Genesis 9:18–27

Genesis 9:18 — 11:9. The story of the deliverance closes here. Now we come to something very different, in many ways the opposite — the history of the delivered people. That history begins with failure. It ends with confusion — and that confusion comes from the same gracious hand that had just delivered them. It is the humbling lesson of what we are, and we now have to read it in the light of what He is.

Ham, we know, is declared to be "the little" one (Gen. 9:24) — usually translated "youngest." Chronology shows that Japheth, not Shem, was the eldest. Shem is put first in the usual formula of "Shem, Ham, and Japheth." That is not due to the order of birth, but to the spiritual purpose which gave Shem that position (Gen. 5:32; 6:10; 7:13; 9:18; 10:1). When the detailed "generations" come, though, Japheth's sons are listed first... Japheth had the honour of being firstborn. Ham is marked by his early rise to political place and natural power. But the honour Godward was kept for Shem, though he is named last.

Verse 18 gives us the names of Noah's sons — Shem, Ham and Japheth — and then the positive statement that "from these the whole earth was populated."... However obscure some races have been, they have become obscure since Noah's time. We have no clear knowledge of how they were scattered through the world — even into North and South America — but all are the descendants of Noah.

The covenant with man and the creation under him, sealed with its sign of mercy, was settled first. Then attention is drawn again to the three heads of Noah's race, "Shem and Ham, and Japheth," in the same order as before (Gen. 5:32; 6:10; 7:13). Now there is an ominous addition: "and Ham is the father of Canaan." The sad incident that follows comments on it at once, and the solemn prophecy at the end of the chapter says more still. It echoes through the whole Old Testament, and it will only be completed in that kingdom which awaits the Anointed of Jehovah, when all the earth shall be filled with His glory.

In verse 21 a notable mark is set on Eber: his forefather Shem is called, in unusual terms, "father of all the sons of Eber," though Eber came several generations later. The opposite happens with Ham, though perhaps not so strikingly. He had to bear the shame of being called "father of Canaan" (Gen. 9:18). So God calls us to notice two things. One is the man who inherited the curse and became the instrument of the enemy, trying to stop Israel from taking possession of the promised land at the right time. The other is the interest He took in making us look ahead to those who stood in the first line of the heirs of Shem's blessing.

One of Noah's three sons: he was father of Cush, Mizraim, Phut, and Canaan... We know nothing about Ham himself except his disrespectful behaviour when his father was drunk. That behaviour brought down the curse of Noah on Canaan.

"Ham" means "black," the unenlightened — or perhaps more exactly the "sun-burnt," scorched and darkened by the very light itself. Light that is not received as light becomes a source of darkness to the soul. And Ham is the father of Canaan — the "trader," as his name means.

It is not only that mankind sprang from a single pair created innocent as Adam and Eve were. A fresh start for the race began after the flood which judged the guilty mass. God preserved Noah and his three sons from destruction. From them began the conditions that continue today, and will continue for their descendants until the Son of man comes with the clouds of heaven... This time the race did not start from a single line. We have three heads with their wives — three great families to renew the history of man on earth, with the experience drawn from the world before the flood.

The last word points to what has been going on ever since... What strikes one more is how slowly it happened after the flood. Whatever moved men to hinder the plan of God, it soon became plain that mankind had settled on one united community. They would not only gather together. They would build a city and a tower with its top reaching to the heavens, and make a name for themselves, so that they would not be scattered over the face of the whole earth. This, we are assured, only brought out God's power and wisdom. He frustrated their empty purpose, and He carried out His will that they should spread over the earth. He judged their self-exalting folly by breaking the bond that held them together.

In the Bible there is no more important chapter than Genesis 10 about the way God arranged tongues, families, and nations. Here alone we find the rise of the different races, with their sources. Who else could have told us how and when this division of the earth happened?... Everyone who has studied it agrees, as far as I know, that there are three, and only three, divisions into which the nations branch... Men worth listening to are all convinced that these three grand lines are just as surely from one origin as they are distinct. That there was only one such root is the statement of the Scriptures.

