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Chapter IX. Part IV. · Commentary on Genesis, Sin, and the Flood

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Section thirty two, Chapter nine, Part four, Noah and his Fall a
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Noah for She's twenty to twenty two. And Noah began to be a husbandman
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and planted a vineyard, and he drank of the vine and was drunken,
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and he was uncovered within his tent. And ham the father of Canaan,
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saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without one hundred
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and thirty three. What manner of man Noah was during the flood is shown
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sufficiently by the story of the flood itself. What manner of man he had
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been before the flood is shown by Mossy's declaration that he was righteous and perfect.
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Great as this man was, we hear nothing else about him, except
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that his wonderful and almost incredible countenance is faintly suggested and commended by the statement
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that he begat his first born when five hundred years of age. This very
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fact shows that human nature was by far stronger in its integrity at that time,
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and that the Holy Spirit held more perfect sway in the holy men of
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the early world than he does in us, who are, as it were,
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the dregs and the remnants of the world's production. It surely was a
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commendatory record for Noah to be accordi dreiteous and perfect before God, that is
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full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, adorned with chastity and all good
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works, pure in worship and religion, suffering many temptations from the devil,
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the world, and himself, all which he overcame triumphantly. Such was Noah
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before the flood one hundred and thirty four of his life after the flood,
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Mosiz tells us very little. But is it not apparent that so noble a
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man living for about three hundred and fifty years after the flood could not be
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idle, but must have been busy with the government of the church, which
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he alone established and ruled one hundred and thirty five. First of all,
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then he performed the duties of a bishop, beset with various temptations. His
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foremost endeavor was to resist the devil, to console the troubled ones, to
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bring back the erring to the true way, to strengthen the doubting, to
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cheer souls in despair, to exclude from his church the impenitent, and to
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receive back, with fatherly gladness the repentant. For these are the duties a
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bishop must perform through the ministry of the word one hundred and thirty six.
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Moreover, he had civil duties in establishing forms of government and in making laws,
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without which human passions cannot be held. In check to this was added
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the rule of his own household or the care of his home b Noah's fall
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one hundred and thirty seven. No reason tells us that Noah was burdened with
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these manifold duties after the flood. Yet Moses does not mention them. It
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appears to him sufficient to confine his remarks to the statement that Noah began to
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plant a vineyard, and that he lay in his tent drunken and naked.
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This surely is a foolish and very useless tale in comparison with the many praiseworthy
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acts he must have performed in the course of so many years. Other things
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might have been recorded poor edification and for teaching righteousness of life. But this
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story even seems to endorse an offense by abetting drunkards and those who sin in
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drunkenness one hundred and thirty eight. The purpose of the Holy Spirit, however,
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is apparent from what we have said It is to console by this record
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of the great sins committed by the holiest and most perfect patriars, those righteous
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persons who are discouraged by the knowledge of their own weakness and are therefore cast
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down. And then we are to find proofs of our own shortcomings, that
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we may come to humble confession and at the same time seek and hope for
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forgiveness. This is the real and theologically true reason why the Holy Spirit records,
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rather than seemingly more important matters, the great fall of this great man
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one hundred and thirty nine. Lyrah states as excuse for Noah that he knew
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not the power of wine, and was deceived into drinking a little too freely.
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Whether wine had been known before, or whether Noah began to cultivate it
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by his own skill and by divine suggestion, I know not, but I
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believe that no one knew the nature of this produce quite well, and that
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he had often made use of wine in company with his family, partly for
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his own person and partly also in his offerings or libations. I think that
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in making use of wine for his own refreshment, he partook of it too
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freely. One hundred and forty. His action I excuse in no way should
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any one want to do so, there would be weightier arguments than those lyra
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uses. According to him, this aged man, tired out by the great
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number of his daily duties and cares, had been overpowered by the wine,
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although he was already used to it. For wine overcomes more easily those who
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are either exhausted by much work or burdened with age. Persons of mature age,
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on the other hand, and such of care free mind, can drink
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considerable quantities of wine without greatly impairing their reason one hundred and forty. But
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he who makes this excuse for the patriarch willfully casts a side that consolation which
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the Holy Spirit considered needful for the Church, that even the greatest sense sometimes
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fall into sin one hundred and forty two. Transgression like this may seem to
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be slight, yet it causes great offense. Not only is Ham offended,
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but also the other brother, possibly also their wives. And we must not
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imagine that Ham was a boy of seven years, having been born when Noah
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was five hundred years old. He had reached an age of at least one
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hundred years and had one or two children of his own one hundred and forty
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three. Hence, it was not boyish thoughtlessness which caused Ham to laugh at
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his father, as boys will do when surrounding a drunken rustic in the street
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and making sport of him. He was truly offended by his father's sin,
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and thought himself to be more righteous, holy, and religious than his father.
