IN THE TENTS OF SHEM
In this brief Bible study, a scholar of the Old
Testament shows in a heart-warminy way how the
God, the Bible, the Saviour and the salvation that the
world enjoys, are from Shem
T he second prophecy of the Mes siah in the Old Testament is like the first, in that it is the utter ance of a blessing in the midst of a curse. When Adam fell, God gave the prophetic promise in Genesis 3:15 concerning the woman’s seed and His victory over the serpent, Satan. When Noah fell, the prophecy was given in Genesis 9:25-27, R.V., which reads: “And he said, Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. And he said, Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Shem; And let Canaan be his servant.” The occasion was the shame of Noah and the sin of Ham. Noah himself is the prophet and in his prophecy he lays down the outlines of the moral character of the nations yet to be bom from his sons: the sensual nature of Ham and his descendants making them subservient; the ideal and broad na ture of Japheth and his progeny; the spiritual nature of Shem and his off spring. Of Ham have come the servile peoples, the Phoenicians, Egyptians, Ethiopians, and Canaanites; of Japh eth the nations of influence in govern ment, art, and the humanities; of Shem, the nations of religion. Almost all Jewish and Christian interpreters have seen in this passage a prophecy of the Messiah. In treating this passage with special reference to Shem we see three great truths. In the first place, there is in dicated i TH E REPOSITORY OF TH E TR U TH When God is designated as the “ God of Shem” it is the first place in Scripture where God is called the God of any individual. It denotes peculiar relationship. It signifies that God has entered into a vital and spiritual bond with this individual. There has been a definite choice and it is the purpose of God to use such a one to His glory. From this time on, Shem is the center of Bible and ■redemption history. God will use him for the channel of the Messiah and the salvation of man. How can we explain God’s choice of Shem over his two brothers? The love of God alone can explain His choice of any individual, and account for His mak ing Shem the repository or preserver of the truth.
Two men were riding together. As they were about to separate, one of them said to the other: “ Do you ever read your Bible?” “Yes, but I get no benefit from it, because, to tell you the truth, I feel that I do not love God.” “Neither did I,” said the other, “ but I found from the Bible that God loved me. And He loved you, too, my friend.” This was something that man had never thought of before. He began to read the Bible as he had never read it before. Though it is written so plainly in the Scriptures, men still marvel and will not accept the truth of God’s love. Yet it was this love which touched Shem to make his life a thannel for spiritual truth and blessing. The prophecy of Noah points out, in the second place, TH E REVEALER OF TH E TR U TH In this seed of all future prophecy which contains practically the pro phetic history of the world, the em phasis is on Japheth and even more so on Shem. The blessing of Japheth is twofold: (1) Expansion and ex tension over a wide area. (2) Dwell ing in the tents of Shem. Japheth’s expansion is seen in the list of the nations in Genesis 10:2-5. The terri torial expansion of the Japhetic peo ples is well known. They gained the north of Western Asia, a large part of the interior area, and all of Europe. They have the colonizing spirit coupled with extensive migrations. Political and commercial progress and activity are in view here as well. Japheth, extending from India across Europe and the Western Hemisphere, has been the world’s colonizer and populator. But Spiritually, down through the centuries, the Japhethites have been and still are indebted to
tlie descendants of Shem. Follow the line of fulfilment in Genesis 12:3 ( “ all the families of the earth” ) ; 49:10 ( “of the peoples” ) ; John 4:22; Romans 3:1, 2 (the Scriptures); 9:4, 5 (the promises, the covenants, and the Messiah); 11 (grafted into the good olive tree); Ephesians 3:1-10 (true even for this age as fellow-heirs, fel low-members, and fellow-partakers in the gospel); Zechariah 8:23 (the na tions led to the worship of God through the Jews); Isaiah 2:2-4 (millennial blessing through Jeru salem and the Jews). The language of the New Testament is Japheth (Greek) dwelling in the tents of Shem. Gentile believers are for the most part the descendants of Japheth dwelling in the tens of Shem. Jap- hetites have entered into the reli gious riches and privileges of Shem. Japtheth is Shem’s guest. The God, the Bible, the Saviour, the salvation that the world enjoys, are from Shem through the Jew. How great is our debt to the Jew!! “ Nothing Jewish in my house!” These were the words of a wealthy man who was entertaining a well- known minister. Said he, “ I have such a hatred for the Jew that I will have nothing Jewish in my house.” The minister quietly arose and took a beautifully bound Bible from the table and a New Testament from the bookcase and put them before the fireplace. He then went on to take down some paintings from the wall. He removed one picture of Paul preaching at Athens and another of the crucifixion. The man was greatly surprised and asked, “What are you doing? Why such liberties in my house?” To this the minister an swered, “ You just said that you would not have anything Jewish in your house. I was beginning to help you to take away the many Jewish things you happen to have in this room. Shall I throw them into the fire?” “ Stop! Stop!” the man cried. “May God forgive me. I have never thought of it in that light. Little did I know how greatly indebted I was to things Jewish.” Too many Gentile believers have failed to realize in whose spiri tual tents they are living! continued on page 46 13
By Charles L. Feinberg Director, Professor of Semitics and Old Testament, Talbot Theological Seminary
J U N E 1 9 5 3
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