Genesis 39 - The Sons of Noah

God's word is from Genesis 10:1 and verse 32. Please listen to God's word.

 

“This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah’s sons, who themselves had sons after the flood.” “These are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood.’” Amen.  

 

Genealogy of Noah's Sons: Beginning of World History

There are 10 genealogies in Genesis. The genealogy we will examine in today's sermon is that of Shem, Japheth, and Ham among them. This genealogy contains content about how human history progressed after the flood, and since many names and places appearing here became the names of various nations and peoples, it is a passage that receives interest not only from Christians but also from many historians and anthropologists. It is one of the very rare historical records. At the same time, it provides us with much more diverse knowledge.

 

Geographical Distribution of the Three Sons (Map)

 

The area marked with red lines on the map is the region where the descendants of Japheth spread out and settled, which includes Greece, Italy, the Black Sea and Caspian Sea, and the land of Media east of the Caspian Sea, becoming the current European region. Some regions are a bit uncertain, but we can see that the names of the regions appearing in the Bible mostly match the place names currently in use.

 

The place where the descendants of Ham, marked in blue, settled is the North African region. They gathered and lived in the area where countries like present-day Egypt, Sudan, Libya, and Ethiopia are located. This also includes the region where the Canaanite peoples gathered and lived. However, you will see a small blue circle on the far right end. This area is precisely the region related to Nimrod. This region includes Arabia and the Mesopotamian plains, and the descendants of Ham, the Nimrod peoples, spread out and settled in this area.

 

The descendants of Shem, marked in green, spread out and lived mainly in the entire Arabian region and the northern and eastern parts of the Mesopotamian region. The place names and names where these peoples spread out and lived are not entirely unfamiliar. They are probably names you have heard often. For example, the land of Media, which later became the Persian Empire, is the region inhabited by the descendants of Japheth. And the Elamite people, who were descendants of Shem, were also one of the two peoples who founded the Persian Empire.

 

You well know that the place the prophet Jonah tried to flee to, escaping from God, was ‘Tarshish’, and it is the general consensus among many scholars that the name ‘Tarshish’ came from here. This Tarshish is a place name at the end of Spain, and the descendants of Japheth spread out and lived up to this region, which is why Japheth's map could become so wide. Cush, which frequently appears in the Bible, refers to Ethiopia, as you well know, and Mizraim is the place name referring to Egypt. Besides these, there are cases where personal names like Sidon or Amorite become place names, and Assyria also appears here.

 

Contrast Between Worldly Genealogy and Redemptive Genealogy

However, this genealogy, one way or another, is Noah's genealogy. If so, we think this must be a holy genealogy. Because Noah was a righteous man. Since it is the genealogy of the descendants of the righteous Noah, we tend to easily think that all his descendants must also be righteous, but just from the facts you have examined now, you would have quickly realized that this is not true.

 

Therefore, today we intend to examine the meaning this genealogy holds. The first characteristic this genealogy of Noah possesses is this: This genealogy is not about God's covenant people. Although the genealogy of Shem appears here, among the two sons born to his descendant Eber, Joktan and Peleg, Abraham comes from the line of Peleg. However, the record concerning the descendants of Peleg is entirely omitted from the Bible. And only the record concerning the sons of Joktan exists, and even that ends here. So, in the line of Shem, it is recorded only up to Joktan.

 

Through this fact, we can understand that being a descendant of Shem does not automatically make everyone a child of promise, but rather, it narrows down continuously until it reaches the descendant God promised. Between Esau and Jacob, it was Jacob. Though they were both children of Isaac, only Jacob was the child of promise. Because these kinds of events continue to happen, we realize that the characteristic of this genealogy is not showing the history of covenant or redemption, but rather showing the history of the world.

 

World History: Conflict and Pursuit of Power

And the history of this world always stands in contrast to the history of salvation. The history of salvation involves the offspring of the woman, and conflict arises with this offspring of the woman. As you well know, Ishmael continuously conflicts with Isaac, and Esau with Jacob. Therefore, seen in a broad sense, Noah's genealogy in today's text can be viewed as a genealogy showing the appearance of sinners living according to their own will, becoming kings themselves, following the world. It stands at the opposite pole from God's covenant genealogy.

