Noah Got Naked, Genesis 9:18-29

He got drunk, and his clothes fell off.

They didn’t have a flannel graph for that in Sunday School class.

This might be the beginning of country music.  Perhaps where Joe Nichols got his song, Tequila Make Her Clothes Fall Off.

Butt, (pun intended) this passage exposes a whole lot more about us than about a 600+ year old man’s bare bottom.

 

Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan. 

This sentence is an explanation of a situation.

Like saying, Noah’s boys, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, got off the boat—Ham’s the father of Osama Bin Laden.

Only worse.

The descendants of Canaan were infamous, the Canaanites. They included the Hivites, Girgashites, Jebusites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Pepsi-lites, termites, parasites… all the –ites. They were exceedingly wicked, and fierce. God told Moses, then Joshua, to utterly destroy them, every.single.one.

 

¹⁹ These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.

God loves family. In the beginning He began with a family, Adam and Eve. 

Now in the begin again-ing, He yet again, uses a family. 

When He wanted to offer the ultimate New Beginning, to whosoever, He gave His only begotten Son, and started a family. John 3:16.

Speaking of family; a couple days before giving this message, I received a text question from a small family; a mom and her 11-year-old son.

 Actually a few questions. The first of which relates to this very verse.

If Adam and Eve were the first people and their descendants died in the great flood. God created a new set of people? They would not be related to Adam and Eve correct? So we, the current humans are a new set of species, we wouldn't be related to Adam and Eve either, correct?

I gave her this verse (Gen. 9:19) and explained that from Noah’s sons, the whole earth was populated.  

Then added:

Genesis 5. The genealogy from Adam to Noah.

1 Peter 3:20. In the ark a few people, only eight souls, were saved.

Acts 17:26. From one blood (Adam), God made every nation.

Adam to Noah.

Adam to Seth — 130 years

Seth to Enosh — 105 years

Enosh to Kenan — 90 years

Kenan to Mahalalel — 70 years

Mahalalel to Jared — 65 years

Jared to Enoch — 162 years

Enoch to Methuselah — 65 years

Methuselah to Lamech —187 years

Lamech to Noah —182 years

 

 

²⁰ And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard.

This is good.

Noah continued to be productive after retiring from his boat building career.

He was optimistic. He planted toward the future rather than floating in the past.

He was courageous. A farmer relies on the weather—including rain. Noah and rain had quite a history. If he let fear creep in, he might’ve become, ombrophobic (fear of rain phobia).

Philippians 3:13-14

 …this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

 

 ²¹ Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent. 

Noah & Adam over indulged of forbidden fruit and found themselves naked.

Habakkuk 2:15; “Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor, pressing him to your bottle, even to make him drunk, that you may look on his nakedness! 

Lamentations 4:21 …you shall become drunk and make yourself naked.

 From Noah to Nichols drinking too much makes your clothes fall off.

Joe Nichols

Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off

She said, "I'm going out with my girlfriends

Margaritas at the Holiday Inn"

Oh, have mercy, my only thought

Was tequila makes her clothes fall off

I told her put an extra layer on

I know what happens when she drinks Patrón

Her closet's missing half the things she bought

Yeah, tequila makes her clothes fall off

She'll start by kickin' out of her shoes

Lose an earring in her drink

Leave her jacket in the bathroom stall

Drop a contact down the sink

Them pantyhose ain't gonna last too long

If the DJ puts Bon Jovi on

She might come home in a tablecloth

Yeah, tequila makes her clothes fall off

 

The Bible isn’t afraid to bare the facts.

This is the first mention of wine. First mention of alcohol. First mention of getting drunk. The Law of first mention sets the precedent for the rest of the Bible.

So, what does the Bible say about drinking.

Proverbs 20:1

Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

 

Ephesians 5:18

Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

 

Galatians 5:22–23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.…

 

Getting drunk leads to a loss of self-control; being filled with the Spirit leads to more self-control

 

“You cannot serve two masters…” Matthew 6:24.

 

Romans 6:16. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Romans 14. Walk in love. Do not let your liberty cause someone to stumble; whether by meat or drink, walk in love.

Bottom line: drinking is not prohibited, but not promoted, either. However, too much, (getting drunk), is sin.

Revelation 16:15. “Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who remains awake and clothed, so that he will not go naked and let his shame be exposed.”

  

²² And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.

There it is again; Ham, the father of Osama, I mean, Canaan.

Now, we don’t know how it happened. Was it an accident? Or, was Ham somewhere he didn’t belong? What was he doing in dad’s tent? We don’t know.

Sometimes you can’t help what you see.

What matters is what Ham did with what he saw. He had a choice; an opportunity to do good, to show respect, and kindness.

He chose wrong.

Noah, the most powerful man on the planet, the man who walked with God, stumbled.

Ham had opportunity to help him, cover him, respect him, honor him.

He did the opposite.

This might’ve been the only time Noah ever got drunk in all of his 950 years—yet countless sermons throw him under the bus.

