
I mentioned in my last issue that I wanted to have a special issue for the rest of Genesis 9. In this issue, I will focus on the last part of Genesis 9 and walked through Noah’s drunkenness and Ham’s sin.
There are several theories as to what happened here. When we talk about Ham’s sin, I will tell you what is probably happening. One thing is for sure: the earth may have been renewed by the Flood, but wickedness is here to stay. I also have a lengthy application to this issue.
Sinful thinking and actions followed Noah and his family onto the ark and onto the renewed earth. Whether Noah and his sons learned it from the cultures and environments of the old world or they by nature are sinful, as we all are, it is just after Noah offers a sacrifice to the Lord and the Lord makes His covenant with Noah and the creatures of the earth that this event happens.
Noah’s Drunkenness
Genesis 9:18-21: Now Noah’s sons who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Ham was Canaan’s father. These three were Noah’s sons, and from them were dispersed people over all the earth. Then Noah put the land to use, and he planted a vineyard. Then he drank from the wine and became drunk and uncovered himself in his tent.
We are looking closely at Noah’s drunkenness and Ham’s sin, and we will deal with Noah’s drunkenness first. This is certainly the lesser of two evils. A survey of what the Bible says about drunkenness may be in order at the end of this issue. I will line up some verses and concepts in the application for you to check out.
There was such a good feeling at the end of Genesis 8 when Noah sacrificed a burnt offering to the Lord. Then we looked at God’s covenant with Noah and the creatures of the earth. It must not have lasted too long, for even before we get to the end of Genesis 9, we see things go south fast.
It starts with in unwise decision by Noah. I am not saying he opened the door to Ham’s sin, but as you will see in the application, drunkenness rarely produces positive results. Moses, the author, foreshadows Ham’s nature in the first verse of the section by saying he was Canaan’s father.
This means that Ham is the father or beginning of that line that leads to Canaan. In case you haven’t read the Old Testament historical books, Canaan is the place where all kinds of wickedness was happening and God sent Israel to eradicate the sinfulness. It’s almost as if Moses is saying, “The wickedness of Canaan has its origins in Ham’s nature.”
The text states that Noah’s sons are the fathers, the ones who started, the genealogical lines of all people on the earth. You can trace further back through Noah the whole way back to Adam and Eve. But in the new world, people will be traced back to Noah’s three sons. We will see more of this in the Table of Nations in Genesis 10.
I have translated literally that Noah “put the land to use.” It is a way of saying that he became a farmer, and planted a vineyard. Let me start by saying there’s nothing wrong with being a farmer or plant in a vineyard. Grapes have many uses today as back then.
As with many things in our world, the things themselves are not good or evil. It is what people do with them that makes them good or evil. I grant that some things can be considered innately evil. But in general, the Bible teaches us that the things around us are not good or evil. It is different for something created by a human for evil purposes.
Genesis 9:21 gives us a flyby of what probably did not happen all at once. It would have taken a while for Noah’s vineyard to produce grapes. After he had grapes, he would’ve had to make wine. Once again, nothing is wrong or evil that he has done so far.
You are free to disagree with me, but the Bible does not always put wine or alcohol in a bad light. There are warnings about it but the Bible does not outright condemn it every time it appears. In fact, people in the world of the New Testament could trust diluted wine better than most sources for water. You can look at the discussion in the application for some examples and my personal opinions.
Things go south on Noah gets drunk. The Bible warns about wine and alcohol but it condemns drunkenness as a sin. I learned a saying in my household when I was growing up, that nothing good happens after 2 AM. I could revise that saying to include, “Nothing good happens after drunkenness.”
That’s exactly how you should understand the following account after Noah gets drunk. He is probably unaware of what he is doing. The Bible tells us he uncovered himself in his tent. That would be fine if it did not open the door to further sin.
It is not like Noah uncovered himself and lay out in the field somewhere. He was in his own tent. Sometimes even the personal things we do cannot prevent sin from becoming a problem for others. We think it’s personal to us, but we may not even realize we’re broadcasting our sin to others.
It must be clear to us that Noah’s drunkenness and Ham’s sin are connected. If one did not happen, the other would not have happened either. We must take responsibility for our sins and not say nothing can happen to others from them.
