Wed, April 30 SOAP Devotional

April 29, 2008
Read Genesis 10
To read this text go to: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=gen%2010&version=51



Scripture- Genesis 10:32- These are the clans that descended from Noah’s sons, arranged by nation according to their lines of descent. All the nations of the earth descended from these clans after the great flood.



Observations- In yesterday’s passage of Genesis 9, God told Noah and his family to be fruitful and multiply—they were to fill the earth with people again. While God’s initial attempt at creation was largely destroyed by the flood, now God is telling Noah that not only will the world never again be destroyed, but they are to have confidence in going forth and populating the earth—God’s blessing was with them as they went. Later in the chapter, we are told that life is to have the highest value among them because they are created in the image of God. This passage is often called the “Table of Nations” and reflects the fulfillment of God’s command to the people of the earth. It also depicts God’s blessings on the nations and His work of recreation after the ‘uncreation’ of the flood—it is the story of God’s sustaining grace. It is also a reminder to the people of Israel that they share a common ancestry with the other peoples of the world. They were to remember who they are and where they come from and it provided the primitive branches of the genealogical tree of humanity that culminates in the objective of every biblical genealogy—the person of Jesus Christ.



Application- Let’s be honest—passages like these are the parts of the Bible that we usually skip without paying much, if any, attention. This passage, like many others, just seems to be a collection of hard to pronounce names. Why are they even in the Bible to begin with? They seem so boring and irrelevant. These are the genealogical records of Israel. Our family origins are important to us. Millions of dollars are spent each year researching and tracking family histories. This is nothing new. I have become very interested in my family history. Our family story is interesting. I am probably not related to any one else with the last name spelled uniquely like mine—Wallis—because my paternal grandfather (my father’s father) changed his name because of some trouble he ran into (an interesting story I will not go into here). I don’t know much about that side of the family, except that if Grandpa Wallis hadn’t changed his name, I would be Matthew William Crowder. Maybe that’s why I have such an affinity for hardware and tools. On my mother’s side of the family tree, we are somehow related to Oliver Wendell Holmes, Rutherford B. Hayes, and the crazy sisters from Manhattan who left their fortune to their cats. I hope to find out the specifics some day of our family story and how we are related to these people. Our family connections pull at us in important ways. The fact that these records are included in Holy Scripture is evidence of that. They serve an important role in helping see the hand of God working throughout the centuries of recorded history to preserve the means of our salvation. God was working, before we ever knew we needed Him, to secure our salvation through the person of Jesus Christ. Not only that, but once be become followers of Jesus Christ, we are adopted into a whole new family. So, no matter how prestigious or lowly our family history might be, we have a new family that claims us! That’s good news, folks!



Prayer- Lord, thanks for loving me enough to adopt me into your family and accepting me as Your child. Thank you for being the best Daddy (Abba) I could ever have. When I am feeling overwhelmed by life and circumstances, help me to remember Whose I am and that You are always with me. You would never call us to do something that You would not also equip and sustain us to get it done. I can truly do everything You are calling me to do through Christ who gives me strength! Help me never to forget that. I love you. Amen



Your Brother in Christ,

Pastor Matt