The Formation of the Nations
Genesis 9:18 – 10:32
Who knows the struggle of keeping dandelions out of your yard? The struggle is real! Should you dig them up? Use weed control pellets? Spray weed killer? Hire a paid landscaping service? Or should you dig up your entire yard, replace the topsoil, and lay fresh, new sod on top?
When God sent a global flood to judge the world for its rampant sin, he took the nuclear approach, erasing almost everyone and everything to start over. The only people to survive were Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives. We know that Noah believed in God and followed him by faith, so this presented an opportunity for a fresh start.
But just as dandelions seem to pop up every year, no matter what we do to remove them, so sin remained in the world after the Flood. This passage before us, which follows the event of the worldwide Flood, shows us what happened after Noah and his family settled back into life on Earth. And just as mankind succumbed to sin at the beginning, in the Garden of Eden, so Noah and his family succumbed to sin – and this tendency to sin continued through history, throughout the generations and nations which would come from Noah’s sons.
By explaining this to us, this passage provides a serious warning for followers of Christ to guard against the influences of sin in our homes from both within our hearts and the sinful culture around us, no matter what culture, nation, or people group we are a part of. This requires diligence and vigilance on our parts, not a casual, carefree lifestyle.
Despite God’s radical intervention through the Flood, the problem of sin remained.
We see this from three people which are featured in this passage – Noah himself, his son, Ham, and a later descendant named Nimrod.
Noah succumbed to drunkenness. (“the lust of the flesh”)
We know that Noah was a man who believed and followed God by faith. Because of this, Scripture calls him a “righteous man” (Gen 6:9) who worshiped God immediately after exiting the Ark (Gen 9:20). The New Testament calls him an example of faith (Heb 11:7). Yet even people who follow God by faith continue to fight against their sinful nature. Though believers are freed from the power of sin and are able to say “no” to sin, they must still resist the temptation to sin and make wise choices to avoid sin.
In Noah’s case, the sin he succumbed to was drunkenness. After the Flood, he had become a farmer who planted a vineyard, raising grapes and harvesting the juice. Sometime after a harvest, he drank so much wine that he became drunk and intoxicated, meaning he had lost control of his personal thinking, awareness, and will. The result was that he undressed and exposed himself in his tent.
This is one of the outcomes of drunkenness – a drunk person imagines, does, and says things which are either irrational (best case scenario) or even further sinful (worst case scenario). The OT book of godly wisdom, called Proverbs, teaches this:
Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart will utter perverse things. Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying: “They have struck me, but I was not hurt; they have beaten me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?” (Prov 23:33-35)
The NT commands followers of Christ “do not get drunk with wine” (Eph 5:18). Similar commands are given multiple other times throughout the NT, revealing that drunkenness is sin, a behavior that displeases God and is contrary to his purpose and will for our lives. Drunkenness also tends to hurt or influence other people to sin, as well.
Ham succumbed to immorality. (“the lust of the eyes”)
Ham, an adult, married son of Noah, is the second person of whose sin this passage tells us. According to Moses, while Noah was exposed in his drunkenness, Ham saw him. By the way Moses explains what happened, we know that what Ham did was not merely accidental or brief, meaning he didn’t just walk into the tent and quickly turn around to leave. It means that he looked for a while. Other words which could be used here are “to examine, inspect, and spy.” The meaning includes being deliberate and intentional and also includes a period of time.
Some Bible commentators and preachers have suggested that this situation involved a range of other possible sinful behaviors. While this may be possible, the simplest, most straightforward explanation seems best. Ham intentionally looked when his father was indecently exposed. Allen P. Ross explains:
There is no clear evidence that Ham actually did anything other than see the nakedness of his father … It is difficult for people living in the modern world to understand and appreciate the modesty and discretion of privacy called for … in the Old Testament. [Nakedness] was from the beginning a thing of shame for fallen humankind. To Adam and Eve as sinners, the state of nakedness was both undignified and vulnerable. Their covering of their nakedness was a sound instinct, for it provided a boundary for fallen human relations. To be exposed meant to be unprotected; to see someone uncovered was to bring dishonor and to gain advantage for potential exploitation.