His own son, instead of helping, went and told the brothers.

Why do we do that?

Why do we need to talk about someone who’s fallen? Does it make our falls seem smaller?

Nobody but Jesus is perfect.

Folks fall, don’t kick them, pick them, up. Dust them off. Pray for them. Feed them. Talk about them—to God. Only.

Ham, the father of Canaan…the wicked, idolatrous, Godless, Canaanites.

Ham’s actions had a ripple effect for generations. He didn’t cause Canaan to be evil, Canaan had a choice too. We all do. But our actions affect others.

Especially the actions of fathers.  

The devil knows that. That’s why he attacks families so vehemently.

Lord, help us care for our wounded, not stab them.

No more gossip.

No more slander.

No more backstabbing.

No more.

PRAY MORE. WAY MORE.

 

 ²³ 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.

There, now that’s the respect we’re talking about. The respect Ham could’ve and should’ve shown his father.

The next time we see someone who’s down, let's count it as an opportunity to be a blessing—and thank God for the honor of serving them, and Him.

²⁴ So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him.

Noah might’ve needed some coffee and Tylenol when he woke up.

Multiple theories have sprung from the words, “what his younger son had done to him.”

THEORY:

1.     Theory: Ham slept with his mom and bore Canaan

2.     Theory: Ham had sex with his dad, Noah.

 

The theorists take Scripture out of context to fit their agenda (in my opinion).

For example:

Leviticus 20:11 And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

However, our text says, Noah became uncovered, Genesis 9:24, NOT, Ham uncovered his father.

3.     Theory: Rabbinic tradition states that Ham castrated Noah (Jewish Midrash (Commentary). No Scriptural evidence.  

 

The Bible is Truth and tells the Truth, with clarity not confusion. It should be taken literally unless it articulates that it shouldn’t be.

 

THEOCRACY:

What Ham did would come to be known as a capital offense under Mosaic Law.

Rebellion against parent, is rebellion against God; punishable by death.

Exodus 20:12, 21:15, 17. Leviticus 20:9, Deuteronomy 21:18-21.

 

To be clear, this was more than just a slip of the tongue, or staying out an hour past curfew. It was chronic rebellion against God’s Divinely Appointed Authority. (See Deuteronomy 21:19-21).

 

 ²⁵ Then he said:

“Cursed be Canaan;
A servant of servants
He shall be to his brethren.”

²⁶ And he said:

“Blessed be the Lord,
The God of Shem,
And may Canaan be his servant.
²⁷ May God enlarge Japheth,
And may he dwell in the tents of Shem;
And may Canaan be his servant.”

After all this time, this is the very first time we hear Noah speak.

However, 2 Peter 2:5 calls Noah a preacher of righteousness.

Actions speak louder than words.

These are not only Noah’s first recorded words; they are the last.

In his words we see the curse, the seed of the serpent, lives on in Noah, and Ham, and Canaan… and us.

But thankfully Noah doesn’t stop there.

We also see, the blessing. The God of Shem, (the Seed of the woman, Genesis 3:15) lives on as well; all the way from Shem to a Babe in a manger…to you and me.

 

Are you wondering, why was Canaan cursed when Ham was the culprit?

There's more than a few schools of thought.

Ø There may have been an ellipsis in the text, to render it to mean: “the father of Canaan.”

Ø Canaan and Ham were both involved.

Ø Noah could not curse whom God had blessed. Genesis 9:1, 8, 9.

Ø The “curse” is a prophecy.

Now, there’s one foolish, false, corrupt narrative that says the curse of Canaan condemned blacks to slavery. Do not believe this for a moment. It is an evil agenda driven lie with NO Biblical basis.  

God knows the end from the beginning, He could see Canaan reflected the same moral depravity as Ham. And thus, they brought the curse upon themselves.

Noah prophesied what would literally come to pass.

The curse was meant for Ham as well. If someone curses you, it hurts, but if they curse your child, it cuts even deeper.

It may look something like this:

Ham, my son, you’ve dishonored me, and your family, greatly.

And worse, you’ve dishonored God.

This seed can’t be unsown.

My son, my youngest son, you reap what you sow, and now, your youngest son, Canaan, will turn out just like you. He’ll follow your moral corruption to utter destruction.

 

²⁸ And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. ²⁹ So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died.

Hebrews 11:7

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

 

Noah is honored in the Faith Hall of Fame (Hebrews 11) for his faith, not for his fall.

You can be too.

No matter your past, God sees the end from the beginning. Today, make a quality decision to finish well, to follow Jesus. No matter what.

 

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus,

From this moment, forever, we commit ourselves, body, soul and spirit, to You.

Thank You for picking us up when we fall. Please use us to do the same for others.

Cause our tongue to be used only for edification; never evil.

We love You, forever.

Amen.

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1 Thessalonians 5:2-10. 

For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 3For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 4But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be [a]sober. 7For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. 9For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.