse twenty-two adds, And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.  Matthew Henry points out that the sin of Ham was not seeing Noah passed out naked, but in telling his brothers about it out in public.  He says that it was as if Ham was gloating about the fact.  We may see someone commit a sinful act, but we should never publicise it in an attempt to shame them or to make ourself look better.  Verse twenty-three declares, And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness.  Shem and Japheth went out of their way to not look on Noah, their father, with disrespect.  We today should never look at the sins of others as an opportunity to look down on them, but we should do all we can to minimize the effect of the sin.  Verse twenty-four says, And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.  We are not told how Noah knew what Ham had done, but it may have been something that everyone was talking about.  All we are told is that when Noah awoke, or sobered up, he knew.  Verse twenty-five declares, And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.  Noah pronounced a curse on Canaan, Ham's son.   He was to be a servant to his brothers.  I still do not believe that God punishes children for the sins of their parents, but we are not told that this was something that God did.  I personally believe that just as Noah was wrong to pass out drunk and naked, so was he wrong in this action.  Verse twenty-six adds, And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.  Shem would be the father of the Israelites.  Noah did not say that Shem should be blessed but that God should be.  Verse twenty-seven concludes, God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.  Japheth would be the father of the Gentiles, and Canaan would be a servant to both.  Verse twenty-eight says, And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.  Then verse twenty-nine states, And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.  Noah had a long life after the flood and overall.  Still, as with nearly all people, he died.  We can be certain that no matter how long we live, and no matter how good or bad we may be, that unless Christ returns before then, we will all die.  For followers of Christ, this is just a transition point though.  We move on to the rest of our everlasting life.

Genesis 9:12

Genesis 9:12 says, And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:  After God made His promise to Noah to never again destroy the earth by water, God said He was going to provide a token, or sign, to remind people of His promise.  The sign that we have today to remind us of salvation through Christ is not just the cross, but the Holy Spirit living in us.  Anyone can make a cross, and some may claim to have splinters from the original cross, but only those who accept Christ as Savior and Lord have the Holy Spirit indwelling them.  Verse thirteen says, I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.  God put a rainbow in the sky to remind people of His promise.  I had a friend once who said he didn't believe the rainbow was a sign from God, because people could make a rainbow.  I know that on a very limited scale, when conditions are right, we can produce a small rainbow, but God is still in charge of the conditions and the laws behind the rainbow.  Verse fourteen adds, And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:  It is not Mother Nature that is in charge of the weather, but it is Father God.  I don't believe that God dictates every weather event, but I believe that He can if He so desires.  Verse fifteen proclaims, And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.  God did not promise that there wouldn't be floods that killed people, but only that there would never be another flood that destroyed all flesh.  Likewise, when we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord, God does not promise that we will never have problems, but promises that these problems will never destroy our everlasting life with Him.  Verse sixteen states, And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.  I don't believe that God needs a reminder of His promise, but that this is simply a sign for people to know that God remembers His promise.  We can be certain that God will always remember and keep His promises.  Verse seventeen declares, And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.  God told Noah this was a token, or sign, of His covenant.   As followers of Christ, as already stated, the sign that we have of the truth of God's promise to us is the Holy Spirit living in us.  We should need no other signs.  Verse eighteen says,  And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan.  Then verse nineteen concludes,These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread.  These were the people, along with their wives, who would repopulate the earth.  As discussed earlier, those who see the mark of Cain as some physical trait that passed from generation to generation would have to acknowledge that none of Cain's descendants survived the flood, so even had there been a mark on his descendants, it would no longer be in existence.  Of course, I didn't believe that it passed to anyone else to begin with.

Genesis 9:1

Genesis 9;1 says, And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.  God blessed Noah and His sons.  That is the best that we can ever hope for, that we will be blessed by God.  For this to happen, we, like Noah must obey God and have a personal relationship with Him.  Verse two states, And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.  There was to be a change in the relationship between people and the other animals.  The other animals were to start to fear people.  People and animals had lived in harmony until this time.  Verse three proclaims, Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.  Noah was told that all animals could be used for food, just as all green herbs could be.  Later, under the Law, some restrictions would be placed on what animals could be eaten, and even later, under grace through Christ, those restrictions would be removed.  In all three cases though, God said that the animals were for food.  When someone says that Christians should not eat meat because it is against God's will, they do not know what God's word teaches.  Verse four adds, But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.  There was the restriction of not eating the blood of animals, which was seen as the life force.  Verse five declares, And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man.  We are not to just needlessly kill animals or other people, and Matthew Henry says this is a warning against killing ourself.  Verse six says, Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.  This is a warning against murder and not against killing in wars or under the judicial system, nor does it apply to a death in an accident.  It refers to murder, as Cain murdered Abel.  Verse seven states, And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.  God once again called on people to multiply and abundantly repopulate the earth.  God wants people to be numerous, but He also wants them to be obedient to Him.  Verse eight declares, And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,  God didn't just speak to Noah, but He also spoke to Noah's sons.  God speaks to us each individually today, but the question is whether we will listen to Him or not.  Verse nine adds, And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;  God was once again establishing a covenant with mankind.  When God establishes a covenant with us, we do not get to change the terms of the covenant.  Verse ten continues, And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.  God's covenant with people would cover all of His creation.  Verse eleven concludes, And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.  God promised Noah and his sons that the earth would never again be destroyed by water, and that promise remains today.

