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Genesis 9.18-10 | Better with the Little

INTRODUCTION (18-19) At the end of chapter 9 we find one of the strangest stories in all of Genesis. It serves as a reminder for us all that one of the greatest evidences of the genuineness of God’s Word is the realness in which the characters are portrayed. Within a few chapters, the last “righteous” man on earth proves that, as one commentator put it, anyone can sin and everyone does. Moses could have done a much better job of hiding the imperfections of his people’s ancient heroes. But the Bible is God’s story, told by God, about God, and for God. There is no effort, therefore, to excuse the sins of men because their failures are the very things that offer the best backdrop for the riches of God’s grace.

The second greatest evidence of the genuineness of God’s Word, is its national genealogies. The table of nations found here in Genesis 10, along with the genealogies found in chapter 11, exists as one of the only and most accurate records of prehistory and the expansions of people across the world. 8 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. The narrative of Genesis is real history, unfolding in real time, in real places, through real people and events. [MAP] From Noah’s family came all of the people of the earth.

But we have more than depravity or history to learn from these passages. Together, the story at the end of chapter 9 and the table of nations in chapter 10, reveals three different categories of people in the human race: the cursed, the blessed, and the invited.

THE SECOND FALL (20-28) Just as Genesis 8 gave a picture of a 2nd creation of sorts, so Genesis 9 gives us a picture of a 2nd fall. When Noah exited the ark, and entered a newly re-created world, God made a covenant with creation and with all of mankind. God’s covenant with Noah did not require man to do anything, it was one that called them to believe what God would do everything. God’s promise to save did not depend on man’s ability to behave. Immediately after the covenant, we see why God made such a promise—men were still just as sinful and rebellious.

The timeline is uncertain, but we know that his sons have had time to give birth to at least a few children and build families. But within that brief time, men revealed their hearts. Having retired from a career in boat-building, in his retirement Noah takes up the art of viniculture and winemaking. He plants a vineyard, drinks wine, gets drunk, and passes out naked in his tent. A man who walked in and preached about righteousness for upwards of 600 years sin—a spiritual giant falls and does so in a way that reveal man’s relationship with creation is still broken, as was their relationship with one another.

Noah’s sin opens the door to sin in his family. Ham, Noah’s youngest son discovers his father naked. He then went and told his brothers. At this point, it is unclear exactly what he did. We can infer that whatever he did, it was not good and it contrasted with what his brothers’ who were careful to not see but in fact cover their father’s shame. Ham uncovered his nakedness in the sense that he somehow further humiliated his father and glorified his shame. We can only guess why Ham would have done this. Perhaps he was just immature or perhaps he wanted to knock supposed “righteous leader” down a few pegs. The circumstance offered opportunity to reveal what was already in Ham’s heart. Likewise, the sin of our hearts is revealed by how we react to sin of others, especially those in leadership. 2

Curse of Cain | a people who are enslaved It is not difficult to see this as a replay of Adam and Eve, who were ashamed of their own nakedness. Even though they felt fearful and ashamed, God did not shame them. Noah, on the other hand, awakes and discovers what Ham has done. He then proceeds to curse Ham’s son Canaan. By making a prophecy about Ham’s son, Noah is declaring that sin will increase in Ham’s family. Noah’s curse is a prophetic description of future sin, not its cause. Essentially, sin would impact generations and Ham’s family would be characterized by SLAVERY.

The curse of Canaan is important in that it sets up our reading of the TABLE OF NATIONS in Genesis 10. We learn the genealogical history of nations that descend from Ham in verses 6-20. Ham sons were the ancestors of the greatest enemies of God’s people in the near east, including the Egyptians, Canaanites, and Babylonians. This record would have great meaning for the people of Israel as Moses led them out of Egpyt. From Canaan came all the different people that populated the land God promised to Israel. God told Moses he would take them to “a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. (Ex.3). When Joshua led the conquest of the Promised Land, most of the descendants of Canaan would be killed and/or enslaved.

But, in the eyes of the world, the cursed descendants of Canaan appeared to be blessed. 8 Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD. Therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.” 10 The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 From that land he went into Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, and 12 Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city. Canaan’s grandson Nimrod built the first kingdom that grew into an Empire. Nimrod was a mighty man and a mighty hunter before the Lord—more like arrogantly in the face of the Lord, making a name for himself for the Lord to see. Far from being approved by God, Nimrod is the first ruler of sorts endeavors to bring man and animal under his power. He is CURSED, but he is healthy, wealthy, successful, and powerful.

According to the historical record, the cursing of Ham looks more like a blessing. In truth, it is slavery to emptiness without hope. The curse of Ham’s apparent “blessing” is that they will always be devoted to building their own kingdoms, even enslaved to it. All they have to hope in is, themselves. They will always be competing with someone else’s kingdom and always at risk of losing theirs. Ham’s “blessing” will come from whatever he can scrap together in the world for there is nothing beyond it. All security, all success, and all satisfaction which comes from this world is meaningless because it is all passing away. For whatever your kingdom on, if it is not God, it can be taken away by time, change, or death.

