Seven Covenants: The Curse of Canaan I. Introduction A. Review 1. Dispensation of Innocence - Man, set in a garden paradise, is tested by a single, simple command not to eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, Good and Evil. Failing this test Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden and sent into the world to labor against a cursed earth. - God made a covenant with Adam in which He promised to send the Seed of the Woman to undo what had been done by the Fall. 2. Dispensation of Conscience - Under the burden of providing for one s own sustenance, humanity is given one simple principle live according to the moral law written on the heart. - This principle of responsibility is by Cain and eventually the whole of humanity. Violence soon fills the earth with the result that God brings a flood judgment and destroys the whole of humanity, with the exception of Noah and his family, who is delivered through the Flood and into a world cleansed of wickedness. B. Passage Overview 1. Creation Story - In the larger text of Noah s deliverance through the Flood and his actions after leaving the Ark, Scripture presents a second creation account that encompasses a number of parallels. 2. The Noahic Covenant a. The Introduction of the Covenant
- After leaving the Ark, Noah offers sacrifices to Yahweh, which He accepts. God then purposes in His heart to never again destroy the earth with water. b. The Principle of the Covenant - Two main principles are set forth in God s covenant with Noah, 1) that humanity would be allowed to eat animals for their sustenance, 2) humanity would be responsible to establish human government by the power of capital punishment. c. The Promise of the Covenant - The covenant is formally ratified with God s stated promise to never again Flood the earth and His setting the rainbow in the sky as the sign of His promise. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Genesis 9:18 29 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. 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. II. Exposition
A. The Nations of the Earth (v.18-19) 1. Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. - SLIDE ONE - Transitions the passage to the Table of Nations listed in Chapter 10. - from these the whole earth was populated. 2. And Ham was the father of Canaan - Canaan was first and foremost associated in the Hebrew mind with a corrupt ancestry. 1 - The attention of the Hebrew reader would be directed to the passage as it explains the origin of the moral degradation of Canaan. B. The Sin of Ham 1. Noah s vineyard. (v. 20) SLIDE TWO - And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. - Just as Cain s line sought comfort in culture, so does Noah. 2. Noah s drunkenness (v. 21) - Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent. - It is not clear if Noah was aware of the intoxicating effect of wine and thus it is not clear if Noah was culpable for his disgrace. - The text indicates that he removed his clothing. 3. Ham s evil report. (v. 22) a. And Ham, the father of Canaan, 1 K. A. Mathews, vol. 1A, Genesis 1-11:26, electronic ed., Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001), 413.
- Again we see the emphasis on Canaan. b. saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. - Ham saw the nakedness of Noah, just as Eve saw the forbidden fruit, and the sons of God saw the daughters of men. - Not only did he see Noah s disgrace, but he reported it to his brothers. - The language here is not of sexual immorality, but rather of disgrace and mockery. - However, it may indicate the source of sexual looseness among the Canaanites. - Leviticus 18:6 9, & 17. None of you shall approach anyone who is near of kin to him, to uncover his nakedness: I am the Lord. The nakedness of your father or the nakedness of your mother you shall not uncover. She is your mother; you shall not uncover her nakedness. The nakedness of your father s wife you shall not uncover; it is your father s nakedness. The nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home or elsewhere, their nakedness you shall not uncover.... They are near of kin to her. It is wickedness. - The sin of Ham seems to have been a violation of the principle later put forth in the Fifth Commandment: Honor the Father and Mother. - The New American Commentary says, In the ancient world insulting one s parents was a serious matter that warranted the extreme penalty of death. 2 4. The response of Shem and Japheth (v. 23) a. But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. - Shem and Japheth acted honorably towards their father and expressed their love for him. - The fact that Shem is mentioned first and the fact that he is receives the blessing of Noah may indicate that he was the lead in covering Noah s nakedness. 2 Ibid., 420.
b. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father s nakedness. - In contrast to Ham, they saw not their father s nakedness. C. Noah s Response. SLIDE THREE Genesis 9:24 27 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. 1. Noah awakes (v. 24) - It is not clear how Noah knew what had been done to him, but he knew. - This parallels Adam and Eve when they knew that they were naked. - In response Noah utters an invocation to God concerning the future of his children. Ultimately, the invocation proves to be prophetic, but it s utterance is in the form of a plea to God for justice. 2. The Curse on Canaan - Noah invokes a curse on Canaan and not Ham. Just as Ham had proven to be a curse to his father Noah, so Canaan would be a curse for Ham. - Canaan s curse was for servitude to his brethren, i.e. the descendant s of Shem and Japheth. 3. The Blessing on Shem - The blessing is directed to the Lord, the God of Shem. - This indicates God s interest in the line of Shem rather than an indication that all of Shem s line would be faithful.
- As Matthews says, This first shows that the elect line of promise will be Shem s offspring, which is spelled out in the genealogy of 11:10 26, ending in the appointed Abram (12:1 3). 3 4. The Blessing on Japheth - Enlarge: this is a play on words with the name Japheth. - It indicates general blessings for Japheth. - Dwelling in the tents of Shem may indicate that he participates in the spiritual blessings of that were invoked for Shem. D. Noah s death. SLIDE FOUR Genesis 9:28 29. 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. - Noah s obituary completes the record of Seth s descendants, which traces the Sethite lineage down to Noah, by concluding with the formulaic death notice and then he died (9:29). 4 - Thus concludes the transition from the old world that perished into the new world that will continue until the end. III. Conclusion A. New World, Same Heart - The problem was not with the old world, or the old environment, it was the with the human heart. - This is clear from the parallels between the creation and the flood stories. Creation and Re-Creation in Genesis 3 Ibid., 423. 4 Ibid., 425.
Watery, wind scoured earth (1:2, 2:2) Watery, wind scoured earth (8:1) Dry land appears Vegetation appears Dry land appears Vegetation appears Man made in God s image (1:27) Man made in God s image (9:6) Adam made from the ground (2:7) Noah a man of the ground (9:20) Adam rested in a Garden (2:15) Noah planted a garden/vineyard (9:20) Command to be fruitful and multiply (1:28) Command to be fruitful and multiply (9:7) Commanded to subdue the earth (1:28) Commanded to subdue human wickedness (9:6) Animals brought to Adam to name (2:20) Animals brought to Noah to preserve (7:8-9) Adam given plants to eat (1:29-30) Noah given animals to eat (9:3) Adam told not to eat from Tree of Knowledge (2:16-17) Noah told not to eat animals that had their lifeblood in them. (9:4) Ate of the forbidden fruit (3:6) Drank of the fruit of the vine (9:21) Discovered to be naked (3:10) Discovered to be naked (9:21) Nakedness covered by God (3:21) Nakedness covered by sons (9:23) Adam had three named sons (Ch. 4) Noah had three named sons (Ch. 9) One son sins which results in a curse (4:12) One son sins which results in a curse (9:25) God promises a Redeemer (3:15) God promises to preserve the earth (9:8-17) - Jeremiah 13:23. Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil.
- Jeremiah 31:31 34. Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more. B. Love Covers Sin - Shem and Japheth honored their father despite his disgraceful drunkenness. - Why? Because it is the nature of love. - 1 Peter 4:8. And above all things have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins. - Proverbs 11:13. A talebearer reveals secrets, But he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter. - 1 Corinthians 13:4 7. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. - Proverbs 17:9. He who covers a transgression seeks love, But he who repeats a matter separates friends.