Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev19990801.htm

GENESIS: THE SOURCES OF GOOD AND CALAMITY IN OUR ORIGINS
Part II - The Source Of Calamity In Our Origins
H. Adjusting To God's Check Of Violent Disorder Among The World's People GROUPS
(Genesis 9:18-29)
  1. Introduction
    1. War and conflict has long plagued the world's nations, including the people of our country. Some have even tried to show from Genesis 9:25 that black people are Biblically to be subjected to other races.
    2. To see what happened to the world's post-flood peoples, and how to respond, we view Genesis 9:18-29:
  2. Adjusting To God's Check Of Violent Disorder Among The World's People GROUPS, Gen. 9:18-29:
    1. Moses wrote that from Noah's three sons, the entire post-flood world was repopulated, Genesis 9:18-19.
    2. However, just as this repopulation was beginning, sin threatened future people group abuse, Gen. 9:20ff:
      1. While the family that survived the flood was still a close unit, Noah slipped from his walk with God:
        1. Noah who had walked with God (Genesis 6:9) became drunk by the fruit of the vine, Gen. 9:20-21.
        2. This act alone was inexcusable, for Jesus revealed in Matthew 24:38 that the pre-flood hordes were eating and drinking wine and marrying and being given in marriage in loose living.
        3. On top of that, Noah's inebriated state led to his removing his clothes while he was in his tent, 9:21.
        4. This behavior was typical of pagans, not permissible for Noah, Bible Knowledge Com., O.T., p. 41.
      2. Noah's sin was used by his son, Ham as a chance to claim eventual world dominance, Genesis 9:22:
        1. Noah's son, Ham, chanced to see his drunk father naked in his tent, Genesis 9:22.
        2. Though scholars have debated as to what this "seeing" meant, the Hebrew text never implies any sexual abuse on Ham's part, but that he merely happened to see his father in his unclothed state, Ibid.
        3. What became evil was Ham's effort to claim dominance over the whole family by what he had seen: (a) Ancient peoples felt that "seeing one's father naked was a breach of family ethic," that it mocked the father's role and strength, Ibid. (b) Well, instead of reacting with grief, Ham left his father's tent to claim to his two brothers what he had seen as though he had triumphed over the father in mockery. This was an apparent attempt to claim superiority over the family, Ibid. (c) If this act went unchallenged, a wicked Ham might have led his descendants abusively to dominate the world!
    3. So, to counter Ham, checks were installed that affect the world's people groups to this day, Gen. 9:23-29:
      1. Opposed to Ham's act, Shem respectfully led Japheth to cover their father's nakedness, Gen. 9:23.
      2. When Noah became sober and found out what his sons had each done, he prophesied a verdict on the sons' descendants' futures to check group abuses by Ham's descendants' people groups, Gen. 9:24-25a:
        1. As Ham had disrespected his father, Noah predicted Ham's son, Canaan, would be a slave, not a ruler to other people groups, Gen. 9:25. This curse countered Ham's effort to gain supremacy!
        2. Shem was blessed with sovereignty over other people's possessions, Gen. 9:26, 27b. Shem fathered the Semitic peoples (Gen. 10:21-31) who excel in finance and dominate world economies.
        3. Japheth would have his borders enlarged, Gen. 9:27, a prediction that has become true with the Caucasian peoples (Gen. 10:2-5) spreading to dominate the governments of many world countries!
        4. As Ham's other sons possibly fathered black and Egyptian groups (Gen. 10:6-20), and since Canaan, not Ham or any of Ham's other sons was to be subjected to other peoples, there is NO basis for saying God wants "blacks to be slaves to whites"! Ham's non-Canaan descendants were merely to be less prominent financially and geographically than Shem's and Japheth's kin.
Lesson: (1) Because of the need to CHECK potential people GROUP abuse, (a) God arranged for Shem's descendants, the Semitic peoples, to hold the world's main purse strings, cf. Gen. 9:27b. (b) God has also enlarged Japheth's Caucasian people's governmental influence to CHECK group abuses. (c) Finally, the Canaanites have been subjugated in their gross licentiousness and abuse of order mainly by the invading Israelites under Joshua, Ibid., p. 41. (d) Other peoples from Ham, including black an d Egyptian people groups, though not to be SUBJECT, are co-existing with Japheth and Shem's more progressive peoples! (2) When we SEE this order, recall it is installed to check group SIN, and work for victory over SIN for ALL men by discipling ALL men!