Genesis 9:16-29

Ge 9:16

And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

 

The rainbow shall remain in the clouds and when the LORD looks upon it, he will remember or act faithfully toward the everlasting covenant which he made with Noah and every living creature upon the earth that he would never again flood the entire earth.  The bow is the token of that covenant which we see this very day after a rainstorm.

 

Ge 9:17

And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

 

Here God repeats the fact that the token of the covenant will be the rainbow in the clouds.  The fact that God repeats it here is that he is emphasizing the point that he will never flood the entire earth again.  Whenever we see the rainbow, it reminds us of the fact that God is very faithful to his promises plus we can look to him for mercy.

 

Ge 9:18

And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan.

 

Then the sons of Noah are named again giving them special attention to Ham who is the father of Canaan.  The name “Canaan” means “lowland or trader.”  He became the father of the Canaanites and the name of the land where they dwelled.  The name “Ham” means “Hot or dark, colored, swarthy.”

 

Ge 9:19

These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread.

 

These were the three sons of Noah who went forth from the ark and began the repopulation of the world.  Their descendants began to spread throughout all the earth.  The word “overspread” means “discharged or dispersed.”

 

Ge 9:20

And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:

 

Then Noah had become a husbandman which was a farmer.  The word comes from the Hebrew word which means “soil.”  The first thing he planted was a vineyard and no doubt it yielded grapes.  It is believed that Noah had traveled about 12 leagues from Ararat.  One league equals 3 miles which means he traveled about 36 miles (58 km).  It is believed he settled in a place which today is called Erivan or Yerevan in Armenia which is known for its great vineyards.  If one looks at a picture of the city, you can see the mountains of Ararat in the background.

 

Ge 9:21

And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.

 

Now who said the Elect of God can’t get into trouble?  Noah had made wine from the grapes of the vineyard and had drunk of it and became drunk.  He must have been so drunk that he blacked out and was lying naked in his tent.  Before the fall, grapes did not ferment so maybe Noah did not know about getting drunk being that the conditions after the fall and flood were such that the grapes had fermented and caused Noah to become inebriated.  Alcohol in drinks did not come into being until the 12th Century A.D.  Up to that point it was all natural fermentation.  Whether it was intentional or not, the effect was still the same.

 

Ge 9:22

And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.

 

Ham must have come into the tent and saw his father lying there naked.  Instead of Ham covering up his father, he probably chose to mock him and then told Shem and Japheth about it.  Ham has been designated as a very profligate person and his descendants the Canaanites had exuded the attitude throughout their history in false religions and orgies and sex feasts.  The Bible only speaks about Ham just seeing his father and it does not detail what else he might have done or said.

 

Ge 9:23

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.

 

Then Shem and Japheth came into the tent respectfully and took a garment and each took a corner and laid it upon their shoulders and went backward covering their father so they did not see his nakedness.  They were showing their modesty and their proper duties as sons showing respect for their father.  Whenever a brother or sister gets into some kind of trouble, even if they caused it, we must never mock or take advantage of the situation but must be ready and willing to help.

 

Ge 9:24

And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.

 

Then Noah had finally sobered up and came to a knowledge of what his younger son had done.  He was probably told what happened to him by Shem and Japheth what Ham had done along with his son Canaan.  Canaan was the only son of Ham who seemed to share in the same type of attitude that Ham had.  Canaan may have been in the tent first and then told his father Ham about it and that is when he went in and they both sinned against Noah.

 

Ge 9:25

And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

 

Then Noah pronounces a curse upon Canaan who would dwell in the land named after him but under Joshua they would be routed out and many of them would become slaves both in Israel and other nations.  The curse also extended to Ham his father.  By the time of Moses, the Canaanites had become a very profligate and evil people and that is why they were moved out by Joshua so the Israelites would not pick up any of their evil habits or religions.

 

Ge 9:26

And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

 

Then Noah pronounces a blessing upon the LORD God of Shem and Canaan will become his servant.   The prophecy which Noah received would be fulfilled when the Canaanites would become the servants of the Israelites.  However, there would be some of God’s Elect among the Canaanites such as Rahab the harlot.

 

Ge 9:27

God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

 

Japheth was the father of all the Gentile nations but out of them many will become saved.  Shem was in the messianic line of the Lord Jesus Christ and the saying “dwelling in the tents of Shem” means that many Gentiles will become saved.  They will go from becoming Gentiles to Christians being transferred into the kingdom of God from any and all false religions.  Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: (Colossians 1:13) 

 

Ge 9:28

And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.

 

Then Noah had lived 350 more years after the flood.  Noah was able to see the wickedness of the old world before the flood and he lived long enough to see the wickedness to start taking hold on the post-flood world.

 

Ge 9:29

And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.

 

So Noah live a total of 950 years keeping in step with the ages of all the antediluvian ages of which Methuselah lived the longest at 969.

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