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"But the wicked shall perish; and the enemies of the Lord, like the splendour of the meadows, shall vanish. Into smoke they shall vanish away." Psalm 37:20

Text: Genesis 10:1-32

A MAN OF REKNOWN

One of the descendants of Ham was a man called Nimrod. The Biblical description of this man’s exploits may be found in this text.

“Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth.
He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said,
‘Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.’
And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad
and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From that land he went
to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, and Resen
between Nineveh and Calah (that is the principal city).”

GENESIS 10:8-12

THE FIRST KINGDOM

We have a brief description of how Nimrod became a living legend in his lifetime. The name “Nimrod” is interesting. One possible interpretation of his name is, “Let us revolt”. The phrase “mighty one” comes from a Hebrew word which may mean “tyrant”. Nimrod established a powerful kingdom and became a despotic king in his lifetime.

Let us take note of the cities that he built as part of his kingdom. We have an impressive list of names. There was “Babel”. In this city, he tried to build a tower that would represent his arrogance and pride! He went on to establish Nineveh as well. He certainly did not accomplish all these things through peaceful negotiation! It is not easy to build a city, let alone a kingdom made up of notable cities!

“A MIGHTY HUNTER BEFORE THE LORD”

We have an interesting phrase concerning Nimrod. He was called “a mighty hunter”. What was the game he hunted? Was he hunting for mere animals, or was he hunting human prey?

What does the phrase “before the Lord” mean? This phrase suggests that Nimrod was in some measure like Lamech, a descendant of Cain (Cf. Genesis 4:23-24), only worse! He had knowledge of God, nevertheless he pursued his wicked activities “before the Lord” that is, “in defiance of the Lord”, (It is suggested by some scholars that in time Nimrod was deified as the Sun God. He is otherwise called “Baal”).

THE OLD SIN PROBLEM

Assyria and Babylon were powerful forces from earliest times. So soon after the Great Flood, sin reared its ugly and deadly head and struck man again. This time round, the sin problem began to take a more organized form. Evil when organized as a kingdom can become a great source of destructive power. Nimrod was an early prime example of how man seeks to impress on others that “might is right”. The story of one country trying to conquer and dominate another country is as old a story as Nimrod’s!