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Noah's deed was an offense not only in appearance, but in very truth,
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since Ham was so far tempted by the knowledge of it that he passed
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judgment upon Noah and found in such sin an occasion for mirth one hundred and
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forty four. If we wish to judge Ham's sin aright, we must take
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into account original sin, that is, the wickedness of the heart. This
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son would never have derided his father for being overcome by wine, had he
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not first dismissed from his soul that reverence and esteem which God's commandment requires children
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to cherish toward their parents. One hundred forty five. Noah had been considered
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a fool before the flood by the majority of mankind, and had been condemned
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as a false teacher and despised as a man of wild ideas. Now he
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has laughed at by his son as a fool and condemned as a sinner.
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Noah was sole governor of the church and state, and ruled his own household
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with tireless care and labor. He had doubtless therein offended the proud and haughty
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spirit of his son in many ways. But the depravity of his heart,
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which, now that the father's sin had become manifest leaked to the surface,
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had so far been successfully concealed one hundred and forty six. When we consider
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the source of hand sin, its hideousness first appears in its true light.
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One never becomes an adulterer or commits murder until he has first cast out of
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his heart the fear of God. A pupil does not rebel against his teacher
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unless he has first lost due reverence for that teacher. The fourteenth Psalm,
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verse two says that Jehovah looked down from heaven upon the children of men to
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see if there were any that did understand and that did seek after God.
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When he saw there was none, he adds there was none who did good,
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that they had all become worthless, sinning tongues, sinning with their hands,
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fearing where there was no need to fear, and the like one hundred
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and forty seven. So Ham, in his own estimation, was wise and
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holy in his judgment his father had often acted unrighteously or foolishly. His attitude
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discloses a heart that despised not only the parent, but also the divine commandment.
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Hence, nothing remains for the evil minded son but to grasp an opportunity
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for obtaining evidence to betray his father's foolishness. He does not laugh at his
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drunken father as a boy would, nor does he call his brethren merely that
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they may look upon a laughable spectacle. He means that this shall be open
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proof that God has withdrawn from his father and has accepted himself. Therefore he
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takes delight in disclosing his father's sin to others. As I said before,
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Am was not a boy of seven years, but had reached the age of
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at least one hundred one hundred and forty eight. Original sin shows its depraving
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tendency in that it makes men arrogant, haughty, and conceited. Pole admonishes
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in Roman's Chapter twelve, verse three, to think of one's self soberly quote,
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according as God hath dealt to each man a measure of faith and quote.
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But original sin does not permit Ham to occupy this lowly level. Hence
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he presumes to go beyond his station in passing judgment upon his father one hundred
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forty nine. We observe the same attitude in Absalom. Before he stirs up
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a rebellion against David's father, he passes unrighteous judgment upon David's government. This
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dissatisfaction with his father's rule was afterward followed by unconcealed contempt and open violence,
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with David's destruction as the object. Ham's heart being full of poison which he
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had gathered from his father. As a spider gathers poison from the fairest rose,
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Precisely such a result had to follow one hundred and fifty. These examples
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served to call our attention to the battle waged from the beginning of the world
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between the Church and Satan, with his followers the hypocrites or false brethren.
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This date of Ham must not be looked upon as a result of boyish love
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of pranks, but of Satan's most bitter enmity, wherewith he inflames his followers
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against the Church. Particularly, does he incite them against those in the ministry,
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leading them to close watch at all times for material available for purposes of
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slander. The papists at present have no other business than to watch our conversation
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for the purpose of slander whenever we fall into human error, for we are
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truly weak and are beset by our failings, they seize upon our moral uncleanness
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like famished swine, and find great delight in publishing and betraying our weaknesses.
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Like ham They are cursed. They truly hunger and thirst after our offenses.
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Although by God's grace they cannot fasten adultery, murder, or like or like
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errors upon us, unless by their own fabrication. This shameless class of people
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abhor no kind of lie, yet they gather up smaller matters, which they
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afterward exaggerate to the public. One hundred and fifty one. David's experience is
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well known. Was surrounded on all sides by enemies who eagerly sought out every
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opportunity for persecution. They were envious because he had been called to the throne
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by God. Hence they triumphed over his horrible fall. One hundred and fifty
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two. His case, however, serves for our instruction. God sometimes permits
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even righteous and holy men to stumble and fall into offenses, either really or
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apparently, and we must take heed lest we pass judgment at once. After
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the example of Ham, who, having secretly despised his father long before,
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now does so openly. He declared that his parent, being imbecile by age,
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had clearly been deserted by the Holy Spirit, since he was unable to
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guard against drunkenness, though the government of the church, state, and household
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lay upon his shoulders, Oh wretched Ham, how happy art thou having found
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at last what thou soughtest poison in a most delightful rose. One hundred and
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fifty three everlasting pies and blessings be given to God, whose dealings with his
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sense are wonderful. Indeed, while he permits them to be weak and to
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fall, to be overwhelmed with disgrace and offenses, and while the world judges
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and condemns them, he forgives them their weaknesses and has compassion upon them.
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Whereas He delivers into Seton's hands those who regard themselves angels and utterly rejects them.
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The first lesson of this story is that godly persons have the needed consolation
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against their infirmities when they see that even the holiest men sometimes fell most disgracefully
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by reason of similar infirmities one hundred and fifty four. In the second place,
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the case of Ham is a fearful example of divine judgment, to teach
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us, by Ham's experience, not to condemn at once. Even when we
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see rulers of state, church, or household, such as our parents,
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fall into error and sin, who can tell why God so permits such sins?
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Must not be excused. Yet we see that they are of value for
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the consolation of the pious. They teach us that God can bear with the
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errors and sins of his people, and that even we, when beset by
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sins, may trust in the mercy of God and need not lose heart one
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hundred and fifty five. But what is medicine for the righteous is poison for
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the wicked. The latter do not seek to be taught and comforted by God.
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Their unworthiness prevents them from recognizing His glory in the sense they see nothing
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but the stumbling block and the snare, with the result that they fall and
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are left to perish alone one hundred and fifty six. Let us therefore truly
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respect those in authority over us. If they fall, we must not be
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offended. We must remember that they are human, and that God's ways are
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wonderful in his sense, because it is his will that the wicked shall be
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offended and provoked. Thus Moses threatens the Jews quote I will provoke them to
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anger with a foolish nation, and quote Deuteronomy, chapter thirty two, verse
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twenty one. Because during the whole period of the kingdom they refused to hear
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the prophets. God gave the offense of casting away a wise and religious people,
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which had the promises and was descended from the patriarchs. In its place,
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he chose the filth and dregs of the world, a foolish people.
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That is, it was without piety, without religion, without worship, without
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that divine wisdom which is His word. This offense roused the Jews to insane
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anger one hundred and fifty seven. This will be the lot of the Papists.
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Some great offense shall be given them by God, against which they shall
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find themselves helpless, and thus they shall come to grief like Han renouncing the
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reverence due both to God and his father. In deeming himself more capable of
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ruling the church than Noah. In secretly deriding and censuring his parent, he
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finally presents the spectacle of disclosing his wicked and irreverent attitude before others one hundred
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and fifty eight. The two other brothers, Shem and Jaffith, did not
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follow Ham's wicked example. While conscious of the scandalous fact that their father was
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drunk and lay in shameless nakedness like a little boy, while recognizing that this
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ill became the ruler of church and state, they remained mindful of the reverence
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due apparent They gulped down the offense given. They hid the offense and gave
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it a worthier aspect, so to speak, by covering their father with a
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garment, approaching him with eyes averted. They would have been incapable of this
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fine outward expression of reverence for their father had they not occupied a correct attitude
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toward God in their hearts and believed their father to be both priest and ruler
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by right divine one hundred and fifty nine. It is a fearful example,
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this one of Ham, though one of the few saved during the flood,
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he forgets all piety. It is profitable to carefully consider how he came to
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fall towards Sins must first be committed in our minds. That is, before
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sins are visibly committed, the heart first departs from the Word and from the
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fear of God, but neither knows God nor seeks after him. As we
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read in Sam fourteen, verse two. As soon as the heart begins to
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set aside the Word and to despise the ministers and prophets of God, ambition
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and pride follow. Those who stand in the way of our desires are overborne
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by hatred and slander, until finally insolent speech ends in murder one hundred and
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sixty. Those who are to become rulers of church or state should daily pray
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earnestly to God that they may remain humble. It is the object of stories
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of this character to set this duty before us, for it is evident what
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occasioned Ham's frightful fall one hundred and sixty one. If then the scents fall
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into sin, let us not be offended. Much less should we rejoice over
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the weakness of others, esteeming ourselves braver, wiser, or holier than they.
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Let us rather endure and cover up, and even put a good construction
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upon, and excuse such errors in so far as we can, remembering that
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perhaps tomorrow we may suffer what happened to them today, For we all constitute
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a unit, being born of the same flesh. Let us then heed the
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advice of Paul. Quote. Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed
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lest he fall and quote First Corinthians, chapter ten, verse twelve. In
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this way, the other two brothers looked upon their drunken father. Their thoughts
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were these, Behold, our father has fallen. But God is wonderful in
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his dealing with sense, whom he sometimes permits to fall for our instruction that
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we may not despair when afflicted by kindred infirmity one hundred and sixty two.
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Let us imitate their wisdom. The sins of others give us no right to
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judge them before their own master they stand Romans chapter fourteen, verse four.
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Furthermore, if the downfall of others displease us, since in truth many acts
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neither can nor ought to be excused, let us be so much the more
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careful lest something like it overtake ourselves. Let us not sit in proud and
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haughty judgment, for this is original sin, in all its corruption, to
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lay claim to exceptional wisdom and to hunt for the moral lapses of others in
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order to gain the reputation of righteousness for ourselves. One hundred and sixty three.
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We truly are weak sinners and must freely confess, being human, that
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our conversation is not always free from offense. But while we share this weakness
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with our enemies, we nevertheless do our duty diligently by spreading God's word,
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by teaching the churches, by bettering the evil, by urging the right,
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by consoling the weak, by chiding the stubborn, and in brief by doing
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whatever duty God lays upon us one. On the other hand, since our
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adversaries strive after nothing but hypocrisy and an outward show of holiness, so they
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add to the frailty which they have in common with us, the most grievous
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sins. Because they do not follow their calling, but concern themselves with their
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honors and emoluments. They neglect the churches and suffer them to miserably decay.
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They condemn the true doctrine and teach idolatry. In short, in public life
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they are wise, but in their own sphere they are utterly foolish. This
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is the most destructive evil in the church one hundred and sixty five. This
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is the first part of the story, and in the preparation of his record
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Mosi's has confined himself to the same. It is certain that Noah was a
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righteous man, gifted with many heroic virtues, and that he accomplished most important
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things, both for the church and for the state. It is not possible
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either to establish political communities or to found churches except by diligent effort. Life
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in both these manifestations, I will say nothing of. The management of the
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home is beset with many dangers. For Satan, a liar and murderer,
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is the most relentless enemy of church and state one hundred and sixty six.
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But Mozis passes by all these achievements, not so much as alluding to them.
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He records but this one circumstance, that Noah became drunk and was scoffed
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at by his youngest son. He intended it as a valuable example teaching pious
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souls to trust in God's mercy. On the other hand, the proud,
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the lovers of Kant, the sanctimonious, the wise acres. Let them learn
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to fear God, and beware of passing a reckless judgment upon others. As
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Manassa the King declares, God displays in his saints both his wonders and his
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terrors. Quote against wicked and sinful men, and quote. This is illustrated
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in the case of Ham, who did not now first come to his downfall,
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but had cherished this hate against his father for a long time afterward,
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to fill the world with idolatry Bercy's twenty three to twenty seven. And Shem
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and Jaffith took a garment and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went
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backward and covered the nakedness of their father. And their faces were backward,
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and they saw not their father's nakedness. And Noah awoke from his wine and
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knew what his youngest son had done unto him, And he said, cursed
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be Canaan, a servant of servants, shall he be unto his brethren one
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hundred and sixty seven. It is truly a beautiful and memorable example of respect
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to a father, which He's records in this passage the sons might, without
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sin, have approached their father and covered him, while turning their faces toward
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him. What sin should it be if one happening upon a nude person,
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should see what is before him without his will? Still, the two sons
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do not do this. When they heard from their haughty and mocking brother what
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had happened to their father, they laid a garment upon both their shoulders,
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entered the tent with faces turned away, how admirable, and lowering the garment
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backward, covered their father one hundred and sixty eight. Who can fail to
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observe here the thoughtfulness of the will and word of God, and reverence before
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the majesty of fatherhood, which God requires to be honored, not despised or
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mocked by children. God seems to approve this reverence and accept it as a
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most pleasing offering and the very noblest worship and obedience. But his utmost hatred
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rests upon him who might have seen without sin what he saw, since it
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came to his view by chance. If only he had covered it up,
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if only he had remained silent about it, if only he had not shown
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himself to be pleased by the sin of his father. But he who despised
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God, the Word and the order established by God, not only failed to
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cover his father with a garment, but even derided him and left him naked
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one hundred and sixty nine. In describing the act of the two brothers,
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Mosi's emphasizes the malice of Ham, who was filled with violent and satanic hatred
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against his father, who, of us, on finding a stranger lying by
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the wayside, drunk and nude, would not at least cover him with his
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own coat to forestall disgrace. How much greater the demand in this case of
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a father. Ham, however, fails to do for his father, the
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highest ruler of the world, what common humanity teaches us to do for strangers.
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Moreover, he publishes the circumstance, joyfully insulting his drunken father and making
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the sin of his father known to his brothers, as if he had a
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piece of good news. One hundred and seventy was he therefore sets hand before
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us as a fearful example to be carefully taught in the churches, in order
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that young people may learn to respect their elders, rulers, and parents.
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Not on account of Noah, not on account of Ham, but on account
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of those to come on our account is this story written, and ham with
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his contempt for God and Father pictured in most repulsive colors one hundred and seventy
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one. Also, the punishment of this wickedness is carefully set before us.
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Noah, looked upon by his son as a foolish, insane, and ridiculous
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old man, now steps forth, in the majesty of a prophet, to
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announce to his son a divine revelation of future events. Truly does Paul declare
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that quote power is made perfect in weakness, and quote Second Corinthians, Chapter
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twelve, verse nine. For the certainty characterizing Noah's utterance is proof that he
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was filled with the Holy Spirit, notwithstanding that his son had mocked and despised
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him as one utterly deserted by the Holy Spirit. One hundred and seventy two.
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I will not attempt here to settle the question above referred to Chapter five,
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section ninety five, concerning the order of the sons of Noah, as
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to which of them was a firstborn and which the youngest. A point more
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worthy of our attention is the fact that the Holy Spirit is so filled with
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strong wrath against that disobedient and scornful son, that he does not even choose
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to call him by his own name, but calls him Canaan, after the
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name of his son. Some say that because God had desired to save Ham
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in the Ark as one under his blessing the same as the others, he
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had no wish to curse him, but cursed Kennan and said a curse which
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nevertheless could not but recoil upon Ham, who had provoked it. Thus Ham's
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name parishes here, since the Holy Spirit hates it. Whose hatred is indeed
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a serious hatred. We read in the Psalm quote I hate them with perfect
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hatred, and quote Sam one hundred and thirty nine, verse twenty two.
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When the Holy Spirit exercises his wrath, eternal death must fall one hundred and
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seventy three. Although Ham had sinned against his father in many ways, it
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is remarkable that the fruit of the first sin and the devil's malice did not
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become manifest until the Father lay drunk and bare. When with this sin the
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previous ones had attend to fullness of power and growth. The Holy Spirit condemned
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him, and as a warning to others, also announced the infliction of impending
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endless servitude Verse twenty six. And he said, blessed be Jehovah, the
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God of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant. These are two sublime
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prophecies worthy of close attention. They have significance in our time, though they
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were grossly garbled by the Jews. The Jews observe that ham is cursed thrice.
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This fact they rest to the glory of their own nation, promising themselves
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worldly dominion. End of Section thirty two.