Genesis 9:18-29
(12/17/14)
Genesis 9:18-21 (NKJV)
18
Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham
was the father of Canaan. 19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole
earth was populated. 20 And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard.
21
Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent.
As I said last week I don’t believe this was the first time anyone ever got drunk nor do I believe
that something happened after the Flood that caused grape juice to suddenly ferment
unbeknownst to Noah who was innocent and didn’t intended to get drunk.
Noah, I believe, knew what he was doing when he made the wine and drank it—his drunkenness
was a sad turn of events for a preacher of God.
“…and became uncovered in his tent”—the Hebrew is “uncovered himself”. (Comment)
Genesis 9:22-27 (NKJV)
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, laid it on both their shoulders,
and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned
away, and they did not see their father's nakedness. 24 So Noah awoke from his wine, and
knew what his younger son had done to him. 25 Then he said: "Cursed be Canaan; A
servant of servants He shall be to his brethren." 26 And he said: "Blessed be the LORD,
The God of Shem, And may Canaan be his servant. 27 May God enlarge Japheth, And may
he dwell in the tents of Shem; And may Canaan be his servant."
This whole incident has generated a lot of confusion and caused a lot of controversy.
1
What did Ham do to his father and why when Noah woke up and realized what he had done did
he curse Ham’s son Canaan instead of Ham—it seems like a case of the innocent being punished
for the guilty?
There are those who see the expression “he saw (‘gazed intensely at’) the nakedness of his
father” as a euphemism for some kind of sexual sin.
The Talmud records that some of the ancient rabbis believed that Ham committed a homosexual
act against his father while he was passed out drunk in his tent.
Other ancient rabbis believed Ham might have castrated his father Noah in order to keep him
from having any more children; they said he did this—“to prevent procreation in order to seize
the power to populate the earth”.
There are even those who believe that Ham’s sin was to commit incest with his mother—which I
really have a hard time believing since he tells his two brothers (the Hebrew is ‘enthusiastically).
Furthermore I believe something as heinous as that wouldn’t have been ignored in the story.
Incest would explain Noah’s anger and even his curse—but wouldn’t explain why he cursed
Ham’s son Canaan instead of Ham himself.
There are liberal theologians who believe that Ham didn’t do anything to his father—that he
simply looked at him naked.
Well that would have embarrassed Noah and even brought shame upon him that his lapse in
judgment in getting drunk and taking off all his clothes had caused his son to see him naked—
but that wouldn’t explain his anger toward Ham.
2
And then finally there are those that believe what Ham did was to see his father drunk, naked and
passed out in his tent and use it as an occasion to mock his father and his faith.
Literally, the ancient Hebrew says that Ham “told with delight” or “enthusiastically” what he
saw in his father’s tent.
Jim Boice—
“Most likely, the sin was in the way he reacted to his discovery. He could have covered his
father as his two brothers did, but instead he went and told them, apparently making fun of his
father’s drunken and uncovered state. It was an attack on his father’s honor. Moreover, it may
have been a repudiation of his father’s religion”.
Then he quotes Robert Candlish, the old Scottish pastor,
“He [Ham] not merely dishonored him as a parent—he disliked him as a preacher of
righteousness. Hence his satisfaction, his irrepressible joy, when he caught the patriarch in such
a state of degradation. Ah! he has found that the godly man is no better than his neighbors; he
has got behind the scenes; he has made a notable discovery; and now he cannot contain himself.
Forth he rushes, all hot and impatient, to publish the news, so welcome to himself!”
Boice concludes,
“The only thing that is worse than committing a specific sin is the devilish delight of finding
out and reveling in that sin in others. This Ham did! His brothers, by contrast, grieved for their
father and did what they could to remove the indignity.”
Warren Wiersbe—
“Instead of laughing with Ham and going to see the humiliating sight, Shem and Japheth
showed their love for their father by practicing Proverbs 10:12, “Love covers all sins”. The
brothers stood together and held a garment behind them, backed into the tent with their eyes
averted, and covered Noah’s naked body. “He who covers a transgression seeks love” (Prov.
17:9, NKJV), and “a prudent man covers shame” (12:16, NKJV).
Love doesn’t cleanse sin, for only the blood of Christ can do that (1 John 1:7); nor does love
condone sin, for love wants God’s very best for others. But love does cover sin and doesn’t go
around exposing sin and encouraging others to spread the bad news.
When people sin and we know about it, our task is to help restore them in a spirit of meekness
(Gal. 6:1–2). It’s been said that on the battlefield of life, Christians are prone to kick their
wounded; and too often this is true. But before we condemn others, we’d better consider
ourselves, for all of us are candidates for conduct unbecoming to a Christian.”