In Noah's sons we have the heads of the three great divisions of the human race. Their characteristics have developed so differently today that unbelievers dare to deny their common blood (Acts 17:26).

The result of this history is that the world is set out by families. The fashion of this world has blotted out the memory and the sense of this, but not the power. It is rooted in the judgment of God. When the acquired strength of this world grows weak, it will show more and more, as it is at work even now. The fountain heads were three, first named in this order: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Shem's was the family in which God would establish His covenant on earth, and with which He would be in relationship. Ham was hostile to God's family. Last came the Gentile Japheth, though he was the eldest and proudest.

Now there is an ominous addition: "and Ham is the father of Canaan." The sad incident that follows comments on it quickly, and the solemn prophecy that closes the chapter says still more. That word echoes through the whole Old Testament. It will be finished only in that kingdom which awaits the Anointed of Jehovah, when all the earth shall be filled with His glory.

Noah failed to govern himself by his misuse of God's creature, and gave occasion for such sin in his family that a special curse came in there... It is the sad and familiar story of the first man; as soon as he is put to the test, he breaks down. Nor does the evil stop with himself... But God is not mocked. His moral government fails no more than His grace does. And His grace answers every failure of man with something better out of His goodness and wisdom.

Noah sits in the new world — gifted and blessed, enriched and honoured, taught too, and appointed as "the power" under God. With all this he is at ease, and knows he is safe, with no evil or enemy present. A new trial of man was going on, under new circumstances. As with Adam in Eden, God leaves nothing undone on His part... And Noah, like the rest, fails. The very first foot that trod the fresh soil of the new world quickly stained it.

We may note, in passing, that Noah failed in this covenant, as man always has. Instead of drawing blessings out of the earth by working the soil, he starts to grow the vine, and gets drunk. Through this forgetfulness and fault of his, the true principle of government also lost its force at the very start. Noah held the reins of that government, and one of his sons mocked him.

Noah followed in the way of Cain and turned his attention to the ground, and serious failure followed. And so it is in Christian experience. As soon as we follow Cain's way and become occupied with the earth, Satan traps us in one of his snares.

Noah's work as a farmer was of course commendable, but people can misuse anything and bring trouble. This man had received the dignity of authority in government. Yet he allowed himself too much wine, became drunk, and lay uncovered in his tent. This illustrates the weakness of human government from its very beginning. Why is human government doomed to fail? Because those in authority fail to exercise self-government. If a man does not rule himself well, how can anyone trust him to rule others?

God entrusted government over life and death to his keeping. And the man who first received that trust was by far the best fitted for it, in godliness and in experience. Yet look at the very next thing recorded of him. No doubt through self-indulgence and a lack of watchfulness, he not only sinned himself, but brought God's ordinance of government into open dishonour.

This, truly, was a high position — a place of immense power, privilege, and responsibility. How does Noah carry himself in it? He gets drunk, and degrades himself in front of his sons! Such is the plain, obvious fact. Men may reason as they will. They try to smooth it, soften it, and pare it down. They always do that when a great truth bears down on human pride and self-congratulation. But they cannot set aside the humbling fact that the head of the restored earth got drunk.

Although Noah lived 350 years after he began to be a farmer, his name is never mentioned again... Men did not take notice of him that he had been with the Lord. Satan had won the victory over "the preacher of righteousness." This episode comes home with living power to every Christian, the oldest as well as the youngest. We do well to be watchful. "Let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall." (1 Cor. 10:12).

Human government is now set up. It shows its weakness, not in the authority given to it, but in the feeble hands that received it. Noah fails to govern himself. So he becomes a picture of the failure of all government. Yet he is also a hint that One is coming who will reign in righteousness and bring blessing through His reign.

Several Hebrew words are translated wine. Scripture attaches various words to it — "sweet," "new," "strong," "good," "mixed," "spiced," "on the lees" — yet all are wine. And the wine was intoxicating, as we already see in the days of Noah. Drinking to excess is the abuse of it, and Scripture is full of protests and warnings against such abuse.

