Thursday Night Bible Study

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Genesis 9

"The Aftermath" • 1.7.10 • Thursday Night Bible Study

Intro

- Noah and his family have been called out of the ark. The ground is dry, the sky is clear and a new beginning is upon the earth.

- I cannot fathom what the world must have been like on the day. They are walking out of the ark onto what amounts to an uninhabited planet!

- It's time to start over. There is a blank slate and a large slate at that!

- As they come forth, there are many questions, about the nature of the world and their relationships with the God of the ark.

- As they are coming out, God meets with them and speaks to them about the perameters of the new life. The chapter breaks down into five parts.

I. God's Provision (v.1-4)

II. God's Protection (v.5-11)

III. God's Promise (v.12-17)

IV. Noah's Problem (v.18-23)

V. Noah's Prophecy (v.24-29)

Text

I. God's Provision (v.1-4)

• Genesis 9:1-4 : "So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood." : "God blessed Noah and his sons." This is reminiscent of what ocurred with Adam and Eve.

- Genesis 1:22 and 28 both include this same phrase.

- God's blessing denotes a transference of strength and ability to carry out that which He commands.

- When we consider the thought of being blessed of the Lord, don't you think about talents and skills that appear greater in proportion? That is the hand of God.

- God's hand was upon Noah and his sons as they came out onto this vast planet.

- God's first command to Adam and Eve is His first command to Noah and his sons. They are to enjoy their relationships and expand over the earth, just as Adam and Eve had done.

- Why does God want them to fill the earth? I would suggest it's simply for their enjoyment of all that He has created.

- God in this way is like the art gallery owner, beckoning His guests around the next corner, just to show them His excitement about what they were going to discover.

- The main reason however, is that God wants His people to represent Him, and His rule to cover the earth.

- Later, in the book of Matthew, Jesus will give His disciples a similar mandate. Go out into all the world and preach the gospel to ever creature! God has a global focus.

- As they go out from the ark, all of these ark animals are now loose upon the earth.

- Their instincts have been turned back on and they are now a bit older and more imposing!

- God says, "I am going to do something in them that will protect you and them." God put a fear and dread of man on every beast, bird, creature and fish on the earth.

- This is true. Today, if an animal in the wild sees you and does not react, that animal is considered sick.

- Some have surmised that the earth did not now produce as greatly as before the flood.

- Prior to the flood, man stuck to a vegetarian diet. After the flood, men are now allowed and invited to enjoy a variety of food. I love these verses! Salad is fine, but give me meat!

- I had a great piece of salmon last week in obedience to this verse!

- That being the case, God prohibits their eating anything alive, that is anything with it's lifeblood in it. This provides an illustration for the respect that they are to have for life.

II. God's Protection (v.5-11)

• Genesis 9:5-7 : "Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man. And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; Bring forth abundantly in the earth And multiply in it.'" : These people have seen what happens when people de-value life. That was their experience.

- In the chapters prior to the flood, we saw the murder of Cain and then the revenge killing of Lamech for a minor offense. Life was a cheap commodity to the pre flood society.

- Here God institutes the death penalty. He will demand a reckoning, an accounting for their life blood. There would be final responsibility for each life, taken either by man or by beast.

- For every murder, the unlawful ending of a person's life, there will be an accounting.

- This speaks clearly enough: Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed!

- God is giving this governmental responsibility to Noah, so that there will be protection from the issues that threatened men before the flood.

- People ask me if I am pro-death penalty. I am pro-whatever God says! God set forth this as a precedent in His Kingdom, for His covenant people.

- Today, we live in a democracy where each state decides on capital punishment. The will of the people is set. Here in Genesis, God declared that this was a necessary deterrent.

• Genesis 9:8-11 : "Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: ^'And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.'" : The flood on a global level will never again be part of God's program.

- I imagine that every rain storm brought a bit of anxiety back into Noah's family's life! God tells them that do not have to worry. All that were in the ark were now safe from that type of demise.

- Now, this does not mean that there will not be localized floods. We have seen amazing flooding and have even heard of deaths caused by downpours.

- God's promise is that the inhabitants of the earth will never have to face a global flood again.

III. God's Promise (v.12-17)

• Genesis 9:12-17 : "And God said: 'This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.' And God said to Noah, 'This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.'" : Notice the words that God uses: "This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you and every living creature with you."

- In each of the covenants that God makes with His people, He is the initiator. His covenant is based on what He can do. It's based on His person.

- Noah did not approach God and make the suggestion, "Hey, you and I need to come to terms!" God as the sovereign ruler over the universe, graciously condescends to humans.

- He gives Noah a sign that reminds him that God's covenant promise is still in effect.

- The rainbow is a continual reminder of God's faithfulness primarily to His people, to Noah and his family. The beneficiaries are those of the Earth.

- Turn with me to Psalm 145. David is talking about God's goodness being universal in nature.

• Psalm 145:9-12 : "The Lord is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works. All Your works shall praise You, O Lord, And Your saints shall bless You. They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom, And talk of Your power, To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, And the glorious majesty of His kingdom."

- Turn over to Matthew 5. Jesus makes a similar statement there, illustrating the love that He shows those who make themselves His enemy.

• Matthew 5:44,45 : "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."

- God's promise to His people has brought safety to the world at large.

- All who live and see a rainbow may not have any knowledge of what that is supposed to mean. Many live in complete obstinance toward the Lord. His faithfulness remains.

- Notice though the wording here in verse 14: The rainbow shall be in the cloud!

- The only time you get to see a rainbow, a picture of God's faithfulness, is after the storm! Isn't that interesting. You won't see it during the storm, but you will afterward!

- In every case of His testing, at the end of that time, there comes a reminder that He has been there to carry you through again! Thank God for His faithfulness.

IV. Noah's Problem (v.18-23)

• Genesis 9:18-23 : "Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan. These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated. And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness." : The bible is clear that we descended from these three men directly. Whatever we are today, we owe to these men's DNA.

- Of the three, one was not the man that he should have been. The occasion for Ham's to show his ungodly spirit came as a result of Noah's poor choice.

- Noah, post-ark, was a farmer. It seems from what I can understand, that Noah was the first to plant a vineyard. He was the first to cultivate grapes and to learn to dress the vine.

- He also becomes the first recorded person in the bible to get drunk! He went too far and became intoxicated.

- A few stats that I read on alcohol this last week. 75% of the men and 55% of the women involved in date-rape situations were drinking or taking drugs just before the attack. The FBI says 50% of all rapes involve alcohol.

- In the United States 100,000 people die each year in alcohol-related deaths, while alcohol abuse costs the nation hundreds of billions of dollars each year.

- Now, some have been quick to say that Noah was unaware of what was taking place. I would find that difficult to imagine.

- I have never been drunk, but I am told that one can tell something is happening to them.

- For us today, it's difficult to see our heroes uncovered like this. But the Bible is nothing if it is not downright honest about these men of God. They were not perfect people!

- On at least one occasion, Noah was a drunk, Abraham was a liar, Moses was a murderer, David was an adulterer! The Bible writers refuse to paint a picture of perfect saints.

- And all the way down the line, God's promises and faithfulness remain with each of them.
- Noah became drunk and became uncovered in his tent. He was naked. Ham, Noah's son and Canaan's father, saw his father this way.

- At the very least, Ham mocked his father, completely exposing his shame. It's possible that this might have meant something even more vile.

- Later in the history of the people of Israel's life, to see the nakedness of your father had some very different implications. We'll discuss that a bit more in a minute.

- At this time, notice also that he went out and told his brothers. He bragged about it. He was not ashamed of his action, and worse, he exposed the shameful actions of his father.

- He wanted to involve them in his personal sin party! This is where Shem and Japheth shine.

- They grabbed the nearest snuggie, put it on their shoulders, and walked backward into Noah's tent, to purposely avert their eyes from Noah's sin.

- Before we move on, let me say that at the most basic level, there is something here about the delight that one might have to expose wickedness.

- Our society is built on Ham's way of thinking: Exposure, sensationalism, and cruel digging for more! On the contrary, Shem and Japheth show us God's way.

- They cover the sin! They honor their Father. They refuse to look and investigate themselves. They illustrate for us in their action the word that Peter speaks in I Peter 4:8.

• I Peter 4:8 : "And above all things have fervent love for one another, for 'love will cover a multitude of sins.'"

V. Noah's Prophecy (v.24-29)

• Genesis 9:24-29 : "So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him. Then he said: 'Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants He shall be to his brethren.' And he said: 'Blessed be the Lord, The God of Shem, And may Canaan be his servant. May God enlarge Japheth, And may he dwell in the tents of Shem; And may Canaan be his servant.' And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died." : You will note the words carefully. Noah knew that something had happened to him, and he knew who did it.

- There is some thought that this was many years after the flood, and that this activity was actually performed by Canaan himself.

- This is believed because of the wording in the original language where "younger son" is derived from the Hebrew word for "very small."

- Remember also that there is no Hebrew word for "grandson."

- This would make sense of the curse on Canaan. If Ham did something and God cursed Canaan for it, that would not be so kosher. Now, what actually took place?

- This is where we need to understand that Moses likely used the phrase "saw his Father's nakedness" as a euphemism that explained something that first readers understood.

- This is likely a violation of the worst kind.

- We know that the Canaanites dwelt in the promised land. God preserves this information for the Israelites to remind them why they must now, in Joshua's time, eradicate the Canaanites.

- They were cursed by Noah for this wickedness. Some might think that this is not fair. Why judge a nation for something their forefather did?

- Unfortunately, this act was the seed of the wickedness that would sprout full in the land of the Canaanites. There was ample cause for God to order the full extermination.

- We don't have time to read the entire passage, but take a close look at Leviticus 18. The case is fairly clear.

- At the same time that Canaan is cursed, the people of Israel see that they are blessed through the line of their forefather Shem.

- Shem was to include the Japhethites as companions and allies, but Canaan was to be sugjagated to them. The chapter ends with Noah's death and a final lesson.

Conclusion

- As we conclude tonight, some lessons speak very clearly. First, God's faithfulness is always to be remembered by His people. No matter what you face tonight, let it be viewed through that truth.

- Second, never underestimate the the value of your actions today. Ham and Canaan's actions led to an entire nation's demise. Shem and Japheth's actions also had a great impact.

- Finally, it's poignant that Noah, a man who found grace in the eyes of the Lord and built a mighty monument of faith, was also capable of being a drunk.

- God was still faithful to Him, Noah still prophecied, and we'll see him in heaven, but the only thing that is noted about his final years is that he got drunk!

- Let us be reminded that finishing strong is a better goal than starting strong!