A survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that more than 10 percent of Americans think Noah's wife was Joan of Arc. Imagine if the same bunch had been asked about Noah’s sons Shem, Ham and Japheth. They probably would have been confused with the Three Stooges.

In the thick of an old Bible study on Genesis 9, prepared for Grace School of the Bible, Jordan stops to reason, “There are probably people scratching their heads about now, saying, ‘What is he talking about?!’ and that’s too bad because, folks, these are the kind of things that are the foundation that all the muck and mire of human depravity has covered over and no one understands!

“There are very few people looking for answers; most people are just looking for problems to make money off of. There are lots of sensationalists, but for the honest people looking for answers, these are the roots that you HAVE to go back to.”

Jordan repeatedly makes the point that if the characteristics associated with each of Noah’s sons were allowed to scripturally function within the context of nationalism, as God established it, there would be peace and harmony in the earth.

“But that tells you just why there’s no peace and harmony, doesn’t it?” says Jordan. “One group constantly seeks to go into the other group’s area and say, ‘I should be ahead of all the others!’ ”

*****

Shem is the progenitor of the nation Israel and Abraham is a descendant of Shem.

Jordan explains, “Who did God belong to? He said, ‘I’m the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; I’m the God of Israel,’ and Shem and his lineage were given the responsibility to look after the spiritual issues of life. God’s Word is committed to Shem. God’s Son, when He comes, comes through the line of Shem.

“Anytime Japheth or Ham get to messing with religion they make a mess of things. Just check it out. But when Shem does it—all of the great world religions come from the descendants of Shem. It’s fascinating.”

*****

Genesis 9:27 says, “God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan (Ham’s son) shall be his servant.”

“There are three needs man has—spiritual, physical and intellectual,” says Jordan. “Shem is charged with meeting the spiritual needs; inner spiritual strength. Ham is charged with meeting the physical needs and skills to carry out the purposes. His focus is on technology.

“Descendants of Ham have been the great influencers of human history in inventing and technology. In fact, the first great world civilizations were brought about in Egypt and Babylon and those, you’ll see as we get on down in chapter 10, are Ham’s descendants. Nimrod, one of Ham’s boys, establishes Babylon and Egypt and those are the great cradles of civilization.

“Japeth meets the intellectual needs. He’s the one who gives direction and purpose to things. Japeth is the facilitator, he’s the expander. He’s the one who takes religion and develops it into a system of coordinated thinking. He develops theology.

“If these (three races) work together like they’re designed, Shem has the truth of God and an understanding of God’s commission to him. There are a people to spread that out and teach it and populate the earth with it.

“Ham and his descendants come along with the technology to help man in his dominion in the earth and to work out and help man get the job of world dominion accomplished, and they’re the originators.

“Then Japeth comes along and sort of takes the two and holds one by the hand and the other by the hand and brings them together because Japeth is the facilitator. He’s the expander.”