Noah and the drinking of wine
This is the last of the series on Noah’s life. In the 600thage he witnessed the deluge that God sent on earth. He died 350 years after the Flood, at age 950, the last of the immensely long-lived antediluvian Patriarchs. The human lifespan dropped rapidly thereafter, from as much as 900 years to Moses’ 120.
Gen. 9.20-24 speak of his drinking of wine. We are not told how long after the Flood the incident of his drunkenness occurred. It must have been many decades after the Flood so, at the very least, Noah's grandchildren had been born and were probably young adults. Farming & animal husbandry supported his family as it grew in number. There came a time when he planted a vineyard, harvested grapes, made wine, and got drunk. During his drunken stupor, he fell asleep naked in the tent.
There are different interpretations based on this instance.
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Some feel that Noah would have not been a habitual drinker & would not have known the effect of it till this instance and hence is blameless. The reason put forth for this is that Noah was not called to account for getting drunk and, on the contrary, he was endued with the spirit of prophecy on this occasion.
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Some others view it to be a mistake on Noah’s part saying sometimes those who, with watchfulness and resolution and by the grace of God kept their integrity amidst temptation get to sin due to carelessness and sometimes neglect of the grace of God. Mathew Henry writes - Noah, who had kept sober in drunken company, is now drunk in sober company. The lesson for us is that we need to be cautious all the time. Let’s remem-ber Luke 21.34: “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life.”
The story goes on to reveal what happened as a result. The youngest son Ham happened to go into his father's tent when Noah, his father was drunk, asleep and naked. Ham treated their father on this occasion with levity and informed his brothers about it. Shocked & alarmed, Japheth and Shem took a robe and walked backwards into the tent, covering their father, not allowing themselves to see him naked. Shem & Japheth treated their father with decency, reverence, and obedient respect. While Shem & Japheth received blessings, Ham’s youngest son Canaan received a curse of perpetual slavery to his brothers (Ham had three other sons namely Cush, Egypt, and Put).
God has recorded His commandments and the consequent punishment, if disobeyed, in Lev. 18:6,7,24,29,30; 20:9,22-24,26; and Deut. 9:4; 12:31 in connection to what Ham had done. Let’s read the above references take a caution. Shem & Japheth were blessed for what they did to their dad and for their acts of reverence. This should instil in us the passion to do a great deal of good deeds.
Before I close, one question to ponder: Why was Canaan cursed when it was Ham his father who played the mischief?
Dr David Jayakumar
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