Genesis 9:18 - Meaning and Application

Here is Noah’s family and work. His sons are named again, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, because the whole earth was later populated through them. That shows that after the flood Noah had no more children, and all nations came from these three sons. God can take a small beginning and make it great, because his blessing has power.

Noah took up farming again. The Hebrew expression means a man of the ground, someone who works the soil and lives from it. Noah had been kept busy building the ark, and later likely building a home for his family, so he had been away from this work for some time. Yet he did not think farming was beneath him, even though he was a great, godly, wealthy, and honored man. When God’s providence turns us away from our work for a time, we should return to it humbly and faithfully when the time is over, and stay steady in the calling where God has placed us (Co1 7:24).

Here we see Noah’s sin and shame. He planted a vineyard, and after gathering the grapes, he likely held a time of joy and feasting with his family. It may be that he first offered sacrifice to honor God, and then shared the wine with his sons and their families. If he had left God out of the feast, it would have been right for God to leave him to himself. But we hope that was not the case, and perhaps Noah meant to finish the feast by blessing his sons, as Isaac did when he said, “Let me eat, so that my soul may bless you” (Gen 27:3, Gen 27:4).

Noah drank wine, which was not wrong in itself, since he had planted the vineyard and could enjoy its fruit. But he drank too freely, more than his old age could bear, and he became drunk. It seems likely that this was the first and only time he fell into this sin. Still, God allowed this failure to be recorded to teach us several things. Even the best human example since the fall had flaws. Also, people who have stayed firm through temptation can fall later through carelessness and neglect of God’s grace. Noah had stayed sober among drunken people before, but now he was drunk among sober people. So anyone who thinks he stands should be careful.

We also learn to be very watchful when using God’s good gifts abundantly, so that we do not go beyond what is right. Christ’s disciples must guard against having their hearts weighed down by too much drinking and careless living (Luk 21:34). The result of Noah’s sin was shame. He lay uncovered inside his tent, naked and ashamed, like Adam after he ate the forbidden fruit. Adam tried to hide, but Noah was so overcome that he did not even seek covering. This is one of the sad effects of drunkenness. It exposes a person’s weaknesses and can reveal secrets. It also brings disgrace and makes people contemptible in the eyes of others.

Ham’s behavior was bold and wicked. He saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers outside. If he had seen it by accident, that would not have been sinful. But he seems to have taken pleasure in it. He may have been glad to see his father brought low, perhaps because Noah had once rebuked him for a similar sin. It is common for people who walk in wrong ways themselves to be pleased when they see others stumble. But love does not rejoice in wrongdoing, and those who are truly sorry for their own sins do not enjoy the sins of others.

Ham also told his brothers in a mocking way, so that his father would be shamed in their eyes. It is wrong to joke about sin, and wrong to spread another person’s fault, especially a parent’s fault, whom we are told to honor. Noah was not only a good man, but had also been a good father to Ham. Ham’s conduct was a very ungrateful return for that care. He is here called the father of Canaan, which hints that a man who is a father himself should have shown more respect to his own father.

Shem and Japheth acted with much care and respect. They not only refused to look at their father’s shame, but they also made sure no one else would see it. In this they give us a good example of loving conduct toward other people’s sins and shame. We should not join with those who spread shameful things, and we should do what we can to cover faults, or at least put the best light on them, treating others as we would want to be treated. Love covers many sins (Pe1 4:8). And beyond that, there is a special respect due to the faults of parents and other superiors, which should be covered with reverence.