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 earth.
20 Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded 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's nakedness 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 nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father's nakedness.
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,
"Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem!
May Canaan be the slave of Shem.
27 May God extend the territory of Japheth
may Japheth live in the tents of Shem,
and may Canaan be his slave."
28 After the flood Noah lived 350 years. 29 Altogether, Noah lived 950 years, and then he died.
Now many will point to this verse and point out the evils and dangers of
drinking. I would agree with that. I personally have never seen anything good yet to
come out of a bottle of beer, wine, Jack Daniels or anything you might prefer to have.
But that is not the focus of the teaching here. The point is that somewhere along the
way, Noah got to the point where he let down. Somewhere Noah started thinking only
of himself. He decided he had had enough of the hard work and the back-breaking
labor that he had known getting ready for that ark experience. Now it was time to sit
back and enjoy life. There's nothing wrong with enjoying life, except Noah went a little
bit too far with it. This one whom Genesis 6:8 says But Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. was found by one of his sons, passed out and exposed for all the world.
This Noah-says Matthew Henry, who had kept sober in drunken company, is now drunk
in sober company. The shame and embarrassment of Noah being seen in this condition
caused him to lash out and actually curse one of his children, Ham- one who had shared
the labor of building the ark- him he condemned to slavery and servitude, and the
relationship with his family was never the same after that-all because Noah went from
trusting God to just surviving. Many scholars teach about Ham's lack of respect for his
father that caused him to be cursed, and that might well be. Shem and Japeth, Ham's
brothers-out of love and respect for their father saw to it that Noah did not remain in
that shameful condition. But it is still clear to us that for whatever failings Ham had as a
son, it was out of response to Noah's failing-at least in this instance- as a father.
Such stories are countless to recall in Scripture. David, also favored by God so
much that he was entitled "the man after God's own heart," was brought low when
David let down. He had gotten to the point where he felt he had fought enough battles
and it was time to sit back and relax. David must have thought, "After all I am fifty
years old. I've paid the price. Its time to let somebody else pay their dues- I've certainly
paid mine." That was when he peered over his balcony and saw Baathsheba. And my
friend, all of the hellish intrigues and battles that David fought up until then could not
Compare with the trouble David fell into after he had entered into adultery with her.
Again, David's problem, like Noah's problem was just in surviving, letting down in his
focus upon God and faith in God.
Letting down is a big temptation for all of us, but especially those of us who are getting older. Like a salmon swimming upstream, its takes more struggle the closer he gets to the end. It would just be so nice to sit down and coast for a while. This is when temptation does its greatest work because we feel so tired, and entitled! However, God has given us His strength and power to overcome temptation, and helps us to keep focused upon the goal. So don't let down, and receive the blessing of His assurance and strength to endure to the end.
Dear Father, help me not to get lazy or let down in the work that I do for You. Help me to understand that the closer I come to ease, the easier it is to fall into the snare of the evil one. Remind me, Lord, through the failings of others that there but by Your grace go I. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.
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