HAM'S BOYS

Most people have a sense that our world is careening down the living narrative of Luke, chapter 21.  But we find comfort to read the Bible and remember that none of the "breaking events" that alarm us...are a surprise to God.

Genesis 10 has an interesting "table of nations" which lists 70 nations that came  from Noah and his sons after the flood. The list does not say it includes everyone; some nations may have been far flung.  But it might be helpful to read about the nations of Egypt and Libya since they have dominated the spotlight this week.

Consider what the Lord said about Egypt in Psalm 105:23.  Egypt is referred to as the "land of Ham".  Then there are verses that refer to "Put (Phut)", which is modern-day Libya.  Let's think about the land of Ham (Egypt)...and the verses that say Libya is a land of warriors.  That gives us some unique insight as we compare ancient people with today's headlines.

When Noah's ark landed on Mt. Ararat in modern-day Turkey, Noah and his three sons migrated south to rebuild their families.

This map is from Josephus, a first century historian.  It shows the places where they settled.  Noah's firstborn, Shem, is in green...his second son, Japeth, is in red...and the youngest, Ham, is in blue.

There is only one RACE (the human race), but Noah's sons are a picture of our differing skin tones.  Whatever the reason for the differing facial characteristics, the overriding truth is that we were all created by the same God with the same purpose...to glorify Him.

Noah's sons were:

SHEM
Shem's descendants were the Semitic ("dusky") people.  Here are his five sons and the land they claimed.  There was Arphaxad (from whom came Abraham...and ultimately, Jesus) who lived in Ur and Canaan, Elam (Arabia), Asshur (Assyria), Lud (Lydian Kingdom), and Aram (Aramaic, Armenia, Mesopotamia, and Syria).

JAPETH
Japeth ("fair") had seven descendants which became 14 nations...Javan (Greece, Romans, French, Italians, Spanish, Portuguese), Magog (Scythians, Slav, Russians, Bulgarians, Bohemians, Poles, Slovaks, Croatians), Madai (Indians, Medes, Persians, Afghans, Kurds), Tubal (people south of the Black Sea), Tiras (Thracians, Teutons, Germans, Scandinavians, Anglo-Saxon, Jutes), Meshech (Russians), and Gomer (Celtic).

HAM
Here is the misused/confusing Bible character of Ham.  In fact, just last Sunday I was asked by a ten-year-old in SS to explain the Hamitic curse in Genesis.  You know the curse.  It's the one that some use to justify slavery.  Let's begin by saying that Ham ("dark") was Noah's youngest son who settled in Africa and the southern end of the Arabian peninsula.  The Lord provided genetic adaptations for Ham to equip him to survive Africa's excessive heat.  Ham's sons were Cush (which according to Genesis 10:6 is Ethiopia), Mitsrayim (Egypt), Put (Libya), and Canaan (which included many "ites" such as Hivites, Jebusites, Arvadites, Girgashites, Amorites, Arkites, Sinites, Hittites, Sidonites, Perizzites, and Zemarites).

Ham is called "the father of Canaan" in Genesis 9:18.  Perhaps that is literal AND symbolic in meaning.  If you read through the story of Ham coming into the tent where his father Noah was drunk and uncovered...there is no explanation given for why Ham's SON would be cursed.  So we are called to trust God's goodness.  He alone could see Ham's heart and He alone knew all the details that the Bible did not include.  I can rest on the implications of the Hebrew word "uncovered" to assume that something else besides modesty or respect was in play.  Then when I put that assumption with the fact that Canaanites no longer EXIST as a nation, it seems more reasonable.  Their religion was full of murder and cruelty and sexual perversion, so Ham was the father to some darkness, but it didn't include slavery.

What other Biblical observations are about Egypt and Libya?

1.  Today Ham's sons are cousins in Egypt, Libya, and Ethiopia.

2.  Japheth was said ultimately to dwell in the tents of Shem.  That meant Japheth would take part in Shem's spiritual privileges.

3.  Egypt has been a huge blessing for God's people.  I'm thinking of the time when Joseph took Mary and the baby and fled to Egypt for safety.  Another time, God fed Israel in Egypt and kept the nation alive during the famine of Joseph's time.

But Egypt also was a cruel taskmaster in the time of Moses...and God showed His superiority over each of Egypt's gods with the ten plagues.  With that demonstration, many Egyptians believed and as the Exodus took place, Scripture says a "mixed multitude" left with the Israelites.  Those were the believing Egyptians.  Today the believing Egyptians (Coptic Christians) are having a hard time of persecution in their homeland.

4.  And Libya?  What does the Bible say about that country?  In Nahum 3:9 it says that Ham's son Put is a helper to Egypt, so Egypt and Libya are aligned cousins.  In Jeremiah 46:9 it says that Libyans support Egypt.  Ezekiel mentions them three times (27:10, supporters of the Phoenicians...30:5, supporting Egypt...38:5, supporters of Gog, which was symbolic of evil darkness to the north/powers hostile to God).

Ham's sons may be on the wrong side of goodness, but does that mean God has cast them out?  No.  Libyans are just like each person God creates.  Everyone has an equal chance to pick their future.

You may ask...but what about the repressive religious system in place there?  God has "hind's feet".  We read articles of people in these countries where the gospel is not welcome, and they are having dreams that the Bible prophesied would happen in the last days.  They see/hear Jesus talking to them.  So how could oppressors declare a dream-free zone?  And there are many brave souls who venture to these countries, carrying the truth in the face of pure evil.

God is good.  He wants us to join him, so people all over the globe have been alerted through His general revelation of Himself in creation (so all are without excuse).  All people see His control over nature as the seasons change and the sun comes up.  All people have been given a piece of His character (His holiness) in their conscience.  People will be called to live up to the light they have been given.

And beyond the general revelation of God, then there is the ultimate revelation found in Scripture.  When it is read and man repents, God promises to turn the heart of stone to a heart of flesh.

We can pray that the Lord would have mercy on His own in Egypt and Libya and set many free with His truth.