3
Now if this was the sin of Ham (mocking his father and his faith) then that could explain Noah’s
‘curse’ upon Canaan and not Ham—
It wasn’t really a curse it was a prophecy concerning Ham’s descendants and in particular the
family of Canaan—as was the blessing upon Shem and Japheth also prophecies of their future
descendants.
This would be very much like Jacob leaning on his staff and prophesying over his sons in
Genesis 49. (Explain)
If Noah had wanted to pronounce a curse, it would have been directed at Ham, the son who had
sinned against him—but instead, he named Canaan three times—the son of Ham.
This seems to be consistent with a law of God that was probably known in Noah’s day and was
later codified in the law—
Exodus 20:5-6 (NKJV)
5
…I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children
to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to
those who love Me and keep My commandments.
One author put it this way—
“Ham was the one who exposed his dad’s sin. Yet it would be his son, Canaan, who would
experience the repercussions. We see the same thing today when the son of an alcoholic grows
up to be an alcoholic himself, when the son of a child abuser grows up to, himself, abuse
children. This is one of the great tragedies of sin. Toss a pebble into a pond, and the circles will
grow ever wider. The same is true of sin. The consequences and ramifications grow to include
many more people than we ever guess.”
Let’s look at these prophecies—
4
Genesis 9:24-27 (NKJV)
24
So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him. 25 Then
he said: "Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants He shall be to his brethren." 26 And he
said: "Blessed be the LORD, The God of Shem, And may Canaan be his servant. 27 May
God enlarge Japheth, And may he dwell in the tents of Shem; And may Canaan be his
servant."
So first of all Noah prophecies that Canaan would be a servant to his brethren—or in other words
the descendants of Canaan (Ham’s son) would be subservient to the descendants of Noah’s other
sons which would constitute pretty much the rest of humanity.
Remember, that from the descendants of Shem, Ham and Japheth would come all of humanity
after the Flood—which we’ll see in chapter 10.
So Noah is prophesying that the descendants of Canaan would be servants to the rest of the
people on the earth.
Now let me stop here and correct a faulty and perverted teaching about this—a teaching that got
started with slave traders in the middle of the nineteenth century at the height of the slave trade
as a way to justify their profession and sooth their guilty consciences—and that is that the
descendants of Canaan were the black African peoples.
The descendants of Canaan were not members of a black race but were those that wound up
settling in the land that bore their name—the land of Canaan—the people that Israel eventually
conquered and dispossessed under Joshua.
And why did God remove the Canaanites from the land and give it to His people Israel?—it was
because of the moral debauchery and religious idolatry of the Canaanites.
Their society had become a moral and demonic cesspool which eventually caused God to judge
them and remove them from the land much like He judged the people of the world and removed
them from the earth in Noah’s day through the Flood because of their wickedness.
5
Look, the ‘curse’ on the Canaanites wasn’t put on them by Noah it was the result of their own
choice to follow in Ham’s footsteps and choose lives of sin and rebellion against God—they
were only reaping what they had sown. (Deut. 27-28)
“Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people”. (Prov.14:34)
The Canaanites would have to be dispossessed from their land by Israel in order for blessing to
come on Shem (v. 26)—Shem being the one from whom Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the children
would descend.
Now in all fairness to the descendants of Ham and Canaan—in spite of their evil ways they did
contribute in a positive way to humanity.
One author said,
“Some of these Hamitic peoples built large and advanced civilizations, including the
Babylonians, Assyrians, and Egyptians. In one sense, we can say that the descendants of Ham
“served” the whole world through the ideas and implements that they discovered and developed.
Like the Cainites (Gen. 4:17–24), these nations were gifted at creating things for this world’s
benefit.”
Genesis 9:26 (NKJV)
26
And he said: "Blessed be the LORD, The God of Shem, And may Canaan be his servant.
Notice that Noah didn’t bless Shem, at least not directly; he blessed “the LORD, the God of
Shem”
In this way Noah gave glory to God for what He would do for and through the descendants of
Shem.
6
As I said Shem became the ancestor of Abraham who eventually was called by God to be the
founder of the nation of Israel—so in blessing the God of Shem Noah was indirectly blessing the
Jewish people.
But this blessing would eventually come upon all mankind—
Genesis 12:1-3 (NKJV)
1
Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your family And from your
father's house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you
And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And
I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
Wiersbe—
“It’s through Israel that we have the knowledge of the true God, the written Word of God, and
the Savior, Jesus Christ, who was born in Bethlehem of the tribe of Judah. In the Hebrew,
“Shem” means “name,” and it’s the people of Israel who have preserved the name of the Lord.”