We call this “indecent exposure” today and consider a criminal offense. But at the same time, our culture violates this moral boundary in so many ways – through indecent publications, movies, digital images, trafficking, and so much more. Not to mention that countless people in our own Western culture have experienced indecent exposure one way or another within the privacy of their families and homes from a young age, due to abuse and negligence, including as a result of drunkenness and illicit drug use. The NT refers to this sin problem as fornication or uncleanness.
As followers of Christ, we should inform our conscience to say no to indecent exposure and should practice principles of modesty, privacy, and godly morality in our personal lives and in our homes. This should include putting up protective boundaries not only in how we dress or present ourselves, but in what we allow ourselves to look at and putting up protective boundaries which can prevent or reduce the amount of unexpected problems which can also confront us whether we are looking for it or not.
We must avoid the equally problematic problem of legalism, of course, in which we prescribe unreasonable rules in the name of modesty, but we must also recognize God’s serious viewpoint on this subject. What Ham did was no minor mistake. Scripture presents it as a serious moral failure, one that prompted Moses to record a curse given as a consequence for his sin. More on that in a minute. But one thing to note, here, is that the curse was applied to the descendants of Ham, not just Ham. This meant that his sin would have generational implications.
When moral indecency occurs in a home and family context, it forms deep roots and tends to reappear for generations to come. This is why we should be very vigilant to uphold principles of decency and morality in our homes in the way that we dress ourselves and what we expose ourselves to through entertainment, media, and other means. Scripture portrays nakedness as a mark of pagan culture which has no place in the hearts, homes, and communities of those who follow Christ.
Nimrod succumbed to power. (“the pride of life”)
When we move further into Gen 10, we find what mostly appears to be a long list of names given as a genealogy. But within this list of names, one person receives extra attention. That person is Nimrod, who appears to have been an eventual great grandson of Ham (Gen 10:8-14).
The Bible describes Nimrod as “a mighty one” and “a mighty hunter before the Lord.” These descriptions indicate that he was an influential person who established not only one kingdom or empire (first in Babel area) but also a second (in Assyria), which consisted of multiple significant cities.
From these descriptions it seems we can conclude several things. First, this man was not content to remain in his place of birth, within his culture and place of origin, but chose to exert himself in a forceful way, not only to build bigger and better buildings and cities, but to go to invade, take over, dominate, and subject people from other cultures and places for his own purposes and glory.
As a descendant of Ham, for instance, he was born and raised where Ham’s descendants had settled. But he not only settled and raised up descendants of his own there, he exerted his influence over the people of that area to build cities, then traveled farther away to where descendants of Shem had settled to dominate and establish an empire and cities there, too.
In this way, Nimrod serves as the protype for people who abuse and exploit influence and power through government for selfish, sinful purposes, hunting not only animals but people, exploiting and suppressing people for power.
By stating that he was doing this “before the Lord” (stated twice), the meaning seems to be not that God appreciated or approved of this behavior, but that God acknowledged and allowed this behavior to occur. Rather than intervene and overthrow the empire building of Nimrod, he allowed it to unfold.
And this has been the case throughout history, as sinful, godless empires and governments come and go, God watches and observes while working out his own plan through it all. In the end, all governments will crumble, and all corrupt rulers will be judged by God. How should people who follow Christ by faith respond to the domination of ungodly empires, governments, and rulers?
“Therefore wait for me,” declares the Lord, “for the day when I rise up to seize the prey. For my decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out upon them my indignation, all my burning anger; for in the fire of my jealousy all the earth shall be consumed. (Zeph 3:8)
From this passage, we see that despite God’s extreme judgment of the world, the problem of sin continued in the world. Noah, his children, and his later descendants succumbed to sin just as before the Flood. And just as then, the problem of sin remains today.
Yes, dandelions not only reappear after we weed them out, but they also spread to other adjacent yards. As this passage shows us:
The problem of sin carried on to generations and nations throughout the world.
Before we finish this message today, we have to ask why this genealogy is given in Gen 10. To this question, we can give at least two important answers.
Distinct people groups formed throughout the world.
After the Flood, the people of the world not only multiplied but formed a network of diverse people groups, all of which developed as descendants of Noah’s three sons. This genealogy shows how these people groups developed, providing a kind of family tree.
