Genesis 9 and 10

If you know the book of Genesis at all, you know that the book of Genesis is here to show us where we came from.

! That's why it's called Genesis. Genesis means origins or beginnings. It shows us the origin of where we came from.

So we see the origin of the universe and humanity in chapter 1-2.

We see the origin of sin in the fall and as we head out east of Eden.

We see the origin of salvation with God's promise in the garden to have a family for himself.

And from that family, a serpent crusher will come to save the world.

All of this has been the origin of how we got here.

And now in these chapters that Reuben read, we see the origin of the nations.

How and why the nations and countries and peoples and ethnicities and even how other religions got to where they are today.

The conflict and clash of the nations is constantly in the news at the moment, isn't it?

Peace deals are in the headlines.

The clash of beliefs is so prominent in the world right now.

And these chapters are here to show us why that is.

How it all began. It's the origin of the nations.

But in all these names and nations that Reuben did very well reading earlier,

in all of that, these chapters are here to show us how God's blessing and salvation is at the centre of it all.

When we think of the nations of the world,

Ukraine and Gaza and peace deals often feel like the centre of it all, don't they?

That's what is key on the world stage.

That's often what we think.

But actually, when we go back to the origin of the nations,

this shows us that actually God's people are at the centre of it all.

And so I want us to hit rewind on the history books this evening.

So I want us to rewind before the millennium,

before the First World War,

before the Industrial Revolution,

before the Reformation,

before the Middle Ages,

before Christ,

before the Roman Empire,

before Ancient Egypt,

before the Bronze Age,

before the nations and different peoples even existed.

Keep rewinding world history,

and we see

all the nations began

with one family.

Noah's family.

Because after the floods,

how many families are left?

Just one.

One family left in that arc,

and so this is the origin of the nations.

So yes, Adam is the starting point of all humanity,

but humanity has been reset.

Noah emerges as the head of a new creation,

and so this is the new starting point.

The single point of the family tree

where we all come from.

So if we all got a massive bit of paper,

and we all started to draw our family trees,

beginning at the bottom,

and everyone else in the world joined in

on that big bit of paper,

and we kind of kept building our family trees,

going up and up and up,

eventually all the family trees

would begin to merge,

and it would all end up

at this one point here,

Noah.

And so if we want to know

how the nations came to be,

we must look at Noah after the flood

and see how we get from that one family

to the nations.

And so as we rewind world history,

we see

the nations haven't randomly got here.

No, we see the nations

have all got to where they are

because of God.

We see in this,

God is sovereign

over the nations.

That's my first point today.

Got one big point at the beginning

and a smaller point at the end.

First point,

God is sovereign over the nations.

So do you remember God's command

to Noah's family as they left the ark?

Be fruitful and multiply.

God wants this one family

to boom and fill this world with life.

And with that in mind,

this passage starts well

because we focus on the next generation,

Noah's sons, verse 18.

The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark

were Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Ham was the father of Canaan.

These three were the sons of Noah,

and from these people,

and from these,

the people of the whole earth

were dispersed.

We're looking for life,

looking for families,

looking for a son,

and here we have three.

And from these three sons,

the whole earth comes from them.

And so as Noah and his family

leave the ark,

life gets going again,

including work,

verse 20.

Noah began to be a man of the soil,

and he planted a vineyard.

Now,

Noah really is like a new Adam here,

isn't he?

Adam was meant to work the ground,

but here is Noah fulfilling that again.

It's a new start.

And what's his speciality?

He makes a vineyard.

He's a wine merchant.

He makes Malbec.

But not all is well in the house of Noah.

Look what Noah does with the wine.

Verse 21.

He drank of the wine and became drunk,

and they uncovered in his tent.

So yes,

wine is good.

It's a good gift from God.

But too much wine,

an abuse of that gift,

it can so often lead to shameful things

that we say or do.

Things that we so badly regret the next day.

Because look how it affects Noah.

He lay uncovered in his tent.

He's laying naked, unconscious,

steaming drunk on the sofa.

We don't know all the details of what happened,

but all this drinking,

it's clearly led to this shameful, indecent state.

And so as the family begins to grow again,

this is a troubling start.

But the future doesn't hinge on Noah in this moment.

It hinges on how his sons respond to this.