 

However, if we narrow the meaning of this genealogy slightly, it means that through this genealogy, we can also discover the form of sin that we still have to fight against within ourselves. Although they were all descendants of Noah and equally descendants of Abraham, examining the events that occur within them reveals that when we speak of being children of God, or people of God, the problems we must constantly fight against are contained within these stories. Although they were descendants of Abraham who knew God, they did not glorify God but rather only caused conflict with the children of promise. That is why Galatians chapter 4 records that they persecuted the children of promise.

 

Ishmael persecuted Isaac. Ishmael, being 15 years older, despised Isaac with the power and privilege he possessed. Sarah, seeing this, could not just watch, and eventually, Sarah drove out Hagar along with Ishmael. This helps us understand that Ishmael represents the world and the power of the world. This fact is revealed similarly not only in Ishmael but also in Esau.

 

We can understand this fact better by examining their descendants. We can discover the fact that most of Esau's descendants became kings. This is a characteristic seen equally in the descendants of Ishmael. Because all twelve of his sons became tribal leaders, and this term 'tribal leader' means the king of a nation. Seen this way, the promised descendants of Abraham have a truly unremarkable genealogy. After all, they ended up being taken captive and enslaved in Egypt.

 

Examining this genealogy of Ishmael, we discover not just a list of people's names, but the lineage of human groups who strived to possess the power of this world and pursued the world.

 

Descendants of Japheth: Gog and Magog, Persian Empire

Let's examine from the beginning. Among the descendants of Japheth, Gomer, Magog, Madai, Meshech, and Tubal are introduced first, which might be somewhat unfamiliar names to us. However, you might recall hearing the name Magog somewhere. You probably heard the names Gog and Magog in Revelation. This place Magog is a location north of the Caspian Sea. From this Magog, an enemy army comes to oppose Israel, and this story is recorded not only in Revelation but already in the book of Ezekiel. Israel received God's judgment, and because Israel opposed God, they were judged, causing powerful nations to rise and eventually oppose Israel, and one of the place names that appeared among them was Magog.

 

Besides that, what we know best among the descendants of Japheth is the Persian Empire. The peoples who founded this Persian Empire were the Medes and Persians, and these two empires combined to build the Persian Empire. This Median Empire consisted of the descendants of Madai. Do you remember King Cyrus? This King Cyrus was the king of Persia, i.e., the Persian Empire, who issued a decree giving freedom to the Israelites taken captive to Babylon, allowing them to return to Israel. Cyrus, this king of Persia, was a Mede. Thus, this Median people were also used as God's instrument. However, if you look at the prophecy of Daniel, which you know well, this Media and Persia, the Persian Empire, appears in the dream King Nebuchadnezzar had. In that dream, there is a story of a large statue, and a stone cut out, not by human hands, representing the kingdom of Jesus Christ, or the Messianic kingdom, completely shatters these statues. Among the empires represented by the shattered statues were Babylon, Persia, Greece, and the Roman Empire. And the content is that all those empires will eventually end by the kingdom of Jesus Christ. If so, this Persian Empire, although used as God's instrument, can ultimately be seen as representing a worldly kingdom that opposes Christ and ends up perishing.

 

Descendants of Ham: Nimrod - Symbol of Worldly Power

Then what about the descendants of Ham? It is revealed even more clearly than Japheth. First, Cush, Mizraim, and Canaan are introduced. This Cush is Ethiopia, and Mizraim is Egypt. Canaan, of course, was also a nation that typically opposed Israel. Among the descendants of Cush, the one accompanied by the most explanation is Nimrod. This Nimrod appears as the first mighty warrior after the flood. This word 'mighty warrior' sounds like a positive term. However, we can see that in the Bible, this word 'mighty warrior' is used with a rather negative meaning. Because right before the flood, the Nephilim, mighty warriors, appeared and became corrupt, causing the world to be filled with sin, and if we speculate based on the explanation that this was one of the causes of the flood, the reappearance of a mighty warrior after the flood suggests the world is returning to a corrupt state. The expression that Nimrod was a mighty warrior was not used in a positive sense.

