Genesis Chapter 9:24-27 – The Sons of Noah December 1, 2008
Posted by Clint Rodgers in Genesis Bible Study.Tags: Genesis, Genesis 9, Genesis Bible Study, God, God and Man, Ham, Japheth, Jesus Christ, Noah, Shem, The Bible, The Holy Spirit, THe Sons of Noah
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Genesis 9 v24-27 – The Sons of Noah
24And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.
1. Concerning Ham and Canaan
25And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
Canaan would be in general, a servant of the seed of Shem and Japheth.
Joshua, David, and Solomon (descendants of Shem) subdued them.
Alexander the Great and the Romans (descendants of Japheth) subdued them.
The Hamitic people have contributed 2 things to the world:
1) They are responsible for man’s well-being
2) They are responsible for the technical proficiency of mankind
Arthur C. Custance states that all the earliest civilizations of note were founded and carried to the highest technical proficiency by the Hamitic peoples
Vol.1: Noah’s Three Sons: Human History in Three Dimensions
PART IV
THE TECHNOLOGY OF HAMITIC PEOPLE
Publishing History:
1960 Doorway paper No. 43, published privately by Arthur C. Custance
1975 Part IV in Noah’s Three Sons: Human History in Three Dimensions, vol.1 in The Doorway Papers Series,
1997 Arthur Custance Online Library (html)
2001 2nd Online Edition (corrections, design revisions)
INTRODUCTION
IF YOU enjoy reading catalogues now and then, you will probably enjoy this Paper, although it is dull indeed if read merely as literature. But if treated as intended, namely, as a list of technical achievements, it may come as a surprise to find how many, how varied, and how fundamental have been the inventions of Hamitic people, and how great a service they have rendered to mankind in the field of technology.
Hitherto our ethnocentrism in the writing of history has obscured this fact, but we now have a sufficient and ever-growing body of documented materials to justify this presentation.
Some of these achievements may be considered slight by those who have never actually contributed anything new to the sum total of human invention. But one should not be deceived by simplicity: it may be the hallmark of genius. It could also be argued that if we can only point to one invention of note in some particular tribe, that people can hardly be termed inventive. However, if we have only mentioned one invention that does not mean it was their sole achievement. It was mentioned only because it illustrated a particular aspect of native ingenuity.
2. Concerning Shem
26And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
Here we see a special favor given to Shem’s descendants, beginning with Abraham and ending with the greatest blessing – Jesus Christ!!!
The Semitic people have contributed 2 things to the world:
1) They are responsible for man’s spiritual well-being
2) They are responsible for developing the major religions
At least three of the major religions spring out of Shem – Judaism, Islamism, and Christianity
3. Concerning Japheth
27God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
The Japhetic people have contributed 2 things to the world:
1) They are responsible for man’s mental well-being.
2) They are responsible for the scientific development of mankind especially in the area of philosophy
Since 539 B.C., with the defeat of the Babylonians by Cyrus the Great, no Semetic or Hamitic race has succeeded in breaking the world supremacy of the Japhethic race
Romans 11
13For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:
14If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.
15For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?
16For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.
17And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
18Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
19Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.
20Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
21For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
22Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.
24For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?
25For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Here are some other things worth mentioning per Arthur Custance
Part I: The Part Played by Shem, Ham and Japheth in Subsequent World History
Chapter 1
The Threefold Framework as Reflected in Scripture
1. Abraham’s Three Wives
Abraham had three wives. The first was Sarah, a daughter of Shem (Genesis11:29). The second was Hagar, the Egyptian, a daughter of Ham (Genesis16:3). The third was Keturah (Genesis 25:1). According to Hebrew tradition (presumably based upon genealogical records preserved in the Temple prior to their destruction by fire in A.D. 70, records which were priceless to the Jewish people, particularly where Abraham was concerned), Keturah (4) was descended in the line of Japheth.
