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Presentation 20

One of the amazing characteristics of the Bible is its integrity in faithfully depicting the character faults of its heroes! There is no Watergate cover up or court injunctions preventing the publication of the facts. We have before us not only the disturbing story of Noah's drunkenness but also and of greater seriousness the reaction of Noah's youngest son towards his father’s folly. It is further important to note the distinction between Noah's sudden falling into temptation and the behaviour of Ham, which indicates that was very much at home in a sinful environment.

Introduction

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Noah’s Sin

What was the occasion of Noah's sin? Before answering we need to remind ourselves that for the greater part of his life Noah had stood firmly as God's man. He had lived in a godless environment, endured cruel taunting and the abuse of his contemporaries. With watchfulness and resolution he had proved that the grace of God was able to keep him from falling into temptation. BUT and this is important, after the flood the pressures of a godless society was absent.

The very thing that kept him alert was no longer present. He felt safe in his New World! That kind of security can breed carelessness and our defences against temptation can be lowered andwe can begin to neglect God's grace.

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Noah’s SinMany believers are surprised into sin, when they are persuaded that their greatest challenges and most difficult battles are behind them! David...[sexual gratification]. 2 Samuel 11.1-5Gideon… [material wealth]. Judges 8.22-27Uzziah…[proud ambition]. 2Chron. 6.16We often complain about the pressures and hardships we face as Christians! But if these very pressures cause us to run constantly to God to seek his grace, is that a bad thing?

Pressures and hardships can keep us from becoming complacent and ensnared by sin as was the case with Noah here. Do not be too hasty in wishing that the pressures of life would disappear!

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Noah’s SinSecondly, note Noah's sin is to be viewed as an abuse of God’s provision. Wine is described in Ps.104.14-15 as ‘God's gift’. I can imagine Noah reasoning, "Has not God given us all things to enjoy? Would God have created vines and permitted men to take of the fruit of the vine if he had not wanted us to drink wine".

It may seem a compelling argument! But the very point of the story is that it was not the use but the abuse of God's good gift that produced drunkenness.

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Noah’s SinWe tend to file human behaviour into one of two categories? In the first tray we place things like; eating, drinking, working, family and hobbies etc. - these we call ‘legitimate’. In the second tray we place the things we deem to be ‘wrong’; murder, theft, adultery, deceit etc. Many believe that as long as they do not adopt behaviour from the second file they will be free from danger. However, all of the good things in the first tray can be abused thus producing gluttons, drunkards, workaholics, hobby addicts etc. We can even allow family commitments to keep us from God.

The story of Noah is a sober reminder that God's good gifts can be abused and result in sin.

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Noah’s SinNoah's sin caused him shame. Drunkenness unmans a man. It robs him of his dignity. It disgraces him! It causes him to blush, when he considers the things he's said and done. I understand, why some Christians choose not to drink, they are aware that they might not know, when to stop. Some abstain because they don’t want to encourage weaker brethren to drink to excess. Others because they have seen the tragic result of heavy drinking ; broken homes and destroyed lives.

Thomas Guthrie gave four reasons for his abstinence; "My head is clearer, my health is better, my heart is lighter and my purse heavier." It is for every Christian to form their own attitude towards alcohol.

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What is to be said about the reaction of Ham towards his father’s drunkenness? He saw his drunk father lying naked in his tent and thought it greatly amusing! He was pleased to see that this preacher of righteousness had made such a fool of himself thus scandalising his reputation. This was the man who for years had scolded Ham, when he went wrong. This was the spoilsport ,who had hedged him in and restricted his behaviour.

The fact that he took great pleasure in his father’s shame gives a very clear insight into Ham’s character.

Ham’s Response

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Ham’s ResponseThis is the response of those, who have chosen to live morally careless lives as a result of which they take particular delight in gloating over the sin of righteous men and women. When such people read their newspapers and discover that some Christian public figure, who for the bulk of their lives have sought to please God, has fallen into sin, they rub their hands together with glee. Why? Because they say in their hearts,

"That person is really no different from me and to think I've allowed their integrity of life and love for God make me feel uncomfortable all these years. "

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Ham compounds his sin and more deeply reveals his heart condition by vilifying his father’s reputation before his brothers. "Hey fellows come and see the old man drunk and lying stark naked in his own vomit. It’s the chance of a lifetime". It is said that, "Sin makes good news" but Ham goes much further he wants to undermine the reputation of his father in the eyes of his brothers. How deeply he must have resented his father and all that he stood for.