In doing so, however, this passage does not provide a comprehensive family tree showing where all modern nations come from. It only provides a very basic, early summary of where some nations or people groups come from, while focusing instead on one particular branch of the world’s “family tree” – the line of Ham (and esp. his son Canaan).
In this genealogy, 26 men descended from Shem, 30 from Ham, and 14 from Japheth. We also learn that descendants from Shem settled and populated the area we call the Arabian peninsula today. Ham’s descendants settled and populated the area we call Northern Africa today. Japheth’s descendants settled and populated the area we call Turkey and Europe today. This is an overly general description but gives you a basic idea of how things played out.
From these groups of descendants, smaller groups and ethnicities formed, forming nations of their own throughout history as they continued to spread and migrate across the globe. This would be the normal, natural course of things, but would also become a story of men like Nimrod exploiting this process through governmental and military domination, which would then require nations to develop their own militaries to defend themselves against such intrusions.
I will mention two things here before making a final point. First, God intended for ethnic people groups and cultural diversity to develop. Yet within this diversity, there is no inherently better or superior race. Listen to how Paul described this in one of his sermons:
He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord …” (Acts 17:26-27)
From this we see, God has formed all nations of the world and he has done so in such a way that we are both (1) one, equal human race which exists as (2) many, simultaneous nations and people groups. What’s more, this is not all as chaotic as it may seem for God remains in full control of the boundaries of our nations and the extent of our influence and existence as groups and cultures. What’s most important, here, is that everyone, regardless of culture or ethnicity, must seek the Lord for salvation.
Second, note that culture and ethnic differences and diversity is not a result of sin but is God’s original and eternal purpose and design. The empire-building, warring, and exploitation and domination that occurs between nations is a result of sin and will not occur in eternity once God establishes his everlasting, righteous kingdom. But in God’s eternal, righteous kingdom on the New Earth, ethnic diversity and distinct people groups will continue to exist!
And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. (Rev 21:24).
God’s people must guard against sin, both from within our own heart and from culture around us.
Finally, to answer the question of why this genealogy appears here in Gen 10, we must remember that Moses wrote Genesis near the end of his life, providing crucial history from God for the newly formed nation of Israel as they prepared to enter and settle the Promise Land, which God had promised to give them. This explains why this genealogy emphasize or concentrates on the descendants of Ham, giving special focus to the descendants of Ham’s son, Canaan.
From Noah’s cursing of Ham (esp. his grandson Canaan), we see that he anticipated in him the evil traits that marked his father Ham. The text has prepared the reader for this conclusion by twice pointing out that Ham was the father of Canaan, a phrase that signifies more than lineage. This curse, then, was directed to Ham’s distant descendants, who retained the traits.
Canaan is the man after whom the Promised Land had gotten its name, Canaan. The reason is that his descendants settled and populated this region of the world.
The OT Law warned the people of the exodus about the wickedness of the Canaanites in terms that call to mind the violation of Ham (Lev. 18:2–6). There follows a lengthy listing of such vile practices of the Canaanites (vv. 7–23) that the text must employ euphemisms to represent their deeds (“nakedness” is used twenty-four times). Because of these sins the Canaanites were defiled and were to be driven out before the Israelites.
The constant references to “nakedness” and “uncovering” in this passage in Leviticus, designating the people of Canaan as a people enslaved sexually, clearly reminds the reader of the action of Ham, the father of Canaan. No Israelite who knew the culture of the Canaanites could read the story of their ancestor without making the connection. But the descendants had advanced far beyond the sin of the ancestor. The attitude that led to the deed of Ham came to full fruition in the Canaanites. These descendants were not cursed because of what Ham did: they were cursed because they acted as their ancestor had. That moral abandonment was fully developed in the Canaanites. (Allen P. Ross)
This is why the Law of Moses insisted upon principles of modesty and morality, for instance, and why it insisted that the Hebrew people not intermarry, closely befriend, or become economically or politically entangled or obligated to the Canaanite people. Why? So that they would not succumb to their immoral, sinful culture and thereby ruin their testimony for God in this world, for whom they were to be a witness and testimony of his grace and salvation.