 

Negative Connotations of 'Mighty Warrior', 'Hunter'

However, in the text, this expression 'mighty warrior' is accompanied by the modifier 'a mighty hunter before the Lord'. Although this translation is the best we can do now, it can also be translated as ‘a mighty warrior of hunting before the Lord’. And this word 'hunting', like 'mighty warrior', also carries a negative meaning. From our perspective, we might think it's simply for catching animals for food and making clothing from hides, but the fact that this word is used together with the word 'mighty warrior', which symbolizes a negative meaning, helps us understand that we should think more carefully and deeply about this entire sentence.

 

Nimrod: Empire Builder of the Babel Era? (Akkadian Empire?)

First, you need to consider whether the word hunting was truly for catching animals to eat, but the beginning of this Nimrod is the land of Shinar. This land of Shinar is the same place name as Babel. It is the region where Babylon or the Tower of Babel, which you know well, is located. Starting from there, the empire Nimrod established extends to Assyria. Therefore, Nimrod was not simply a hunter but a person who built a huge empire. He came to rule that vast land. Thus, this word 'hunting' is likely not the act of catching animals, but a word used in the sense of cornering and subjugating certain people.

 

If you look at the Book of Job, such a word appears. Among the words Job utters to God while suffering, there is the complaint, ‘God, why do you hunt me?’ The word 'hunt' used here is the same word. This does not mean God intends to kill Job to eat him, but that God is driving Job into a corner. Therefore, the word 'hunt' in today's text allows us to surmise that this Nimrod was, in fact, a general with outstanding strategy who cornered all the surrounding nations.

 

Consequently, scholars hold vastly different opinions about who Nimrod was. The most frequently discussed view among scholars is the claim that he was the king who founded the Babylonian Empire. The basis for this claim is the scene in chapter 11, immediately following today's text, of building the city of Babel and the Tower of Babel on the plain of Shinar. And in today's text, immediately preceding it, the story continues about Nimrod building cities and towns in Shinar and Babel. Therefore, many scholars believe that this Nimrod was the most important central figure who built the Tower of Babel and the city of Babylon. However, chronologically, it seems slightly more likely to be the Akkadian Empire, which arose somewhat earlier than the Babylonian kingdom. This Akkadian Empire, founded under the Sumerian civilization just before the Babylonian Empire, was a vast empire that ruled all the regions of subsequent Assyria, Babylon, and Turkey beside them. It was the first ancient empire to arise in this Sumerian civilization region. Thus, the possibility that Nimrod was the king of the Akkadian Empire cannot be ruled out. However, although this has not been historically proven, it is a clear fact that Nimrod was an extremely outstanding and amazing person. How amazing must Nimrod have been for a proverb like ‘a mighty hunter before the Lord’ to even arise?

 

Nimrod Spirit: Pride and Competition Before God

Nimrod in today's text is not only depicted as a representative of the world, but it can also serve as an important lesson for us to learn about the tendency we also possess and the sinful nature we must continually fight against. The greatest characteristic of such a Nimrod was that he was a person who tried to suppress everything and stand at the very top. He was a person who won all competitions, cornered everyone, and sought only his own gain. He always tried to stand above others, and this is also the meaning closest to the sin we possess, the sinfulness we must fight against. This is precisely the part we should fear most. Because he committed all this before God.

 

Warning Against the Nimrod Spirit Within the Church

We could phrase this fact in our own way like this: That is, we can always become like Nimrod even while worshipping, studying the Bible, and even while praying. We want to study the Bible more than anyone else to occupy a superior position within the church compared to other community members. We want to pray more than others to stand in an outstanding position others cannot reach. If the ultimate reason you and I pray, read the Bible, and live a diligent life of faith is ultimately to place ourselves above everyone else in the community, wanting to win the competition, and if even the church is now debating who lives the best life of faith, then you and I must fiercely fight against this Nimrod.

