Genesis 10

Genesis 10

Posted on February 28, 2013 by tracijoy

 

If you don’t enjoy dusty, dry, genealogy chapters then you have probably skipped over chapter 10… just as I was about to. Forcing myself to read it I asked God to show me SOMETHING I could take away. After all, if it’s in His Word it is there for a reason.

Unfortunately, the first thing that hit me about the chapter was its obvious lack of women. The earth is being repopulated after the flood, and I sat through lists and lists of the men that Noah’s sons produced. I found my old feminist thinking rising up in  me. What about the WOMEN? These men didn’t have these sons on their own. They also had WIVES and DAUGHTERS that gave birth to these men. But my chastising of God did not give me an answer.  Instead I sat in my snippy silence. Hmpfff. And on I read. I went back to verse 8 again. “Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord…”

Suddenly, I realized there was a lot being said about women in this chapter, even though it wasn’t being pointed out. Nimrod “became a mighty one on the earth.” Nimrod didn’t do that alone. Nimrod had a mom that probably nursed him to health on sick days… patched up a skinned knee… tickled him just to hear him laugh… and gently pushed hair away from his face as he fell asleep in her lap. Nimrod… who became a mighty one… had a mom. She didn’t receive accolades… in fact she isn’t even named… but she helped raise a mighty one. 




(wikipaintings)

Nimrod became a great hunter “before the Lord.” He didn’t write a new constitution for the land… it isn’t recorded that he performed an act of great faith… but God noticed that he was great at what he did… which was simply hunting.

Days come and go and I feel as if my work doesn’t matter much. I think “Someday I will do something great for God. SOMEDAY I will write something that will change how people view Him… maybe even something that changes the world. Then God will notice what I do … and maybe even promote me.”   But you know what? Just as God noticed Nimrod’s diligence as a hunter… He notices my daily routine. He notices my struggling to get an article in before deadline. He notices if I am being disciplined in my work… or a slacker. My work is not lost to him. And no matter how trivial you may feel your “work” is… your work is not lost to God either. He isn’t preoccupied with the great evangelists and missionaries… He notices you and what you do. Whether it’s wiping runny noses… making coffee at an office… picking  up after others… digging ditches or washing windows… He notices. Just as He noticed Nimrod’s diligence in doing something as common as hunting.

We hear only one more thing about Nimrod… he went on to have a kingdom. Several kingdoms, actually. He started small… but God expanded his reach and his territory. He started out doing all he knew how to do… hunting.  NEVER think God doesn’t notice you. Never stop believing that you may have kingdoms to come. Be diligent where you are.