And may Canaan be his servant (v.26b)
As we pointed out this prophecy was fulfilled under Joshua and the conquest of Canaan and
could have been placed here in part to give God’s people courage in battle.
Genesis 9:27 (NKJV)
27
May God enlarge Japheth, And may he dwell in the tents of Shem; And may Canaan be
his servant."
Japheth became the ancestor of what we generally call the “Gentile nations.”
Three things were predicted of Japheth—
7
First, he would be enlarged; Second, he would dwell in the tents of Shem—or in other words
would receive blessings from Shem; Third, the Canaanites would be the servants of Japheth also.
First, that Japheth would enlarge.
There is a play on words in the Hebrew for the name Japheth—is very close to the word in
Hebrew that means “to enlarge.”
Those nations which have been most enlarged by God have descended from Japheth.
This would include the Greeks and the Romans who dominated practically all of the known
world in their day.
And this continues to the present day with the Anglo-Saxon race which occupies more territory
than any other people in the world.
The descendants of Japheth have established the greatest nations on the face of the earth—which
would include America.
But our blessings don’t come from the size of our country, its natural resources, our military
strength, our constitutional government, or our capitalistic economy—it comes from our faith in
the God of Israel. (Alex DeToqueville)
This brings us to the second part of the prophecy of Japheth—
“And may he dwell in the tents of Shem”
8
The second part of this prophecy suggests that while the descendants of Japheth would be
successful in their conquests, when it came to things spiritual, they would have to depend on
Shem.
The idea of dwelling in the tents of Shem implies that the descendants of Japheth would find a
home in the tents of Shem—not just as guests but as family!
Again this was a part of the prophecy God gave to Abraham that in him all the families of the
earth would be blessed—because salvation was of the Jews through Messiah Jesus.
Couple this with the remarkable statement by the Apostle Paul in Romans 11 where he is talking
to Gentile believers and how we were grafted into the family of Israel with all of the promises
God gave to them through our faith in their Messiah and ours—the Lord Jesus Christ!
Also Paul said in Galatians 3:29, “If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs
according to promise”.
Thus we see Japheth “dwelling in the tents of Shem.”
The third and final part of the prophecy concerning the descendants of Japheth was that
Canaan’s descendants would become subservient to them also.
Initially it was the other way around as the descendants of Ham and Canaan ruled the known
world under the Egyptian Empire.
Israel eventually rose in power to conquer and subjugate the Canaanites and then others in their
part of the world for the next eight hundred years.
9
However their own immorality and idolatry eventually brought them down and they were
conquered first by the Assyrians, then by the Babylonians and then they remained in subjection
to the Medes and Persians when they rose to world dominance.
It wasn’t until the Greek Empire rose to power followed by the Roman Empire that the
descendants of Ham and Canaan became subservient to the descendants of Japheth once again.
Today we see the dominance of the descendants of Japheth in the peoples of Western Europe and
America over that part of the world—yet the Hamites are rising up once again in the form of AlQaeda, ISIS and other Muslim groups that have descended from them.
Jews and Gentles have descended from Shem and Japheth who covered their father’s sin with a
garment (v.23).
Today Jews and Gentiles have become one family in Christ—the Lamb of God Who Himself is
the ultimate covering for sin.
The ‘garment’ we cover the sin of the world with is the robe of Christ’s righteousness which they
receive when they believe the gospel that we have been commissioned to take into all the world.
At the moment they receive it the blood of Christ doesn’t just cover their sin—it takes it away!
Genesis 9:28-29 (NKJV)
28
And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. 29 So all the days of Noah
were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died.
Noah lived another 350 years after the Flood—a total of 950 years in all.
10
Nothing more is said about the final third of Noah’s life—we hope he kept walking with God.
We hope that the drunkenness he engaged in in chapter nine was an isolated incident and not a
change of course in the direction of his life—as someone has said,
“The victorious Christian life is a series of new beginnings.”
Noah was a remarkable man but I don’t think his last years matched the glory of the first years of
his life—something we should all take to heart.
It was Paul’s great desire to finish his race strong for the Lord—and that should be our desire as
well. (Elaborate)
Someone has pointed out that by Noah living a total of 950 years it means that Noah didn’t die
until Abraham was 58 years old!
So these people weren’t really disconnected from one another as you might think and passed
these stories and genealogies down to each other personally.
11