 

True Glory: Christ's Power in Weakness

Do you perhaps think that doing well and succeeding in this world and then standing before God is also giving glory to God? Do you perhaps think that glory comes to God not because you are weak before God, but when you overcome all those weaknesses in the world and become strong? We often hear stories of athletes giving glory to God when they score a goal in a soccer match, or even when winning a beauty pageant. We often think that glory comes to God only when we endure very difficult and hard times and finally overcome all those hardships. This is precisely the Nimrod way of thinking. We tend not to think that glory comes to God when we are weak and frail and falling down. We often forget the fact that the time when we cling to God due to our inadequacy and earnestly call upon God's name is when true glory comes to God.

 

Dear ones, when does God truly receive glory? Is it when you are triumphantly successful in everything? Or was it the moment during the entire process leading to that victory when you fell, were frustrated, relied only on God, and looked only to Him?

 

Standard of True Faith: Reliance and God Himself

You and I must start by defining what victory means on this earth. And we must truly think deeply about what genuinely brings glory to God.

 

Descendants of Shem: Includes Worldly Nations like Assyria

If we have examined the stories concerning the descendants of Japheth and Ham so far, what about the lineage of Shem? The first people to appear as sons of Shem are Elam and Asshur. This Asshur, as you well know, is the nation that destroyed Northern Israel. Thus, the Shemite lineage also appears in this genealogy as powerful nations, that is, nations opposing Israel.

 

Worldly Genealogy vs. Genealogy of Promise (Line of Abraham)

In chapter 11, which will appear shortly, the genealogy of Shem's descendants appears again. Terah appears there, and finally, Abraham appears. This genealogy concerning the descendants of promise shows truly many differences when compared to the human genealogies we have just examined. If there was anyone who did best among Abraham's descendants, it would probably be David and Solomon. They were indeed kings who built a relatively strong Israel. However, even though Israel might have been powerful then, it was a nation whose national strength could not compare to Assyria, Babylon, and the Persian Empire.

 

You often say that if one is a proper child of God, their faith must be supreme. However, when we say this, do we speak knowing the exact meaning this phrase implies? The lives of Abraham and his descendants, who lived walking the path of faith, considering faith supreme, were the lives you and I encounter through the Bible. And, you and I are looking at the genealogies of Ham, Japheth, and Shem as good genealogies of faith, not Abraham's. This is indeed an interesting fact. Why does this happen? It is because we have faith not for the purpose of delighting only in God, approaching God, and looking only to God, but because we want to climb the ladder of faith and obtain what we desire.

 

Correcting Vision: Centered on Christ, Not Worldly Power

Therefore, the Bible, including today's text, wants to correct our vision. It informs us of the fact that the standard, the central point of our lives, our genealogy, is not the world and the power of the world, but the offspring of the woman, and makes us open our eyes. Our lives are the process of undergoing this correction, passing through that adjustment. We often hear talk about maturing in faith and growing in faith, and rephrasing that talk could be said to be synonymous with the lesson today's text gives us. If my perspective changes through faith, it means that at the center of my life, my genealogy, exists not the world and the power it gives, but the offspring of the woman, Jesus Christ.

 

Israel's Happiness: God Himself is the Blessing

The Israelites, descendants of Abraham, had to endure 400 years of slavery in Egypt. They were also taken captive to Babylon for 70 years. Was this genealogy truly a happy one? The Bible reveals that God's promise was with this genealogy of Abraham, the nation of Israel, and that they were indeed a blessed people. Let's examine the content of Deuteronomy 33. Verses 26 to 29. “There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides across the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty. The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemies before you, saying, ‘Destroy them!’ So Israel will live in safety; Jacob’s spring is secure in a land of grain and new wine, where the heavens drop dew. Blessed are you, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord?”  

Everyone, why is Israel happy? It says because of God. Because God saved them. Then why did God choose the method of saving them? Why didn't He treat them well from the very beginning, making them rich and strong, but instead restored them only after they had lost everything? Why did He do that? God wants the nation of Israel to know that He alone is the one they must rely on, that He walks with them and establishes them. He is showing them that God alone is their blessing. God is telling us that we must fix our eyes not on the world, but on God.

