He Gathers His People

He Gathers His People

In Genesis 10, we find a list of nations descended from Noah through his sons, Japheth, Ham, and Shem. They were being fruitful and multiplying as God instructed, but they weren’t spreading out across the earth as God told them to. They were determined to cluster together to build a great city and make a great name for themselves:

They said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.” But the LORD came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building. . . . The LORD scattered them all over the world. (Genesis 11:4-5, 8)

They should have remained one family worshiping the one true God. Instead they were scattered and ended up at war with their relatives. The sons of Japheth were dispersed to the ends of the earth, where they awaited the call of the gospel to the Gentiles. The sons of Ham became nations with names such as Cush and Canaan. These nations eventually went to war against Israel, the descendants of Shem.

But this scattering and warring was not the end of the story. One is coming who will gather up his people and bring them back. Christ will come to reverse the curse of this dispersion.

Genesis 10 lists seventy nations that came from the sons of Noah—nations that eventually covered the face of the earth. When Christ came, he sent out seventy disciples, two by two, to preach the gospel (Luke 10, NKJV). Here he began the regathering of all those who are his from every corner of the earth. And he will bring this regathering to a glorifying conclusion when he returns: “Everyone will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with great power and glory. And he will send out his angels to gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven” (Mark 13:26-27).

You are the God who scatters and the God who gathers. I hear your call to be a worker in your harvest, to proclaim your gospel as you gather in all who are called to be yours from among every people and nation of the earth. How good of you to invite me into your gathering work.