It may be pointed out that in Genesis 10 the sons of Noah when grouped together are habitually put in the same order — Shem, Ham, and Japheth — although it is not absolutely certain that this is the order in which they were born. As will be seen with reference to Abraham’s wives, this order is preserved. The implication of Scripture seems to be that in Abraham, the father of the faithful and the father of many nations, the whole race was in a unique way united into a single family. The subsequent events of Hagar’s life in no way alter the fact that she had become a wife to Abraham.
2. The Three Synoptic Gospels
In the New Testament recognition of this threefold division is consistently accorded. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are termed synoptic because they deal with the events of our Lord’s life in a way quite distinct from the Gospel of John. It has always been recognized that these three Gospels form a mosaic.
It has been observed from the time of the earliest commentaries that Matthew presents a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ as King, and wrote his Gospel primarily with the Jewish people in mind. The opening genealogy traces this King, appropriately, back to David and to Abraham. His Gospel is full of references to the Old Testament and continually points out how this or that event was a fulfilment of prophecy. This was a message directed primarily to the children of Shem.
Remembering the order in which the sons of Noah are always given, one might logically expect that the second Gospel, Mark’s, was directed to the children of Ham. We believe that it is. In considering this aspect of the subject, it is very easy to introduce the ideal of racial superiority, for Mark wrote his Gospel with the clear intent of portraying our Lord as a Servant of mankind. In doing this, he may either be thought to have degraded the Lord to the level of a servant or elevated the servant to the position of God’s Anointed. The former view which seems the most obvious, is most false. One is reminded of Luther’s hymn, which points out that he who sweeps a floor as unto the Lord makes both the floor and the action “fine.” This is a wonderful truth. That the children of Ham have been servants par excellence to mankind (5) — have in fact habitually served mankind better than they served themselves — is not to degrade them but to acknowledge a debt which we, with our ethnocentric pride, have been slow to admit. As we have already said, this is a point to be considered more fully.
That Mark wrote from this point of view seems clear. There is no genealogy of the Lord. A servant is known by his service, not by his pedigree. Mark is full of such phrases as immediately, straightway, forthwith, etc. This Man commanded power. It is a striking thing that the gods of Hamitic people on the whole were gods of power, whereas the God of Shem was pre-eminently moral, and the gods of Japheth were gods of illumination. Mark’s Gospel is a Gospel of doing, of ceaseless activity. There are some references to the sublime position of a servant which are not found in the other Gospels. (6) Here and there Mark refers to people as servants where the other Gospels omit the fact, and Mark himself is singled out elsewhere as of particular service to Paul.
Luke’s Gospel was clearly written for the Gentiles. It appears traditionally that the term Gentile was reserved for the children of Japheth. This is reflected in Genesis 10:5, which we shall examine a little more fully subsequently. In Genesis 9:27 the text reads, “God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem.” This occurred when the Jewish people committed national suicide by rejecting their King. The Kingdom was taken from them (Matthew 21:43) and the responsibility for its administration was given to Japheth. But this is a temporary arrangement, and when “the times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24) are fulfilled, the original division of responsibilities will be restored.
Luke wrote for these Gentiles. Being himself Greek, this was an appropriate divine appointment. In his Gospel, the genealogy of the Lord, quite properly, goes back to Adam, and the characteristic delineation of the Lord is as “Son of Man.”
5. Servant of Servants: for evidence that this phrase is not one of degradation as commonly assumed, see “Why Noah Cursed Canaan Instead of Ham”, Part III in Noah’s Three Sons, vol.1 in The Doorway Papers Series. LINK
6. Mark’s unique reference to the place of “service,” is found in Mark 10:44. He himself is referred to as a particularly valuable minister, by Paul in 2 Timothy 4:11.
It is also worthy of note that the name Japheth means “fair” or “light,” as the word Ham means “dark” (not necessarily black). The word Luke also means “fair” or “light.”
So we have three synoptic Gospels which, by many internal evidences far too numerous to enter into here, seem clearly to have been written under divine direction specifically for Shem, Ham, and Japheth ? in this order. It is not certain, of course, that the actual text of each Gospel was completed in this chronological order, but the fact remains that God has seen to it that they should be preserved for us from the earliest times in the order in which we find them today. There is no direct evidence, as far as I know, that the writers or the receivers were conscious of this association, but the association surely is clear.
Genesis Chapter 9 – Sin in the Tent November 26, 2008
Posted by Clint Rodgers in Genesis Bible Study.Tags: Genesis, Genesis 9, Genesis Bible Study, God, God and Man, Ham, Japheth, Jesus Christ, Noah, Shem, Sin, The Holy Spirit
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Genesis 9 – Sin in the Tent
22And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.
It is interesting to note here that mankind has been pretty much the same way for all time. Here we see Ham, one of the sons of Noah, seeing his father’s nakedness in the tent, and what does he do? He runs to spread the gossip. He gets a good laugh and shares it with his brothers.
Who would be at fault here, when we get down to the bottom of all that has happened. Noah has become drunk and something odd, something not right is either able to be seen (his nakedness) or something has happened here in this tent. Noah has become earthy and he has in totality opened the door to sin and caused his sons to possibly follow suit.
Ham is hamming it up here, making a spectacle of his father in such a bad shape.
Ham saw his father’s nakedness in his tent. Those closest to us see our weaknesses and we see other’s as we get closer to them and bond with them. And then sometimes we start to see only the flaws.
What do we do? How do we react to these situations?
When someone does something that is flawed, when I see the cracks in others.
What do I do when I see sin in other’s tents?
Look at the different reactions of the brothers
22And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.
23And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness.
Ham runs and tells his brothers about their father. Shem and Japheth take a garment, lay it upon their shoulders, and as they walk backward, cover up their father.
The difference is the reaction, the intent of the heart.
So many times we are all too eager to talk about others. We are all too eager to gossip or to knock someone else down a notch and make ourselves feel better rather than keep our mouths shut!
We should talk about problems, our problems and not others and we can raise questions or share burdens with each other about others but when we start talking ABOUT someone instead of praying for them or trying to help them, we are headed for trouble
Galatians 6
1Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
2Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
In those times it was considered disrespectful to look upon or see another’s nakedness. The ancient Hebrew says that Ham “told with delight” what he saw. He thought it was funny and he brought possible disrespect to the whole family.
His brothers covered their father, they had respect for their father.
1 Peter 4
8And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins
Proverbs 10:12
Hatred stirs up strife, But LOVE COVERS all sins.
Romans 4:7
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose SINS ARE COVERED;
And we need to be like the older brothers. We need to be covering, loving when we see other people’s sin in their tent, in their body physically and in the body, the church.
24And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.
Some believe that Ham just saw his father’s nakedness and that he made sport of it, he hammed it up.
Others believe that he performed castration on his father to keep him from having more children
The Legends of the Jews
by Louis Ginzberg
In his drunken condition Noah betook himself to the tent of his wife. His son Ham saw him there, and he told his brothers what he had noticed, and said: “The first man had but two sons, and one slew the other; this man Noah has three sons, yet he desires to beget a fourth besides.” Nor did Ham rest satisfied with these disrespectful words against his father. He added to this sin of irreverence the still greater outrage of attempting to perform an operation upon his father designed to prevent procreation.
Some think that the sin was homosexuality
Some think that it was an incestuous relationship with his mother
25And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
Generational curses
Many times sin is passed down, not just by genes or by nature but through examples.
One does wonder if perhaps Canaan was also involved
Ezekiel 18
1The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying,
2What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge?
3As I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.
4Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
And yet he might not have done anything but feel the unfortunate repercussions from the sin of his father. Some believe that this was because Noah and his sons had already been blessed by God and so could not be cursed
Noah’s Three Sons
by Arthur C. Custance
The Curse on Ham’s Son
It has always been a matter of controversy as to why Canaan rather than Ham should have been cursed. Canaan was Ham’s son, and was therefore grandson to Noah. Some people have supposed that the name Canaan was substituted for Ham by Jewish scribes who had particularly strong feelings against this branch of Ham’s family. Evidence for this is believed to be provided by some manuscripts of the Septuagint and the Arabic versions, which have the words “Ham, the father of Canaan” instead of the word “Canaan” alone.
There is another explanation which seems to me more probable and which, if it is true, means that Noah really was cursing Ham. It is a common social custom among many primitive people to attribute the greatness of a son to the father, who then receives the honour for having raised such a worthy child. This is clearly reflected in Scripture where Saul seeks to honour David after the slaying of Goliath. He asks his general whose son the lad is (1 Sam. 17:55). This has always seemed to mean that he did not recognize David, which would seem strange in view of David’s close associations with him. Undoubtedly Saul knew David well enough, but evidently did not know who his father was. And it was the father he was seeking to honour according to social custom.
A man, in blessing his own son, was in fact blessing himself. This was true when Noah blessed Shem and Japheth. By the same token, however, if he had cursed Ham, the real offender, he would at the same time have been cursing himself. Quite logically, he could only pass judgment upon Ham by cursing Ham’s own son, which is what he therefore did.
26And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
27God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
Shem
Shem means “glory”
He is the father of the Semite people, the Jewish and Arabic peoples. They settled primarily in the Middle East.
Ham
Depending upon the lexicon used, Ham means “black, or hot”
The Hamite people settled in Africa. Some believe that the curse on Canaan is the reason why the people of Africa were enslaved
The Legends of the Jews
by Louis Ginzberg
When Noah awoke from his wine and became sober, he pronounced a curse upon Ham in the person of his youngest son Canaan. To Ham himself he could do no harm, for God had conferred a blessing upon Noah and his three sons as they departed from the ark. Therefore he put the curse upon the last-born son of the son that had prevented him from begetting a younger son than the three he had.” The descendants of Ham through Canaan therefore have red eyes, because Ham looked upon the nakedness of his father; they have misshapen lips, because Ham spoke with his lips to his brothers about the unseemly condition of his father; they have twisted curly hair, because Ham turned and twisted his head round to see the nakedness of his father; and they go about naked, because Ham did not cover the nakedness of his father. Thus he was requited, for it is the way of God to mete out punishment measure for measure.
This would not be the case though because Canaan was the cursed one and not all of the Hamite people. Canaan’s descendants were so perverted and polluted that God ordered their annihilation in order to put them out of their misery
Japheth
His name means “Ruler” and his people settled mostly in Europe
We will be able to look at each son a little better in the next chapter
28And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.
29And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.
And as we looked at before, Noah’s last years did not seem to match the glory of his first ones.
Genesis Chapter 9: You Reap What You Sow November 25, 2008
Posted by Clint Rodgers in Genesis Bible Study.Tags: Genesis, Genesis 9, Genesis Bible Study, God, God and Man, Jesus Christ, Noah, Noah uncovered, Noah was drunk, The Bible, The Holy Spirit
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Genesis 9 – You reap what you sow
20And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
21And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
Noah becomes drunk and he is lying in his tent uncovered.
The original language seems to tell us that this “nakedness” is related to some kind of immorality on his part and this same word is used a number of times to denote some kind of “showing, or looking upon”
Exodus 20
25And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.
26Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.
Leviticus 18
6None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD.
7The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
8The nakedness of thy father’s wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father’s nakedness.
9The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover.
10The nakedness of thy son’s daughter, or of thy daughter’s daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness.
11The nakedness of thy father’s wife’s daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
12Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s sister: she is thy father’s near kinswoman.
13Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother’s sister: for she is thy mother’s near kinswoman.
14Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt.
15Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: she is thy son’s wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
16Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother’s wife: it is thy brother’s nakedness.
17Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son’s daughter, or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness.
18Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time.
19Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her uncleanness.
20Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour’s wife, to defile thyself with her.
Leviticus 20
11And 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.
12And if a man lie with his daughter in law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them.
13If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
14And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you.
15And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast.
16And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
17And if a man shall take his sister, his father’s daughter, or his mother’s daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.
18And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath discovered her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people.
19And thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother’s sister, nor of thy father’s sister: for he uncovereth his near kin: they shall bear their iniquity.
20And if a man shall lie with his uncle’s wife, he hath uncovered his uncle’s nakedness: they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless.
21And if a man shall take his brother’s wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless.
Some think that he acted wrongly in some way towards another person but it seems that perhaps he was just uncovered. Perhaps the best lesson that we can learn from this story is that we are always being watched, especially when we have children and when we don’t act properly we open the door for our children to follow suit. Noah had been called by God to enter into the boat, he had been called by God to enter into salvation and his house followed. Many times in Scripture, it speaks of the husband, the leader of the house being saved, and then his whole household.
Acts 16
22And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them.
23And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:
24Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.
25And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
26And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.
27And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
28But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
29Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
30And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
31And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
32And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
33And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
34And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house
Noah was reaping something that he had sewn and he reaped this one awfully quick. You see, he had made some wine and now he was in a drunken state. He had taken his place of nobility and caused his children to in a sense loose respect for him and God by their actions. He had actually caused his sons to sin by his own actions
Why??
Because where you lead, dads, your children will always follow. If you act like you want too, and you live a worldly life, then don’t be surprised if you have worldly children. They are like little tape recorders, and they soak up everything you do and say. So if you want future hell raisers and drinkers when they grow up, keep living it up and it will show.
This happens even when you don’t think anyone is looking. I think this is a prime example of what Paul says
Galatians 6
7Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
8For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
But if you want them to be godly, if you want them to be saved, then act like God wants you too. Live life like you should, be a good godly example and your kids will follow.
You don’t have to be an excellent teacher of the Word.
You don’t have to come up with illustrations and dynamic devotions to keep your children loving the Lord and interested in Him.
All you need to do is teach by living. If you want your children to love God, then you love Him in front of them. If you want your children to pray to God, then let them see you pray. If you want them to trust in God, then you trust in Him. Believe in Him, look too Him, rely completely upon Him and trust me, they will follow.
If you want them to go to Church, then you go. You want them to go to Sunday School, then get up early and take them.
Of course they are children so there will be times of trouble. They might fall away or rebel for a season but when you have lived it in front of them, when the Word is ingrained inside them and they will be drawn back eventually.
Pray for them, live in front of them, and let Jesus lead them through you.
Because where you go they are surely to follow
Genesis Chapter 9: The Shelf of God November 25, 2008
Posted by Clint Rodgers in Genesis Bible Study.Tags: Genesis, Genesis 9, Genesis Bible Study, God, God and Man, Jesus Christ, Noah, The Holy Spirit, The Shelf of God
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Genesis 9 – The Shelf of God
20And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
21And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
The Legends of the Jews
by Louis Ginzberg
Volume I
Bible Times and Characters from the Creation to Jacob
THE CURSE OF DRUNKENNESS
Noah lost his epithet “the pious” when he began to occupy himself with the growing of the vine. He became a “man of the ground,” and this first attempt to produce wine at the same time produced the first to drink to excess, the first to utter curses upon his associates, and the first to introduce slavery. This is the way it all came about. Noah found the vine which Adam had taken with him from Paradise, when he was driven forth. He tasted the grapes upon it, and, finding them palatable, he resolved to plant the vine and tend it.[57] On the selfsame day on which he planted it, it bore fruit, he put it in the wine-press, drew off the juice, drank it, became drunken, and was dishonored–all on one day. His assistant in the work of cultivating the vine was Satan, who had happened along at the very moment when he was engaged in planting the slip he had found. Satan asked him: “What is it thou art planting here?”
Noah: “A vineyard.”
Satan: “And what may be the qualities of what it produces?”
Noah: “The fruit it bears is sweet, be it dry or moist. It yields wine that rejoiceth the heart of man.”
Satan: “Let us go into partnership in this business of planting a vineyard.”
Noah: “Agreed!”
Satan thereupon slaughtered a lamb, and then, in succession, a lion, a pig, and a monkey. The blood of each as it was killed he made to flow under the vine. Thus he conveyed to Noah what the qualities of wine are: before man drinks of it, he is innocent as a lamb; if he drinks of it moderately, he feels as strong as a lion; if he drinks more of it than he can bear, he resembles the pig; and if he drinks to the point of intoxication, then he behaves like a monkey, he dances around, sings, talks obscenely, and knows not what he is doing.[58]
This deterred Noah no more than did the example of Adam, whose fall had also been due to wine, for the forbidden fruit had been the grape, with which he had made himself drunk.[59]
Here we have the first mention of drunkenness in Scripture. Some, as evident from the above, believe that drunkenness is what has beguiled man from the beginning. Others believe that perhaps this was a condition that only came about after the flood and that Noah had no idea as to what would happen to him if he drank too much. Either way it hurt him in more ways than one.
Noah had preached too the people, he had done everything that God told him. He built an ark, for water when there had never been a body of water. He had floated around with his family for more than a year in the first mobile petting zoo. He had built the altar to God and blessed Him and He found grace in the eyes of God
He walked with God, looked too God, and waited on God before and during the storm.
But now everything is over. He isn’t as active as he was. He is not “on call” with God so to speak and he has a leisurely existence.
Everything has become normal, mundane and he becomes vulnerable.
Noah had been a carpenter, a preacher, a farmer, and now he has become a husbandman or literally “A man of the earth,”
We can be the same way.
Be careful that when things get quiet, when things get normal, mundane, that we don’t become too “earthy” or men of the earth. Don’t let the normality of life sneak up on you and you become fleshy or earth-like and loose what God was doing with us.
We get cocky and we stop praying too God, talking too Him and listening too Him.
We tell Him, “I’ve got it from here on out God, I can handle whatever comes my way.”
“Thanks for all the help but I can take it from here.”
And then trouble comes
Sometimes we get trouble just because that is the way things are but there are times when God brings trials and tribulation too us and on us, not for us, not so that we will become better, but for God.
Why??? Because sometimes that is the only way that He can get us to talk too Him. Sometimes that is the only way that He can have a part in our lives. That is the only way we will cling too Him.
Mark 4
36And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.
37And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
38And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
39And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
40And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
41And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
Luke 8
25And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him
Sometimes He must pass us by in order for us to see His glory
Exodus 33
18And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
19And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
20And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
21And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock
And yet praise be to God that we can now see His face. We are able to stand upon the rock, Jesus Christ and we are able to see His glory as His awesome glory passes before us and comes to indwell us.
Mark 6
46And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray.
47And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land.
48And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them.
49But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out:
50For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.
51And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered.
Amen and amen!!!!
Noah dies at the age of 950. The ultimate tragedy is that no accomplishments are recorded during his last 350 years. He could have experienced that thing so dreaded by men of faith, which is to be placed on the shelf by God
1Co 9:19 For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.
1Co 9:20 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;
1Co 9:21 To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.
1Co 9:22 To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.
1Co 9:23 And this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.
1Co 9:24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
1Co 9:25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
1Co 9:26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
1Co 9:27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
Genesis Chapter 9 – The Noahic Covenant: The Specifics of the Covenant Part 4 November 24, 2008
Posted by Clint Rodgers in Genesis Bible Study.Tags: Genesis, Genesis 9, Genesis Bible Study, God, God and Man, Jesus Christ, Noah, The Holy Spirit, The Noahic Covenant
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Genesis 9 – The Noahic Covenant: The Specifics of the Covenant Part 4
1. My covenant is with all the earth
8And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,
9And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;
10And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.
11And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.
God promises to never again destroy the earth with a global flood. However when things do become like Noah’s day, God will destroy the earth by fire!!
Matthew 24
37But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
2 Peter 3 1This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:
2That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:
3Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
4And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
5For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
6Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
7But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
Genesis Chapter 9 – The Noahic Covenant: The Specifics of the Covenant Part 2 November 24, 2008
Posted by Clint Rodgers in Genesis Bible Study.Tags: Genesis, Genesis 9, Genesis Bible Study, God, God and Man, Jesus Christ, Noah, the flood, The Holy Spirit, The Noahic Covenant
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Genesis 9 – The Noahic Covenant: The Specifics of the Covenant Part 2
1And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
2And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
3Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
Here in this chapter we deal with the Noahic covenant and God shows us three things that pertain to mankind.
1. Meat is ok.
3Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
Fire up the barbeques!!!! Meat is now all right to eat.
Noah receives the same instructions that Adam had. He was to be fruitful, to multiply, and to eat (Genesis 1:29-30, 2:15-17) The only difference was that now Noah was told that man could eat meat. Meat is OK! You can now fire up that grill cause beef was for dinner!!!!!
Here are some reasons why this might have been ok now:
1) Vegetation might not have been as productive as it had been before the flood.
2) There are those who believe that meat can ward off evil spirits!!!
They believe that meat was necessary, not just for flavor but to repel demonic spirits who had taken possession of men and had interaction with the women (Genesis 6:2) They take this from 1 Timothy 4:1-3
1Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
3Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
4For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
Either way, the hunger for meat was now inside mankind. He was ready to eat some steaks!!!!
At the same time, fear and dread towards man was placed inside of the animals. They were delivered into the hands of man, but not for fun. Man couldn’t just walk up to them and they would lie down and wait to be slaughtered and eaten. Man was now going to have to work in order to get his meat.
Genesis Chapter 9 – The Noahic Covenant: The Specifics of the Covenant November 24, 2008
Posted by Clint Rodgers in Genesis Bible Study.Tags: Genesis, Genesis 9, Genesis Bible Study, God, God and Man, Jesus Christ, Man, the flood, The Holy Spirit, The Noahic Covenant
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Genesis 9 – The Noahic Covenant: The Specifics of the Covenant
1And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
2And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
3Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
Here in Genesis chapter nine is what is known as the Noahic covenant. There are eight total covenants in Scripture:
1. The Edenic covenant – Genesis 2
15And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
16And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
2. The Adamic covenant – Genesis 3
14And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
15And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
16Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
17And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
18Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
19In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
3. The Noahic covenant –
4. The Abrahamic covenant – Genesis 12
1Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
2And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
5. The Mosaic covenant – Exodus 20
1And God spake all these words, saying,
2I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
7Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
8Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
12Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
13Thou shalt not kill.
14Thou shalt not commit adultery.
15Thou shalt not steal.
16Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
17Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.
6. Palestinian covenant – Deuteronomy 30
1And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee,
2And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;
3That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee.
4If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:
5And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.
6And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
7And the LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.
8And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day.
9And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers:
10If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.
11For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.
12It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
13Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
14But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.
15See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;
16In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.
17But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;
18I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.
19I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
20That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
7. Davidic covenant – 2 Samuel 7
1And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest round about from all his enemies;
2That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.
3And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the LORD is with thee.
4And it came to pass that night, that the word of the LORD came unto Nathan, saying,
5Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in?
6Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.
7In all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why build ye not me an house of cedar?
8Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel:
9And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth.
10Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime,
11And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the LORD telleth thee that he will make thee an house.
12And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.
13He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.
14I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:
15But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.
16And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.
8. The New covenant – Hebrews 8
1Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
2A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
3For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.
4For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:
5Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.
6But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
7For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.
8For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
9Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
10For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
11And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
12For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
13In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.