Paul explains a similar principle to the church in the NT, quoting what God said to Israel as they prepared to enter the Promised Land surrounded by immoral Canaanite people:
“Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.” “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty.” Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
In conclusion, let me remind us not to underestimate the long-term effects that sinful traits and sinful cultural tendencies and patterns can have in a family line. Thank God that through Christ, we are able to overcome whatever sinful traits or cultural tendencies we have inherited or experienced which are contrary to God’s moral will! At the same time, we must make conscientious, intentional choices to avoid and not do or give in to the sinful acts and priorities which come, like Noah, from within our hearts and, like the Israelites in Canaan, from the ungodly culture and people around us.
May we re-sensitive ourselves to godly morality and guard our hearts and homes from sinful influences. And most of all, may we realize that only Christ is able to rescue us from the power and influence of sin in our lives, no matter what background or culture is ours. Only Christ is able to remove and uproot the dandelions of sin from our lives, whether they grow up from the soil of our own hearts or blow over from another person’s yard ?
May we depend upon Christ first for salvation and forgiveness from sin, but also in a daily way for victory over sin by the power of God’s Spirit so that we may the goodness of God to the people around us who are enslaved and trapped by their own sinful heart and culture.
Discussion Questions
Who knows the struggle of keeping dandelions out of your yard? The struggle is real! Should you dig them up? Use weed control pellets? Spray weed killer? Hire a paid landscaping service? Or should you dig up your entire yard, replace the topsoil, and lay fresh, new sod on top?
When God sent a global flood to judge the world for its rampant sin, he took the nuclear approach, erasing almost everyone and everything to start over. The only people to survive were Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives. We know that Noah believed in God and followed him by faith, so this presented an opportunity for a fresh start.
But just as dandelions seem to pop up every year, no matter what we do to remove them, so sin remained in the world after the Flood. This passage before us, which follows the event of the worldwide Flood, shows us what happened after Noah and his family settled back into life on Earth. And just as mankind succumbed to sin at the beginning, in the Garden of Eden, so Noah and his family succumbed to sin – and this tendency to sin continued through history, throughout the generations and nations which would come from Noah’s sons.
By explaining this to us, this passage provides a serious warning for followers of Christ to guard against the influences of sin in our homes from both within our hearts and the sinful culture around us, no matter what culture, nation, or people group we are a part of. This requires diligence and vigilance on our parts, not a casual, carefree lifestyle.
Despite God’s radical intervention through the Flood, the problem of sin remained.
We see this from three people which are featured in this passage – Noah himself, his son, Ham, and a later descendant named Nimrod.
Noah succumbed to drunkenness. (“the lust of the flesh”)
We know that Noah was a man who believed and followed God by faith. Because of this, Scripture calls him a “righteous man” (Gen 6:9) who worshiped God immediately after exiting the Ark (Gen 9:20). The New Testament calls him an example of faith (Heb 11:7). Yet even people who follow God by faith continue to fight against their sinful nature. Though believers are freed from the power of sin and are able to say “no” to sin, they must still resist the temptation to sin and make wise choices to avoid sin.
In Noah’s case, the sin he succumbed to was drunkenness. After the Flood, he had become a farmer who planted a vineyard, raising grapes and harvesting the juice. Sometime after a harvest, he drank so much wine that he became drunk and intoxicated, meaning he had lost control of his personal thinking, awareness, and will. The result was that he undressed and exposed himself in his tent.
This is one of the outcomes of drunkenness – a drunk person imagines, does, and says things which are either irrational (best case scenario) or even further sinful (worst case scenario). The OT book of godly wisdom, called Proverbs, teaches this:
Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart will utter perverse things. Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying: “They have struck me, but I was not hurt; they have beaten me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?” (Prov 23:33-35)
The NT commands followers of Christ “do not get drunk with wine” (Eph 5:18). Similar commands are given multiple other times throughout the NT, revealing that drunkenness is sin, a behavior that displeases God and is contrary to his purpose and will for our lives. Drunkenness also tends to hurt or influence other people to sin, as well.
Ham succumbed to immorality. (“the lust of the eyes”)
Ham, an adult, married son of Noah, is the second person of whose sin this passage tells us. According to Moses, while Noah was exposed in his drunkenness, Ham saw him. By the way Moses explains what happened, we know that what Ham did was not merely accidental or brief, meaning he didn’t just walk into the tent and quickly turn around to leave. It means that he looked for a while. Other words which could be used here are “to examine, inspect, and spy.” The meaning includes being deliberate and intentional and also includes a period of time.
