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2000-10-19 - Noah's Curse to Ham
Gen 9:20-27 Then Noah began farming and planted a vineyard.
21 And he drank of the wine and became drunk, and uncovered himself
inside his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness
of his father, and told his two brothers outside. 23 But Shem
and Japheth took a garment and laid it upon both their shoulders and walked
backward and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were
turned away, so that they did not see their father's nakedness. 24
When Noah awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son had done to
him. 25 So he said,
"Cursed be Canaan;
A servant of servants
He shall be to his brothers." (NAS)
After the flood, Noah probably planted more than just a vineyard. His family
would need food, but the vineyard was something that might have been planted
as a treat. The thought of grapes and juice and the wine after the flood,
and what was probably a lot of dried food, would have been sweet and special.
Matthew Henry suggests in his commentary that Noah's age may have been a
factor. He spent many years working on the ark with his sons. There was probably
little time for wine and leisure. It may have been a considerable time since
Noah had tasted wine. That combined with his age may have contributed to
his becoming drunk at what was probably a harvest party.
Somehow, Noah stumbled back to his tent and tried to change clothes for bed,
or simply removed them because he was flushed and warm. Either way he fell
into bed naked. Canaan walked by his father's tent and was so amused by his
father's plight that he had to run and tell his brothers.
Noah had been a Godly father to his sons. This is evidenced by the fact that
his sons all knew God well enough that they joined in the building of the
ark when Noah explained that he had been told by God to build it. This is
true even in an age where men refused to recognize God at all. This sounds
dangerously similar to our modern day culture. Noah is rewarded by Canaan
for all the lessons and efforts of his father with jokes and barbs deriding
his father's drunken state. This is Canaan's first error.
Obad 12 "Do not gloat over your brother's day,
The day of his misfortune.
And do not rejoice over the sons of Judah
In the day of their destruction;
Yes, do not boast In the day of their distress. (NAS)
Canaan fails to honor his father publicly. Instead he holds him up to ridicule
and scorn. The word outside in Gen 9:22 means in the street.
Shem and Japheth walk in to Noah's tent backwards, to avoid seeing their
father naked, with some article of clothing or blanket between them to cover
their father. They were careful not to look themselves, and prevented anyone
else from seeing Noah in this compromising situation. I don't think Noah
became drunk on purpose, but he erred and it would have been to his shame
that he would be seen this way. As the Patriarch of the family, and the head
of his household, his integrity would have been tainted.
When Noah wakes up and finds himself covered knowing that he did not do it,
he would want to know what happened and why. It would not take long to get
to the truth. The kind of disrespect that Canaan had shown to Noah was unheard
of in his family. I'm sure there must have been days when some doubted Noah's
warning was from God. But, they said nothing, and certainly not publicly
if anything. And when the animals began to show up and God Himself closed
the ark door and the rain poured down, they were glad they had respected
Noah. Noah's curse may seem severe to us, but the level of disrespect was
also unprecedented.
The first commandment given years later with regard to man's relationship
to other men would be as follows:
Ex 20:12 "Honor your father and your mother, that your
days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.
(NAS)
God seems to regard this matter of respect for parents, and authority fairly
highly. Without it, society itself begins to unravel. We see it today with
laws that require parental permission to get your ears pierced if you are
under the legal age - yet a young girl may get an abortion without her parents'
consent or even them knowing in many cases. While I agree a juvenile has
some rights and deserves a level of personal respect, God created society
built on the family where mother and father pass down values they feel are
important. For the vast majority of families this has worked well for untold
centuries.When government elects to refuse to recognize God and override
the role of parents allowing children to disrespect their parents, in the
area of abdominal surgery, respect of life and in sexual conduct
in the above example, we are truly sowing the wind. The whirlwind can not
be far behind.
Grace & Peace,
Mike
jmhoskins@gmail.com
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