Genesis

THE events recorded in the preceding section might well suggest that henceforth everything would be well with Noah and his sons. A new start had been made amid great hopes, with perfect provision and a Divine assurance. Yet here comes the record of failure. As we read it our hearts are full of disappointment, and yet, if we may use human language, what must the Divine disappointment have been. As God afterwards said about Israel, What could have been done more to My vineyard, that I have not done in it (Isa 5:4)? It is evident that the Divine judgment at the Flood had not extirpated the evil in human nature, and as we ponder this solemn lesson, we should take care to apply it to ourselves. It is much easier to feel sad about Noah than to be on the watch about our own life.

The names of Noah’s sons have been given before (Gen 5:32; Gen 6:10; Gen 7:13); they are given again here because the narrative specially concerns them. In the reference to Canaan we have an anticipation of Gen 10:6, in order to prepare for what is recorded of him in Gen 9:25 of the present section. The three sons of Noah are described as the heads of the three divisions of the human race (Gen 9:19), and it is by reason of their importance in this connection that the incident now recorded finds its full significance. Their action is soon seen to affect others.

The occasion of the sins of Noah, it should be observed, was his daily occupation. They were committed in the course of his ordinary work. It was a perfectly legitimate calling as a husbandman to plant a vineyard, and no blame is attached to him in this respect. It is a point worthy of careful notice, that legitimate occupations may easily become the occasions of wrong doing.

The first of Noah’s sins was that of drunkenness. Now whatever views Christian men may hold as to the lawfulness or wisdom of moderate drinking, there is no question whatever about the fact and heinousness of the sin of drunkenness as revealed in the Scriptures. It is writ large on all parts of the Word of God. Warnings and denunciations abound in the Old Testament, while in the New, drunkenness is included in St Paul’s catalogue of the works of the flesh with all the nameless and most shameful of evils (see Pro 23:20; Isa 5:11, Isa 5:22; Isa 38:1-7; Luk 21:34; Rom 13:13; 1Co 5:11, and 1Co 6:10; Gal 5:21; Eph 5:18; 1Th 5:8). The story of Noah is the first recorded instance of a sin that has since become well known and even prevalent almost all over the world.

Associated with drunkenness was the sin of immodesty. The Hebrew clearly indicates a deliberate act, and not a mere unconscious effect of drunkenness. The two sins of intemperance and impurity have often been associated, and indeed the association has become proverbial. Of the unutterable sadness of this sin of a servant of God it is quite unnecessary to speak.

Although the narrative does not mention the shame that accrued to Noah, it is not difficult to realize what it must have been. To think that one who had passed through the thrilling and unique experiences of the Flood and the associated events should have been guilty of such conduct was a fact full of unspeakable shame. The corruption of the best is always the worst thing possible.

Still more shameful was the conduct of his son, Ham. He had no sense of filial love or even of common decency. We seem to see depravity here, of no ordinary degree. Not only was he guilty of the plain sin of omission in failing to shield and hide his father’s shame; he was guilty also of a sin of commission in calling attention to the circumstances, and endeavoring to get his brothers to share in his sin. It has been pointed out that Noah’s sin must surely have been a solitary act, for Ham would not have done this to his father if the circumstances had been familiar. Candlish suggests that in the light of Canaan’s probable association with his father, the act was a token of a deliberate opposition to Noah on religious grounds. Be this as it may, the sin against filial respect and honour is sufficiently heinous.

The two brothers refused to share in Ham’s sin. With filial love, true purity, and, as we can believe, profound sorrow, they took immediate steps to cover their father’s shame. After all, he was their father, they owed everything to him, and however deeply he had fallen, it was not for them to do anything but hide his and their unspeakable sorrow and shame. They restored him in the spirit of love and meekness (Gal 6:1), perhaps not unmindful of the possibilities of sin in themselves.

And what must Noah’s sorrow have been when he awoke and knew all. When he realized what he himself had done, and when he discovered what his son had done to him, we can well imagine the profound sorrow and sense of shame that filled his heart. He who had "found grace in the eyes of the Lord" (Gen 6:8), he who had been testified of by God as the only upright one in that age (Gen 7:1), he who had been the honored instrument of declaring and doing God’s will in circumstances such as would never happen again he it is who had now awoke to a consciousness of awful sin in himself and his home.

