Lesson 12 – Be Fruitful and Multiply – Again
Genesis 9:18 – 9:29
Preparing for Lesson 12
The provisions of the Noahic Covenant confirm to us that God knew sin would return to the earth. This is evident in His institution of human self-government including the provision for capital punishment. There would be no need for capital punishment if men were not self-centered, violent, depraved individuals.
When Noah and his family entered the Ark and God closed the door, they were literally putting themselves in God’s hands. They had turned over everything to him: any hopes and dreams they may have had for the future, their relationships and, indeed, their very lives. In effect they were saying, “Here we are, God. Do with us as You will. We are available for Your use.”
Noah paved the way for us to follow. God works in His people through His people, and He will not do that if none are willing to put Him first in their lives. Jesus Christ is our spiritual Ark. When He sends us out to do His work, we don’t know where we will go or what will happen, but we must believe that wherever it leads, it will be for the greater glory of Christ. Nothing else that we may accomplish on our own can be better than that.
Now, on to today’s lesson. Noah’s son Shem represented the godly line through whom the seed of Eve would come. But that does not mean that evil and wickedness were not already crouching at the door. Read on to see exactly how long it took for them to raise their ugly heads.
LESSON 12: BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY – AGAIN
Genesis 9:18 – 9:29
The Nakedness of Noah
Noah had been through a lot. In obedience, he had followed God’s instructions without question and successfully completed his mission. He began farming again and worked to create a somewhat normal existence in a world that was still foreign to him in many ways.
So I think it is understandable that Noah thought it would be okay to kick back and enjoy some adult beverages while his sons went about their task of being fruitful and multiplying.
But Noah had probably never heard that everything should be enjoyed in moderation, because in Genesis 9:21, we are told, “And he drank of the wine and became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent.”
What was the sin here? The Bible says that wine makes a man’s heart glad (Psalm 104:15) and a little wine is good for the stomach (1Timothy 5:23). But it also contains warnings that alcohol can be dangerous, especially for those in positions of authority as Noah was (Proverbs 31:4).
Essentially, Noah’s sin was his loss of self-control which is one element of the Fruit of the Spirit that is evident in believers. In Ephesians 5:18, Paul warns, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation (debauchery), but be filled with the Spirit.” The over-consumption of alcohol causes us to let our guard down, resulting in bad decisions for ourselves and others, and that is exactly what happened here. There were generational consequences as a result of this incident.
Let’s look at verses 9:21-23 that describe the sad event:
“And he drank of the wine and became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. 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.”
When Noah awoke from his drunken stupor, he knew what Ham had done to him, and he cursed Ham’s oldest son, Canaan.
Sadly, for those of us living in a permissive society in the twenty-first century, we are accustomed to seeing nakedness all the time: on television, at the movies and in print. And we have become so desensitized by it that we think surely something more happened here than Ham just looking upon his father’s nakedness. But there is no evidence in Scripture to support the view that some type of assault occurred here. Yes, apparently there was a time when nakedness itself was shameful and disgraceful.
Think About This: Feeling shame because of nakedness in the Garden of Eden was a consequence of original sin for Adam and Eve. In fact, it was so shameful that God made clothing from animal skins to cover them.
But if all Ham did was to look upon his father’s nakedness, then how did Noah know what Ham had done?
Remember, this event occurred several years after the Flood and the human population was beginning to grow again. Some commentators suggest that Ham was so gleeful over his father’s disgrace, that he took delight in spreading the news, not only to his own brothers but to others in the community. And Noah might have known what Ham had done because he became the target of ridicule and mockery. Fortunately, Shem and Japheth honored their father by taking extreme measures to avoid seeing his nakedness and they covered him.
If Noah had questions before this incident about the natures and hearts of his sons, he now had his answers. Ham had a rebellious and carnal nature that would surely be passed to his sons. Knowing that God Himself had blessed all of his sons (Genesis 9:1), Noah apparently could not bring himself to pronounce a curse directly on Ham.
“Although Noah’s declaration does involve a curse on Ham’s posterity and a blessing on Shem and Japheth, it is to be regarded as a prophecy rather than an invocation. Noah was predicting, not praying, and the prediction was undoubtedly premised on the characters revealed by his sons” (Henry Morris).
Morris continues: “The descendants of Ham were marked especially for secular service to mankind. Indeed, they were to be servants of servants; that is, servants extraordinaire. Although only Canaan is mentioned specifically (possibly because the branch of Ham’s family through Canaan would later come into most direct contact with Israel), the whole family of Ham is in view. These include all nations which are neither Semitic nor Japhetic. Thus, all of the earth’s “colored” races – yellow, red, brown and black; essentially the Afro-Asian group of peoples, including the American Indians – are possibly Hamitic in origin and included within the scope of the Canaanitic prophecy, as well as the Egyptians, Sumerians, Hittites and Phoenicians of antiquity.”
However, the sinful human nature was evident in descendants of Shem and Japheth as well. The Semites (Hebrews) were descendants of Shem, God’s chosen people. On the other hand, other descendants in the Semite line were the founders of false religions such as Islam. Most of the major features of all forms of paganism, whether in ancient or modern religions, came originally from the religions of the Babylonian and Assyrian Semites.
Our next lesson will deal with the Table of Nations from which scholars have been able to trace many of Noah’s descendants, and it proves to be very insightful.
Think About It, Talk About It
Why are those of us in the twenty-first century mostly unfazed about the nakedness of Noah? What does it reveal about the path that most of mankind has followed?
What does Ham’s sin against his father show about his character?
What was one reason Noah cursed his grandson Canaan and not directly on Ham?
SOURCES
Cooper, Melinda: Three Lessons We Can Learn From Noah’s Drunkeness (www.crosswalk.com)
Deffinbaugh, Bob: The Nakedness of Noah and the Cursing of Canaan (www.bible.org)
Morris, Henry: The Beginning of the World (Master Books, 1977)
Who were the Sons of Noah (www.gotquestions.org)