The Absurdity of Racism and Racial Prejudice
A Devotional Series from Genesis
Online Bible Audio/Readings Links (ESV)
7/15 Reading Portions: Joshua 22; Acts 2; Jeremiah 11; Matthew 25
Genesis 9:18-19
The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the people of the whole earth were dispersed.
SONS
While not in the exact words, the Word of God repeats that the sons of Noah went forth. We know this. We have read it at least once per year if we have been utilizing the Robert Murray M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan. From these three men, the sons of Noah, all the people of the whole earth were dispersed. All of us today, whether believer or unbeliever, came from one man, Adam. And from that man, came Noah. And from Noah came three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And from no one else. Only a cursory meditation upon these two verses coupled with a faithful eye upon Christ will signal to our hearts with momentous trumpet blasts the absolute absurdity of racism and racial prejudice.
In my short life on the planet, I’ve been to more countries than I can count off the top of my head. I have met and have had fellowship with and broken bread with all kinds of people, from all kinds of cultures, with all kinds of backgrounds, who look and dress differently than I do. And I am so glad. I celebrate the greatness of God for the awesome blessing of His goodness by dispersing all kinds of people all over the world through just three men and their wives; and those three men coming from just one man and his wife. There is only one race: the human race.
Think about the return of Christ and the consummation of all things,
that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is. 1 John 3:2
But while we will all be glorified as Jesus is glorified, and our human corruption and mortality is now incorruptible and immortal (1 Cor 15:51-54), we will still possess even those external attributes that make us especially unique. That’s right. No doppelgangers in heaven. It is foreshadowed here on our verses today. As three sons bring forth all that wonderful, beautiful diversity; so by One Son, the Lord Jesus Messiah, will bring forth even more wonderful, more beautiful, and more marvelous diversity because it will give God all the glory alone.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!