Options for Ham’s Sin
Genesis 9:22-29: Then Ham, Canaan’s father, saw his father’s nakedness and announced it to his two brothers outside. So Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it on their two shoulders and walked backward and covered their father’s nakedness, and their faces were backward, so they didn’t see their father’s nakedness. Then Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his younger son had done to him. So he said, “Cursed be Canaan! A servant of servants he will be to his brothers.” And he said, “Blessed be Shem’s God and let Canaan be a servant to him! May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in Shem’s t tents, and let Canaan be a servant to him.” And Noah lived 350 years after the flood. So all Noah’s days were 950 years, and he died.
While we are looking at Noah’s drunkenness and Ham’s sin, we have now come to one of the most difficult passages in Genesis. Everyone wonders, “What was Ham’s sin?” I don’t do that we can determine this for certain, but I want to give you some options for what scholars believe he might have done.
Let me walk through the text first, and then we will discuss these options. Ham is once again referred to as Canaan’s father because of the sin he committed. While Noah is drunk and passed out in his tent, Ham sees his father’s nakedness and announces it to his brothers. It is strange that he announced it to his brothers. Why would he do that?
Ham’s brothers react completely differently than he did. They take a sheet, put it over their shoulders, and walk backward into the tent facing forward so they do not see their father’s nakedness. The Bible is explicit that they avoided looking on their father’s nakedness. Whatever Ham did, they had no part in it.
They acted honorably whereas Ham acted shamefully. In the next paragraph, Noah wakes up and knows exactly what Ham had done., Whatever it was, it was obvious. As a result, Noah declares a curse over Ham and his descendants. He declares that Ham will serve his brothers.
The curse is not just for the immediate family but for future generations as well. This is where we get the idea of Canaan coming from Ham’s genealogical line. After the curse, Noah blesses his eldest son and youngest son. Both brothers will experience blessing while Ham (Canaan) will be their servant.
The account concludes with a summation of Noah’s life. We know Noah was 600 years old when he and his family along with the animals exited the ark. He lives another 350 years, which is another reason the 120 years God gave to humanity concerned how long it would take before the Flood instead of the reduction of a person’s life span. Noah dies at the age of 950.
We have already dealt with Noah’s drunkenness, and now we look to options for Ham’s sin. Scholars debate exactly what sin Ham committed against his father Noah. Newer theories range from voyeurism to a homosexual act. There is even a new theory that Ham had sexual relations with his own mother.
But the Bible is not clear on what Ham did in his sin against his father. I cannot say that any of the solutions you will find in any commentary can be accurate. We only know that his father was aware of the sin when he woke up. It is most likely that Shem and Japheth informed Noah what had happened.
This is what we know for sure: Ham dishonored his father, and perhaps his mother, by looking on their nakedness, which was uncovered. Whatever he did, is dishonoring of his parents, later a commandment in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:12). This dishonoring of his parents led to a curse that went through his generations.
I must make another note about Ham and his sin. Some scholars, especially older scholarship, may try to connect Ham with Egypt (Cush). The reasons around the time of the Civil War and a little earlier were to say that Ham was of dark -colored skin.
It perpetuated the racism against black people prevalent in that time period. The Bible does not connect Ham with Egypt. It connects him with the Canaanites. The Bible does not condone racism of any kind. It may tell you of a time when there was racism but it does not allow Christians to hold such views. Let us avoid using the Bible to justify sinful attitudes in us or others.
Applying Noah’s Drunkenness and Ham’s Sin
Let’s look first at Noah’s drunkenness, and then we will consider Ham’s sin. Noah did nothing wrong in becoming a farmer, planting a vineyard, or drinking wine that he made. His sin is the drunkenness, drinking too much of the wine.
The Bible has positive images of wine, especially new wine (Genesis 27:28; Isaiah 36:17; Joel 2:24; Zechariah 9:7; Mark 2:21-22). Jesus even does a miraculous sign with wine (John 2:1-12). The problem comes in drinking too much of it.
