New Beginnings Part 15

Intro:

Prayer

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Flow:

Genesis 9:18–29 NIV

18 The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) 19 These were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the people who were scattered over the whole earth. 20 Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. 21 When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. 23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked. 24 When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said, “Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.” 26 He also said, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. 27 May God extend Japheth’s territory; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth.” 28 After the flood Noah lived 350 years. 29 Noah lived a total of 950 years, and then he died.

As we come to the text, we can break it down into two parts:

Noah’s Nakedness – verses 18-23,

Noah’s Curse – verses 24-29.

The story itself goes something like this. 

Soon after the flood Noah planted a vineyard. When the grapes were ripe, he picked them and made wine. Then he got drunk from the wine and ended up naked in his tent. 

At some point his youngest son, Ham, saw him passed out in the tent, naked. The Hebrew text suggests that Ham stared at his father or perhaps leered at him. There is a suggestion of indecency in what he did. 

Ham then told his two older brothers, Shem and Japheth, what he had seen. Evidently he thought it was funny and meant to hold up his father to ridicule. The brothers didn’t see it that way at all. They were shocked at the news and knew they needed to cover their father’s nakedness. 

So they took a garment (the Hebrew text says “the garment,” perhaps meaning that it was Noah’s own blanket) and held it at their shoulders, walking backward while they covered their father, lest they should see his nakedness. 

When Noah woke up, he found out what Ham had done (perhaps the two brothers told him about it). At that point the story takes an unexpected turn. Noah pronounces a curse upon Canaan, Ham’s youngest son. In a sense, it is a just punishment. Just as his youngest son had dishonored him, now Ham’s youngest son will pay the price. 

Noah prophecies that he will become a “slave of slaves” to his three brothers and also to Shem and Japheth.

This is certainly a very strange story. As we consider what it means, here are a few facts to notice:

Noah was a man of faith who did great things for God, yet in a moment of weakness he got drunk. His sin starts the ball rolling in the wrong direction. 

Sometimes even smart people can do dumb things.

And they often hurt others in the process. Usually it’s the people closest to them who get hurt the most.

I think we are quick to realize how our sin or stupidity hurts and effects us but I don’t think we are very good at realizing how it effects others.

Here we see a smart, noble, good man make a dumb decision and it not only puts him in bad and vulnerable position but it also puts his son in a bad and vulnerable position

This is the first mention of wine in the Bible, and it leads to nakedness, exposure, humiliation, and family trouble. 

There is a warning here for anyone who cares to take it. Later in the Bible the Old Testament prophets will make explicit the connection between drunkenness, nakedness and immorality.

There is a warning here about the dangers of nakedness. 

To most of us the fact that Ham saw his father naked doesn’t seem like such a big deal. But that says more about us than it does about the Bible. 

Modesty and decency and not exposing yourself to others— are moral values that accompany holiness.

Ham’s greatest sin was in taking advantage of his father’s weakness. 

A good son would have protected his father, not spread the news to his brothers. Ham broke the 5th Commandment—Honor your Father and Mother. By telling his brothers, he dishonored his father and brought shame to his name. No son should ever do that for any reason.

Shem and Japheth showed a different spirit by refusing even to look on their father’s nakedness. No doubt they were embarrassed and wanted only to protect their father.

Then we move to the second part of this text and several crucial questions arise about Noah’s response:

Was he acting in anger and was his anger justified? 

The text does not specifically say that Noah was angry so we can’t answer the first part with certainty. If Noah was angry, he was justified. Dishonoring your parents is a serious sin, not to be taken lightly.

Did Noah have the power to literally curse his grandson? 

Yes, but only if God backed him up. That is, Noah could say anything he liked—a blessing, a promise, a curse, a threat—but none of it would matter unless God backed it up. 

Quit worrying about what God isn’t worried about

In this case, Noah was reflecting God’s judgment, not just his own.

Why did Noah curse his grandson Canaan and not his son Ham? 

The text doesn’t fully answer that question. It’s possible that Canaan was somehow involved in Ham’s sinful disrespect.

The key to understanding the curse is to remember that Canaan became the father of a vast group of people called the Canaanites. In later generations they occupied the land of Israel (called Canaan) and developed an idolatrous religion based on gross sexual perversion. Leviticus 18 specifies the sins of the Canaanites in graphic detail.

As we consider Genesis 9, it’s important for us to see the connection. Ham was the father of Canaan and Canaan was the father of the Canaanites. The Canaanites were sexually perverted idol-worshipers who were the sworn enemies of the people of Israel. When the Israelites got ready to enter the Promised Land, God told them to utterly wipe out the Canaanites—destroy their cities, kill their animals, and kill all the people—men and women, adults and children. Their religion was so toxic it was like spiritual Anthrax—so deadly it must be wiped out or the Israelites themselves would be infected.