Some Bible commentators and preachers have suggested that this situation involved a range of other possible sinful behaviors. While this may be possible, the simplest, most straightforward explanation seems best. Ham intentionally looked when his father was indecently exposed. Allen P. Ross explains:
There is no clear evidence that Ham actually did anything other than see the nakedness of his father … It is difficult for people living in the modern world to understand and appreciate the modesty and discretion of privacy called for … in the Old Testament. [Nakedness] was from the beginning a thing of shame for fallen humankind. To Adam and Eve as sinners, the state of nakedness was both undignified and vulnerable. Their covering of their nakedness was a sound instinct, for it provided a boundary for fallen human relations. To be exposed meant to be unprotected; to see someone uncovered was to bring dishonor and to gain advantage for potential exploitation.
We call this “indecent exposure” today and consider a criminal offense. But at the same time, our culture violates this moral boundary in so many ways – through indecent publications, movies, digital images, trafficking, and so much more. Not to mention that countless people in our own Western culture have experienced indecent exposure one way or another within the privacy of their families and homes from a young age, due to abuse and negligence, including as a result of drunkenness and illicit drug use. The NT refers to this sin problem as fornication or uncleanness.
As followers of Christ, we should inform our conscience to say no to indecent exposure and should practice principles of modesty, privacy, and godly morality in our personal lives and in our homes. This should include putting up protective boundaries not only in how we dress or present ourselves, but in what we allow ourselves to look at and putting up protective boundaries which can prevent or reduce the amount of unexpected problems which can also confront us whether we are looking for it or not.
We must avoid the equally problematic problem of legalism, of course, in which we prescribe unreasonable rules in the name of modesty, but we must also recognize God’s serious viewpoint on this subject. What Ham did was no minor mistake. Scripture presents it as a serious moral failure, one that prompted Moses to record a curse given as a consequence for his sin. More on that in a minute. But one thing to note, here, is that the curse was applied to the descendants of Ham, not just Ham. This meant that his sin would have generational implications.
When moral indecency occurs in a home and family context, it forms deep roots and tends to reappear for generations to come. This is why we should be very vigilant to uphold principles of decency and morality in our homes in the way that we dress ourselves and what we expose ourselves to through entertainment, media, and other means. Scripture portrays nakedness as a mark of pagan culture which has no place in the hearts, homes, and communities of those who follow Christ.
Nimrod succumbed to power. (“the pride of life”)
When we move further into Gen 10, we find what mostly appears to be a long list of names given as a genealogy. But within this list of names, one person receives extra attention. That person is Nimrod, who appears to have been an eventual great grandson of Ham (Gen 10:8-14).
The Bible describes Nimrod as “a mighty one” and “a mighty hunter before the Lord.” These descriptions indicate that he was an influential person who established not only one kingdom or empire (first in Babel area) but also a second (in Assyria), which consisted of multiple significant cities.
From these descriptions it seems we can conclude several things. First, this man was not content to remain in his place of birth, within his culture and place of origin, but chose to exert himself in a forceful way, not only to build bigger and better buildings and cities, but to go to invade, take over, dominate, and subject people from other cultures and places for his own purposes and glory.
As a descendant of Ham, for instance, he was born and raised where Ham’s descendants had settled. But he not only settled and raised up descendants of his own there, he exerted his influence over the people of that area to build cities, then traveled farther away to where descendants of Shem had settled to dominate and establish an empire and cities there, too.
In this way, Nimrod serves as the protype for people who abuse and exploit influence and power through government for selfish, sinful purposes, hunting not only animals but people, exploiting and suppressing people for power.
By stating that he was doing this “before the Lord” (stated twice), the meaning seems to be not that God appreciated or approved of this behavior, but that God acknowledged and allowed this behavior to occur. Rather than intervene and overthrow the empire building of Nimrod, he allowed it to unfold.
And this has been the case throughout history, as sinful, godless empires and governments come and go, God watches and observes while working out his own plan through it all. In the end, all governments will crumble, and all corrupt rulers will be judged by God. How should people who follow Christ by faith respond to the domination of ungodly empires, governments, and rulers?
