Happy new year and welcome to our devotions for January 2021!Back in October, we began reading through Genesis. We heard how God created a wonderful world for his people to fill and care for, but then things descended into tragic sin, culminating in God sending a flood, destroying all life, except for Noah and his family.Today we continue on from Genesis 10, right after the flood. Many of our readings this month will be longer than normal. Some will seem quite strange. But together they show us the truth of what the world is like without God, and the beginning of God’s glorious plan to save his people.As we read Genesis 10, it’s going to seem like a random list of names. But there is something important about each of these names. Remember how God gave people that special task to fill the earth in Genesis 1. But then the flood of Genesis 9, which almost wiped out every human. Now listen to this list, and think about how each of these names is part of God’s plan to bring life back to the earth.1 This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah’s sons, who themselves had sons after the flood.2 The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshek and Tiras.3 The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah.4 The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites and the Rodanites. 5 (From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own language.)6 The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put and Canaan.7 The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah and Sabteka.The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.8 Cush was the father of Nimrod, who became a mighty warrior on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; that is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.” 10 The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Uruk, Akkad and Kalneh, in Shinar. 11 From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah 12 and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah—which is the great city.13 Egypt was the father of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, 14 Pathrusites, Kasluhites (from whom the Philistines came) and Caphtorites.15 Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn,[g] and of the Hittites, 16 Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, 17 Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, 18 Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites.Later the Canaanite clans scattered 19 and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim, as far as Lasha.20 These are the sons of Ham by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.21 Sons were also born to Shem, whose older brother was[h] Japheth; Shem was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber.22 The sons of Shem: Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram.23 The sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether and Meshek.24 Arphaxad was the father of Shelah, and Shelah the father of Eber.25 Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg, because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan.26 Joktan was the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 29 Ophir, Havilah and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan.30 The region where they lived stretched from Mesha toward Sephar, in the eastern hill country.31 These are the sons of Shem by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.32 These are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood.REFLECTIONSWritten by Gus CameronGive thanks to God, that even after the flood and all the sin the preceded it, God again graciously filled the world with human life.ABOUT THE AUTHORGus is an assistant minister with our Fairfield Congregations.