Blessing of Shem’s God | a person who is blessed Unlike Canaan, Noah blesses Shem. 21 To Shem also, the father of all the children of , the elder brother of Japheth, children were born. Shem is “father of all the children of a man named “Eber” (Heber in Greek), where the word Hebrew is derived from. In 93 AD, Josephus wrote that the were called after Eber (Antiquities of the Jews I, 6:4). Shem is the ancestor of the Hebrew people. We can imagine Israel hearing this read, especially as they walk out of the wilderness and enter the land of the Canaanites full of great cities and battle hardened armies. God said these people would fall.

Even though they might find confidence in the prophecy about Canaanites becoming their servants one day, the blessing is where they should find it. Noah doesn’t bless Shem directly. Noah blesses the Lord, the God of Shem. The prophetic blessing is actually a declaration that the Lord is Shem’s God. The power of the blessing of Shem comes from Shem being in relationship with God. 3

Historically, however, Ham has the better , the better land, the better everything. Ham has a big kingdom, even an empire, and Shem has a little one. And when our kingdom is small, and the kingdoms of the “cursed” are big, we can begin to question whether we are really the blessed people. It is tempting to believe the absence of greatness in this world, or the presence of great suffering, is a sign that God has not fulfilled his promise. But God never promised greatness in our kingdoms on earth—he promised to make HIS kingdom great to seek it first and hope in that which we cannot see but will one day. 2Corinthians 4.16-18 16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

But we must never forget, even though Ham may have Kingdom, Shem has an inheritance. Even though Ham’s people are great right now, God’s people are promised a greater greatness. This will not be realized in Shem, but in ONE of Shem’s descendants—Jesus. The genealogy of Luke 3 reveals that, one of Shem’s descendants was Joseph. And even though Jesus was really his “adopted” Father, He was an adopted heir. The blessing would truly come through Jesus.

The invitation to Japheth | those who take refuge In the beginning, I said that the story at the end of chapter 9 and the table of nations in chapter 10, reveals three different categories of people in the human race: the cursed, the blessed, and the invited. Who are we in the story? Cursed? Blessed? ….we’re the INVITED.

The cursed are those who, like Canaan, are enslaved to sin. Hostile toward God, and in love with the world, unbelievers journey through life seeking heart-level satisfaction and never finding it. They go from savior to savior hoping to avoid whatever hell they’ve created in their minds—no love, no security, no respect. They have no hope beyond this world, so they live in fear of not finding meaning, or losing whatever meaning they have found. In truth, apart from Christ we are descendants of Canaan. Even if you have earthly prosperity, you have no eternal inheritance.

The blessed people are the Jewish people of God, chosen and loved by God. It is through the Hebrew people that God promised to bless the world. God made his covenant with a people. Deuteronomy 7.6- 11 6 “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, 10 and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. 11 You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today. And God would keep his covenant with Noah, Shem, , Issac, Jacob, and David until it was fully realized in His Son.

Then there are the invited like Japheth who would experience blessing through Shem. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God’s invitation for relationship would be opened up the Gentile world. They would be invited to become partakers of the same promise that came through one people. 4

Today, we too experience the blessing of being loved by God through coming under Shem—which in Hebrew means “name”. Our blessing comes from our relationship with THE NAME about all names-- Jesus Christ, the greater Shem.

There is only one descendent who fully experienced the blessing. There is only one descendent of Shem obeyed God’s Word perfectly. There is only one who son of Shem who enjoyed perfect relationship with the Father. There is only one name to which every knee will bow. There is only one name given under heaven through which men will be saved through which we can have relationship with God. We experience that relationship through taking refuge in the tents of the “name”—Jesus.

Conclusion | Better is the little Those who seek after the world get everything great the world has to offer. But they miss out on true greatness. Even if the unbelieving Canaanite has the better lot and the bigger land, they do not have the better inheritance. 16Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked. 17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous. In Christ, we are invited to experience blessing ike Japheth. That blessing is not experienced by working to make our tents large, but by making them little so as to fit inside of His.

In Christ, we find ourselves content with lower, little, and with less—because Jesus became lower, little, and less to enter into ours. And now, in Christ through His Kingdom, we are taken higher, made bigger, and given more than we could imagine. The Kingdom of God is not for those who are big and mighty, but those humble enough to admit that they are little and weak. Jesus pleads with you to stop working to obtain a blessing or build your own kingdom which will never last; receive his invitation and take refuge in His which lasts for all eternity.

Psalm 16 1 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take 7 I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; refuge. in the night also my heart instructs me. 2 I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; 8 I have set the LORD always before me; I have no good apart from you.” because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole in whom is all my delight. being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. 4 The sorrows of those who run after another god 10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, shall multiply; or let your holy one see corruption. their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out 11 You make known to me the path of life; or take their names on my lips. in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures 5 The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; forevermore. you hold my lot. 6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.