This could also be called “The Division of the Nations” and is carried from the end of Genesis Nine into Chapters Ten and Eleven. These chapters are where God sets up the order of the three heads of all the races of the people on the earth.

Shem

“Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant” (Genesis 9:26).

1. Shem went eastward; the Jews.
2. Japheth “shall dwell in the tents of Shem” (Genesis 9:27)
3. The important thing to remember here is it was through Shem’s line came Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the twelve tribes of Israel; especially the Tribe of Judah and Christ.

Japheth

“God shall enlarge Japheth, and he (Japheth) shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant” (Genesis 9:27)

“By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.” (Genesis 10:5)

1. Japheth went northward, to Europe and the Isles; the Gentiles.
2. Note: “Canaan shall be his servant.”

Ham (the father of Canaan)

“And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren” (Genesis 9:25)

1. Ham went east and south (this includes the Canaanites, and all the “-ites” of the Land of Canaan); also Arabia and south to Africa.
2. The Canaanites were the inhabitants of Canaan when the Israelites arrived there from Egypt, after their journey in the wilderness.
3. Ham’s sons and their descendants were cursed for his supposed homosexual activity of his drunk, naked father Noah (Genesis 9:20-23).

Special Selected Thoughts for
The Laws of Connection

Shem, Japheth, and Ham are the three roots of all mankind from the flood onward. However, this does not mean that all of their descendants were Children of God. Grace does not come because of blood-line, but because of God’s Sovereign Purpose in Christ. (See Ephesians 1:9-11; Romans 9, 10, and 11, especially Romans 9:6-24.)

Genesis 9:24-28 sets the stage for the three major types of peoples on the earth: the tan race, the white race, and the black race. These verses also set the order of the races.

Chapter 11 begins with their journey to the east, to the land of Shinar. It appears this is where all of them went at first (Genesis 11:1-2). Here, they wanted to build a city and a tower to reach to heaven. Plus, they wanted a name, a flag, to walk under (Genesis 11:3-4).

God took note of what man was trying to do. To stop them, He confounded their language (Genesis 11:7a); and then He scattered them (Genesis 11:8). Therefore, the place is called Babel (Genesis 11:9).

The rest of Chapter 11, verses 10-32, deal solely with Shem’s posterity, all the way down to Abraham and Lot. Here we see God, once again making a Sovereign Selection, choosing Abraham out of all the human race, to be the father of a Spiritual People of God. (But remember Romans 9:6-24.) God once again is going to move on His Progressive Revelation of Himself in a more specific way; that is, to one certain man and his son and grandson. God would confirm His Everlasting Covenant with these three men.

The Main Focus is
The Division of the Nations and
Separation and
Sovereign Selection

God accomplished Division and Separation by confounding their language and by scattering them.

Then, as Genesis 11:10-32 reveals, God narrows the view to Shem and his descendants, even to one family, the family of Terah and Abram his son. This was accomplished by God’s Sovereign Selection according to His own Will and Purpose to take the next step in revealing Himself to His People.