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Hope for Every Nation: God’s Sovereignty and the Nations of Genesis 10

Genesis 10 is one of the chapters in the Bible we’re often tempted to skip over. It’s a long list of names, nations, and places. We don’t recognize many of them, and what could be more boring than a list of names you don’t know? So, we might wonder: why is this in God’s Word and what does it have to do with us today? 

This genealogy traces the descendants of Noah’s sons to describe the nations that Israel would have known. It may not have been the most exciting part of Genesis for Israel either, but it would have encouraged them, humbled them, and motivated them to declare the glory of their God among the nations. It can do the same for us today.

The Power of God’s Blessings

Genesis 10 shows the power and certainty of God’s blessings. In Genesis 9:1, God blessed Noah and his sons and called them to be fruitful and multiply. The list of nations in Genesis 10 shows how God fulfilled that blessing. All of these peoples came from Noah and his sons.

Thus, there is an overall positive flavor to this genealogy. God is keeping his promise of blessing. Even Ham and Canaan and his descendants experienced this blessing. Even the nations who opposed Israel are recipients of God’s blessing of common grace.

We should behold the power of God’s blessings. His blessings always accomplish his will for them. If that was true for the blessing on the sons of Noah, how much more for all blessings we have in Christ?

The Basic Unity of All Humanity

Furthermore, all of these nations come from a common source: Noah and his sons. In their diversity, there remains a unity. All the nations of the earth share a basic unity. We all come from Noah and his sons, and this forms part of the basis for the dignity of all people. No ethnicity is more pure. 

Victor Hamilton writes, “Gen. 10 emphasizes Israel’s commonality with the other nations more than it does its uniqueness. What the chapter affirms is that all of humanity, in spite of geographical and linguistic differences, share a common origin. And in this common origin is to be found humanity’s nobility and inherent value.” ¹

Thus, there is no place for racism or ethnocentrism for the people of God. Even the nation of Israel descended from Shem was not inherently superior to any of these other nations. God did not choose them because of anything inherent in them. According to Deuteronomy 7, God chose Israel, the descendant of Shem, out of his pure grace, love, and faithfulness to his promises. 

God’s Sovereignty over the Nations

This list of nations also emphasizes that all peoples were created by God and are under his rule. Paul declares in Acts 17:26: “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place.” 

Therefore, Israel did not need to fear any of the powerful, evil nations around them. The inclusion of Nimrod, Nineveh, Egypt, Babylon and others in this list demonstrates that the most powerful nations and kings are under God’s dominion. They are merely human powers. Contrary to the myths of that time, the mighty kings were not descendants of the gods. They were made of the same human stuff as everybody else, and they are under God’s rule.

No nation or king is outside of God’s domain. No nation can thwart his plan. He determines their times. He sets their boundaries. The king trying to extend his borders will only get as far as God has allowed. When God says “your dominion ends here,” it must be so. God is Lord over all nations. They all belong to him and answer to his Lordship.

Thus, we shouldn’t let global politics discourage us as if the course of history is up in the air or determined by one ruler or one nation. The Lord of the nations will accomplish his will. Yes, some look powerful, some are engaged in deep evil, many seem hopelessly corrupted. But we don’t need to fear any nation. None of them are outside the dominion of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. All nations will answer to him, and he will accomplish his will.

Jesus, The Hope for All Nations

The reality of God’s Lordship over all nations should also motivate us to lift up his Name among all nations. Don’t miss the missionary impulse encouraged in this chapter. If God is the Lord of all nations, it means that all nations should turn and worship him. 

Psalm 96 reflects this impulse:

“Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! . . . For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens. . . . Say among the nations, ‘The Lord reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity,’” (Psalm 96:3, 5, 10).

We see a foundation for missions even in Genesis 10. Missions is not imposing one culture on another culture—it’s about declaring the glory of the God who is Lord over all cultures, peoples, and languages. It’s about directing all nations to their Creator, calling them to return to him through his plan of salvation.

