Genesis 9:18-28

Good morning, dear friends!

This final passage in Genesis reveals a sorry episode in the life of Noah - and don't we all have "sorry" episodes in our lives at some point. One of the things that truly blesses me about the Bible is that all of the people in it are REAL people with stories I can relate to. If these were perfect heroes, it would be so discouraging, knowing we could never match up. But our beloved Bible heroes were flawed by sin, just as we are. After hundreds of years of faithfully walking with God in righteousness, Noah has an embarrassing moment .

Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. (vs.20-21)

Ye gads! He passed out naked! Jon Courson's commentary says that the original language makes it clear that his nakedness is tied to immoral behavior of some sort - and, frankly, I don't want to know! However, it is typical that when things are tough (going through rough waters in an ark) and we desperately need God, we walk closely by His side, but when things settle down, and we are humming along, we tend to get complacent - and that's when we are vulnerable. Now, getting drunk isn't the worst thing - it's what we DO when we are drunk that is the problem. I am always telling mothers of teenage girls that they should tell their daughters that the best form of birth control is to NOT drink!!! NOTHING good comes out of drunkenness. At the very least, we say things we should never say when we are drunk. At the extreme, families break up, jobs are lost, people are killed because of alcohol.

Now the point of this passage is not so much Noah's sin, but his sons' reactions. Ham apparently saw his father's state, and he immediately told his brothers. Don't we just love to run and spread the news of someone's downfall? What would the appropriate response be? Well, Shem and Japheth did the loving thing! They covered his nakedness. Notice that they would not even look upon it themselves, but backed in with a garment stretched between them (which would also prevent anyone else from looking in the tent as they backed in), and covered their father. 1 Peter 4:8 tells us that love covers a multitude of sins. This was the gracious act of Shem and Japheth. Wouldn't you rather be a Shem or Japheth to someone who has fallen, rather than be Ham the reporter?? I've bee a Ham too many times! LORD, help me to cover the sins of others in grace and mercy!

The repercussions of Ham's actions were fully visited upon his children! When Noah discovered what had happened, he cursed Ham's son, Canaan. Canaan became the father of one of the most evil cultures in history. God eventually wiped them out! What we do affects our children. Don't you cringe when you see one of your children displaying one of your unattractive traits - maybe your sarcastic nature or your temper???

On the other hand, Shem and Japheth were blessed by Noah:

“Praise be to the LORD, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. May God extend Japheth’s territory; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth.” (vs. 26-27)

Tomorrow, we'll look at just how these three lines of Noah turned out - and how his cursing and blessings played out.

Love to you all!
 

Genesis 9:8-17

Hello, gang!

This morning we will look at one of the seven covenants between God and His people in the Bible. The first was the Adamic Covenant (re: Adam's responsibility to God and creation and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and God's provision for sin in the promised Seed in Gen 3:15). The covenant in today's reading is the Noahic Covenant, which includes the promise of God to never again destroy the whole earth through flood:

Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” (vs.8-11)

A covenant is a formal promise or pledge between two parties. Yesterday I wrote of Jon Courson's idea that this covenant has three parts: diet, discipline, and declaration. The latter part is in the promise of the rainbow, which God said would be the sign of this covenant. The promise of the rainbow has two parts: judgement and grace. The rainbow reminds us of the time when God judged and destroyed the earth because of the wickedness of men. In 2 Peter 2:5, Peter affirms that this flood was a warning to us that God does and will judge sin. However, the rainbow refers us back to this covenant that God made to never judge the entire earth again through a flood. You can imagine that, had God not made this promise, Noah and his sons might have panicked every time it started to drizzle! But note that the rainbow would also be a reminder to God:

And God said... Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.” (vs. 16-17)
God keeps His covenants and He expects us to keep ours, as well. What covenants have you made in your life? To your spouse in the marriage covenant? God takes that one very seriously! Have you made a covenant of time commitments? Can you be counted on to keep them? What covenants have you made with your employer? With your aging parents? With your children? With your friends? Can they count on you to follow through?

We have rain on the way again. I'll be looking for a rainbow and remembering that our covenant God keeps His promises.

Have a great day!

Genesis 9: 1-7

Good morning, friends

In this next chapter, God pronounces the Noahic Covenant.  According to Jon Courson, it has three parts: diet, discipline, and declaration (we’ll look at the latter and at the significance of covenants tomorrow).

Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.  The fear and dread of you will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hands. Everything that lives and moves will be food for you.  Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.”  (vs 1-3)

As Noah and his sons begin their new life on the changed landscape, God seems to indicate here a new relationship between man and animals.  First, they will now fear man.  From the beginning, man would rule over the animals (Gen 1:26,28).  Now, however, animals will fear man – possibly because now man will be able to eat them! 

I don’t know about you, but I often thank God for food!  I’m so grateful for the variety He has given us!   I love the fruits of summer, and there is nothing like a wonderful slice of prime rib or salmon.  Yum!  God has given it all to us for food.  Thank you, LORD! However, there was one exception given to Noah and his sons: 

But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood in it.  And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting… Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man. (vs. 4-6)

Because man is made in the image of God, an attack on a man is an attack against God.  God exacts strict discipline for murder:  the death penalty.  This is the first foundation of government given by God.  Governments are given to keep order, and capital punishment is given here as the basis for checking human behavior. 

Finally, in verse 7, God repeats the marching orders for Noah and his sons:  get busy repopulating this planet!  I think that’s an order men love to hear!