A Lamp Unto My Feet Bible Study Website
GENESIS 9:20-29 AND 10:1-32
Lesson #21
RACIAL CONSEQUENCES
- Memory verse: Ephesians 5:18
A Parallel Likeness of the History of Adam and that of Noah
Adam |
Noah |
| He was put on an earth that came up out of the deep thAdat had been dealt with by God in judgment
Gen 1:1-2,12 |
He stepped out onto an earth
That emerged from the waters of Judgment Gen 6:12,13 |
| am was given authority over creation. Gen 1:28 | God delivered all things into Noah’s hands. Gen 9:2 |
| He was told to be fruitful, multiply and to subdue the earth. Gen 1:28 | He was told to be fruitful, multiply, and to replenish the earth, Gen 9:1 |
| Adam was given the job to dress and keep the garden. Gen 2:15 | Noah began to be a husbandman
planting a vineyard. Gen 9:20 |
| In the garden, Adam sinned and fell from grace. Gen 3 | In the vineyard, Noah sinned
Gen 9:21 |
| His sin resulted in the exposure of his nakedness. Gen 3:7 | His sin resulted in nakedness
Gen 9:21 |
| His nakedness was covered by God. Gen 3:21 | His nakedness was covered by
his son. Gen 9:23 |
| Adam’s sin brought a curse on all subsequent generations of man.
Rom 5:12 |
Noah’s sin brought a curse
upon subsequent descendants. Gen 9:25 |
| Adam had 3 sons, the last of which (Seth) brought forth the Messiah, Jesus Christ | Noah had 3 sons, the last of
Which (Shem) brought forth the Messiah, Jesus Christ |
| After the sin, a prophecy was given outlining the history of redemption. Gen 3:15 | After the sin, a prophecy was given outlining the history of the races of the earth. Gen 9:25-27 |
- Read Gen 9:20-23 Noah’s sin
- Why is this passage included here?
- A basic spiritual principle:
- As soon as God gives instruction, a test follows.
- God gave Noah a covenant which included the principle of self-government.
- The test was one of self-government.
- Would Noah remain in control of himself? Obviously not.
- Why does God do this when He knows man will fail?
- God knows man will fail, but man must discover for himself that he can’t possibly live up to God’s standards no matter what.
- The obvious continuous failures are only to point man to Christ: Man is in need of a Savior, a mediator to bridge the gap between man’s failure and God’s standards.
- What was Noah’s sin? A failure to govern himself:
- His sin manifested itself in drunkenness and nakedness.
- Remember that nakedness was not a sin prior to the fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden, but it is a sin after the fall when God covered Adam with animal skins.
- The Hebrew word “uncovered” (9:21), here in reference to Noah, indicates a deliberate act and not just an unconscious effect of being drunk.
- Implied is therefore some kind of sexual immorality.
- This is the first Biblical mention of wine and drunkenness. (Pro 20:1)
- God’s view of drinking alcohol:
- Some scriptures indicate the use of alcohol without condemning it, while other scriptures condemn it. (Jdg 9:13 Jdg 19:19 Psa 104:15 Pro 31:6 Ecc 10:19 Eph 5:18 1Tim 5:23 Deu 29:19 Ecc 10:17 1Cor 11:21-22 Gal 5:21)
- What should be the Christian’s attitude toward alcohol?
- It is drunkenness that is forbidden, not the use of alcohol. Why? Because drunkenness is an abuse to the body which is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
- It is drunkenness that cancels one’s reasoning powers and social inhibitions.
- It is drunkenness that opens the door to other sins and excesses.
- Drunkenness presents a poor witness to non-believers of a godly life controlled by God.
- What guidelines should a Christian use to determine whether to drink alcohol or not?
- We can base our decisions on principles from 1Cor 8, 9, 10:
- If your action might hinder another Christian’s relationship to God, don’t do it. (1Cor 8:13)
- If your action might hinder the work of Christ, don’t do it. (1Cor 9:12)
- If your action might hinder your own relationship to God, don’t do it. (1Cor 10:12-13)
- If your action identifies you with the world system, don’t provoke Christ to jealousy by doing it. (1Cor 10:21-22)
- If your action does not lift up and glorify God, don’t do it. (1Cor 10:23,31)
- Remember that no person ever starts out with the desire to be an alcoholic or a drunkard!
- What was Ham’s sin?
- Disrespect for authority.
- Remember this is an age of law when God ordained social government. Respect for authority is essential to government, otherwise you have anarchy.
- Read Gen 9:24-29 The prophecy of Noah and its far-reaching consequences
- The prophecy to Ham and his son Canaan (25)
- Ham’s name means “black”
- Another spiritual principle:
- Sometimes the consequences of sin are passed down in families through generations to come. (Exo 20:5)
- Examples:
- We live in the consequences of Adam’s sin today.
- The Middle East struggle over Israel is a consequence of Abraham’s sin with Hagar.
- Canaan, Ham’s son:
- Ham sinned as a son and was punished in his son, Canaan (Kanan).
- Remember that Noah’s wife came from the ungodly line of Cain.
