The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Genesis 10:1-10, “Now these are the records of the generations of Shem, Ham, and
Japheth, the sons of Noah; and sons were born to them after the flood.
2 The sons of Japheth were Gomer and Magog and Madai and Javan and Tubal and Meshech and Tiras.
3 The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz and Riphath and Togarmah.
4 The sons of Javan were Elishah and Tarshish, Kittim and Dodanim.
5 From these the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.
6 The sons of Ham were Cush and Mizraim and Put and Canaan.
7 The sons of Cush were Seba and Havilah and Sabtah and Raamah and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.
8 Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth.
9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.”
10 The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.”

None of the above verses ever made much sense to me until I read the late Dr. Bill Cooper’s book, After the Flood. Being an Englishman, Dr. Cooper was primarily concerned with his own historical genealogy. He examined closely the Table of Nations, knowing that we are all descendants and ultimately traceable back to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

Doubtlessly, you will recognize Nimrod and Babel (emboldened above). Nimrod is identified in Scripture (v. 9) as having been “a mighty hunter before the LORD.” In time, however, he followed the way of Cain and rebelled against the LORD, prompting the LORD to mingle the single language of the people into many languages.

Today, if we travel into a “foreign” country, we are either required to learn the language of that country or use the skill of an interpreter. Missionaries living and working in remote jungles of the world encounter and learn the strange-sounding languages of the native people. In India,
I preached to several thousands of people of varying languages. I used two interpreters to enable everyone to hear and understand the message.

Those of you who live in countries of varied languages have an awesome responsibility. We all, however, have that same responsibility with the language(s) we know and speak. I recall standing in a marketplace in India thinking, “If I only knew their native language, I could tell them of the LORD Jesus Christ.” Regretfully, however, I often neglect to share Christ with those who speak and understand English. May the LORD embolden us all in sharing the Good News of Jesus! The time of His Coming becomes closer day-by-day. Pray to be emboldened,
and share Him with someone today!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom