The Fall of A Good Man

7-27-97

The Fall of A Good Man
Genesis 9:20-28

Need: Caution in the latter years of life.
Do you ever wonder why the Lord God caused something to be included in the Bible? I do. But I have never
wondered about this brief biographical section on Noah. This passage is included as a warning to all of us that have
served the Lord, or sought to, for a long time. We need to know that we are never beyond the possibility of a
shameful fall into sin.
The last chapter in Noah’s life is shared with us briefly. After his great act of faith in building the ark and preaching to
a condemned generation for more than one hundred years, he fell. After surviving the destructive flood that brought
judgment upon the earth, he fell. After being made steward of the earth much like Adam in the beginning, he fell.
After being the recipient of a special covenant from God, he fell. It catches you by surprise. You do not expect to find
this kind of incident in the life of this good man. Surely he will come to the end of the journey of life with honor and be
a blessing to his children and grandchildren to the end of life. Surely he will become the honored patriarch of his
family, exercising a positive influence over their lives to the end. But, no, he fell! He fell into shameful sin. He came to
the end of life with a terrible cloud over his life and his family.
The record of his fall is given to us in brief and helpful language. It happened while he was pursuing the normal
activities of his life.
After his salvation through the ark, he became a farmer. He began to the till the earth and enjoy the produce of the
earth. As a part of his farming activity, he planted a vineyard.
We cannot know for sure that this was the first vineyard, but it was the first mentioned in Scripture. From the fruit of
his vineyard, he began to make wine. If you are going to make wine, you would be expected to drink it, and Noah did.
Unfortunately he did not drink the wine in moderation, but became drunk on the wine. While he was intoxicated on
the wine, he disrobed and fell asleep in his tent. His son Ham happened upon his father in this drunken state,
evidently took a careful look at his father’s condition, went out to tell his brothers about it. When his two brothers
heard about their father’s condition, they did a very respectful thing. They took a covering, backed into his tent so
they would not look upon his nakedness, and covered him with the covering until he sobered up.
When Noah became aware of what he had done, and of the actions of Ham, he had a strong reaction. He
pronounced a curse on Canaan, the son of Ham. He would be the servant of the other descendents of Noah in the
years ahead. He also pronounced a blessing on the other two sons for their respectful behavior. What can we learn
about the fall of a good man from the downfall of Noah?
I.        THE FALL OF THE GOOD MAN USUALLY COMES THROUGH THE UNEXPECTED.
At least this was true in the case of Noah. When you consider what this good man had withstood, it is a total surprise
that he would fall in the way he fell. He had successfully withstood the strong and gross temptation of the world that
God destroyed in the flood. He had withstood the temptations when everyone was committing sin. He and his family
were the only ones on the earth that had not sold out to a godless lifestyle.
He had been faithful to the Lord for one hundred and twenty years while he was working on the ark and the world
was heaping upon him its ridicule. Can you imagine the mockery and scorn that Noah must have endured as he
worked on the ark? Yet he never compromised; he never budged, but rather stood firm in his devotion to the Lord.
He did not defile himself with the sinful pleasures of the world.
Yet as he gets down toward the sunset of life, as he is pursuing his life’s vocation, he gives into over indulgence in
wine, becomes drunk, inhibitions break down, and he shames himself before the Lord.
This raises a question---are we to understand that Noah’s sin was making and drinking wine? Probably not since the
Scriptures usually approve the making and use of wine if it is done within moderation. However, we should be
warned. The first time the use of alcohol as a beverage occurs in the Bible it leads to a shameful situation in the life
of a good man. What we are to understand is that Noah sinned by over indulgence in a good thing. The Bible does
consistently condemn drunkenness. What was involved in the nakedness of Noah is not clear, but at least we know
that it was inappropriate behavior for a good man. Evidently the intoxication led to the breaking down of inhibitions,
which led to the nakedness.
Can you imagine it? What a corrupt world was never able to do, a bottle of wine did. This is not unusual. Usually
when a good man falls it is through some little thing, some unsuspected compromise in life. This means that as men,
who have served the Lord for a long time, there is no stage in life in
which you can relax. The enemy will pursue you right up to your deathbed.
The experience of Noah is also a reminder to us that we carry the capacity to fall around with us in life. Noah could
not blame his fall on any one external to himself. There was no one else around to tempt him. He evidently drank too
much without any drinking partner. O how we need to be ever mindful that the best person in this church is capable
of a tragic, shameful fall at any point of the journey, including the last days of life.
