2/5 Genesis 10

Genesis 10 “To the point”

“....and afterward were the families of the Canaaites spread abroad.” (v.18)

This chapter undoubtedly covers many years, many generations. We see in Genesis that God quickly gets to the point of what He wishes to convey to us. There is not much here to fascinate the mind but one can’t help but see the formation of nations, home and abroad.

Just as God chooses to focus on specific people and specific events, and not necessarily on giving us a complete history of the earth or times, He centralizes His “history” in one locale, to one, for one specific purpose. You see, the multitudes of Canaanites and “Gentiles” (first mentioned in this chapter) who ignore His grace, are of no real concern to Him as far as His plan for mankind is concerned, God is in the business of redemption.

We see, nonetheless, some interesting things here, for instance: (v.20) These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their respective countries and nations. Then, in v. 25 we see, the “earth was divided,” and down in v. 31, again the phrase “after their tongues”...could it be that there were already other nations and languages before Babel? Of course it could. God, in chapter 11 says that the “whole earth was of one language,” but He is not so concerned with the myriads of people who have migrated to other lands. He knows that these were His people, although they did not see it themselves yet! God is an omniscient God, He knows all things. Eternity has no timetable, so God sees this land, this people, as His already, and the rest is almost non-existent. This “world” is His chosen, and by foreknowledge, He knows who are His, so He can speak of the world as the redeemed of God, and not the entire world as we see it.