Man fails with government as well as without it — not the governed only, but the governor. Noah, that is, man, proves completely unable to wield the sword in righteousness before God. Whoever governs must first know how to rule himself. But Noah got drunk. And so another point comes out: man must have a ruler, and he clearly cannot be his own master. Part of God's purpose is to show this — to show the absolute need for the Man of His right hand to come and rule the earth.

This new trial had barely begun when man broke down. He failed at the very point he was responsible to keep intact before God and his fellow men. God had entrusted government over life and death to his keeping. The man who first received that trust was by far the best suited to it, in piety and in experience. Yet the next fact recorded of him is that, no doubt through self-indulgence and lack of watchfulness, he not only sinned himself, but brought God's ordinance of government into open dishonour. And the sin and the dishonour produced no godly sorrow in his own household, but contempt.

Noah sits in the new world, endowed and blessed, enriched and honoured. He is instructed too, and appointed as "the power" under God. With all this he is at ease and knows he is safe, with no evil or enemy in sight. A new trial of man was going forward, under new circumstances. As with Adam in Eden, God leaves nothing undone on His part... In Christ, and in Him only, are unfailing faithfulness and strength. And Noah, like the rest, fails. The very first foot that trod the fresh soil of the new world stained it.

What a condition to find Noah in — the only righteous man, the preacher of righteousness! What is man? Look at him where you will, and you see only failure. In Eden he fails. On the restored earth he fails. In Canaan he fails. In the Church he fails. In the presence of millennial blessing and glory he fails.

We must look at Noah in two ways: as a picture, and as a man. The picture is full of beauty and meaning, but the man is full of sin and folly... Divine grace had covered all his sins, and clothed him with a spotless robe of righteousness. Though Noah exposed his nakedness, God did not see it. He looked at Noah not in the weakness of his own condition, but in the full power of divine and everlasting righteousness.

Noah had all this high favour and special experience. Yet as soon as he was left to his own will, he became a slave to lust under Satan's influence. Noah followed in the way of Cain and turned his attention to the ground, and grievous failure followed. So it is in Christian experience. As soon as we become occupied with the earth, Satan traps us in one of his snares. Although Noah lived 350 years after he became a farmer, his name is never mentioned again. He was alive through the whole godless period that ended with the building of the Tower of Babel. Yet his presence did not restrain his descendants... "Let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall."

The last part of this chapter shows a humiliating scene. The lord of creation fails to govern himself... What a condition for Noah, the only righteous man, the preacher of righteousness, to be found in. What is man? Look at him wherever you like, and you see only failure. In Eden, he fails; in the restored earth, he fails; in Canaan, he fails; in the Church, he fails.

Noah's sin brought God's ordinance of government into open dishonour. In his own household it produced no godly sorrow, but contempt. His younger son Ham had no feeling for God's glory, and none for what he owed his father, even in such a disastrous moment. All he showed was the wickedness of his own heart: he mocked Noah without pity, and he was eager to spread his father's shame and to trap his two brothers. Their reverence was as plain as Ham's lack of it. He forgot to whom he owed his life, and his rescue from the flood.

Noah is put to shame; but Ham, his son, glories in the shame. That was a terrible advance in the progress of evil... This was not simply being "caught in any transgression," but "rejoicing at wrongdoing."

Disrespect toward authority is a very grave sin, whether it is a parent's authority or a government's, because God set up both. In the end it leads to setting aside the authority of God, who set it up. Only when we weigh this properly do we see how right Noah's solemn curse was, once he learned what had happened.

This is the evil of despising government, which has become very common in the day in which we live (Jude 8). Though governments often fail badly, this gives us no right to reject or disobey proper authority (Romans 13:1-7).

Divine grace had covered all his sins, and clothed him in a spotless robe of righteousness. Noah exposed his nakedness, but God did not see it. He looked at him not in the weakness of his own condition, but in the full power of divine and everlasting righteousness. So we can see how far astray Ham was in what he did, how totally cut off from God and His thoughts. He knew nothing of the blessedness of the man whose iniquity is forgiven and whose sin is covered. Shem and Japheth, by contrast, show in their conduct a fine example of God's own way of dealing with human nakedness.

Love is far from being indifferent to sin. But love does not have to expose sins, or gloat over the failure of others. If possible, love will deal with sins privately, so that they do not needlessly become public. When they are dealt with and judged, love will no longer speak of them or spread them abroad.

The wicked and scornful son reaped the fruit of his evil in his own son Canaan, just as God remembered the reverent modesty of Shem and Japheth in their descendants. Salvation is by grace, and it cannot fail, because it is the work of God in Christ, where God secures everything for His glory. Even where salvation may not be, God puts honour on obedience and on respect paid where it is due.

His younger son Ham cared nothing for God's glory, and nothing for what he owed his father, even in such terrible circumstances. He only showed the wickedness of his own heart. He made unfeeling fun of Noah, and was eager to spread his father's shame and trap his two brothers. Their reverence was as plain as Ham's contempt for God, and Ham forgot the one to whom he owed his life as well as his rescue from the flood.

Shem and Japheth showed Noah the respect he was due, both as their father and as the ruler in the new conditions. Ham did not. Disrespect toward authority is a very serious sin, whether it is a parent's authority or a government's. God set up both at the start. In the end it leads to setting aside the authority of God, who set it up.

The two brothers did a work of love. The graceless hardness of their own close relative stirred them to it all the more. Yet what sorrow must have filled their hearts. Their godliness forced them to turn their backs on the one they had always looked up to. And they had looked up to him rightly, with steady affection, honour, and gratitude.

Divine grace had covered all his sins, and clothed him with a spotless robe of righteousness. Noah exposed his nakedness, but God did not see it. He did not look at Noah in the weakness of his own condition. He looked at him in the full power of divine and everlasting righteousness. So we can see how far astray Ham was in the course he took, and how completely cut off from God and His thoughts. He knew nothing of the blessedness of the man whose wrongdoing is forgiven and whose sin is covered. Shem and Japheth, by contrast, show in their conduct a fine example of God's way of dealing with human nakedness. So they inherit a blessing, while Ham inherits a curse.

The same principle holds true for a parent's authority and for a government's authority. Proper respect will seek to cover failure, not expose it. But we must stress this: it applies to cases of failure, not to cases of wicked abuse of authority.

Love is far from being indifferent to sin; but love does not necessarily expose sins, or gloat over the failure of others. If possible, love will deal with sins privately, so that they do not needlessly become public. When they are dealt with and judged, love will no longer speak of them or spread them abroad.

The wicked and scornful son reaped the fruit of his evil in his own child Canaan. The reverent modesty of Shem and Japheth was remembered in their descendants. Salvation is by grace, and it cannot fail, because it is the work of God in Christ. Even where salvation may not be in view, God puts honour on obedience and on respect paid where it is due.

God gave this man the dignity of authority in government. Yet he allowed himself too much wine and became drunk, and in that state he lay uncovered in his tent. This shows the weakness of human government from its very beginning. Why is human government doomed to fail? Because those in authority fail to govern themselves. If a man does not rule himself well, how can he be trusted to rule others?

His younger son Ham had no feeling for God's glory, and none for what he owed his father, even in such terrible circumstances. He only showed the wickedness of his own heart. He mocked Noah without pity, and he was eager to spread his father's shame and trap his two brothers. Their reverence was as plain as Ham's contempt for God. He forgot to whom he owed his life and his rescue from the flood.

Ham, we know, is declared to be "the little" one (Gen. 9:24) — usually translated "youngest". And the dates show that not Shem but Japheth was the eldest… Shem is named first in the usual formula of "Shem, Ham, and Japheth." That first place is not due to the order of birth, but to the spiritual purpose which gave Shem that position.

In Genesis, as here, the order is Shem, Ham and Japheth. We cannot assume this to be the order of birth. In Gen. 10:21, where Shem and Japheth are mentioned, Japheth is called the elder. And some ask whether "younger son" in Gen. 9:24 refers to Ham or to his son Canaan.

