By: Orean Brown
It’s always shocking and sad when a good man sins. When I hear of a Christian leader who has fallen, my initial response is usually, “I can’t believe it! How could it happen?” Somehow I want to believe that if a man has walked with God for years, he builds up an immunity against sin. I want to hope that if I walk with God long enough, the day will come when temptation automatically glances off me. But it just ain’t so! There isn’t one of us, I don’t care how long you’ve been a Christian, who doesn’t face the constant struggle against sin. You never become invulnerable. Noah is “Exhibit A.” For the past couple of weeks Bro. Obed has taught and preached about Noah before and after the Flood. As he continues to teach us about God’s divine structure, I want to take a mention to discuss the Sin of Noah. In Genesis 9:20-29 the bibles states, “And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: 21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. 23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness. 24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. 25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. Shem’s Blessing and Noah’s Death 26 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. 27 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. 28 And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. 29 And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.” We can see that Noah walked with God for 650 years! In a wicked world, Noah stood alone for God. He was the only man on earth whom God saw fit to save from the judgment of the flood. The opportunity to launch a new beginning for the human race stood before him. And what happened? He got drunk and uncovered himself within his tent. Shocking! Disgraceful! Unbelievable! Is this the same Noah? Yes. In fact, if you condemn Noah, saying to yourself, “How could he do that?” You don’t know your own heart. When it comes to godliness, Noah was top of the line. He was the most righteous man on the earth before the flood. Centuries later, through Ezekiel, God listed Noah, Daniel, and Job as three of the most righteous men in history (Ezek. 14:20). And yet Noah got drunk and lay naked in his tent. “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” 1 Cor. 10:12. One thing we need to understand is no one is immune to sin, not even Noah. Furthermore, past godliness doesn’t guarantee future godliness. You don’t build up an immunity toward sin. Neither age nor maturity provide protection against temptation. We must walk in dependence upon the Lord daily. Noah’s sin also teaches us that we are often the most vulnerable when the pressure is off. When he was surrounded by wickedness, Noah lived righteously. But when the storm was over and he and his family were the only ones on earth, Noah fell into sin. When the pressure is off, our guard comes down. Constant vigilance is the price of victory over sin. Those who live righteously before God know their own propensity toward sin and live in constant dependence upon the Lord. In Genesis 9:22-25 the bibles tells us that Ham, Noah’s son, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers. They carefully covered up their father. When Noah awoke, he knew what Ham had done to him and utters a curse, not against Ham, but against Ham’s son, Canaan. Many may ask the questions such, what did Ham do? Was it all that serious? If so, why wasn’t he punished? Why is Canaan cursed for his father’s sin? Why wasn’t Noah punished, since he’s the one who started it all? First, Ham looked at his father’s nakedness, either with lust or with delight and amusement. He went and told his brothers, not in a spirit of grief and concern, but with the attitude, “Hey, do you guys want to see something funny? He had no shame and grief toward moral failure; and, he disrespected his father, whose honor he was quick to trample on. The text gives great detail of how the other two brothers carefully walked backward so as not to gaze on their father’s nakedness as they covered him (Genesis 9:23). They showed their sensitivity and reverence for their father. This should at least tell us Christians about how we should respond to our fellow Christian’s faults. Do we personally rebuke and correct an erring brother in the hope that they are restored to Godliness? Or do we scoff at them, make fun of them, or gossip about them to others? Noah’s sin caused a domino effect that lasted for thousands of years. Noah’s drunkenness and impropriety led to Ham’s irreverence. Ham’s sin led eventually to the corruption of the Canaanites, who practiced orgiastic, sensual worship, cult prostitution, and homosexuality. Ham’s sin also shows us that sins which don’t seem big at the time can have far-reaching consequences, not only for ourselves, but for our descendants. A trickle of sin in a parent can become a flood in his descendants. We all know that we don’t inherit our parent’s sin, however we all can be impacted by the results of our parent’s sin. For example, some children are cared for, while others are neglected. Kids often suffer because of their parents’ self-centered, sinful lives. Noah’s sin triggered Ham’s sin, which triggered Canaan’s sin, which can be traced to a corrupt nation centuries later. Sin is a lot like a nuclear chain reaction. One person’s sin leads to the next person’s sin etc., until there is a trail of devastation. Perhaps you had an alcoholic parent or abusive parents. It’s easy for you to react to their sin by sinning yourself. We must never do something wrong in response to something wrong. God doesn’t want that. Proverbs 10:12 tells us, “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins.”Ham couldn’t blame his sin on his father, because his two brothers showed that there was another option. Lastly, perhaps you’re wondering, What about the consequences of Noah’s sin for himself? He pronounces a curse on Canaan, but nothing seems to happen to Noah. However, when you continue to read to the end of Genesis 9, you will come to a rather sad conclusion to a great life. After the flood and Noah’s sin, nothing else is recorded of his life. He lived 350 more years with the shame of his sin and died. During those remaining years, he had to live with the knowledge that one of his sons was not walking with God and that his grandson would inherit a curse stemming from his own drunken behavior. Noah’s shame has lasted for thousands of years, and is still being read by billions of people today. His sin and shame is permanently recorded in God’s word as a lesson of the results of a righteous man’s sin.