God chose one nation to be the primary vehicle for this plan of redemption. He chose Shem, he chose Abraham, he chose Israel, and from this nation, the hope for all nations was born 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ. 

God sent his Son to be born as a Semitic, Israelite man to purchase the salvation of his people from all nations. Jesus is the hope of the nations. 

All the nations have one Lord and one hope. We must declare this one Lord and one hope to all nations. 

As the song “Joy Has Dawned” by Keith and Kristyn Getty declares: 

“Joy has dawned upon the world
Promised from creation
God’s salvation now unfurled
Hope for every nation.“

This post was adapted from the sermon below:

1. Victor P. Hamilton, The Book of Genesis: Chapters 1-17, NICOT, p. 347. ↩︎

Jesus and Noah’s Ark

The story of Noah’s Ark is one of the most well-known stories in the Bible. Many of us heard the story when we were young kids and even sang songs about it in Sunday School. 

The account of God’s judgment upon the corruption on earth and his salvation of Noah is one of the most terrifying and powerful stories in the Bible. In his righteous judgment, God sent a flood to wipe out every living thing on earth. And only Noah and those with him in the ark are saved.  

A Better Noah

As we see throughout the Old Testament, these things are patterns and shadows that lift our eyes to Jesus. Both Noah and the ark point us to Jesus and our salvation in him.

First, Jesus is the man more righteous than Noah, and everyone with him is saved from God’s judgment.

We don’t know very much about Noah’s wife, or the names of his sons’ wives. But they’re saved because they’re with Noah. In a similar way, we are only saved because we are with Jesus. We cannot save ourselves. 

Creation today remains corrupted because of sin. God declares that one day he will judge the world and save his people. We must respond to his word in faith, and we can be certain that those who are with Jesus will be delivered from the coming judgment.

No one is saved by his own righteousness. We are delivered by the grace of God only because we are with Jesus by faith and his righteousness is credited to our account.

Ask yourself today:

• Are you with Jesus?
• Have you trusted in him?
• Are you following him?
• Do you look to him as the only way to be saved from the righteous judgment of God?

One day a new creation will dawn after this old world is judged through fire, and only Jesus and those with him will be left in the new creation.

A Better Ark

Second, Jesus is the true Ark, and only those who come to him and abide in him are rescued. Only those who are found in Christ will be saved on the day of judgment. The only ones who will be left are those who are in Christ.

Peter makes a similar point in 1 Peter 3:18-22, where he says that our baptism in Christ corresponds to the salvation of Noah and those with him in the ark. Baptism pictures our salvation from the judgment of God through our union with Jesus. 

By faith, we are in Jesus. We have died with him and are raised with him to new life. Baptism pictures that in Christ, we have gone through the floodwaters of death to new life through his resurrection. We have died, and our life is hidden with Christ in God (Col 3:3). We are safe in him.

If you’ve been baptized, remember your baptism today. Picture the day you went through the waters. Keep that picture before your eyes because it symbolizes your salvation. The mere act of baptism didn’t save you; your faith in Christ did. But your baptism was an appeal to God showcasing your faith in Jesus. 

Those who are found in Jesus will be safe when the day of judgment comes. For us, death itself will be a kind of Ark, where we are shut in, safe with Christ and in Christ, until the last day when we will stand on a new heavens and new earth.¹

This promise of that salvation still stands. Come to Jesus. Enter life through him. A judgment is coming. Only those who are with Jesus and in Jesus will be saved. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life! He is our Cornerstone, our refuge through the storm.

Our world is full of corruption. Our hearts are full of corruption. Jesus is the only rescue. He’s the better Noah and the better Ark. 

This post was adapted from the recent sermon below:

1. Peter Y. Lee, “Take a Closer Look at Noah’s Ark,” https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/closer-look-noahs-ark, accessed November 16, 2025. ↩︎

Spiritual Warfare and God’s Common Grace

In Genesis 4, God spares and protects Cain even after Cain murders Abel. While this might surprise us, it is clear that God still has purposes even for Cain. A primary reason, God protects Cain is because in his good and sovereign purposes, God would use even Cain’s offspring to bring blessings to humanity. He protects Cain because God uses even the wicked to carry out his plans for the world. 

