Our Scripture Of The Week Is:

Psalm 51:10 KJVS
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

David's heart had been full of lust for Bathsheba, murderous plans for Uriah, and rebellion against God. He desired a new heart, one that was full of love for God and abhorrence of evil. Sin in his heart had brought him nothing but guilt, grief, and remorse. He wanted spiritual heart surgery that only God could perform.

Jesus cited the heart as the source of either good or evil. He explained: "The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks" (Luke 6:45).

Jesus also said that "everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matthew 5:28).

David, therefore, had committed adultery with Bathsheba in his heart before the physical act of adultery took place. He needed a new heart. But he also asked the Lord to renew a right spirit within him (Psalm 51:10).

He wanted the kind of spirit that would obey the Lord at all times.

Our topic today is:

Sons Of Ham – Africans, Ethopians, Egyptians, Libyans, Etc. Discussion

The people and nations that come from Ham will become central to Israel's story, as told in the rest of the Bible.

Ham's descendants include the peoples who will eventually become Egypt, the great nation that will play a pivotal and ongoing role in Israel's history. Ham's grandson Nimrod (through Cush) will establish the powerful kingdoms of Babylon and Assyria, who will both become enemies of Israel.

And the descendants of Ham's son Canaan will eventually be (mostly) driven from the Promised Land by the Israelites. These peoples and nations will become integral to Israel's story and they are familiar names to this day.

Ham's first generation of sons included Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan. Each of their lines will be described in the following verses.

Egypt is also known as Mizraim and the original Hebrew text uses the word Misra'yim here. In ancient literature, the names of nations and their founders were often used interchangeably, such as with Edom and Esau (Obadiah 1:8–10).

Since the purpose of this passage is explaining the origins of the various ancient kingdoms, many English translations simply state this name as "Egypt."

Following the events surrounding the Tower of Babel described in Genesis 11, the descendants of Noah's grandson Cush settled in Arabia and in areas of present day Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia.
They include Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Sabteca, and Raamah, along with Raamah's sons Sheba and Dedan.

Initially, we're told that Nimrod was the first on earth to become a "mighty man" or "champion," indicating that he was a powerful and renowned ruler. The Hebrew phrasing here can mean that Nimrod simply "began" to be mighty, or it can be interpreted to mean that he was the first person to attain that level of might.

Interestingly, in many English-speaking countries, the term "nimrod" is used to imply that a person is stupid, slow-witted, or incompetent. Various popular artists in the 1920s and 1930s sarcastically referred to specific hunters as "Nimrod," and popular culture eventually overtook the original implications of the term.

Nimrod is described as a mighty hunter before the Lord. Some scholars suggest that perhaps Nimrod is associated with the kings of Mesopotamia or Assyria, who valued hunting as a greatly honored skill. It's unlikely that the phrase "before the Lord" means that Nimrod was faithful to the true God. It's more likely to mean that Nimrod was famous on the earth, where everything is before the Lord.

In fact, some scholars believe that Nimrod's skill in hunting might have led him to skill in battle, and built the basis for his success. His name is similar to the Hebrew word for "rebellion," and traditionally he was considered a dictator and tyrant.

The nation-states founded by Nimrod, including Nineveh, Assyria, and Babel, will become some of Israel's chief enemies. Nimrod was so famous for his hunting skill that being like Nimrod, "a mighty hunter before the Lord," became a common saying in the world.

In the modern English-speaking world, the term "nimrod" is used as an insult, mostly to someone's intelligence. This is due to a series of sarcastic references in the 1920s and 1930s, which mocked an inept hunter as "Nimrod," replacing the reputation of that name with almost the exact opposite meaning!

Nimrod, famous in the world as a champion and mighty hunter. He also built a series of kingdoms for himself. Beginning in the land known as Shinar, Nimrod established his kingdom with Babel (or Babylon), Erech, Accad, and Calneh.

Traditionally, Nimrod is viewed as an early tyrant—a dictator of considerable power.
As the following verse will reveal, many parts of Nimrod's kingdom will eventually become powerful enemies to Israel.