“Therefore wait for me,” declares the Lord, “for the day when I rise up to seize the prey. For my decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out upon them my indignation, all my burning anger; for in the fire of my jealousy all the earth shall be consumed. (Zeph 3:8)
From this passage, we see that despite God’s extreme judgment of the world, the problem of sin continued in the world. Noah, his children, and his later descendants succumbed to sin just as before the Flood. And just as then, the problem of sin remains today.
Yes, dandelions not only reappear after we weed them out, but they also spread to other adjacent yards. As this passage shows us:
The problem of sin carried on to generations and nations throughout the world.
Before we finish this message today, we have to ask why this genealogy is given in Gen 10. To this question, we can give at least two important answers.
Distinct people groups formed throughout the world.
After the Flood, the people of the world not only multiplied but formed a network of diverse people groups, all of which developed as descendants of Noah’s three sons. This genealogy shows how these people groups developed, providing a kind of family tree.
In doing so, however, this passage does not provide a comprehensive family tree showing where all modern nations come from. It only provides a very basic, early summary of where some nations or people groups come from, while focusing instead on one particular branch of the world’s “family tree” – the line of Ham (and esp. his son Canaan).
In this genealogy, 26 men descended from Shem, 30 from Ham, and 14 from Japheth. We also learn that descendants from Shem settled and populated the area we call the Arabian peninsula today. Ham’s descendants settled and populated the area we call Northern Africa today. Japheth’s descendants settled and populated the area we call Turkey and Europe today. This is an overly general description but gives you a basic idea of how things played out.
From these groups of descendants, smaller groups and ethnicities formed, forming nations of their own throughout history as they continued to spread and migrate across the globe. This would be the normal, natural course of things, but would also become a story of men like Nimrod exploiting this process through governmental and military domination, which would then require nations to develop their own militaries to defend themselves against such intrusions.
I will mention two things here before making a final point. First, God intended for ethnic people groups and cultural diversity to develop. Yet within this diversity, there is no inherently better or superior race. Listen to how Paul described this in one of his sermons:
He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord …” (Acts 17:26-27)
From this we see, God has formed all nations of the world and he has done so in such a way that we are both (1) one, equal human race which exists as (2) many, simultaneous nations and people groups. What’s more, this is not all as chaotic as it may seem for God remains in full control of the boundaries of our nations and the extent of our influence and existence as groups and cultures. What’s most important, here, is that everyone, regardless of culture or ethnicity, must seek the Lord for salvation.
Second, note that culture and ethnic differences and diversity is not a result of sin but is God’s original and eternal purpose and design. The empire-building, warring, and exploitation and domination that occurs between nations is a result of sin and will not occur in eternity once God establishes his everlasting, righteous kingdom. But in God’s eternal, righteous kingdom on the New Earth, ethnic diversity and distinct people groups will continue to exist!
And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. (Rev 21:24).
God’s people must guard against sin, both from within our own heart and from culture around us.
Finally, to answer the question of why this genealogy appears here in Gen 10, we must remember that Moses wrote Genesis near the end of his life, providing crucial history from God for the newly formed nation of Israel as they prepared to enter and settle the Promise Land, which God had promised to give them. This explains why this genealogy emphasize or concentrates on the descendants of Ham, giving special focus to the descendants of Ham’s son, Canaan.
From Noah’s cursing of Ham (esp. his grandson Canaan), we see that he anticipated in him the evil traits that marked his father Ham. The text has prepared the reader for this conclusion by twice pointing out that Ham was the father of Canaan, a phrase that signifies more than lineage. This curse, then, was directed to Ham’s distant descendants, who retained the traits.
Canaan is the man after whom the Promised Land had gotten its name, Canaan. The reason is that his descendants settled and populated this region of the world.
- Knowing this, we can see why Moses pointed out Noah’s sin and failure in getting drunk. This would serve as a warning to the Israelites as they entered the Promised Land not to do the same thing in this new land filled with vineyards abounding with fresh grapes and wine.
- Knowing this, we can also see why Moses pointed out Nimrod’s conquests, since the empires he and his descendants would build would eventually conquer and complicate matters for the nation of Israel (Assyria, Babylon, etc.).