God uses the descendants of this murderer to bring innovations and discoveries and inventions into creation that would benefit all of humanity living in a fallen world.

These innovations come specifically from Cain’s great-great-great grandson Lamech’s line. The sons of Lamech advance discoveries in animal breeding, music, and metal-working (Gen 4:19-22).

• Jabal was the originator of livestock breeding and trading.
• Jubal made great advances in music.
• Tubal-cain was the first black-smith, forging tools and useful items of bronze and iron.

These innovations are obviously not bad things. These are discoveries that we still benefit from today. These innovations would be carried on by Noah and his sons, and God’s people in the Old Testament would benefit from them. Abraham would dwell in tents and raise livestock. David would play the lyre. The Israelites would use bronze in constructing the tabernacle (Ex 27:1-8).

God uses the lineage of Cain, an offspring of Satan, to bring innovations into the world that would bless even God’s people.

This is what theologians call God’s common grace. God’s common grace is his goodness that all people experience. It’s “common” in the sense that it extends to the human race in common. In his common grace, God restrains sin in the world and gives talents and abilities that are used for good, even by those who reject God.

There are two wrong responses to God’s common grace.

The First Wrong Response: Denying God’s Common Grace

Since some of the innovations we benefit from were discovered or advanced by people who reject God, we might wonder if we should reject them. Should we reject good innovations because they were produced by people who deny God?

The answer is no. That would be a wrong response because it denies God’s grace and sovereignty that can produce good even through sinful humanity. God uses even the ungodly to produce helpful discoveries in our fallen world. They are simply learning lessons from patterns God has woven into creation.

Therefore, we can wisely embrace good cultural advances and technological discoveries because we recognize God’s grace and sovereignty in them.

The Second Wrong Response: Presuming Upon God’s Common Grace

Lamech gives us an example of another wrong response to God’s common grace. He boasts to his wives about murdering a man. Lamech looks at God’s mercy to Cain and interprets it as a cover for sin. He thinks he can sin without consequences. He presumes upon God’s grace.

This is an evil response to God’s grace. The fact that God uses even the wicked to accomplish good things doesn’t mean that he will not judge their sin or that he condones their actions. Worldly blessings are no sign that God is pleased with you. His common grace is no cover for sin.

God retains complete control over this world. His common grace even to the wicked is not a sign that evil is winning! It’s actually a sign that the battle is the Lord’s.

Where the Battle is Waged

We should give thanks to God for his common grace that even our enemies experience. We shouldn’t be troubled by the reality that God-rejecters are at the forefront of many innovations in our world.¹ That is not a sign that God’s people are losing the battle.

Part of the point here in Genesis 4 is that the spiritual battle is not won or lost based on earthly accomplishments and innovations. No, the battle is waged by living by faith in God’s promises no matter what.

The spiritual battle we face isn’t won or lost by achieving success in this world.

Cain’s sons may have had the innovations and discoveries. But the sons of Seth show us what matters most: calling upon the name of the LORD (Gen 4:26).

Cain may have had a longer life on earth, but Abel shows us who will win the battle: the Shepherd who offered a better sacrifice and was slain for his people.

Therefore, while the battle still rages around us, we persevere in our faith that Christ has won the victory, and his blood speaks a better word of mercy and grace for all who call upon his Name.

1. “In his wisdom, God chooses to send the most powerful ideas and innovations into this world mostly through God rejectors, through agnostics and atheists and deists who hold to some appearance of religion (like Cain did in his offering). But for whatever reason, God has chosen to not send many technological advances through his bride, the church. Spiritual awakening and innovative prowess, both the work of God’s Spirit, are rarely tied together in the economy of God’s plan.” Tony Reinke, God, Technology, and the Christian Life, p. 137. ↩︎

This post was adapted from the sermon below: