QT 8/11/2025 Gen 9:18–29, Standing apart in days of moral collapse

Genesis 9:18–29 (ESV) —

18 The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) 19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the people of the whole earth were dispersed.

20 Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard. 21 He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. 23 Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father’s nakedness. 24 When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said,

“Cursed be Canaan;

a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”

26 He also said,

“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem;

and let Canaan be his servant.

27 May God enlarge Japheth,

and let him dwell in the tents of Shem,

and let Canaan be his servant.”

28 After the flood Noah lived 350 years. 29 All the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.

 

NOTE: While the account may appear trivial to today's modern readers, it violated deeply held beliefs of privacy. Ham could have handled it much differently, covering up his Father and not saying anything. But he didn't, and there are hints that he may have laughed at it. Constable writes, "The general lesson of the passage is that God blesses those who behave righteously, but curses those who abandon moral restraint.'

 

Incidents related to sexual perversion or immorality form a core of man's failures in the bible. In today's culture, that weakness is exploited through advertising, clothing, and entertainment. It is difficult to avoid. When society has attempted to protect us, it usually goes to an extreme making it easy for Satan and his forces to ridicule. But even though puritanical ideas are ridiculed, we should not forget that there is good in the reasoning, and there are probably things we should be avoiding, such a MA movies or R movies where nudity is involved. That is not an easy thing in the culture we live in, but the fact that it is harder is also an opportunity to stand out in our witness by being different and choosing to avoid sin. Our language and avoidance of cuss words is the simplest of ways to look different in our witness.

 

PONDER:

1. How am I living in relationship to those around me? Do I stand apart because of my beliefs or do I appear no different than those around me?
2. There is great anger toward Christians today. Jesus said as much would happen in the end times, Luke 21:17 (ESV) — "You will be hated by all for my name’s sake." Again, do we stand apart?

 

PRAYER: Father, at least in this country, we seem to be heading toward the end. But it is not just hear, Muslims are beheading Christians when governments fail, such as in Syria. Europe has much the same attitude as US toward Christians although with fewer believers. Africa too, because of Muslims, has attacked and killed Christian as AIDS ravages the continent. I'm not sure all that is happening in the far east or South America, but it does seem like we are closing in on the end days. A few years of law, order, and sanity will only make a sinful people desire something different. The reprieve in US will not last. Help us to stand up to the gospel in these days, especially as restraint seems to be removed.