- Knowing this, we can also see why Moses pointed out the sin of Ham and its generational consequences. The people and nations of Canaanm, whom Israel would be commanded to conquer, displace, and drive out, had themselves developed an infamous reputation for being immoral people. From the moment the patriarchs entered the land, these tribes were there with their corrupting influence (Gen. 13:13; 15:16; 18:20-21; chs. 19, and 38).
The OT Law warned the people of the exodus about the wickedness of the Canaanites in terms that call to mind the violation of Ham (Lev. 18:2–6). There follows a lengthy listing of such vile practices of the Canaanites (vv. 7–23) that the text must employ euphemisms to represent their deeds (“nakedness” is used twenty-four times). Because of these sins the Canaanites were defiled and were to be driven out before the Israelites.
The constant references to “nakedness” and “uncovering” in this passage in Leviticus, designating the people of Canaan as a people enslaved sexually, clearly reminds the reader of the action of Ham, the father of Canaan. No Israelite who knew the culture of the Canaanites could read the story of their ancestor without making the connection. But the descendants had advanced far beyond the sin of the ancestor. The attitude that led to the deed of Ham came to full fruition in the Canaanites. These descendants were not cursed because of what Ham did: they were cursed because they acted as their ancestor had. That moral abandonment was fully developed in the Canaanites. (Allen P. Ross)
This is why the Law of Moses insisted upon principles of modesty and morality, for instance, and why it insisted that the Hebrew people not intermarry, closely befriend, or become economically or politically entangled or obligated to the Canaanite people. Why? So that they would not succumb to their immoral, sinful culture and thereby ruin their testimony for God in this world, for whom they were to be a witness and testimony of his grace and salvation.
Paul explains a similar principle to the church in the NT, quoting what God said to Israel as they prepared to enter the Promised Land surrounded by immoral Canaanite people:
“Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.” “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty.” Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
In conclusion, let me remind us not to underestimate the long-term effects that sinful traits and sinful cultural tendencies and patterns can have in a family line. Thank God that through Christ, we are able to overcome whatever sinful traits or cultural tendencies we have inherited or experienced which are contrary to God’s moral will! At the same time, we must make conscientious, intentional choices to avoid and not do or give in to the sinful acts and priorities which come, like Noah, from within our hearts and, like the Israelites in Canaan, from the ungodly culture and people around us.
May we re-sensitive ourselves to godly morality and guard our hearts and homes from sinful influences. And most of all, may we realize that only Christ is able to rescue us from the power and influence of sin in our lives, no matter what background or culture is ours. Only Christ is able to remove and uproot the dandelions of sin from our lives, whether they grow up from the soil of our own hearts or blow over from another person’s yard ?
May we depend upon Christ first for salvation and forgiveness from sin, but also in a daily way for victory over sin by the power of God’s Spirit so that we may the goodness of God to the people around us who are enslaved and trapped by their own sinful heart and culture.
Discussion Questions
- How do you handle dangerous things when you encounter them?
- Describe the danger of sin.
- How should we address sin? Sinful habits? Temptation? Describe what our attitude should be toward sin.
- Noah’s drunkenness was motivated by the lust of the flesh. What does the lust of the flesh mean? What was happening as Noah experienced the lust of the flesh and eventually chose to sin?
- What are some common ways in which people today are tempted by the lust of the flesh?
- Ham dealt with the lust of the eyes in gazing upon his father’s nakedness. What is the lust of the eyes?
- How does the lust of the eyes tempt us in our context in 2024?
- Nimrod’s warmongering and oppression was drive by the pride of life. Explain the pride of life and what it drives people to do in our culture.
- God gave specific instruction to the Israelites in Leviticus to help them fight sinful influences from the surrounding cultures. These were very strict rules that would distance God’s people from being shaped by societal wickedness.
- Do these seem harsh or rigid?
- How should we handle those who may choose more stringent lifestyles to avoid sinful influences?
- What are some principles that can help us think through our own choices in what we expose ourselves and our families to?
Posted in Sermon Manuscript
Posted in Morality, Immorality, Noah, Nimrod, Drunkenness, Nakedness, Power, Genesis, Sin
Posted in Morality, Immorality, Noah, Nimrod, Drunkenness, Nakedness, Power, Genesis, Sin
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