Disrespect of authority — whether a parent's or a government's — is a very grave sin, because God set up both. In the end it leads to setting aside the authority of God, who established it… When we come, in verses 25-27, to the curse that came from Noah's lips, we find it fell on Canaan with no mention of Ham. We think this shows two things. First, Noah's sad lapse happened some time after the flood. Enough years had passed for Canaan to have been born and become active. Second, Canaan was involved with his father in the matter, and the weight of the curse fell on him rather than on his father.

Either way it was mercy to keep the curse Ham had surely earned within the narrowest limits, instead of spreading it over all his descendants. In judgment as in grace God is always wise.

The wicked and scornful son reaped the fruit of his evil in his own offspring Canaan. In the same way, God remembered the reverent modesty of Shem and Japheth in their descendants… Even where salvation may not be, God puts honour on obedience and on respect paid where it is due.

And the saint himself is soon restored. Noah awakens from his wine. The man who was overtaken recovers himself, through the Spirit. And the grace of God gives him a great triumph. It is a very precious and glorious triumph indeed, for the restored one judges his judge, and condemns his accuser.

The end of this chapter shows that the man who first held human government could not govern himself. It is the old familiar story — man tried and found wanting, as always... The sin began with utter disrespect to a father... A man who despises the one he is bound to honour must come to shame and disgrace. He must be not just a servant but "a servant of servants." The highest pride always has the deepest fall.

When God governs the world, He does not confine Himself to the one person or generation involved in the offence... It was mercy not to punish Ham in all his descendants, but in Canaan. God is sovereign in judgment as in mercy, and altogether righteous. Canaan may well have played a part with Ham in the heartless insult and dishonour done to Noah... It was mercy not to draw everyone into God's avenging of the wrong, but to keep it within the smallest bounds.

It may seem strange that Noah did not curse Ham himself, since it was Ham who failed to respect his father. But no doubt it was God who, in His government, led Noah... to visit Ham's conduct on his son. God had already blessed Ham along with Noah and had made a covenant with him — how then could He lead Noah to curse him?... Besides, we do not find that all Ham's sons became the servants of Shem; the curse fell upon Canaan only. It was Nimrod, Ham's descendant, who founded the great kingdoms of the East, and we never read of those kingdoms paying tribute to Israel as Canaan did.

We must also remember that Noah spoke these words as a prophet. The later history of Canaan and his descendants fully justified his solemn words. The next chapter gives us the sons of Canaan. From them came the nations that lived east of the Mediterranean and just north of Egypt. That is how the region became known as the land of Canaan. Centuries later these nations were so vile in their gross sin that God ordered their destruction.

No doubt an evident curse... fell on Canaan when fire out of heaven destroyed the guilty cities of the Plain for their enormous wickedness... Yet Scripture is plain that neither the curse nor the blessing is complete until Israel returns to the land under Messiah and the new covenant. Israel will be rooted there and blessed as long as the earth endures. "And in that day there shall be no more a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts."

This is no doubt prophecy. Even so, it does not give anyone the right to make slaves of others. God authorises no one to put Canaan's descendants under servitude. But Ham did not submit to authority as he should have. So his descendants would learn by experience what obedience to authority means... Canaan's line is not the only one under a curse. All mankind is under one: failing to keep on obeying everything the law commands (Galatians 3:10). Therefore, let us not think we are better than Ham.

She was not only a Gentile but from a race under a special curse. So she drops a claim of kinship that the most wretched person in Israel could make, but that was worthless for her. She bowed and said, "Lord, help me."... The truth fully burst on her, and she submitted to it. Her faith, already real, threw off its hindrance and became great. She gives up all claim, for she had none. She confesses sovereign grace, and receives the blessing at once.

The moral point at the end of chapter 9 is this: Noah abuses the blessing given to him, and so destroys all his fitness to govern. Noah gets drunk: this is not exercising authority. Then comes the wickedness of Ham; and then "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant."

