Sunday, March 14, 2021

God’s Timeline – Part 17 Noah’s Sons and Ham’s Sin

 

God’s Timeline – Part 17

Noah’s Sons and Ham’s Sin

Pastor Bruce A. Shields

House of Faith Church | www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org

Online Audio Files | HOF Church Facebook | Truth Digest Facebook

 

This Document is a Sermon Outline, you may hear the full audio of the actual sermon by following the link Online Audio Files located above for this, and other Full Sermon Audios.  For a complete list of Sermon Outlines, visit TruthDigest.org or Truth Digest on facebook; for our Official Church website, visit PS127.org, or find us on Facebook at House of Faith Church

 

SERMON INTRODUCTION

 


-         Creation Week

o   Adam, Eve, and the Fall

-         Cain and Abel

o   Evil Fills the World

-         Noah Did All God Commanded Him

o   The Flood

o   God’s Covenant with Noah

-         NOW: Noah’s Sons and Ham’s Sin

 

What we have seen thus far in the Book of Genesis 1-9 is God establishing covenant with man and revealing His character to us through the events recorded in scripture.

 

God created everything perfect and good, and sin broke that covenant with God.

 

God presented Adam and Eve an opportunity to confess, but they did not, so discipline was handed out, and a new covenant made, sacrifice.

 

We see outside the garden, Cain breaks the new covenant of sacrifice. God, again, presented Cain an opportunity to confess and repent, instead he grew angry and blamed his brother, and murdered him.

 

Discipline was once again handed out, and for the next 1,600 years man continued breaking covenant with God, to the point, discipline once again would be handed out.

 

Noah found favor with God and was chosen to restart the population. After the discipline upon the earth (the flood) God made a new covenant with Noah.

 

 

This revealing of God’s character is more important than remembering everything written here. This character of God is what will be the difference between being an Abel or a Cain.

 

Remember, Cain and Abel were brothers. They had the same parents, lived in the same area, had the same instructions, and Abel was accepted by God while Cain was not.

 

The difference between the two was they did not understand the character of God.

 

God creates a covenant with instructions and explains the benefits and blessings of obedience. The punishment for disobedience is always the same, separation from God and His blessings and benefits.

 

When you obey the covenant, you receive acceptance from God (meaning you may be with Him in His presence), as well as benefits and blessings from His Kingdom, whether temporal or spiritual.

 

When you disobey, the Lord God gives you opportunity to confess your sin (disobedience) and repent, so that you may be forgiven and returned to His Kingdom and relationship through His Grace.

 

If you do not confess and repent, then the punishment for your sin ensues, and you break covenant with God, lose relationship with Him as well as all the blessings and benefits of belonging to His Kingdom.

 

This is the Character of God. Doing everything to make a way for you to stay in relationship with Him and belong to His Kingdom.

 

However, He will not “make” or “force” you to do so.

 

Many say they “love” God, However, love, according to I Corinthians 13, is NOT a feeling or emotion rather an action that can create feelings and emotions. Feelings and emotions will NEVER create true love though.

 

Jesus says in John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments…”

 

It is that simple. May not always be easy, but it will always be that simple.

 

Today we will read about Noah’s sons and the beginning of the new nations on the earth.

 

 

SCRIPTURE READING

Genesis 9:18-28

“18 The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) 19 These were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the people who were scattered over the whole earth.

 

20 Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded[a] to plant a vineyard. 21 When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. 23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked.

 

24 When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said,

 

“Cursed be Canaan!

    The lowest of slaves

    will he be to his brothers.”

 

26 He also said,

 

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Shem!

    May Canaan be the slave of Shem.

27 May God extend Japheth’s territory;

    may Japheth live in the tents of Shem,

    and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth.”

 

28 After the flood Noah lived 350 years. 29 Noah lived a total of 950 years, and then he died.”

 

 

       I.         THE SONS OF NOAH WHO CAME OUT OF THE ARK

a.      Children listed in order of importance in the bible

                                     i.      In verse 18 we read “Shem, Ham and Japheth…” as the order of sons

 

                                  ii.      We know in scripture that the order children are listed is by importance, NOT birth order!

 

                               iii.      We see this for example in I Corinthians 1:28 where Isaac is listed before Ishmael.

 

 

                                iv.      So, verse 18 tells us that Shem is most important, and Ham is second on the list. Why? Because we are about to read about Ham’s sin, and how it affected his lineage.

 

 

b.     Nations were formed by these patriarchs

                                     i.      Noah and his wife likely did not have any other children—at least none that had children of their own, since the nations that were scattered from Babel were from Shem, Ham, and Japheth (Genesis 10:32).

 

                                  ii.      Speaking of Babel, we note that the event occurred in Noah’s lifetime, but it’s difficult to picture this righteous man who walked with God as being part of that rebellion.

 

                               iii.      So, we know that the nations were from the lineage of Shem, Ham and Japheth, therefore we can infer that Noah and his wife had no other children after the flood.

 

 

c.      Their birth order and why Shem is listed first

                                     i.      Shem is listed first, and considered the most important of the three because it is Shem that produced the godly line leading to the nation of Israel through Abraham and ultimately Jesus Christ.

 

 

 

   II.         NOAH’S SIN AND SHAME

a.      Noah was a farmer who planted a vineyard

                                  i.      Yes, I said Noah’s sin and shame

 

                               ii.      First, is drinking alcohol a sin? No.