Genesis 8:13

Genesis 8:13 says, And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry.  On the first day of the first month, Noah removed the cover from the ark.  It was a new day of a new year for a new beginning.  When we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord, it is a new beginning for us.  Verse fourteen states, And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.  Noah still had not left the ark a month and twenty-seven days later, I believe because he was still waiting for God to tell him to go.  We may think things look right for us to do something, but until we know that God has told us to do it we must wait.  Verse fifteen declares, And God spake unto Noah, saying,  The word of God came to Noah.  Verse sixteen adds, Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee. Then verse seventeen concludes, Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.  God had told Noah to build the ark, and he obeyed.  God had told Noah when to gather the animals and his family and get in the ark, and he obeyed.  God now told Noah that it was time to leave the ark with all the animals and his family and to repopulate the earth.  If we are following Christ, we do not reach a point where we just do everything on our own and assume that it is God's will.  Like Noah, we must wait on God's direction even when everything may look perfectly safe to proceed on our own.  Verse eighteen proclaims, And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him:  Verse nineteen adds, Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.  Though Noah had waited until God told him to go, once God told him to go, Noah went.  When God tells us to go, there is no longer a need to wait until we feel things are right.  Just as we don't want to get ahead of God, we don't want to lag behind Him either.  Noah obeyed God, and so must we.  Verse twenty states, And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.  Noah built an altar and offered a sacrifice to God of every clean animal and bird.  We must always remember to thank God for all that He does for us, especially for providing for a way of salvation.  Verse twenty-one says, And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.  When Noah offered the sacrifice, God said He would not curse the ground anymore for the sake of mankind, even though the hearts of people were evil from their youth.  Fortunately, God does not destroy us the first time we sin, but offers us a way to salvation through faith in Christ.  Verse twenty-two concludes, While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.  God said that as long as the world stands that life would continue as it was created to be.  We still have this promise from God.

Genesis 8:1

Genesis 8:1 says, And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged;  God remembered Noah and all the living things in the ark.  I don't believe that this means that God had forgotten them at some point, but that He knew it was time to complete His promise to Noah.  God never forgets His promises to us.  God sent a wind to begin drying the waters off the earth.  Verse two states, The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained;  God also stopped the rains and the waters from the deep from continuing to flood the earth.  It was not enough to attempt to dry the earth if it was still being drenched, just as it is not enough for us to attempt to find forgiveness for past sins if we are still not trying to stop sinning.  Verse three adds, And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.  The waters begin to recede.  God could have returned the world to normal in an instant, but He chose to work through more natural means.  God still works through natural events to spread His gospel, His saving grace, for the most part today.  Verse four declares, And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.  The ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.  There are people today who attempt to find the remnants of the ark, but I believe the ark served its purpose and is no longer of any value.  We either believe what God's word tells us or we don't, and it should never be based on having physical evidence of an event.  Verse five states, And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.  The water continued to recede.  During this time, Noah had to simply wait on God to fulfill His promise, just as we must learn to wait on God.  Verse six declares, And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:  Forty days after settling on the mountain, Noah opened the window of the ark.  I believe that God led Noah to do this.  Verse seven adds, And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.  Noah first sent out a raven from the ark, and it flew all around.  Matthew Henry says that the raven came back to rest on the ark, but never came back in.  Verse eight states, Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;  Noah also sent a dove out, to see if the waters had receded enough for all the people and animals to get out of the ark.  I believe that this was all because God led Noah to do these things.  Verse nine says, But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.  The dove returned because there was no resting place, and Noah brought it back into the ark.  Verse ten adds, And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark;  Noah waited a week before sending the dove out again.  We must likewise patiently wait for God to fulfill His promise of everlasting life after Christ returns.  Verse eleven concludes, And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.  This time, the dove returned with an olive branch in its mouth, and Noah know the waters had receded.  I believe that God will always provide proof that He has kept His promises, but that it will be according to His time frame.  Verse twelve proclaims, And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.  Noah was still content to wait another week.  We must always be certain that we are not getting ahead of God.