Genesis: These Are The Generations (X)

The Rest Of Noah’s Days (9:1-29)

Neal Pollard

With a global clean slate, the survivors emerged with a need for purpose and direction. As He had from the beginning, God gives just that. God issues a series of mandates:

• Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth (1,7).
• Reign over the living creatures (2).
• Eat meat as well as plants (3).
• Abstain from eating blood (4-5).
• Do not shed man’s blood, as he is the image-bearer of God (6).

Before there was a written code, God spoke to the fathers as the book of Genesis and Job bear out. As He spoke to Noah before the flood, so now He gives he and his sons these basic rules of conduct for order and prosperity. 

Along with instructions, God issues promises (8-17). That a sovereign, all-powerful, and eternal God would voluntarily desire to enter into covenant with man is not only humbling, but incredible! A covenant is a “treaty, compact, i.e., an agreement between two parties” (Dict. Of Bib. Lang., np). The Greek counterpart means “to make a solemn agreement involving reciprocal benefits and responsibilities” (Louw-Nida, 451; cf. Acts 3:25; Heb. 8:10). Here, God only speaks of what He will do. The now culturally-infamous rainbow was established by God as a signal of His promise never to destroy the earth with water again (11). Interestingly, it would not only serve as a reminder to man (12-13) but also, according to God, a reminder for Himself when He sees it (14-16). Have you considered that whenever you see a rainbow and remember what it represents that your Almighty Creator is doing the exact same thing?!

As a bridge to the next “toledoth” (generation) mentioned by Moses, he sets it up by explaining the role of Noah’s three sons in populating the whole earth (19). Along with this, Moses summarizes the last portion of Noah’s life. He became a farmer and planted a vineyard (20). Knowledge of fermentation and winemaking must have survived the flood or at least Noah learned the art. More than that, he imbibed in his product and got drunk (21). As so often accompanies drunkenness (read Prov. 23:29-35), Noah lost control of his faculties and did what he would not have done in sobriety. 

The greater focus of the paragraph is on Ham’s response when he sees his naked father in his tent. What was Ham’s sin? “Both Jewish and Christian interpretation speculated that Ham’s deed was a sexual offense since the same language is found in the Pentateuch describing sexual transgressions. Further support was garnered from v. 25, which refers to what Ham ‘had done to him’” (Matthews, NAC, 418). However, we leave solid ground when we speculate, and there is no reason for this. At the very least, Ham’s action in seeing his father then telling his brothers was sufficient enough for Noah to curse his son. They imitate God’s compassionate response to Adam and Eve in the garden, clothing their naked father. They deliberately avoid looking at their father (23).

Moses’ underlying purpose in this event is to give the background of the descendants of Noah, which he will continue to develop in the next two chapters. Ham’s son, Canaan, is cursed and consigned to serve the lineage of Shem and Japheth (25-26). Then, he pronounces the prolific line that would proceed from Japheth, who would have fellowship with Shem and be enlarged (27). Here, Moses simply mentions the blessed state of Shem’s line and his sovereignty over Ham’s line (26). We will read more of Shem’s descendants as the genealogical forerunners of not only Abraham, but David, and ultimately Christ (Mat. 1; Luke 3).

Concerning any further descendants of Noah, Scripture is silent. It simply says he lives 350 years after the flood, making him 950 when he died (28-29). What can we apply from this chapter to our lives?

First, God keeps His promises. Often, He signifies them in some way. They may not necessarily be physical and tangible like a rainbow in the sky, but He promises to never leave nor forsake us. How often have we felt the full force of that through trials, difficulties, and temptations (Deut. 31:6,8; Heb. 13:5)?

Second, God cares how we treat our parents. This isn’t just true when we’re little children. Preserving this event in history, including Noah’s cursing of Ham, we see how God feels when children abuse, in any way, those who gave them life. Also, as Scripture repeatedly identifies God as Father and we are His children, we are taught a certain respect and honor for that relationship. To fail in this is not only unnatural, but unholy (Prov. 30:11). 

Third, God is at work on His eternal plan. What begins as a promise in Genesis 3:15 is played out, day after day and year after year, through time and events. God is building a bridge that will lead to the Messiah, through whom man can be reconciled to God. There are dramatic moments in God’s “scheme of redemption,” but there are also multitudes of moments that unfold in mundane, ordinary ways–generation after generation, decision after decision.