Spiritual DNA

So here’s the line: Ham, Canaan, Canaanites, idolatry, immorality, enemies of God’s people. This is historically how things developed over the centuries. When viewed from this perspective, Noah’s words make perfect sense. Noah saw in Ham’s act of disrespect a cavalier attitude toward sexual morality that was shared by his son Canaan. That seed would produce a vast harvest of evil in the Canaanites. Let them be slaves! This is God’s judgment on their sin.

That leads to an important point: There is such a thing as Spiritual DNA. 

Just as your physical traits are passed down to your children, even so your personal strengths and weaknesses are passed down as well. 

Perhaps we could help our children if we were more honest about our sins so that our children could be forewarned.

For far too long in the church have we tried to conceal our sins. And the one’s perhaps most affected by it are your children

What we teach them is that Jesus doesn’t want us to mess up and so every time that we do we need to hide and conceal it. Keep it closed up and we become just like Adam and Eve in the garden.

Now your children see through it. They know you have an anger problem and they know you lash out at the drop of a hat.

But what they don’t know is how to deal with that anger because all you do is come back and act like it never happened or you show up at church and become the nicest person that they’ve never seen

And you’ve now taught your kid that yes I have an anger problem but I know I’m not supposed to so I’m going to pretend I don’t and I’m going to hide that about myself and I’m never going to get help and before you know it your child has become exactly like you because that’s all they’ve ever known.

Instead we sit our kids down and we say “daddy messed up. I should not have acted that way. It was not like Jesus but the good news is that Jesus still loves me and He gives me grace for moments just like that but I don’t want to keep doing that so I’m going to seek out help so that I can learn how to deal with anger properly.”

Can you imagine what we would be able to teach our kids if we stopped trying to hide so much?

What are you passing on?

So here in Genesis 9 it’s as if Noah knew that this Spiritual DNA was being passed down to Ham’s son Canaan.

I would put it this way: Under the leading of the Holy Spirit, Noah looked into the future and saw that Ham’s evil deed was symptomatic of a deeper rebellion against God, against the family, against decency, and against morality. He knew that tendency would only get worse and so he pronounced a prophetic curse on Canaan and the Canaanites.

Did this curse literally come true? 

Yes. The Canaanites were eventually wiped out. Though it took almost 1,500 years after the Jews entered the Promised Land, the Canaanites eventually disappeared from the face of the earth.

And that brings us to a fundamental issue - race and racism.

Historically there have been many preachers that would use this text to support slavery so we must ask the question what does this curse have to do with the other descendants of Ham? 

Answer: Nothing at all. 

The curse was only upon Canaan, not upon the other three sons of Ham. 

Furthermore, this curse has nothing to do with skin color. It has nothing to do with whether or not your ancestors came from Africa. It has nothing to do with what “race” of people you come from. It has nothing to do with whether or not you are black or white or any other color or shade or hue. 

By the way, the Canaanites weren’t black. They were closer to being white than black.

So what does this story have to do with supporting American slavery? 

Nothing at all, except that misguided people used this text to justify an evil system. 

What does it have to do with supporting racial segregation? 

Nothing at all, except that misguided people used this text to justify an evil system. 

To make myself clear, let me say it this way: This passage is fascinating and historically interesting but it has nothing to do with race relations in the 21st century. Noah pronounced the curse on the Canaanites, and that curse was historically fulfilled and ended before Christ was born. This was specific for the Canaanites and they were wiped out over 2,000 so it can’t apply to anyone today.

Playing by the Rules

Does this passage have any contemporary applications? Absolutely! Here are a few of them. 

Honor your parents. 

Uphold the family. 

Don’t gossip about the weakness of others. 

Remember that love covers a multitude of sins. 

Beware of the dangers of alcohol. 

Cover yourself up. Remember that modesty is a godly virtue. 

And especially this: take God and His word seriously

Play by the rules and you’ll be blessed and your family will be blessed. If you break the rules, especially the rules about the family and sexual purity, you and your family will pay a heavy price, sometimes for many years to come. As the Lord himself said, “Those who honor me, I will honor” (I Samuel 2:30). And those who dishonor God will be judged by him.

In light of how this passage has been so badly misused, let us resolve to be the family of God together:

Love one another.

Accept one another.

Repent to one another

Be honest with one another

Quit hiding from one another

Bear with one another.

Forgive one another.

Encourage one another.

Bear one another’s burdens.

Honor one another.

Live in peace with one another.

Pray for one another.

Ephesians 4:3 NIV

3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Galatians 3:28 NIV

28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.