FRAMEWORKS:
Genesis 9: Covenants & Curses
v.1-7
God's Covenant of Protection with Noah
v.8-17
The Rainbow Covenant
v.18-21
The Sons of Noah & Noah's Folly
v.22-29
Ham shames his father and is cursed
v.1-7
God's Covenant of Protection with Noah
v.1
Then
God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and
increase in number and fill the earth.
v.2
The
fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth,
and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves
along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given
into your hands.
v.3
Everything
that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave
you the green plants, I now give you everything.
v.4
“But
you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it.
v.5
And
for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will
demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being,
too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human
being.
v.6
“Whoever
sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed;
for in the image of God has God made mankind.
v.7
As
for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth
and increase upon it.”
[Notes:
There are in these few verses some very significant
things said by the Lord:
1.
The first command comes again [v.1] - to fill and subdue the earth
[see 1:28]
2.
The other creatures of the earth will fear mankind [v.2]
3.
Meat (animals) can now be food as well as plant-life [v.3]
4.
Blood must not remain in the meat. [v.4] Later blood is referred
as the ‘life' of a creature.
5.
For this reason killing a person is forbidden and any killer will
be answerable to God and to others [v.5.6]
6.
It concludes [v.7] with that same initial command - increase.
It
seems that the verses 2-6 in between facilitate that growth a)
by food provision and b) protection.]
v.8-17
The Rainbow Covenant
v.8
Then
God said to Noah and to his sons with him:
v.9,10
“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.
v.11
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.”
v.12
And
God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between
me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for
all generations to come:
v.13
I
have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of
the covenant between me and the earth.
v.14
Whenever
I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds,
v.15
I
will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures
of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy
all life.
v.16
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.”
v.17
So
God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established
between me and all life on the earth.”
[Notes:
A covenant is a God-initiated agreement. Within this
one note:
1.
It is between God and every living creature [v.9,10]
2.
It is the promise that never again will a flood destroy all the
earth [v.11]
3.
It wasn't just for them; it is for ever [v.12]
4.
The presence of a rainbow will act as a reminder of this agreement
[v.13-16]. Rainbows surely already existed as sunlight reflects
etc. on rain and cloud droplets, but now any rainbow takes on
a new significance where there is rain – a reminder that God will
not let this rain go on and on and on.
5.
Thus Noah [v.17] will see and know and remember and be reassured.
6.
This ‘covenant' [v.9] requires nothing from mankind except belief
and, no doubt, a grateful attitude towards God.]
v.18-21
The Sons of Noah & Noah's Folly
v.18
The
sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and
Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.)
v.19
These
were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the people who
were scattered over the whole earth.
v.20
Noah,
a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard.
v.21
When
he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside
his tent.
[Notes:
Noah's three sons are brought to prominence who will
be part of repopulating the earth. Noah, perhaps unwisely, plants
a vineyard, grows grapes and makes wine. Using the wine he becomes
drunk and lies naked, sprawled across his bed.]
v.22-29
Ham shames his father and is cursed
v.22
Ham,
the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers
outside.
v.23
But
Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders;
then they walked in backward and covered their father's naked
body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would
not see their father naked.
v.24,25
When
Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had
done to him, he said,
“Cursed
be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.”
v.26
He
also said, “Praise be to the Lord , the God of Shem! May
Canaan be the slave of Shem.
v.27
May
God extend Japheth's territory; may Japheth live in the tents
of Shem, and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth.”
v.28
After
the flood Noah lived 350 years.
v.29
Noah
lived a total of 950 years, and then he died.
[Notes:
i)
The Disrespect:
Ham, the youngest son presumably peers in, sees his father, and
goes and tells his brothers, presumably in a disrespectful way.
Seeing Noah displayed in this way, does nothing to bring respect
and honour to the leader of the family and so the other two brothers
in a remarkable display of honour, take a garment on their shoulders,
back into the room and drop it over their father, restoring a
semblance of respectability and honour to him. In the morning
somehow Noah finds out
ii)
The Curse:
A curse in this context, uttered by a man, is a prophetic declaration
of the judgment of God. It speaks of Canaan, the youngest son
of Ham, as if to suggest this is how it will work out to the end
of the family, and comes in three parts:
-
he will become a slave to his brothers
-
Shem will be blessed and lord it over him
-
Japheth, the oldest, will also be blessed, sharing Shem's blessing,
and Ham a slave to him.
In
what follows Shem will become the chosen and blessed line resulting
in Abram and eventually Israel and although Ham will initially
not be seen as the land of Canaan, when they are eventually, they
will be subdued by Israel. See later.]
Lessons
or Challenges to Ponder from Genesis Chapter 9
1.
God enters into a fresh covenant with Noah. Noah gets drunk. Time
must have passed between the two things. Do I let the wonderful
encounters with the Lord fade in memory and fall into folly? May
it not be.
2.
Ham dissed his father (OK, disrespected him!) and made fun of
him behind his back. His brothers honoured their father and sought
to regain his respect for him. Which brother am I in respect of
my parents (or of their memory)?
Continue to Chapter 10