Genesis 9

Scripture:  Genesis chapter 9

Observation:  God makes a covenant with Noah and his descendants, never to destroy all of mankind by flood nor will there be another earth-wide flood.  To symbolize the covenant, God provides the rainbow to be seen during any rain.  Then we see how Ham, the youngest son of Noah, dishonors his father by seeing him naked.  He tells his brothers, who discreetly cover their father.  When Noah finds out what has happened (he was drunk at the time), he curses Ham's son Canaan and his descendants, and blesses Shem for honoring his father and not doing as Ham did.

Application:  When I read this with my 12 year old, he pointed out that we are all descendants of Noah, and therefore any covenant God made with Noah's descendants applies to us as well.  I love it when the Word speaks to my children that way :).

Next we come to the one blemish on Noah's life - he drank wine and became drunk.  This apparently amused his son Ham, who saw his father and went to tell his brothers about it.  Had he accidentally walked in on his father and covered him as his brothers did, there would have been no curse.  It was the fact that Ham dishonored his father, leaving him like that and going off to tell his brothers about it, that brought a curse upon his son Canaan, later the enemies of the Israelites.  We see here two things:  the sin of drunkenness and its consequences, and the sin of dishonoring a parent.

Prayer:  Father, we all are sinners.  This is shown to us in that Noah, the only righteous man on earth, made a terrible mistake and became drunk, which led to shame when he behaved in a way unlike himself.  His son then dishonored him, bringing yet more shame.  I know that it's common to see drinking as a harmless pastime, but it can easily get out of control, even in the hands of the most godly person.  May I never find myself in such a position, where I may end up dishonoring my God and my Savior with irresponsible behavior.  Whether it be because of something I say or do, I do not ever want to bring disgrace to my ever-loving Father.  May my words and actions always bring you glory.  In Jesus' name, Amen.