“God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.’” Gen 9:1

In Adam, all peoples are united by blood. In Abraham, all God’s children are united through faith by covenant and commission. But it is in Noah that we, all mankind, are united by race since all races descended from him after the flood. Let me elaborate. 

First, consider the monumental task of building an ark 1.5 times the length and width of a football field and four stories high. At the very least, decades were needed for this work, with many Jewish and Christian scholars believing that it took all of 120 years to complete construction of the ark. 

Noah did not order his Black & Decker tools on Amazon. He couldn’t run over to Home Depot to pick up plywood, nuts and bolts, or shellack. He had no crane to hoist beams up to a height of 90 feet. The only thing he really had going for him was God’s promise, and three sons who stuck with him through it all. 

Try to keep focused on and mutually committed to a project for days, or weeks. Then think for a moment how hard it would be to persistently work on it for years. Let that now expand to decades, or a lifetime. If that’s not enough, consider that everyone—neighbors to the north, south, east, and west, young and old, rich and poor—opposed, mocked, and demonized them the whole time. God did not mince words when describing the depths of that generation’s depravity, saying that “every intent of the thoughts of man’s hearts were only evil continually” (Gen 6:5). 

Despite the culture being “corrupt before God” and “filled with violence” (6:11), Noah’s boys continued to honor their father, keeping themselves unbound and uncontaminated by the wickedness surrounding them. This certainly is a great credit to Noah and his wife. They’ve got my respect!!!

After the flood water receded, God began afresh. Although the command to build the ark was given to Noah alone, after decades of faithful service shoulder to shoulder with dad, God speaks to “Noah and his sons”. He includes Shem, Ham, and Japheth in his plan and mission. They all know it, and each has a role to play. Remarkably, all the world’s races came from Noah’s three sons. They not only became heads of families or tribes; the three major racial/cultural groupings came from them, including: Those who stayed in the region or travelled East (Semitic/Oriental), those who traveled South (African), and those who travelled North (European). 

In 2018 the Holy Spirit gave me a split-second download that shook me to my core. While sharing a stage with a Chinese pastor to my right and an African bishop to my left, He showed me God was bringing together the sons of Noah to reap a great, end-time harvest before Jesus returns. I wept, feeling numb and undone by what God had shown me. 

To think God knew all along that Noah’s sons would scatter and adopt distinct and even hostile customs and worldviews over thousands of years. And yet, before the return of the Son of God, through Jesus, by the power of His blood, the dividing wall will come crashing down. Those who are far off will be brought near (Eph 2:13), and will link arms once again in that same ark-building spirit, laboring diligently to usher in the Kingdom.

Beloved, if God can watch over all of history and work all things together for His glory, He knows where you are today, and what you are facing. If Shem, Ham, and Japheth could stick with father Noah for all those years in unwavering commitment and perseverance, I believe the grace and power of God will be with us too, keeping us fruitful, multiplying and ultimately using us to fill the earth. Amen.