 

1.      John 2:1-11 Jesus’ first miracle was turning water into wine, not grape juice

a.      Scriptures warn about not causing others to sin or you would be held accountable. So, would the Lord cause them to sin? No.

 

2.      Jesus drank wine with dinner, and communion

 

3.      Paul told Timothy to drink wine to calm his nerves and help digestion in 1 Timothy 5:23

4.      Scripture warns Deacons and Elders not to be takers of “much” wine, warning against drunkenness, not drinking.

 

5.      Jesus said in Matthew 11:18-19 “John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”

 

6.      So, Jesus drank wine, but he was NOT a drunk!

 

                            iii.      Drunkenness is the sin, not drinking!

1.      Paul states deacons cannot be addicted to much wine in 1 Timothy 3:8

 

2.      Also told the members of the Corinth church not to keep fellowship with a member if they are a drunkard in 1 Corinthians 5:11

 

3.      Alcohol consumption in America clearly has reached disastrous proportions. Millions of Americans use alcohol as a drug. It is used by many not to "gladden the heart" (Psalm 104), but to escape reality.

 

                          iv.      Noah’s “sin” was drunkenness, and his passing out naked in his tent along with being drunk was his shame.

 

 

b.     How sin and shame can sneak up on a godly man

                               i.      This is a perfect example of how sin can sneak up on a godly man

 

                            ii.      Noah was doing what he was supposed to, obeying God, seen as favorable among his generation, chosen by God, but not perfect

 

                         iii.      Noah let down his guard after the flood, and apparently at a celebration drank too much wine.

 

 

c.      How Noah’s sin and shame became Ham’s sin and shame

                               i.      Noah’s sin and shame would have remained between him and God if it had not been for his youngest son, Ham

 

                            ii.      We read that Ham saw his father’s nakedness, and, instead of honoring his father, helping him, being there for him in his time of need, what does Ham do?

                         iii.      He runs straight to tell his brothers outside.

 

                          iv.      Time to read between the lines and through inference, understand what is taking place here.

 

 

III.         HAMS PUNISHMENT

a.      What Ham did wrong

                                  i.      So, Ham could have covered his father’s nakedness and shown honor

 

                               ii.      However, running outside to tell his brothers implies the sight of his father’s sin and shame, pleased Ham.

 

1.      Instead of helping his father in his time of need, he gossiped, and reveled in the sin and shame his father committed.

 

2.      Even now, it is very common for those who walk in false ways and imitate a true faith to rejoice when they see others sin and shame, rather than be there as a true brother or sister in Christ to lift them up!

 

3.      But scripture tells us, Love does NOT rejoice in evil (I Corinthians 13:6)

 

                            iii.      What we can infer here is Ham ran to tell his brothers to make their father seem vile, to make fun of sin and his shame, to make public the faults of their father instead of honoring him

 

                             iv.      Shem and Japheth respond to this sin and shame appropriately and with honor and respect for their father, and his sin (which more than likely was an oversight and mistake, not a chosen lifestyle, but a mistaken stumbling)

 

1.      They responded to their fathers stumbling by entering the tent backward so as not to look upon the sin and shame, thus, not tarnishing their image of their faithful and trustworthy father who had made a mistake

 

2.      And they covered his nakedness and shame with a blanket.

 

3.      A robe of love to be thrown over the fault of all. “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins,” 1 Peter 4:7

 

4.      A robe of reverence, honor, love, respect

b.     Ham’s punishment handed down for his sin

                                  i.      When Noah woke and found Ham mocked his state, ran to tell others, and did nothing to help, he cursed him.

 

                               ii.      Canaan will be the lowest of slaves to his brothers.

 

                            iii.      And Noah blessed his other sons for acting righteously.

 

                             iv.      Praise be to the Lord, God of Shem. May Canaan be slaves to Shem, May God extend Japheth’s territory, may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be slaves to Japheth.

 

 

c.      The abominations of the Canaanites

                                  i.      Three nations will come from the Ark, Shem, Ham and Japheth

 

                               ii.      Ham becomes the Canaanites

 

                            iii.      There are abominations that the Canaanites did that God warms about in Deuteronomy 18:9, 12 as well as many other verses. They continued to turn from God, each generation.

 

                             iv.      Because of the “detestable ways of the Canaanites,” God was going to raise up a body of men and put His word in their mouths…the Levites, appointed guardians of the Law.

 

                                v.      Canaanites did things like;

1.      Make children “pass through the fire” (initiation of child to a deity/false god)

2.      Witchcraft

3.      Soothsayer (one who interprets omens)

4.      Sorcerer (spell conjurer)

5.      Medium or one who speaks to the dead

6.      One who calls up the dead

7.      The Canaanites worship in their temples to false gods became nothing more than endless orgies

 

 

CONCLUSION –

 

What happened with Ham was avoidable.

 

Ham could have behaved as a true believer, saw his father and covered him, and that would have been the end of the story. However, we still have free will, given us by God the Father, and we must “choose” to do what is right.

 

This was revealed to us in Cain.

 

The Lord God told him, “If you do what is right, you will be accepted.”

 

Ham knew what was right, but chose evil.

 

 

 

Next week we will read about the clans of Noah’s sons (Genesis 10)

 

 

 

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