The Flood, when seen from a spiritual viewpoint, tells us how insistent Satan is to wreck God’s plans. But he never reckons on the POWER OF FAITH. Even one individual can change the course of history, as evidenced by Noah, whose family began a whole new line after the Flood.
But it wasn’t long before trouble brewed again, this time as a result of the evil works of Ham’s family, and especially his son Canaan, born to Noah’s wife as explained in Genesis 9:20-27, but often misunderstood. Canaan unlawfully occupied the country which afterwards became known as “the land of Canaan”, but which by lot had been apportioned to Arphaxad, Shem’s son. Also in Ham’s family was Cush the father of Nimrod, a spiritual rebel, who built the Tower of Babel, whilst occupying more of the land of Shem. Ham’s true patrimony was in Africa, “the land of Ham”, as it is said in Psalm 105:23, “Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.”
The godly line passed through from Shem to Arphaxad to Eber, Peleg, and Reu. And when Reu’s wife gave birth to a son, whom she named Serug, she uttered a prophecy, which is recorded in the Biblical Antiquities of Philo (4:11) “Of this child shall be born in the fourth generation one who shall set his dwelling on high, and shall be called perfect and undefiled, and he shall be the father of nations, and his covenant shall not be broken, and his seed shall be multiplied unto the ages.”
Serug, Nahor, Terah, Abraham, the fourth generation. And Abraham has been known as “the father of faith to all who believe”. (Romans 4:11) And after his great trial of sacrificing Isaac, the Lord spoke to him, saying, “By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son — blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” (Genesis 22:16-18)
Once again the Promise of the Coming Seed is kept alive through the FAITH OF ONE MAN.