And that's the case with any family, isn't it?

We are all born to sinful parents,

but the next generation hinges on,

well, how are we going to respond to that sin?

Well, look what Ham, his youngest son, does.

Verse 22.

Ham sees the shame of his father,

and he doesn't help him.

And he doesn't look away either.

No, he watches,

and then goes to his brothers,

and says,

come and have a look as well.

Now what's going on here?

What's so bad here?

Well, not only does he dishonor his father

by watching his humiliation,

and adding to it,

but by getting others to watch.

But here also,

there seems to be

something a bit more deviant going on.

He's wanting to look,

and he's getting others to join in.

It's the equivalent of filming it

and sending it out.

The sin of watching shameful things,

it hasn't started with the internet.

It's been here since the beginning.

But Ham's response

is contrasted with his brothers.

Because Shem and Japheth

hear what's going on,

but they do something about it.

Verse 23.

Do you see?

They get a blanket,

they hang it between them,

across their shoulders,

they face it away from Noah,

behind them,

and they walk backwards,

and they lay the blanket on Noah,

and they cover him up.

And this is the right response.

Not only do they not look for themselves,

but they honour their father

by not looking,

not adding to that shame.

And not only that,

they don't just leave him,

they cover him,

they help him.

Actually, it's just like

what God did for Adam and Eve,

isn't it?

He clothed them in their shame.

And so we see here

two contrasting ways

we can respond to sin.

Indulge in it and add to it,

or shield yourself from it

and cover it and help it.

And when Noah finds out

what's happened,

he responds.

And his response

shapes the future of the nations.

Noah dishes out

blessing

and curse

on his sons.

And we need to realise

what this is.

Noah is a prophet.

That's how the New Testament

talks about him.

It calls him

a herald of righteousness.

Noah,

he's a prophet.

And so as a prophet,

God is speaking

through him

in this moment.

And so what comes next

is God

pronouncing something

upon the future

of the nations.

God is pronouncing

curse

and blessing.

Verse 24,

when Noah awoke

from his wine

and knew what his

youngest son

had done to him,

he said,

curse be Canaan,

a servant of servants

shall he be

to his brothers.

Noah turns to Ham

and says,

curse be your son,

Canaan.

And notice,

he doesn't curse

Ham directly,

does he?

He curses his son.

God is pronouncing

something about

all the sons

and all the bloodline

that will come from Ham.

And remember,

sons and bloodlines

have been key

in all of Genesis

so far.

Where does God promise

salvation will come from?

It's through a bloodline,

a family,

and from that family

will come

a serpent crusher son.

And so if salvation

is coming through a son,

what's going on here?

This isn't Noah

just saying,

Ham,

you're not my favourite

child anymore.

No.

This is God

cutting off

Ham's family

from salvation itself.

In fact,

all the people

that come from Ham

will be servants

to the people

from the other brothers.

This is God saying,

from now on,

the world

is going to be fractured.

There are going to be

three branches

that will come

from Noah.

And this branch,

Ham's branch,

the nations from Ham,

are going to be cursed,

shut off from salvation.

Basically,

you aren't going to be

the promised family.

And in chapter 10,

you can see

that is what

Ham's family becomes.

Chapter 10,

it's often called

the table of nations.

And it's kind of like

a quick fast forward

from these three brothers

to all the nations

that come from them.

And there's 70 in total here.

That's the number

of completeness

in the Bible.

It's kind of a complete

world map

of where the nations

come from.

And look who

comes from Ham.

See if you recognize

any names.

Chapter 10,

verse 1.

The sons of Ham,

Cush,

Egypt,

Put,

and Canaan.

Some big names there.

Egypt

and Canaan.

But also,

look at verses 10 and 11.

Babel,

Assyria,

Nineveh.

Verse 14,

the Philistines.

All these come from Ham.

And who are all

these nations?

These are all the bad guys

of the Old Testament.

These are all Israel's enemies.

It's like saying,

oh,

and you need to know

who the sons of Ham were.

They're Voldemort,

Sauron,

and Darth Vader.

Okay?

You read that,

like,

alarm bells are going off.

And so,

we're seeing here

why Israel's enemies

became their enemies.

Why Pharaoh and Moses?

Why David and Goliath?

