Bible Matters 430: Three Sons

Noah and his family spent over a year in the ark under God’s guidance.   They knew the power of God.   After seeing all of man wiped out by the flood, they would have feared God.   They worshipped God and served him by doing his will.   The righteousness of Noah shined forth.  God was looking for his sons to remember his power and to fear God. 

Genesis 5:32 – And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

They knew of the wickedness that offended God. 

Genesis 6:8,13 – But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

It rained for forty days and after one year on the Ark, each son took a different message from the purging of the evil and violence from the earth.  These three sons spent almost a year on the Ark, taking care of the things of God.  They were on the front line.  They knew of their father’s works and righteousness that pleased God.  All God was looking for was for the earth to be populated with the knowledge of God and of his power and for man to do as commanded by God, loving God and loving each other.  God told them to remember him by the rainbow.  These sons were trained by Noah the prophet.  He guided them on how to live a righteous life pleasing to God. If each of the three sons continued in the righteousness of Noah, God would have been well pleased.  The bible never said that the righteousness of Shem, Ham or Japheth pleased the Lord.  God knew their hearts.  These three sons had different ideas, different desires and different levels of fear.

·        One of the sons loved the things of the flesh.  He had doubt about his dad pushing to build this giant boat!   He loved the things of the earth and if it wasn’t for Noah being his father, he would be out there amongst the flesh.

·        Another son, loved Noah and loved God.  He was all for the ark.   He would do and go wherever Noah wanted him to go.   The spirit of God ruled his heart.

·        Finally, one of the sons was indifferent about building the Ark.  Building the Ark with his dad and brothers was something to do.  He could be swayed either to the things of the flesh or the spirit of God.

Each one of these sons would take their family and populate the earth with different levels of fear and love for God in their heart.  

Genesis 9:18,22-23,25 – And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. 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. And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

·        Shem and his descendants migrated to Asia.  The Israelites came from the line of Shem; in fact, the word Semite comes from the name of Shem. Other descendants of Shem include the Assyrians, Chaldeans, Elamites, Arameans, Moabites, Ammonites, and Edomites.   

·        Ham and his descendants migrated to Africa.  Ham’s line produced the Canaanites, the Babylonians, the Phoenicians, the Cushites, and the Egyptians.

·        Japheth and his descendants migrated to Europe.  Japheth’s line produced the Persians, Romans, Scythians, and Macedonians.

Each of the races and people-groups that exist today can trace their lineage back to one of these three brothers.

God recognized that man would forget him quickly.  Those that love the things of the flesh were the most dangerous.  God would no longer destroy the earth, but he recognized that man could. 

Almost immediately, God saw the descendants in the lineage of Ham, in the town of Nineveh, turn from God.  God sent Jonah with a message of repentance and turning back to God.  They turned and God made them a great city in the Assyrian empire. 

Following the enslavement of the Hebrews by the Egyptians, God moved the Hebrews to the promised land.  Various kings brought into the worship of false gods onto the people.  The worship of God and love of neighbor displeased God.  God had promised to send a savior.  God sent Jesus with a message of repentance and sin forgiveness by the shed blood of Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross and living your life per God’s commandments of love of God and love of neighbor.   Live a righteous life with a promise of life everlasting.  Most Israelites did not respond and God’s promise was made available to the Gentiles.

God knew that he had to make this message available to the descendants of Japheth.  He immediately converted Saul to a believer in God’s message sent through Jesus and sent Saul (Paul) to Rome.

600 years later God sent Muhammed to the middle East, mainly to the descendants of Ham with a gospel of repentance, turning to God and loving God and loving your neighbor.  The religion of Islam took hold and the people believed.

The Hindu religion of love appears to have been developed from the descendants of Shem that made their way to Central Asia.    A religion of love and living a life unto righteousness as taught by Noah.

A simple message of love is just to complicated for those that love the things of the flesh.  The power of religion and the love of filthy lucre has turned the followers of God, into believing that their religion is the only way to serve God and seek his favor.  Instead of just loving each other and serving God, infidels and wars have blossomed from misunderstanding, the love of the flesh and the love of filthy lucre.  God’s message of do not judge and spread his word has turned into man judging, killing and conquering those for filthy lucre if they don’t believe as you believe.  In the end, only God will judge.

The judgement of God was made clear to me following the witness of the 4/8/24 Nineveh eclipse over North America.  God launched his church of love with a dream on Ecclesiastes 4:12-15.  God told me that my witness to the man-made churches was finished.

Ecclesiastes 4:12-15 – And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.  Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished.  For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor.  I considered all the living which walk under the sun, with the second child that shall stand up in his stead.

His next dream sealed the deal for me with a recurring dream of death and destruction and his message of “Nothing Is as It First Appears.”  God use of saved in the Old Testament was about saving his people from destruction.  Man has turned the Christian salvation message in the New Testament from saving his people to all about saving self. 

God’s salvation message starts with you living your life, loving God and loving your neighbor.  On the sixth day, God put man on the world last.  The world can thrive without man.   It is up to man to live here without destroying this planet. 

John 3:17 – For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

God never ceases to use his believers and followers to spread his gospel.  To seek the truth out of his word from the mouth of two or three witnesses.  The message from his witnesses have been clear and consistent.  To spread his gospel of turning from sin, to loving God and neighbor and living a life unto righteousness.  To be a doer of his word and looking forward to being judged by God for a promise unto life everlasting. 

Today, decide to repent from sin and turn to God.  Live your life unto righteousness, serving God and serving your neighbor.  In the end, God, you and his world wins. 

To God be the glory in all you do, Amen.