Discovering Genesis, Part 11 Series

Discovering Genesis, Part 11

Genesis 9:18-29

Introduction

- Last week, we set up the foundation for what mankind had done

- Simply stated, we provoked God’s wrath through disobedience and rebellion

- God sent men like Enoch and Noah to preach to them; but still they rebelled

- Hebrews 11:7 “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.”

- This morning, we took a look at the specific directions that were given to Noah

- This direction included:

1. Go forth and multiply (re-populate) the Earth

2. Eating the animals is allowed, but not their blood

3. We are not allowed to spill the blood of others; else we too shall be killed

4. God provided a rainbow to remind Him of the covenant He made with us

5. The underlying theme is that life is about God; submitting to His direction

- Read Genesis 9:18-29

- Pray

Point 1 – Noah and His Sons (18-21)

- One would think that after the sin that led to the flood; then the punishment of it

- There would be NO more sin on the Earth … but we know that just isn’t true

- APP: Sin continues even to this day with our pride and rebellion leading the way

-- Let’s examine the sins of Noah, remember, this isn’t long after God’s covenant

-- We see in v18-21 that Noah begins to follows God’s orders; to replenish

-- And yet he finds himself in an opportunity to become drunk on wine

- There is no excuse to this one; we cannot get around it; Noah was just drunk!

- Why he got drunk isn’t the issue; when he got drunk isn’t the issue either

-- God directed him to live rightly, and here we see that Noah just doesn’t do it

-- This action now, leads to some very unsettling actions by those around him

- IMP APP: Who are you leaving a legacy too? Who is watching you?

- Who are you spending time with to disciple and change their lives?

-- 2 Tim 2:2 “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”

- There is an important concept here: “More things are caught than taught”

- So here we are, God’s man, who has fallen and made some bad choices

- And there could be lots said about Grace and Forgiveness; but let’s continue on

Point 2 – Noah and his Sin (22-25)

- (v22-24) Ham (Noah’s son) who later becomes the father of Canaan ridicules him

-- What he said isn’t here, but what is, is that he talked about it with his brothers

- Picture this scene … Dad is drunk, naked, and Ham just has to act the fool

-- Why couldn’t he have done with his brothers did? Shem and Japheth covered

-- They knew this would be a bad thing for their father; so they protected him

- They knew that this man, their father, was God’s chosen; their hearts were stirred

- The fact that Noah had sinned was not the focus; there was something deeper

- The focus is that they knew he would be embarrassed; but they didn’t add to it

- So when Noah awoke, he knew (had knowledge) about his son’s actions

- And because of Ham’s actions, God cursed the generations that would come

- Nowhere in scripture is this some sort of curse on people of color

-- There has been lots of speculation on this being the case; but it isn’t true

-- If it were, it would be plainly stated here that so and so would be cursed

-- However, what is said is that the people of Canaan would be cursed

- Now, there is something even deeper to see here and we must notice this today

- Did you notice that up until now, Noah seems like the hero? The great rescuer?

- He is portrayed as being the one who was justified, saved, and restored

- And so, if God wanted him to maintain this glorious setting He’d be silent on this

- But instead, Moses records it from God to show that Noah was just a man

- He was a man who struggled, had issues, and still was used by God

- APP: Many of can have this said about it today; God still uses people

- David was a murderer; Paul was a persecutor; Moses was also a murderer

- Matthew was a thief/cheat; Joshua was afraid; Jonah was disobedient;