Why Israel and Assyria?

Well,

it's all because

God has cursed them,

shut them off

from the promise.

And so,

whose side are they

going to be on?

They're not going to be

on God's side.

They're going to be

on Satan's.

God promised

enmity

with God's people,

and here it is.

And so,

as we rewind

and look back

to the root

of the family tree,

this is how

and why

God's people

have enemies.

It's from this curse.

And also,

this is how

and why

other religions

have developed

in this world.

So,

think about it.

Originally,

everyone,

these three sons,

they all knew

the one God.

One family,

one God,

one knowledge.

But as humanity

divided here

and God's curse

came,

knowledge of God

began to fade

and warp

down the generations.

And other

distorted versions

of God

began to appear.

And that's why

some religions

and some writings,

they can have

similarities

to the God

of the Bible,

but at the same time,

they're horrible

distortions of him.

it's because

of this.

We all began

here with the same

knowledge.

Ham knew God,

but the nations

grew

and turned

God

into something

else.

But the focus

isn't on Ham,

though.

There's a real focus

on Canaan,

isn't there?

Verse 18,

Ham was the father

of Canaan.

Verse 22,

Ham the father

of Canaan.

Verse 25,

cursed be Canaan.

Verse 26,

let Canaan

be his servant.

1015,

we see all of

Canaan's family.

And why is this?

Well,

where are Israel

when they first

read Genesis?

Where is the law

given?

It's just before

they enter Canaan.

And so as God

rewinds world

history

for Israel

to read,

God is saying

these nations

before you,

however intimidating

they look,

whatever you think

may happen to you

when you cross

the River Jordan,

you need to know

all these nations,

they come from

a curse.

I'm not on

their side.

I'm not for them

and they're not

there by accident.

I have placed

them exactly

where they are

meant to be.

And that's why

God can say

to Joshua

as he enters

Canaan,

be strong

and courageous.

Don't be scared

as you enter

the land

where all these

nations are against

you because

I'm not on

their side,

I'm on yours.

And so as we

rewind

and we see

where the nations

came from

out and we

get to the

root of the

family tree,

we really see

God's sovereignty

here.

Even today,

when nations

rebel against

him,

when unbelief

is everywhere

you look,

when states

turn their back

on their God

given duty,

when the secular

becomes the

norm,

we need to

know that

unbelief

isn't God

losing control.

no,

even a cursed

nation like

Canaan

is there

under God's

sovereignty.

And so,

and so is

ours.

The earth

is his

and the

fullness

thereof.

God has

set the

boundaries

and the

lifespans

of every

single nation.

Kings

and prime

ministers

and parliaments,

they all

rise and

fall at the

will of God.

what is

going on

in Ukraine

and Gaza,

God knows

it all.

He's

controlling

all these

events right

now.

It's all

in his

plan.

God

set the

destiny of

Canaan

and he

set the

destiny of

every single

nation on

this planet.

Now,

it needs to

be said,

we can't

separate the

current world

into cursed

or not

cursed nations

anymore.

In many

ways,

the curse

on Canaan

was fulfilled

when Israel

took it

over.

Canaan

became the

servant of

God's

people.

But this

does still

show us

God's

sovereignty

over the

nations,

including

his enemies.

I read

this week

about what

the church

in China

is going

through.

And they're

in desperate

need of our

prayers.

I'll tell you

please pray

for them.

And a

newsletter I

read said

this,

since October

the 9th,

2025,

nearly 30

pastors and

staff members

of Zion

Church across

China have

been detained

or have

lost contact.

Basically,

their homes

have been

raided,

these

Christians

have been

arrested and

no one knows

where they've

been taken

to.

It is

horrific

persecution

going on

this very

week.

But we

need to

know,

when we

think of

a nation

like that,

we need

to know,

even then,

God is

in control.

The

Communist Party

of China

is only

able to

exist

because the

Lord says

so.

God is

sovereign even

over his

enemies.

And that

goes not

just for the

world stage,

but that

means in

the lives

of his

people too.

The

opposition you

face in

your life

because of

your faith,

the friction

you get at

work or

at school,

the difficult

conversations

you have

around the

dinner table,

we need to

realise God

is in

control of

all of

that.