- The prophecy indicates, therefore, that the descendants of Ham bear the roots of the ungodly line and start it all over again after the manner of Cain who killed his brother, Abel.
- The Canaanites were the ungodly people in the land of Canaan when the Israelites crossed the Jordan River to take possession of the Promised Land.
- “a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren” (25)
- An important principle:
- Sin brings bondage (spiritual and physical) (2Pet 2:19)
- The people descended from Ham will be servants (slaves) to the descendants of Shem and Japeth. It implies the lowest drudgery or slavery.
- The fulfillment:
- Nimrod came from the line of Ham. He founded the kingdom of Babylon which became subject to the Persians and then the Greeks and Romans.
- Mizraim, another of Ham’s children, known as the father of the Egyptians, became subject to the Persians, Greeks, and Romans.
- All of Africa was peopled by descendants of Ham who were subject to the Romans, the Saracens, and the Turks, and later as slaves to Europeans and Americans.
- Keep in mind this was not God’s perfect will but the curse of sin. In 19th century slavery, this scripture in Genesis was erroneously used to justify slavery as God’s will.
- A prophecy is the will of God along with the foreknowledge of God coupled with the consequences of sin.
- The prophecy to Shem (9:26)
- Shem’s name means = renoun.
- “blessed be the Lord God of Shem” (9:26)
- This refers to spiritual privileges.
- Notice the name of God used here is the name “Jehovah Elohim“, the covenant making creator God.
- God will continue making covenants and having a covenant relationship with the descendants of Shem, the Jews. (Gen 10:21)
- Knowledge and the worship of God would be preserved through the Jews.
- Jesus Christ would come through the line of Shem.
- The prophecy: “Canaan shall be Shem’s servant” (9:27)
- The fulfillment:
- Joshua made the Gibeonites (descendants of Shem) to be servants of the Israelites in Jos 9:27.
- When Israel became strong they forced the Canaanites to pay tribute. (Jdg 1:28)
- Later under Solomon they also were forced to pay tribute. (1Kin 9:20-21)
- The prophecy to Japeth (9:27)
- “God shall enlarge Japeth”
- The name “Japeth” means = enlargement.
- Fulfillment:
- The world’s nations most enlarged by God have been those descended from Jjapeth. They include the Greeks, Romans, Europeans, and the Anglo Saxons that now occupy more territory than any other people.
- “he shall dwell in the tents of Shem” (9:27)
- The descendants of Japeth will gain spiritual blessings from the descendants of Shem.
- Fulfillment:
- Paul in Rom 11 says the Gentiles (descendants of Japeth, specifically) are grafted into Israel to partake of the root and fatness of the olive tree (Israel). (Rom 11:17)
- Gen 10:1-32
- The genealogies of Noah’s sons:
- Japeth’s descendants (2-5)
- Ham’s descendants (6-20)
- Verses 8-10 Nimrod:
- What do we learn about the character of Nimrod? (8-10)
- The name, Nimrod, means = let us revolt.
- “he began to be a mighty one in the earth”.
- Remember this is the part of the family bearing the curse of slavery.
- By sheer strength of force he overcame the curse to become the first hero to be worshipped.
- He desired to be ruler of the world.
- He began the practice of idolatry.
- A “mighty hunter before the Lord” (10)
- More literally and accurately, the Hebrew indicates “a mighty rebel” instead of hunter. He openly defied God to become the ruler of a kingdom named Babel.
- Babel originally meant “gate of God”, but after Gen 11, it came to mean “confusion”.
- The “beginning of his kingdom was Babel” (10:10)
- Babel was the beginning of the kingdom of Babylon.
- Out of Ham’s line came Nimrod (the first world dictator), the Philistines (Israel’s greatest enemy during the time of Saul, David, and Solomon), and 7 evil nations of people: the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites Girgashites, Amorites, Jebusites (all of which God told the Israelites to destroy in order to possess the Promised Land).
- Shem’s descendants (10:21-31)
- Eber, from which we get the name “Hebrew” (10:24)
- Peleg (25)
- “in his days was the earth divided”
- During his lifetime, the tower of Babel occurs. (Genesis 11)
- The genealogy of Gen 10 listing the descendents of Shem, Ham, and Japeth seems to be a prophecy that is repeated in exactly the same order in 1Chr 1:5-23.
- The genealogies of Noah’s sons:
Homework
Genesis 11:1-9
- Application of Gen 9:20-29 and 10:1-32:
- Re-examine your views regarding Christians drinking alcohol in light of the scripture passages in this past lesson.
- Pray and ask God for his direction in your life regarding the use of alcohol.
- Write down any changes you feel the lord wants you to make regarding the use of alcohol.
- Pray and ask God for his direction in your life regarding the use of alcohol.
- Re-examine your views regarding Christians drinking alcohol in light of the scripture passages in this past lesson.
- Preparation of Gen 11:1-9:
- Read Gen 11:1-9
- Review your notes on the Noahic Covenant and decide what obvious command of God did Nimrod and his people violate?
- What was Nimrod’s greatest sin? How do you know?
- For background on Satan’s church, read Rev 17:1-18.
- Read Gen 11:1-9
- Memory verse: 2Thessalonians 2:3