 

Right Direction of Faith Education: Becoming People of Another Nation

Let me give an example. We teach our children that faith is supreme and believing in Jesus is paramount. It is the right thing to do, and you are doing well. However, teaching like that can be somewhat dangerous in a certain sense. Because underlying such teaching, there is room to regard everything other than faith as inadequate and inferior. And because we can make the error of considering ourselves, who live faithfully, as being in a high position.

 

Therefore, I think such teaching can be expressed slightly differently based on the genealogy in today's text. That is, we are people of a different genealogy and a different nation. Therefore, our life standards are different, the law that guides us is different, the ruler who governs is different, and it is a nation where people exist who eat the fruit of the Spirit given by God in a kingdom that will never be shaken and rejoice.

 

Privilege of the People of God's Kingdom

We are the people living in such a nation where Jesus is our captain and shepherd, and God is our Father. Since you and I immigrated, I believe this story will be understood much better. Think back to when we first came to America. When starting anew in this land of America, we resolve to truly open a new era for ourselves and our children. Although things are said to have improved significantly now, the life of immigrants used to be very difficult. We knew no one, and finding someone to easily rely on was extremely difficult. It was hard even to ask for a simple meal invitation or a ride, and getting help finding a decent job was also incredibly hard. It was that difficult. Literally, there was no hill to lean on. The people who achieved success through their own efforts like this were you and your parents.

 

But what if, on this immigration journey, you came to America with a balance of ten million dollars in your bank account? You would have started a very comfortable and easy immigrant life. Or, for a more extravagant story, what if the President of the United States was your father? Does that sound too absurd? It is not. Right now, you belong not to this nation, but precisely to the kingdom of God. The owner of that kingdom is God, and we are His children. This kingdom is not just a hill to lean on, but a nation where, upon opening our eyes, the Father provides all these things and dwells with us.

Everyone, we are not of this nation, but people living in the completely different kingdom of God. If you, having entered the kingdom of God after living in this nation, still feel lost and frustrated, you need to open your eyes. And in that kingdom, there are angels welcoming us, and above them is the Holy Spirit God who dwells with us. And there is Jesus Christ who loved you so much that He gave His own life. And God the Father, our Father, is asking about our needs. Thus, because we are in that kingdom, not the earthly nation we see with our eyes now, but that other kingdom, we are people who claim as our own the amazing grace, peace, and love that only God gives, which the world cannot give us. That is who we are.

 

Characteristic of the Genealogy: Division (Tower of Babel and Acts)

This genealogy in today's text is an amazing truth showing where we belong. However, this genealogy in today's text shows us yet another characteristic. It is the phrase that appears repeatedly. This genealogy shows, over several instances, the fact of division. That is, it means this genealogy, starting from one lineage, divided into multiple branches over generations. In Japheth's genealogy, it is expressed as divided into the peoples of various nations. In Ham's genealogy, appearing in verse 20, it is expressed as ‘according to their clans and languages, in their territories and nations’. In the case of Shem as well, we can see it repeated twice. ‘At that time the earth was divided.’ And ‘These are the sons of Shem, according to their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.’ And verse 32, which follows continuously, is precisely the conclusion of the text we are examining today. It is recorded thus: “These are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood.”  

 

That's right. Language was divided, tribes were divided, nations and peoples were divided. What does this phrase mean? When does the division of languages appear in the Bible? It appears in the famous Tower of Babel incident in chapter 11. Therefore, the content of chapter 10 in today's text also includes the conclusion of the Tower of Babel incident in chapter 11. Examining Shem's genealogy, his son Eber fathered two sons, one of whom is Joktan. But the Bible expresses that when those two sons were born, the world was then divided. Perhaps the Tower of Babel incident happened at that time. If so, how does this become a characteristic revealed in this biblical genealogy?

 

A passage that unlocks the meaning of this genealogy in today's text appears in the book of Acts. It is Acts 17:26 in the New Testament. This passage records the words of the Apostle Paul. It is the scene where Paul visited Athens and is arguing before the many philosophers and intellectuals living there concerning the many gods they worship. “From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.”  