God

knows

every

single

family,

he set

every

nation

and

household

in

place

and

he

knows

you

and for

everyone

in

Christ

he

says

I

am

on

your

side.

So

this

world

is full

of

unbelief.

Satan

is out

to get

us

in so

many

ways

but we

can go

into

this

world

fearlessly.

Whatever

you are

worried

about

in

this

coming

week

you

can

go

into

it

boldly

and

courageously

because

God

is

sovereign

over

the

nations.

That's

what we

see here

with Ham.

But as

we look

at the

other

brothers

we

also

see

God

is

doing

something

else

with

the

nations.

Yes

he's

sovereign

and in

his

sovereignty

God

is

bringing

blessing

to

the

nations.

It's

my

second

and

final

and

shorter

point.

God

is

bringing

blessing

to

the

nations.

So

Noah

after

speaking

to

Ham

turns

to

his

eldest

son

Shem

blessed

be

the

Lord

the

God

of

Shem

and

let

Canaan

be

his

servant.

Now

just look

at these

words.

This

is

the

first

time

in

the

Bible

we

see

two

things

about

God.

Firstly

this is

the first

time God

is called

the Lord

Yahweh.

This is

God's

covenant

name.

The name

God is

called with

by his

people that

he loves

and he

knows and

he saves.

And also

this is the

first time

God is

called

the God

of someone

the God

of Shem.

as

Noah

prophesies

here

God

sets

the

destiny

of

this

one

family.

I

am

going

to

be

your

God

and

I

will

be

your

Yahweh

and

you

and

your

family

you're

going

to

be

my

special

people

the

people

that

I

love

and

I

save

and

all

my

blessing

is

going

to

belong

to

you.

Canaan

will

be

your

servant.

And

with a

promise

like

that

you

might

have

thought

the

name

Shem

might

be

more

familiar

or

as

family

tree

in

1021

you

might

have

thought

it

might

ring

more

bells.

Well

actually

you

most

likely

already

do

know

these

names

two

in

particular

because

this

family

tree

the

line

of

Shemites

this

is

where

Israel

comes

from.