In 1Cor.13.6 in the course of opening up this great passage on love Paul writes, "Love does not delight in evil … it always protects”Ham’s behaviour reveals his great lack of love for his father. Instead of protecting, he delighted inbroadcasting his father’s embarrassing sin

Ham’s Response

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How did the two brothers respond? cf v23 they took a cloak, went into the tent backwards and covered their father's shame. A mantle of love is thrown over Noah’s faults. cf 1 Pet 4.8 ; "Above all love each other deeply because love covers a multitude of sins". These brothers did not publish their father’s sin, or hang out his dirty washing on the line.How quick are we to broadcast the sins of others? When you see or hear of some shameful thing that some Christian has done, do you look forward to having the opportunity to spreading the word or do you want to draw a cloak over it?

Ham’s Response

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This of course does not imply that we pretend that nothing wrong has occurred or that wrongdoing can go unconfessed and unrepented of. What does come under scrutiny here is our eagerness to communicate the faults of others. We can disguise that eagerness with pious vocabulary e.g. “I'm just telling you this so you can pray for Amir who was drunk on a park bench last night”.

Do we seek to cover or uncover the faults of fellow Christians? Our answer will tell us a great deal about our character.

Ham’s Response

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Are you familiar with the rhyme:Sow a thought reap an actionSow an action reap a habitSow a habit reap a destiny

The rhyme asks us, in what direction are our lives are heading? Our destiny is not determined by one giant step but by a number of small ones, a series of choices that are character forming. That fact will help us to understand the remaining verses in this passage.

They form a prophetic announcement with regard to the future of Noah’s family and are based both upon what Noah’s sons have already revealed in their lives and also upon what only God knows concerning the years ahead.

Noah’s Prophecy

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Noah speaks words of predictive prophesy concerning Canaan, one of Ham's sons, “Cursed be Canaan, the lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers” v24. God saw that Canaan influenced by his father’s behaviour would make no attempt to alter the family lifestyle and as a result God says that Canaan’s offspring will end up as menial servants. The irony is that Ham had tried to bring disgrace on his father but his own son would be the father of a disgraced people.

These prophetic words were fulfilled, when the Canaanite people served larger and more powerful nations. And of course it was the Canaanites whom Israel dispossessed, when they entered the Promised Land causing some to become ‘hewers of wood and the drawers of water’ Josh.9.21 -menial servants.

Noah’s Prophecy

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Noah then turns to his second son and says, "Blessed be the Lord the God of Shem“ v26. This implies that Shem’s blessing would come from God. Noah is an old man looking with prophetic vision into the future. He saw the rich blessings that Shem and his descendants would experience. And so overwhelmed was he by these blessings that he breaks into a doxology of praise. Why?

It was through Shem's line that the Jewish nation came into being [the Canaanites were their slaves in the promised land] and through the Jews the Messiah of the world would come.

Noah’s Prophecy

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Noah's third son Japeth is told that his offspring will spread wide geographically. The Persian and Greek empires came from his family line. But more than that we are told in v27 that Japeth was to ‘live in the tents of Shem’. What does that imply? To dwell in someone’s tent involves sharing in that persons provisions.

And so scholars conclude that Japeth was to share in the blessings of Shem. In other words, God's blessing including the provision of salvation was not to be limited to the Jewish people but extended worldwide.

Noah’s Prophecy

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These prophecies are not intended to be viewed within a deterministic framework. None of Noah’s descendants could argue, “God has said this is what will happen to our family so my behaviour is unimportant”. We know from our Bibles that when descendants of Shem departed from God they deprived themselves of the blessings of Shem.

Likewise if a descendant of Canaan enlisted in the service of God they in turn entered into the blessings of Shem. This is the significance of stories such as the conversion of Rahab the Canaanite Josh.2. And Rahab is found in the genealogy of both king David and of our Lord. Matt 1.5.

Noah’s Prophecy

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It just wont do for unbelieving men and women to say, "I come from a godless family, I have been brought up in an environment ,where God has been mocked and Christianity despised there is therefore no hope for me, clearly I am not meant to enjoy the rich blessings of God”. Like Noah’s sons, we are all constantly being presented with situations that call for a response. What if in the past we have habitually responded in the wrong way? What about behaviour that has been reinforced by living for years in a non-Christian environment? There is no habit Jesus cannot deliver you from. There is no life he cannot transform, if you are prepared to let him.

Conclusion

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The Bible does not teach fatalism. All sorts of factors contribute to the way in which we behave but we need not be a slave to any of them. The grace of God in the gospel offers to free us from a tyranny of habits and from the pressures of the environment and from the genetic stamp that has shaped our lives. But we for our part need to seek God’s grace in order that his transforming work might take place in our lives.

We cannot change what we are but he can. That is the glorious, liberating truth of the gospel. Do you want to experience that liberation?

If so then tell God to do in you what you cannot do for yourself..

Conclusion

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