 

Humans Rejecting Unity and Making Idols

According to this passage, all humanity was made as one. It was one bloodline. But the fundamental reason, it reveals, was so that people might seek God and find Him. Paul is saying that God made them one bloodline so that people would not forget God's promise, so that they could know God's grace. However, instead of relying on God and approaching His promise, they made God with their own hands. They made God in the image of creatures with human hands. Such deeds were precisely what these Athenians committed. Even the people of Israel committed the act of setting up idols within God's temple. We know the fact that even within Solomon's magnificent temple, numerous idols were made by hand and set up.

 

Then why do people make and set up idols like that? It is for one reason only. To make those idols well and worship them. To approach those idols, pray, and bow down. And they want compensation for it. It is to possess the power the world gives. That is why humans end up making idols corresponding to the number of their desires. We make idols to fulfill our greed. It cannot be anything but truly paradoxical. The reason for earnestly serving a god is not the god itself, but has its purpose in the world.

 

God Gives, Not Receives

Let's read the content of Acts 17:24-25. “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.” People try to appease the gods by bringing food to the idols they made. And the reason was to receive the worldly powers they desired. To such people, Paul, through this passage, is saying that God is not someone who receives something from people to fill a lack.  

On this earth, the common word all gods say to people is ‘Offer’.

 

True Faith: Knowing How to Receive

Because we are so accustomed to such gods, we believe in God as if He were a pagan deity even while believing in Him. We first think about what to offer to God. And we think about how we must offer it so that God will be pleased, and how, as a reward, He will make my life blossom, or how He will turn my path ahead into a flower path. Therefore, we genuinely try to offer something beyond our strength. It was so severe that in the past, there were even cases of offering a child's life. They thought that offering with such devotion was what the god wanted.

 

However, Paul is saying it is not like that at all. We must believe God's promise, and since God is not lacking, even the temple cannot contain Him, He says. As examined before, God Himself gives life and breath and all things to all people. Therefore, what God requires of us is not offering something, but receiving all things from God. God is the giver, and we are beings who receive all things from Him, the Word says.

 

However, the Bible reveals that we intentionally try to forget this promise of God. Instead, serving God well has become the standard for measuring faith. That is not right. If there is a high and low in faith, it should rightly be judged by who receives all things from God well and enjoys them. This passage means that we must realize we are people who truly need God, and have the attitude of living by what God gives. A person who can do this is a true person of faith. If you want your faith to improve, do not try to serve God by offering many things, but realize that God is the source of all our supply, live relying on that God, and confess that you cannot live even a day without the Lord's grace. When this confession comes from your heart, your faith grows and deepens further. This is true faith.

 

Restoration of Unity in Christ

Is it only God's promise like this that we try to forget? We constantly try to forget the fact that we are one. It is no exaggeration to say that the history of humanity is the history of classes. To express the word 'class' differently, it means I am superior, but you are inferior. It is constantly trying to divide and classify humans. Not as one, but persistently seeking to separate into various strata. And constantly comparing each other, creating not only economic but also personal classes. Even male and female were discriminatorily divided, and people were divided into slaves and masters. Humanity has continued to live by dividing and discriminating like this. Why did they do that?

 

People intentionally try to forget the fact that humanity was one. Thus, they even discriminate based on race, create slaves, and persecute humans by assigning ranks. And what is more frightening is that they say it is a fate that must be duly accepted. To those who are persecuted and discriminated against, they say that because they were born that way, they have no choice but to live that way, and that it is justifiable.

 

Thus, because we forgot that God made us from one bloodline, when Jesus came, He made us one again, the Bible says. He made Gentiles and Jews one, and broke down the dividing wall between male and female, master and slave. Jesus came and bound us together as one nation, as people of the kingdom of God. And striving to keep this unity becomes a very important aspect of salvation. This is content that you and I must not forget, and content where we must be far ahead of the world. Because the Bible teaches us so, the ancestors of faith in the past led the world for this purpose and strove to present the right direction to people.