The

family

tree

in

chapter

10

it

isn't

complete

here

it

actually

continues

in

chapter

11

and

from

Shem

eventually

comes

Abraham

and

then

Isaac

and

Jacob

and

all

Israel

they're

all

Shemites

which

is

which

is

why

we

have

the

word

anti

Semitic

or

anti

Shemitic

it

means

anti

the

line

of

Shem

Jews

are

Shemites

which

is

why

you'll

also

know

another

name

here

1021

and

25

Shem's

great

grandson

Eber

and

everyone

from

Eber

are

called

not

the

Eberites

but

the

Eberus

the

Hebrews

and

so

God

is

beginning

something

very

special

here

he

pronounces

here

to

Shem

it

is

with

you

Shem

it

is

with

your

family

this

is

how

I'm

going

to

save

the

world

and

so

the

promise

back

in

Genesis

3

to

send

the

serpent

crusher

through

a

family

well

now

it's

confirmed

this

is

the

family

God

is

going

to

bring

blessing

to

this

world

and

it's

going

to

be

through

Shem

through

this

one

family

this

is

where

all

of

God's

blessings

are

going

to

be

stored

which

is

why

Israel

becomes

so

central

to

God's

plan

of

salvation

which

is

why

Israel

does

make

Canaan

their

servant

which

is

why

following

Israel's

genealogy

is

so

important

to

following

the story

of salvation

just like

Ruth and

Boaz

this morning

because if

we keep

following the

line of

Shem

and

Eba

and Abraham

and Boaz

and we keep

going and

going and

going

eventually

we get to

Joseph

the husband

of Mary

the mother

of Jesus

and

so as

the

nations

expand

and the

family

tree

grows

from

Noah

God

is

narrowing

down

the

blood

lines

to

bring

salvation

to

the

world

not

Ham

but

Shem

not

Ishmael

but

Isaac

not

Esau

but

Jacob

and

it

keeps

getting

more

and

more

and

more

narrow

until

we

are

left

with

just

one

man

one

little

baby

there

in

Bethlehem

in

the

manger

the

serpent

crusher

God

in

all

his

sovereignty

has

been

building

and

shaping

the

nations

crafting

all

these

blood

lines

making

kingdoms

rise

and

fall

all

in

order

to

bring

his

chosen

people

through

it

all

and

from

them

bring

blessing

to

the

world

through

his

son

and

so

if

humanity

is

one

big

family

tree

on

that

paper

God's

people

are

like

the

trunk

of

that

tree

the

central

spine

holding

it

all

together

we

saw

last

week

God

is

upholding

the

universe

in

order

to

bring

salvation

well

we

see

here

God

is

upholding

the

nations

to

bring

salvation

and

it's

coming

through

Shem

but

if

all

this

is

just

happening

in

one

family

how

does

that

blessing

reach

the

world

well

look

at

what

Noah

says

to

Japheth

927

may

God

enlarge

Japheth

and

let

him

dwell

in

the

tents

of

Shem

and

let

Canaan

be

his

servant

God

promises

that

Japheth's

family

will

grow

and

they're

going

to

share

in

the

blessing

of

Shem

dwell

in

the

tents

of

Shem

now

you

may

not

recognize

the

names

of

Japheth's

sons

in

verse

2

of

chapter

10

but

Japheth

eventually

becomes

the people

of Turkey

and

Greece

and

eventually

Italy

and Rome

the

coastlands

think

of

those

nations

that's

the

Gentile

world

of the

New

Testament

isn't

it

and

so

just

have

a

think

when

Jesus

as

soon

as

Jesus

ascends

into

heaven

what

happens

he

sends

out

the

gospel

from

Israel

and

where

does

the

apostle

Paul

go

and

preach

Turkey

Greece

and

he

ends

up

in

Rome

the

gospel

goes

out

it

explodes

to

the

nations

and

we

see

as

soon

as

it

does

Japheth

comes

and

dwells

in

the

tents

of

Shem

the

gospel

is

the

fulfillment

of

this

blessing

here

in

Genesis

9

the

blessing

comes

to

the

Shemites

Christ

is

born

and

brings

salvation

to

Israel

and

then

salvation

explodes

out

across

the

world

to

the

nations

and

so

just

think

about

it

every

non-Jew

here

in

effect

we

are all

Japhethites

dwelling

in the

tents

of

Shem

this

is

what

happens

when

you

hear

and

believe

the

gospel

we

are

like

a

stray

branch

in

the

family

tree

and

God

takes

you

and

snaps

you

off

and

grafts

you

into

the

trunk

of

salvation

so

that

you

can

say

the

Lord

is

now

my

God

through

Shem

through

the

Shemite

the

true

Hebrew

blessing

has

come

to

the

world

and

God

in

all

his

sovereignty

has

shaped

the

nations

shaped

your

life

to

bring

you

here

today

so

that

you

can

hear

this

gospel

we

were

lost

but

now

we

have

found

our

home

in

the

tents

of

Shem

but

I

don't

want us

to

miss

how

all

this

began

how

curse

and

blessing

came

to

these

families

it

all

hinged

on

how

these

three

sons

treated

the

saviour

of

the

world

so

Noah

sinned

here

we

can't

escape

that

but

we

can't

miss

Noah's

significance

in

all

of

this

even

in

his

sin

Noah

is

still

the

man

at

the

centre

of

God's

promises

the

head

of

the

covenant

the

new

Adam

the

saviour

who

brought

a

people

through

the

flood

and

how

each

of

these

three

sons

treated

this

saviour

that

determined

whether

blessing

or curse

came to

them

whether

they

belonged

to a

dead

branch

of the

family

tree

or to

the

living

trunk

at the

centre

of it

all

and that

goes for

us too

but it's

not about

how we

treat

Noah

it's

about

how we

treat

his

descendant

the

greater

Noah

Christ

Christ

now

Christ

never

sinned

but he

did

become

sin

for

us

and he

never

did

anything

shameful

but he

did

experience

the

humiliation

of the

cross

and how

you

respond

to that

how you

respond

to that

crucified

saviour

whether you

trust

and honour

him

or you

don't

that is

the difference

between

curse

and blessing

in this

world

but if

you trust

him

like

Shem

and Japheth

if you

honour

him

there is

unending

blessing

in the

tents of

Shem

and that

goes

for the

Jews

too

you might

be wondering

what about

the Jews

what about

the Shemites