II.        THE FALL OF A GOOD MAN HAS ITS GREATEST IMPACT ON THOSE HE LOVES MOST.
This was obviously true in the life of Noah. His three sons were much beloved to this dear man. They had joined him
in his commitment to the God of creation, had been a part of the construction of the ark with him, and had been
delivered by the Lord from the destructive judgment of the flood. They had been there with him when he built an altar
and offered the sacrifice in worship to the Lord after the flood. They too had been witnesses as God put the first
rainbow in the cloud. But things would never be the same for them after the fall of their father.
Exactly what was involved in the action of Ham is not clear. What we know for sure is that he went into the tent and
found his father naked in a state of drunkenness. Some scholars have seen the hint of a homosexual act on the part
of Ham toward his drunken father. However there is nothing in the text to indicate this was the nature of his
transgression.
Others have speculated that it was simply a case of voyeurism in which he looked upon the nakedness of his father
in an inappropriate manner. Could be, but the text does not say this. It may be that all he did was act disrespectfully
toward his father and made fun of him in his compromised condition. Whatever it was, it led to serious consequences
that would never have happened if Noah had not fallen. The fall of the father opened the door for the fall of the son.
The other two sons, Shem and Japheth, responded to the fall of their father in an appropriate manner. Instead of
joining Ham in his disrespect, they took a covering, backed into his tent, and carefully covered the nakedness of
their father. They never held him up to scorn because he had fallen into sin.
When Noah learned of the action of Ham, his action was decisive, if it is not easy to understand. In the presence of
God he called down a curse on the son of Ham, and a blessing on Shem and Japheth. The curse was that Ham’s son
Canaan would be the servant of the descendants of Shem and Japheth. This is our first introduction to Canaan
whose descendents would later be driven out of the land that bore his name by the descendents of Shem. It all
started as a very small thing, but before it was finished generations had been affected by the fall of Noah.
We should not conclude, as some have done in the past, that Ham thus became the father of the black people of
Africa, and that the color is the sign of the curse that Noah announced. This interpretation was set forth by some of
our ancestors who were looking for a justification for the practice of slavery. There is nothing in the Bible to indicate
that this is a proper understanding of the experience of Canaan, or the intention of the curse. What we are to
understand is that when a good man falls, he hurts some of those that he loves most. Noah never imagined that a
little over-indulgence in wine could have such a harmful impact on his family for the years to come. This reality
should encourage all of us to watch our step spiritually to the end of the journey. Much is at stake in our being
faithful to the end.
III.        THE FALL OF THE GOOD MAN DOES NOT HAVE TO FINAL.
Obviously this is the last recorded deed in the life of this good man. This does not mean necessarily that it ended the
usefulness of Noah before God. He evidently continued to exercise some influence over his little family for the years
of life that remained.
However, I base this final observation on something I find in the New Testament. In the Hall of Fame for the faithful
found in eleventh chapter of Hebrews, the name of Noah appears. Interestingly no mention is made of this shameful
incident in his life. It is as though the sovereign God that he served has forgiven and forgotten the wrong that he did.
God’s forgiveness did not cancel out the negative impact of his deed upon Ham and his grandchildren, but it did
restore him to the fellowship of the Lord and to usefulness in the service of the Lord. This is a good reflection of the
kind of God that we serve. No failure has to be final.
This stands in contrast to something going on in our society today. Pete Rose is a name known to all baseball fans.
He played the game of baseball with intensity and dedication that made him one of the super stars of his day. While
he lacked some of the physical skills that others may enjoy, he made up for it in dedication and zeal. Unfortunately
Pete ended his career under a cloud of shame. He was guilty of indulging in gambling, and probably even gambled
on the team he managed, the Cincinnati Reds. The powers of baseball have been unforgiving. Even though lesser
players have been elected to the Hall of Fame for baseball, not Pete!
God did not treat Noah like that! Even though he fell into disgrace and shame, God forgave him and gave him a
place in his Hall of Fame for faith. If you have failed in the latter part of life, take courage. Your failure does not have
to be final. Our God is a God of grace and forgiveness.
So there are lessons for us to learn from the experience of Noah. Good men can fall! Years of faithful service do not
give you immunity against a fall. You must be careful---the fall will probably come through some unexpected thing.
There is also the sobering possibility that you will hurt some people that you love when you fall. But if you have
fallen, the fall does not have to be final. God can still forgive you and restore you.