These include kingdoms such as Assyria and Nineveh. The city of Babel will become the focal point of the next chapter as the events around the building of the Tower of Babel unfold (Genesis 11:1–9).

Most traditions of the time also paint Nimrod as a tyrant, wielding great power in his lifetime. After establishing his kingdom in the region of Shinar in the south, Nimrod moved north into Assyria.

There he built the great city of Nineveh and the close-by towns of Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, and those mentioned in the following verse. Later in Scripture, Nineveh and the Assyrians will become famous for their might, cruelty, and wickedness.

God will send the prophet Jonah to take a message of salvation to the people of Nineveh; Jonah will resist. The ruins of Nineveh remain to this day, near the modern city of Mosul in Iraq. Nimrod, a descendant of Noah's son Ham, was a mighty man who established a kingdom of his own in the regions of Shinar and Assyria.

Nimrod established the "great city" of Nineveh in Assyria, along with several other cities. Resen is the final of Nimrod's cities to be mentioned. The name Resen likely meant "fountainhead," and the city may have been situated on the Tigris river.

In the future, Nimrod's descendants will become some of Israel's greatest enemies. They will also be directly involved in some of the Old Testament's most unfortunate incidents. Among these, as seen in the next chapter, is the incident at the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1–9). Ham's sons included Cush, Put, Canaan, and Egypt (or Mizraim).

In Old Testament Hebrew, the only word used for this person, or the nation who came after him, is Misra'yim. This later became the nation of Egypt, and since that is how typical English speakers define that land today, most modern English translations stick to "Egypt" whenever this term arises.

Egypt was one of the sons of Ham, the son of Noah. Following the Tower of Babel, the descendants of Egypt generally settled in and around the lands that make up what would become known as the great nation of Egypt.

Israel's relationship with Egypt would be long and complicated. Early on, they would be kind and supportive to the people of Israel (Genesis 50:1–14), but this would soon turn into subjection and slavery (Exodus 1:1–14). Israel would also have a long and conflicted relationship with the Philistines, though there is some question as to whether the Philistines mentioned here are the same ones Israel fought in the time of David.

Many scholars believe that this passage refers only to the Philistine people passing through an area, not necessarily originating in it. These sons will become the Canaanites, the peoples who occupied the Promised Land before the nation of Israel arrived to claim it under the direct orders of God (Exodus 3:17).

The evil of these Canaanite nations would become so severe that Israel was used as God's instrument of judgment against them (Deuteronomy 9:3–6).

Canaan's firstborn son was Sidon. The city of Sidon (Judges 1:31; Acts 27:3) is one of the oldest in the region of Canaan. Canaan's son Heth has a connection to the Hittites, but apparently not a direct connection to the great nation of the Hittites that would arise later (Exodus 13:5; Judges 1:26).

This is a list of the sons of Canaan, Noah's great-grandsons through his son, Ham. These sons of Canaan will become the Canaanites, the peoples occupying the Promised Land, which the people of Israel will come to conquer after the Exodus from Egypt (Exodus 3:17). Unfortunately, while other nations had their flaws, the Canaanite peoples would become especially wicked.

This, more than anything else, is what motivates God to send Israel as a form of judgment (Deuteronomy 9:3–6). This flows from the curse given to Canaan by Noah, on account of Ham's dishonoring of his father (Genesis 9:20–25).

Verse 16 mentions the Jebusites, the Amorites, and the Girgashites. The Jebusites settled in what would later become the city of Jerusalem (Judges 1:21; 1 Chronicles 11:4). This passage lists the descendants of Canaan, most of whom would go on to become great enemies of the nation of Israel. These Canaanites go on to occupy the Promised Land which the people of Israel will conquer after the Exodus from Egypt (Exodus 3:17).

In chapter 9, Noah's son Ham gravely dishonors him, resulting in Noah placing a curse on Ham's son, Canaan (Genesis 9:20–25).

Over time, the Canaanite people would sink further and further...