Genesis 9:18-29, How Do You Get In?, Dr. John B. Carpenter

Genesis chapter 9 be reading verses 18 to 29 Hear the word of the

Lord The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem ham and Japheth ham was the father of Canaan These three were the sons of Noah and from these the people of the whole earth were dispersed

Noah began to be a man of the soil and he planted a vineyard he drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent and Ham the father of Canaan saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside Then Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it on both their shoulders and walked backwards and covered the nakedness of their father

Their faces were turned backward and they did not see Their father's nakedness when

Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him. He said

Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers. He also said

Blessed be the Lord the God of Shem and let Canaan be a servant May God enlarge

Japheth and let him dwell in the tents of Shem and let Canaan be a servant

After the flood Noah lived 350 years and all the days of Noah were 950 years and he died

May the Lord add his blessings to the reading of his Holy Word Well, how do you get into?

Whatever is you want into university? You have the test scores a club you pay the dues a team

You have the skills into the status of being rich you make a lot of money into adulthood

Well, you grow up from infancy to childhood through What Over the last century a new category of person has been

Basically invented the adolescent a prior to a century ago There was basically no such thing people were either children or adults and once you were adults you're expected to act like it

George Washington was appointed the land surveyor of Culpeper County, Virginia at the age of 17.

That's a pretty lofty responsibility 17 years old. I mean you're grown now George act like it was the idea now though It's played that we need a stage between childhood and adulthood of adolescence in which we give up the values and attachments

We get from our parents and go through a period of turmoil of questioning perhaps criticizing rejecting maybe mocking

Rebellion sowing some wild oats until we settle on values and beliefs of our own You know that phase of life in which authorities are questioned and often abandoned and which young people look for another community

Besides their family for their values in which they assert the priority of their own choices Against authorities that stage is necessary to get into true adulthood many think

They'll rebel and insult their parents for a while Maybe mock say don't trust anybody over 30 and revel in the failings of authorities because they are they're finding themselves

You got to let them go through that we're told because they got to find themselves and to get into the realm of having found ourselves we

Must so people think be independent Self -determining to have what

William Henley and his poem Invictus called my unconquerable soul It matters not how straight the gate how charged with punishments the scroll

Obviously referring to God's Word there. Actually, I am the master of my fate. I Am the captain of my soul

How do I get in I get in my way not someone's narrow gate now such a person may is the author of that point may be moral a

Good neighbor a good citizen, but it's on his own terms. How many times have you heard? Don't push your brand of morality on me

In other words, it's not that there isn't any interest in virtues There is there's a lot of interest in right and wrong

Indeed people are often driven even still in our culture to do all kinds of things sometimes strange new things like name their pronouns

As a way of signaling that they are indeed virtuous that they are concerned for what is right

It's just that everyone thinks that they don't need someone else Certainly not an authority to tell them what is right.

We might want to do what is right We just don't want someone telling us what's right. We want to be do -it -yourself righteous people

We are the captains of our soul and no authority. No community. No ultimate decree of God Has authority

How do you get in? Well this passage from Genesis shows us and it shows us that it completely

Contradicts the modern ethic we get into God's kingdom. There's a living in his presence his tabernacle his tent

Through a straight gate and it matters Which has three realities

Authority community and priority God's priority

Here the story is very simple, right? We read it Noah and his sons they come out of the ark and From them the rest of the people of the land they will disperse at verse 19

They are Shem Hammond Japheth now Noah took up farming a man of the soil. He's called in verse 20

He planted a vineyard and so he had wine and one day he drank too much of it and got drunk So drunk he passed out and he lay naked in it in his tent in verse 21

Notice how it emphasizes he's in his tent these little details matter It's not outside for all to see now a son

Ham saw him and went and told his brother outside brothers two of them outside in verse 22 note that verse 22 make sure to emphasize that Noah was inside while the brothers were outside and Shem and Japheth the other two brothers.

They took a garment. I guess a sheet I guess and Held it between them and Walked backwards.

No, it's verse 23. It's oddly very specific. In fact, it's kind of repetitive So that but they did that so they wouldn't see

Noah and their father and so they covered him First 23 emphasizes that they they were looking the other way

I mean you could kind of guess that when they're walking backwards So it's not to see them but just in case you have any doubts that maybe they took a glance down No, they they were looking the other way and they did not see their father in that condition

And then when Noah woke from his stupor and knew what Ham his youngest son had done. He issues a curse on Ham's youngest son

Canaan and knows the passage emphasizes that Ham is the father of Canaan and And he puts a blessing on his other two sons, especially

Shem in verse 25 and following Strange story, isn't it?

Why is it in the Bible? Martin Luther observed that it at first appears to be quote a silly and and Unprofitable little story if you compare it to the rest of Noah's outstanding achievements

Well, God could have inspired the Bible to tell us all about how Noah faithfully witnessed to the people who came to us I mean think of all the things that Noah did that that we could have lots of stories about I mean, he's building this art people probably flooded to him.

See what see what what see what he's doing and Questioning him. Why are you doing this? About his

Message is a herald of righteousness What exactly was he telling people but his trials and persecutions is a righteous man living in a violent age before the flood

But his prayer life as a man who walked with God remember that But his family life as a man who raised at least two fine sons

And and what about his life? What was life like on that arc for a year? You have to wonder about that right crammed in there with all those animals for a whole year

But all the time he did in restarting human civilization after the flood and on and on There must be whole shelves full of books that could have been written about all that Noah did

But instead we have this little story in Which he gets drunk

What a weird thing So that very strange Now if the

Bible were just a book about morality a source of inspiring stories How about how we can become do -it -yourself righteous people?

This story would make no sense To be a do -it -yourself righteous person

You want to be inspired to do the right thing to not get drunk and be upstanding but this story this is shocking

This is scandalous and that's just the point How do you get into God's presence his tent?

not by moralism It's not the sin of Noah. That's the point of the story but that of ham

What Noah did was sinful, but that's really not the point. That's kind of passed over When we individualistic and moralistic and sometimes the story despising

Americans look at this passage We might have a hard time saying what ham did wrong. What exactly did ham do wrong here?

All that it says in verse 22 was that he saw that his father was naked in his tent and then he went out and he

Told his brothers now people here in the US go on TV all the time and speak much worse things

Exposed much worse things about their family members Because of that because so many people today have such a hard time saying what did ham do wrong?

Some commentators have such a difficulty seeing what he did wrong that they imagine that there must be some kind of there must be some kind of sexual perversion in here they imagine the

Moses I guess writing this Couldn't you know just to Victorian or whatever the word to restrained that he couldn't say outright what happened

And so he hints at it. It leaves it implied but there really isn't any evidence of that here Genesis in other places can be very explicit when it talks about sex

I can chapter 38 You know what Genesis 38 says you should go home and read it It's an explicit story of Tamar.

And so if there were anything like that here, there's no reason that the Bible wouldn't tell us explicitly

But it doesn't it only says that he saw his father in his tent drunk naked instead of covering

Noah himself He went out and he told his brothers Now to we who are suspicious of authorities who sometimes feel satisfaction when they're exposed for being human like us

Who may like to make fun of them when they get caught? Looking silly stumbling up the staircase or who are individualistic and was it the idea that we need leadership?

We sympathize with him. Yeah, I mean Noah's the one got drunk

After all Noah's responsible for his actions. He's the captain of his fate. He's responsible for his actions

Well for the humiliation he brought on himself Even if he's the head guy But it's that attitude

It's being exposed and condemned here. This is about authority and the curse that comes on those who despise

God -given authorities What did ham do wrong when he caught his father in a shameful position instead of jealously guarding

Noah's honor? Instead of acting quickly to protect his father's reputation. He went out he spread the news

He broadcast his father's weakness. What was the purpose of that? The purpose was the gossiping satisfaction and showing that somebody else especially an authority is no better than ourselves

Ham wanted to bring down Noah in the eyes of his brothers He wanted to publicly humiliate him

He wanted to show that Noah was no better, you know, no better than I am no better than we are Took advantage of Noah's moment of weakness.

He forgot about the years the centuries, right? 950 years Noah walked with God and rather than covering his father up he wanted his brothers to join him and scoffing at his father

What makes a son do that a pride rebellion Pride makes us happy when we see others exposed in their sins or their folly rebellion

Individualism makes us love to tear down authorities Think how seriously God takes this the villain in this story is not

Noah who got drunk It is ham who didn't act to cover it up Instead he acted to further expose his father.

The story is a warning to the smug moralizer the sanctimonious the snide critic

It's warning to them to fear God and Refrain from rashly judging those

God puts in authority Americans have a very difficult time understanding this because we think Authorities are fair game.

You can say whatever you want about them. Thank you make more of it You can catch them doing something silly you you repeat it over and over again

It's the official interpretation of the First Amendment to our Constitution official According to the

Supreme Court of all people that week we can be sued for slander if we defame an ordinary citizen

Like I defame you one of you Say say something or write something that's false and makes you look bad

You could sue me You could take me to court make me pay if I don't retract it

We can be held account to what we say about the average person but major figures like national leaders

You know, I can make him anything I wanted to right now by President Biden's make it up lie about him

And there's really nothing he can do about it They can they can be authorities can be lied about all day long without any legal protection

Basically, that's what it comes down to in other words Our courts will protect the good name of the average person like you but not that of authorities and that's really bizarre

The courts are just really reflecting the the values of our culture Now here we have something that people think is a virtue at least in this culture,

I think I think is a right Being a mocker who doesn't bow the knee Doesn't give respect to anyone.

I think that's a right they kind of some people look up to that kind of person and the Bible here is condemning that and To get into God's kingdom his tent.

We began spiritually if not literally Bowing the knee admitting that we are wrong that we need help

There's an authority We have to respect to honor to love Jesus He is

Lord and we're not the masters of our fate. We're not the captains of our soul

We're to give honor to whom honor is owed and so We don't indulge in glib insulting remarks about political leaders

But leaders of any kind or revel in their humiliation you can disagree in a democracy like this Whatever Republic where you can vote you disagree, but be respectful

We should always seek whenever we can to promote the status of those God put over us This is what the proud individualists will not understand

You see if we believe that being a Christian is all about being a do -it -yourself righteous person It's all about keeping respectable behavior then hams reaction seems right

If we're successful, you know, I'm successful. I mustered up the strength to be moral.

I didn't get drunk We'll be smug We'll feel good about ourselves Be self -satisfied.

Well, I should be happy. I I didn't get drunk. I I Control myself.

I'll be actually happy when others are exposed in their foolishness because it makes me look better, right? I didn't do it.

I kept from getting drunk. He didn't I'm better than he is. I want everybody see that We are especially resentful of authorities because they remind us just by who they are

That we are called to submit that we can't do it on our own and we hate the hat

Jim and Jay first are different though when they learned that their father a normally righteous man has stumbled they act to protect him

To protect his honor to literally and spiritually cover him now They could have done just like ham didn't they they could have gone and told their wives

Their own mother brought their children gather around formed a little huddle

Everyone around Noah pointed and laughed at him. Look at the old drunk man What a fool he is and they could have felt very good about themselves, too after all

They weren't the one who got drunk But they didn't they went to extreme measures to protect their father's dignity.

He's the authority in verse 23 They they go out of their way. Look at what extreme Extreme they go to to keep themselves from seeing their father humiliated.

They walk backwards With a sheet between them Notice the verse 23 how it emphasizes that to make it absolutely clear again

The shim and Japheth were intent on not seeing their father degraded Not only does it tell us that they walk backwards the sheet between them and we could guess why they did that and then it

Specifically tells us their faces were turned backwards. Okay, we could stop there and think well their faces were turned backwards

So they wouldn't see him and then just in case You still don't get it for like a third time and they did not see their father's nakedness you see that's the point of this so many people interpret this passage by the way is subject to so much bad interpretation and Yet it's so obvious what it's about just so emphasizing particularly in verse 23

This is what is the right thing they did they went so out of their way To honor their father and they did that to avoid the very temptation that ham had fallen into Now clearly the

Holy Spirit approves of what they did. They're held up They're honored their extreme measures to predict their father's dignity shows the reverence and love

They had for their father and here we see a secret to godliness and success Honoring your father and mother that it may go well with you

The New Testament Paul calls it the first commandment with a promise It's the commandment comes with a blessing.

It's a secret to success You teach kids to be scoffers to be mockers to put down the particularly their parents.

You're teaching them to fail and We naturally rebel against authority because we naturally rebel against God and all authority comes from him whether in the family or the church of the state now that doesn't mean we absolutely

Submit to any human authority. That's not what you say Well, the authority does it will obey will salute and whatever he says now only

God deserves absolute unquestioning submission, but it does mean we respect authorities as much as we can and When you can't respect them and you try to cover them up Chim and Japheth honored their father even in his moment of shame

Ham tried to humiliate him and so he earns a curse actually a curse on one of his four sons here once again

The Bible shocks us if we think it's just supposed to be a collection of encouraging stories Inspirational stories on how we can be our own do -it -yourself righteous people instead of a happy ending

This is what this is what a moralistic person if you were rewriting the Bible they would write it happy ending

Which no one learns to get drunk. He learns to control his his love of alcohol he goes to the a a meeting so what is called and learns the 12 steps and eventually earns

Ham's respect again You got to earn respect right? That's the old say gotta earn respect.

It's not given to you Actually, it's totally false respectful people give respect you can never earn the respect of a disrespectful person

You can't someone's disrespectful no matter what you do They will just disrespect you and that's probably what

Ham was disrespectful Noah calls out a curse on Ham's youngest son in verse 25.

Is this Noah sinning again? calling down a curse On Ham's youngest son his own grandson.

He going from being drunk to being vindictive No, the following verses and the really the rest of the

Bible show that Noah was speaking in the spirit of a prophecy The Canaanites are kind of a type of people who are the enemies of God's people now

It turns out there are people God saves from the game tonight's Like what's her name Rahab? And there's a

Canaanite woman in the Gospels Jesus heals but this is actually a key fork in the road on the way of salvation history much of what goes on later in The Bible pivots off of what

Noah says here He will show us here How we get into God's presence?

It's meant to respect the authority Who is ultimately Jesus? Yet to be part of the community

You're in the wrong community like the Canaanites You're destroyed now think about this though.

Just a few hours before Noah was dead drunk And now he is inspired by the

Holy Spirit to speak a word of prophecy That's a key pivotal point for the whole rest of the Bible It's kind of odd, isn't it?

He goes almost immediately from one kind of spirit to another capital s spirit that's because You don't get into God's tent

Through individualistic moralism you get in through authority confessing that Jesus is Lord and through community

You need to be in the right community second community Ham tried to ridicule the authority and so has his son

Canaan put out of the community Noah's youngest son Verse 24 says

Ham is the youngest. I don't really know why his shim ham and Japheth The order of age but whatever net verse 24 says

Ham is the youngest is punished by having his youngest son cursed Is that sort of it's sort of an eye for an eye punishment

Because that's because the worst thing a son could do to a father would be to humiliate and curse him like Ham did here

The worst thing anyone could do to a father Like him would be to curse his child

So no one calls down a curse on Ham's youngest child Remember Ham's the youngest to him Noah called down a curse on Ham's youngest

Canaan and of course we say then for the particular for the rest of the Old Testament all the destruction of the The conflict that comes with the

Canaanites, but as we look at chapter 10 very next chapter for a time for a while it looked like What Noah says here really what

God says to know what God's speaking through him was not right This Canaan is cursed right you expect.

Well, he's gonna die and the actually individual is gonna It's gonna be the in him, but actually he he and his descendants prosper for a while while like in hundreds of years chapter 10

Exists to show us what happened to Noah's descendants and how this prophecy was fulfilled It's genealogy all these names and the descendants to Shem ham and Japheth and there's children and the children after them

But the odd thing is that just looking at chapter 10. It appears that Canaan prospers

Canaan is the descendants they prosper for a while There are 14 verses about Ham's descendants in chapter 10.

They make up most of the people of the Middle East Of course only Canaan was cursed not all the descendants of Ham But the descendants of a

Canaan appear to do very well for a time You know, they they look like they're prosper they're growing there's a lot of them

They have a lot of territory chapter 10 verses 6 to 20 is about them Now they dominate what is now what we now call

Israel and Palestine the promised land Canaan's descendants a flourished For a while And that's the way it is often with the world.

It looks like worldly ways worldly people flourish they prosper But they don't last

The glory the Canaanites like a wildflower faded away and most of them are eventually destroyed

The community the blast comes to Shem in chapter 9 verse 26 Noah continues his prophecy

Noah sees then that it is to Shem That God will create his community.

It's in shims tent. Otherwise his shelter is What do you call it dynasty his rule his family and shims tent that God will live

You cannot dwell in someone else's tent like Japheth's descendants will drill with shims without being in community with them

That's what it means to be in community under the same roof, right? You're in a community with them. There are people today who think that they can be saved without being part of the church

It's just them and Jesus walking alone, you know, just two sets of footprints on the beach But to be saved is to be part of one church

God's community under Christ authority to dwell in his his tabernacle you'll show that by being part of a

Church now, does this mean that shim and his descendants have a promise? That's just theirs Now this man shim and Harris this promise it goes down to his descendants passed down to his physical descendants

And it doesn't belong to anyone else That they're they are the chosen people in other words

Is this all about the Jews being the chosen people and everyone else being kind of second -class at God's eyes, you know Sorry, you're born in the wrong

Edna group you have the wrong Ancestor too late for you. Is that what it means? Everyone else's second class is the community based on ethnicity

You know dispensationalists say that's the case. They say that God is a literal people and They are that literal people is based on ethnicity.

He's it chosen people. He's chosen. He likes that ethnicity above others And then they say insist that that's the literal interpretation of Scripture.

Well, here's a Promise, this is the first promise that I can tell of a people of God the promise to shim where we get

Shambles where we get Sims Semites If you're anti -semitic you're anti shims descendants.

Don't do that The promise to shim the Semites the Jews here the initial promise right here contradicts that Look at verse 27

They're Japheth Who is the father many Gentiles probably a lot many of us most of us or maybe all of us all his decisions were

Gentiles Japheth's all his descendants are Gentiles and he's given the promise that he will notice that dwell in the tents of shim shim gets the dwelling

But Japheth's descendants get to live in it, too In other words, the Gentiles would be brought into the shelter of salvation

Even at some other sons of ham listed in chapter 10 verse 6 kush miserable cushions like Ethiopia further down in Africa Mizrahi put are implicitly given the the blessings of having

Canaan as their servant this means they're blessed too So God's tent God's house his dynasty his rule comes through the descendants of shim as the

Israelites. Yes comes through that Because God literally tabernacled with them and Then God became flesh and tabernacled with us and created a church in which he lives

Where all God's people of all ethnic groups notice is right here in the very first promise of a people

It's for all ethnic groups. They all come right here from the beginning of God's people the

Semites Well the promise of them includes blessings on all

God's people from all nations Notice is that the blessings are not only for shim.

I'll come through him alone the tent I'll own the dynasty of the dwelling they are in the tents of shim But others from outside get to come in so the true dwelling of God his true tabernacle was not a building in Israel But among his people his community and soon people from all nations all ethnicities from Japheth and even ham

They come into the true new temple of God. So the tents of shim is God's community what we now call

You know what we call it the church That's what you want into Individualistic moral people think they can get in on their own it matters not how straight the gate

I'll get in my own way Well, no, you can't something they Don't need the church.

They don't need insurance. They don't need a community a covering of God's people They're the captains of their own fate

They don't need to live in anyone else's tent. But here we see that all God's people even those not from shim

Dwell in the tents of shim Because the one who owns that promise he comes to shim how do you get into God's community?

Well third the priority What's What's what's the key?

Can I take a step back from all that? What's the key the missing ingredient that separates those?

What's the the one thing that separates those who dwell in the tents of shim? He'll get that blessing that God has spoken here.

It'll come through shim because Jesus is born from shim What separates them from others who are not like Canaan who are outside?

What's the crucial difference? We say it's not ethnicity right not just because you're born in the right nation the wrong nation you don't get it.

Sorry It's not that you'd be a many nation a race ethnicity So is it something we do if it's not race not ethnicity, then is it is it our behavior?

What was the crucial difference between shim and Japheth on the one hand and ham on the other way? You somebody say well one did well the other two did well actually and the other did wrong

It was their choice really is that what it was? freewill Is it is it their free will?

Or does God's choice have priority which comes first? Understanding the point what separates them?

if you say well, it's just that Shim and Japheth did well, they made the right choice. So they get the blessing and Ham didn't he didn't make the wrong choice.

It was their will is their their decisions. It's what they did now sure they did well, but what made them shim and Japheth do well and And ham do wrong what made them different Was it their free church or they had a choice, but why did they make it was it

God's grace to them? Put it another way. How do you get into the kingdom of God? Is it because you you do what is right you make yourself into a righteous person?

By being by keeping the rules you don't get drunk. So I'm in It's probably what ham thought

Now sure if you have faith, you'll follow God's command not to get drunk sure and other commands But is it your choice that gets you in?

That gets you faith. I have faith because I chose to believe really is that big Is that what makes the difference between you and somebody who doesn't believe?

And to be one of God's people You figure okay, we throw it out. It's not ethnicity. It's not because you're born in the wrong ethnic group.

What is it? this is just your works your decisions or Is it because of the priority of God's decree does

God's choice comes first who has priority our choice are God's Well, this is one of the great theological questions, which comes first my choice are

God's everyone says I choose But do I choose because God chooses me or does God let me in because I made the right choice this passage answers that question

In verse 26, there it is. Good. I just have it answered right away early in the Bible notice.

It's not Blessed be Shem. That's what we would expect wouldn't If you get

God's blessing you get into his tent by your good behavior You would expect no one to say blessed be Shem. He made the right choice

He used his free will to choose the right thing. He earned his way in Shem's respect for authority as priority.

So he gets to be say in the saved community his choice as priority Well, it doesn't say that though In verse 26 does it if it did then why not include

Japheth? You made the right choice, too Well, no, it doesn't say blessed is

Shem or blessed is Japheth. In fact, why is Shem's tent where God lives and Not Japheth's why?

No answers blessed be God No one praises God for Shem's action

That's not what you would expect if you were a do -it -yourself righteous person You know the captains of our own faith were the captains our own faith and I did bless

It's because I did the right thing. I made the right choice. We do the right thing. We earn credit with God.

We earn our pay Blessed be me For what I did right that's what we think our choices that ultimately determine our destiny if that's true

We are indeed then in that man -centered philosophy the captains of our own faith If that's true if Shem and Ham's Shem and Japheth's good choice had priority if it ultimately came from them

Then we'd expect no one to say blessed be Shem and Japheth. They did so well I'm so proud of my boys, but instead he credits

God with the good work. Blessed be the God of Shem Blessed be the

God of Shem Why did this why did they why did they cover me up because of God what God did in their heart?

He's the grace God gave to them To Shem and Japheth I changed their heart.

So they did the right thing Why did they do the right thing because of what God did not just because of their own free will

Now certainly Shem did well, so did Japheth, but the priority is on God Blessed be the

God of Shem now by now Now think if you're just reading the

Bible for the very first time you're just in the ninth and tenth chapters of Genesis Now we would know that when

God Does anything good for us remember every explanation of our hearts is only evil all the time But still something good comes to us and what's got to come from him doing something good in us

And so we should praise him and not think that it is even possible That we earned his blessings by our good behavior

Because every inclination of our hearts is only evil all the time Yes Shem did well, but he did well and he inherited the promise because God made a choice that had

Priority God's decree to choose Shem and work through him for the salvation of all

God's community including people who came from Japheth and Ham That has priority Blessed be the

God of Shem Just so We can do well we can believe and repent and be baptized and become part of the church and we can give generously and serve and be good neighbors and Good wives or husbands and serve

God and if at the end God is pleased with all that We don't just pat ourselves on the back and thank what blessed be me.

I Made the right choices. I made the right decisions. I chose to believe that had priority.

We are the captains We are the masters. No, we say blessed be the Lord God Almighty It's God's decree as the king who reigns forever

It's God's grace that has priority blessed be the Lord our God How do you get in?

Bless God Praise him for what he's done for you Because he's the only one who could have done it.

You must submit to God's authority Come into his community praise his

Priority we come into that tent God's community when we are born again When we put our trust in the

God of Shem when we confess that Jesus is the captain of our fate and the master of our soul