The curse pronounced on Canaan was not the result of any personal feeling on the part of Noah, for Ham the father is not mentioned as included in the curse. Noah is here, as it were, among the prophets, and foresees the future in which the curse of Canaan shall be realized. It is a real difficulty how to explain the connection of Canaan with the sin that is attributed to his father Ham. It is perhaps best to understand the matter according to the old Jewish tradition that Canaan was somehow involved in the sin and was associated with his father in the mockery of Noah. It has been well said that Ham sinned as a son and was punished in his son. This is the third curse mentioned in Genesis (Gen 3:14-17; Gen 4:11).

The servitude of Canaan here foretold was subsequently seen in the course of history. Servant of servants is the Hebrew superlative for greatest possible servitude, and we know how true this has worked out. Canaan was to be a slave both to Shem and Japheth. The land of Canaan was subjugated by Israel, and the Canaanites became the servants of the Semitic race. In a still wider sense the descendants of Ham in Africa have for centuries been the slaves of the Japhetic races.

The supremacy of Shem is foretold with reference to their religious privileges. Jehovah is to be their God, and, if the Hebrew may thus be rendered, it is Jehovah Who is to dwell in the tents of Shem. The truth of this is readily seen when we think of the preservation of Monotheism amongst the Jews amidst all the false religions that surrounded them. Above all, Christ belonged to the race of Shem, and Christianity was first proclaimed and spread abroad by Semites.

The prophecy about Japheth indicates great prosperity and the multiplication of descendants. "God shall enlarge Japheth." If the rendering of the English versions is correct that Japheth is to "dwell in the tents of Shem," we know that as a matter of fact the Christian Gentile nations have indeed superseded the family of Shem in religious privileges, and have entered upon their inheritance of spiritual blessing and earthly power. It is at least striking that the political control of human affairs is now in the hands of the Japhetic line. It is impossible to say how long after the Flood this sad event took place, but inasmuch as Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the Flood we may rightly assume that he lived long after this fall, and did not repeat his terrible sin. His fall is never mentioned elsewhere in Scripture, and we may fairly believe in his complete restoration. Still, the memory must necessarily have remained to cloud the glory of his former days.

1. A Believer is never immune from sin.

However far we may advance in the Christian life, however rich and deep our experiences, the evil principle still remains, and may at any time gain the upper hand. The infection of sin remains in the regenerate, and this is a fact that needs to be faced day by day.

2. A Believer often finds small temptations the most dangerous.

It was in his ordinary duty that Noah found the occasion of his fall. Many a man can meet a great crisis who fails before a simple duty. The little things of life frequently constitute the most searching test.

3. A Believer is always liable to experience entirely new temptations.

As the days go on evil often takes entirely novel forms. A man may have had a special weakness in youth and fought against it for years, only to find other weaknesses breaking out and new sins coming upon him in mature and old age.

4. A Believer may be the occasion of sin in others.

How sad to think of the influence of Noah on his sons. It is only one solitary instance of the great law that no one ever sins alone. The solidarity of human life is such that others are inevitably affected by the evil that we do.

5. A Believer will suffer most bitterly for his backsliding.

We may be perfectly certain that Noah was never without the shadow of his sin, although his life might have been wholly bright. The Spirit of God makes the repentant believer more and more sensitive, and he does not cease to grieve over aberrations from the pathway of right.

6. A Believer is always conscious of the utter impartiality of God.

No vice or sin is ever hidden or extenuated. The sins and faults of the men of God are dealt with with perfect frankness and impartiality in the Word of God, and so it is in daily experience. God has no favorites.

7. A Believer need never fall into sin.

Although the evil principle remains with us to the end of this life, the provision of grace is such that sinning is absolutely unnecessary. The promise stands absolute and universal in its application. Sin shall not have dominion over you (Rom 6:14), and the explanation is accordingly given, "Ye are under grace." The grace of God is more than sufficient to meet every need. The Spirit of God dwelling in the heart and possessing it is able to counteract the strongest force of the evil nature; and while, according to Romans 7 the evil nature, in and by itself, will always assert itself, the true full Christian life is that which is depicted in Romans 8 which commences with "No condemnation," and ends with "No separation," since "we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us."