January 4

In Genesis today, you will find the reason for, then the separation of Noah's three sons. Here are a few "clues" to help you understand how the people of the world came from them.

Japheth's descendants moved north from what we now call the Middle East. They settled in what today is Europe, including Russia. Scholars believe that modern Moscow is ancient Magog.

Ham's descendants include what we today think of as the Arab people groups. That means modern Iran and Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Shem's descendants will ultimately include Abraham and, centuries later, Jesus. The descendants of Shem were known as Shemites, later changed to Semites. We get our term "semitic" from it -- a term used to describe them when they were primarily nomads.

Matthew's passage today shows the powerful simplicity of Jesus' call to "Follow Me!" Notice their response. The older I get, the more convicted I feel every time I think about it.

Proverbs today is as if wisdom is pleading with us.