But Shem was blessed, or rather, the Lord God of Shem was blessed (v. 26). Of course we know that Israel came from Shem.

Then God begins the world again, so to speak (Genesis 9). But the moment relationship is in question (v. 26), we have Jehovah the God of Shem.

The reader may note how fitting it is that Genesis 9:26 says "Jehovah the God of Shem," while Genesis 9:27 says only "God" for Japheth. There the meaning is enlargement in providence, not the promised blessing of a special relationship with Himself.

Shem, meaning "name," becomes the family in which Jehovah, the Name, is to be revealed. Jehovah is the God of Shem. Soon we will see a son of Shem, Abram. His descendants become the keepers of Jehovah's revelation… He does not call Himself "the God of Japheth" but "the God of Shem." This shows Shem's supremacy. It is a far-reaching prophecy.

"Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant." Abraham, Isaac and Jacob came from Shem's line, and God was not ashamed to be called their God. He brought them into covenant relationship with Himself. He will yet fulfil for their children all the promises He made to the fathers.

Noah's prophecy gave the blessing to Shem. More exactly, the word was "Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Shem." So it has been. So faith knows now. And so it will be completely fulfilled, when Christ makes the truth undeniable in glorious results to every eye. This is not God's design either by the gospel or in the church. God keeps it for the age to come.

The wicked and scornful son reaped the fruit of his evil in his own offspring Canaan. God remembered the reverent modesty of Shem and Japheth in their descendants… Even where salvation may not be present, God puts honour on obedience and on respect paid where it is due.

Noah prophesied about him. He is not brought into relationship with God here, as Shem is. The prophecy foretells enlargement on the earth, and this has clearly come true.

All history, even in the past, shows God enlarging Japheth, the great coloniser of the earth. Here he stands in the sharpest contrast with Shem. Japheth was not only to spread as a nation, as Shem never did. He was also to dwell in Shem's tents. Europe and the north-east of the old world were not enough. Neither was the new world of America, Australia, and so on. He must also push into Shem's tents in the east. This earliest oracle said so, and so it has happened to the letter, beyond anything human foresight could have expected.

Notice how fitting it is that Genesis 9:26 says "Jehovah the God of Shem," while Genesis 9:27 says only "God" for Japheth. Japheth's verse means enlargement in providence, not the promised blessing of a special relationship with Him. This gives a reason from the text itself, on top of the grammatical one, against an idea many have taken up: that the verse means God dwelling in Shem's tents rather than Japheth. If the Spirit of God meant that through Noah, would He not have said Jehovah Elohim, rather than simply Elohim?

In verse 27 the "he" is Japheth, who "shall dwell in the tents of Shem," and Canaan shall be Japheth's servant as well as Shem's.

Have they not also dwelt in the tents of Shem? Not as mere conquerors, but perhaps, among other ways, as sharers in the blessing pictured so well by Israel's "own olive tree." In time this is where the adoption would be, and the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service, and the promises. And here were not the fathers only, but the Son, the Messiah, whose personal dignity goes far beyond anything Israel has yet owned — to their own deep loss so far.

All the European nations come from Japheth. They have spread out to the ends of the earth, and they have entered into the favour that belonged to Israel. Israel, for the time being, has been cut out of that favour because of unbelief, as Romans 11 shows.

In their two blessings, Shem and Japheth give us two tendencies that often get split apart and should not be. Shem's is the receptive, contemplative life, and its danger is to drift into the mystical. Japheth's is the energetic, practical life, which, when it stands alone, tends to cut itself off from faith… Japheth's blessing is enlargement and dwelling in the tents of Shem. The practical life finds its true home in faith alone, and true service is only worship flowing out among men.

Japheth would enlarge and dwell in the tents of Shem. Two thousand years passed before the first signs of it appeared. Then Alexander, from Europe (Japheth's home), invaded the countries of Asia… Diplomats may plot and politicians may argue about it. They can no more stop it than they can stop the sunset. Four thousand years ago an old man said it would be, and it must be.