The Bible warns us of the effects of alcohol on our bodies and minds (Proverbs 23:29-35; Luke 21:34). The New Testament makes clear that drunkenness is a sin (1 Corinthians 6:1; Galatians 5:21; Ephesians 5:18; 1 Peter 4:3; 2 Peter 2:19).
The problem with drunkenness is that you don’t know you are drunk until you are drunk. The thin line between sober and drunk is a dangerous one to play around with. Once you are drunk, it’s too late to go back. You have crossed the line.
As a minister, I personally made the choice to never even try alcohol. For me, the precedent of how the priests in the Old Testament and a couple of warnings in the Pastoral Epistles make it clear that ministers should not drink (1 Timothy 3:3; Titus 1:7). But that is my personal choice.
Every Christian needs to ask the Holy Spirit what the boundaries of their obedience to Christ may be, and how much alcohol they should be in contact with. It’s different for everyone. Your choices will be different than mine. I’m only giving myself and Noah as examples. The Bible only draws the line the principle that drunkenness is sin. Nothing good comes from drunkenness or alcoholism.
We must consider what alcohol can do to our bodies and minds and how that affects our Christian witness and those around us. Even if we don’t think we’ll be hurting anyone, the data from the years of examples tells us otherwise. Like any challenge in our Christian walk, we must consider these things. It’s important to know where we stand and what the Holy Spirit allows.
It wasn’t until Noah got drunk that things went south. Drunkenness opened the door to even worse things. People have many reasons for drinking. For some, it’s a way of escape from the reality of their lives. It may make them feel better but it can irrevocably damage the relationships and even put people in danger if they get behind the wheel of a car, for example.
We are applying Noah’s drunkenness and Ham’s sin to our lives and our walk with Jesus. I only ask that you consider what alcohol can do to you and others. For some people, they have a background in alcoholism either from their family or themselves. They must make a decision as to how much they want to be involved with it.
For others, alcohol is not a temptation or a big deal. They must also decide with the Council of the Holy Spirit how much to be involved with it. This is not just about alcohol. This is everything in our lives. We must get clarity from the Holy Spirit what He says to us according to our walk with Jesus.
We all have different weaknesses and the Holy Spirit guides us into sanctification, growing closer to Jesus and looking more like Him (Romans 8:28-30). Each of us must know what pleases the Lord in our lives and the things He is working on in us and our character. We must examine our lives and test what the Holy Spirit wants to change in us in every area of our lives.
Let me move from Noah’s drunkenness to Ham’s sin. Whatever he did, it dishonored his parents. We have clear direction from Scripture God’s expectations on many issues. Although there was a new earth renewed from the corruption of the past, sin was still part of Noah’s and Ham’s lives.
We know that because it is still part of every person’s life today. Sin, temptation, fleshly desires, and many things are all around us. Ham had to get the ideas for his sinfulness from somewhere. Even though Noah’s line was pure, it was not so pure that the sinful environment around him could not affect him.
We are not super people. We live in a world steeped in sin. We see it and it becomes a temptation to us. Ham gave into his temptation. It cost him his father’s blessing. His descendents became servants to others because of it. Even when we confess our sin and receive God’s forgiveness, there could be consequences to that sin.
We need to realize the great pains we put God through when we sin against Him. We are not slaves to sin (Romans 6:15-23). Jesus freed us from sinful desires and temptations. Any time a Christian sins, he or she chooses to be bound again by sin. We can resist! But we must have our mindset right and realize it is a choice.
We do not have to the acts of the old& in us that Christ gave Himself on the Cross to change. We have the power to resist temptation and sin. It is not easy, but it is the way of Christ. Christianity is harder than it looks. Obeying the Holy Spirit is not always our first choice or action.
We need to know our weaknesses and our boundaries. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can walk in purity and holiness. This is the challenge Jesus lays before us. Noah and Ham are examples of good people who gave in to the old ways.
They are examples to us of how Jesus can change us and we can pick a different life than what are temptations offer us. We only need to ask the Holy Spirit for help. Take the lifeline He throws you and make your escape into the better way.
The Saga Continues…
We have two more chapters of Genesis 1-11 to go through yet. I hope you are enjoying this walk through the Scriptures with me. In our next issue, we look at the table of nations and see what happens as people began to fill the earth and prosper.