 

The people who carried out the abolitionist movement were Christians. Although among those who created the institution of slavery and gave it justification were many Christians, nevertheless, those who realized its wrongness and strove to abolish this system were also Christians. It was the church, awakened by the true gospel, that strived for women's rights. However, we who live in this modern era see the role of the church as the light and salt of the world, fighting for God's justice and spreading God's word to eliminate much inequality and irrationality, gradually diminishing. And the fact that we, in this state, desperately need a revival of faith is being keenly realized. We must show the world our image, united by Christ, becoming one, and show the image of the people of the true kingdom of God, which this earth cannot achieve.

 

Our Genealogy Different from the World: Children of God's Kingdom

In that respect, you and I are people belonging to a genealogy different from the world. The world's genealogy is one of success. It is a genealogy of wealth, power, strife, class, hierarchy, and competition. It is a genealogy of war. But you and I have only one genealogy. We are children of the kingdom of God, God is our Father, and we belong to God's genealogy, His children. We are God's children, God's sons and daughters, who inherit the kingdom of God as our possession, having received the kingdom of God entirely.

 

Grace of Humbling: Humility of the 'Golden Spoon' (Paul's Thorn)

When you believed in Jesus, were born again, and became a new creation, regardless of your previous status - whether you were, in today's trendy terms, a 'dirt spoon', 'rusty spoon', or 'broken spoon' - you, as a new creation of God, became God's 'golden spoon'. We came to possess everything in the kingdom of God. Therefore, you and I have a very high possibility of becoming arrogant and boastful on this earth. To prevent that, God constantly humbles you and me, lowering us. Because the glory and holiness of the kingdom of God we possess are so tremendous, we can too easily turn what we have into our weapons or power and use them to discriminate against and trouble others, and because we can be shaken too easily due to the tendency towards sin we possess, God has no choice but to humble us.

 

Therefore, God places us in suffering and tribulation. So that we do not forget what is truly precious, so that we do not live forgetting the fact that God is my inheritance, God gives us suffering. You and I are people worthy of holding our heads high. Because we are children of God. We are God's golden spoons. However, we learned through the Word the way to become truly excellent golden spoons that please God. Because we are children of God, we have no choice but to practice lowering ourselves like Jesus.

 

Everyone, what was the training Paul received until the end? Let's find 2 Corinthians 12:7. “or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.” Regarding what this thorn in the flesh was, scholars' opinions are divided, but in any case, it was something that made him struggle and caused difficulty. However, the reason this was permitted was precisely to strike Paul to keep him from becoming too conceited. Because what Paul possessed was too great. The reason God humbled him was not because he was an apostle, but because he was a saint, like us.  

 

Because you are saints, do you know how amazing the revelation you have received is? For this, Christ died for you. What revelation could be more amazing than this? What revelation could be greater and more amazing than the fact that Christ became my Savior, and I received new life? You are people who have received this. Therefore, He gives you suffering to keep you from becoming too proud. And then God says this: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” He says that when Paul is weak, God's power is made perfect. Regarding this, Paul's confession is: “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” Paul says he now boasts about all his weaknesses. Because he knew that if he lived by his own power, he would inevitably perish, but when he was weak, Christ's power would rest on him. Only then, he confesses, did he become one who lives by God's power. That is why he says he came to boast about all his weaknesses. And the conclusion is the content of verse 10: “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  

 

Why must you be in suffering, in a place of hardship, suffering through all difficulties? It is precisely because you are recipients of God's overwhelmingly ecstatic grace and love, born again, true golden spoons of God who have received everything of God as an inheritance. Dear ones! Therefore, live like someone who has received all this entirely from God, live like someone bold! Live like people who know how amazing what you can enjoy and possess is, without losing laughter and composure amidst all the things you experience on this earth, and walk today this path of walking together with God.

 

Closing Prayer

Let us pray. Loving Lord, through this genealogy, we have reflected on which genealogy we belong to, and examined the pitfalls of genealogies we easily fall into. How often and how foolishly do we intentionally forget the amazing things God has given us, and go to God to obtain the power of the world? Lord, help us know what the end of our life's testimony should be, cause us to repent, so that we may continually confess, 'My testimony is Christ alone,' please lead us. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen!