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Knowing The Word in Genesis 9:18-28, The Vineyard/Wine Fail


18 The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan [emphasized here because he participates in both the blessing and a subsequent curse].) 19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the people of the whole earth were dispersed [anticipating God’s actions in Gen 11].

20 Noah began to be a man of the soil [master of the earth or an ironic reference to 5:29:], and he planted a vineyard. [This is the first time we see a luxury food grown by man—something other than basic agriculture. It will become both a blessing and a curse for humanity. Note that Israel is later called the vineyard of the Lord.] 21 He drank of the wine [first appearance in the Bible] and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. [Drunkenness and sexual misconduct go hand in hand in the Bible and in modern society. There is a fall from grace in this scene for the one who was “blameless among his contemporaries and walked with God.”] 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. [Was this merely voyeurism followed by gossip, or it is a euphemism for homosexual and familial rape? Canaanites were notorious in the OT for their aberrant sexual practices (Lev 18:3). At the least it is a devastatingly dishonoring of one's parent. At its worst, it breaks all familial and societal norms.] 23 Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. [Is this a repeat of God clothing Adam and Eve?] Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father's nakedness. 24 When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said,

“Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.” [This is the first time a man curses another.]

26 He also said,

“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant. [This is the first indication that the godly line of humanity will go through Shem.] 27 May God enlarge Japheth [whose name means “enlarge”], and let him [Japheth?] dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.”

28 After the flood Noah lived 350 years. 29 All the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.

[The world seemed set for a new start. The slate had been wiped clean. But no sooner did God pronounce his blessing and his eternal covenant than man lapsed again. Even the most righteous man and his offspring fall from grace in an unguarded moment. Were it not for God’s merciful covenant, based upon his recognition of man’s depravity, Noah’s descendants would be headed for extinction in another flood. Grace sustains sinful humanity, who can face the future with a renewed security.]

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