Jump Start # 1804

Genesis 9:3 “Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant.”

We conclude our look at Noah and the flood. Genesis 9—the flood is over. Noah has left the ark. He builds an altar and sacrifices to God. The Lord has preserved Noah and his family. They start over in a brand new world. Like Adam, there is no one on the planet but Noah and his family for a while. I wonder if Noah ever went back to the ark. He spent a year in there. Did he return and just look around, think and pray?

There are some changes to this new world.

1. Although Noah will live another 300 years, the longevity of mankind drops off dramatically. Read Genesis five and notice how many lived well past 800 years old. After the flood, it just doesn’t happen like that again. By the time Moses wrote Psalms 90, the lifespan was about 70-80 years. That hasn’t changed much in centuries.

2. The animals will have a fear of man. Genesis 9:2 states, “the fear of you and the terror of you will be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky…” Take a walk around the neighborhood and notice how this is true. Birds fly away as you get near. Rabbits hop away as they hear you. This is a change. The impression before the flood is that the animals and mankind had a friendship. Maybe Noah used elephants and other animals to help build the ark. That has changed.

3. From our verse today, God, after the flood, allows Noah and all mankind to eat animals. This is a change. Before the flood, mankind and animals were all vegetarians. Don’t try to read into this a connection to how long Noah lived while eating greens and after man started eating meat, he died off more quickly. It is God who is allowing man to eat animals. There is nothing wrong with this. If it were “bad” for us, God would not have authorized it. Our God is good. The only restriction was placed upon blood. Man is not to eat blood.

4. God instituted the death penalty for taking human life. In Genesis 9:6, “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed.” God was emphasizing the preciousness of human life. There comes a penalty with taking life. Liberal thinkers through the generations have balked on the idea of capital punishment. They feel that it is not right. It is God who is putting a stake in the ground here. Life is precious. Man is made in the image of God. If one takes life, then his life is required.

Leaving the ark, Noah came into a new world and a different world. Things had changed since he was in the ark.

However, Genesis 9 also shows us that some things did not change.

It is in this chapter that Noah gets drunk, uncovers himself in his tent and his youngest son, Ham, “does something to him.” He reports the condition of Noah to his older brothers. They walk in backwards and cover Noah up. When Noah awakens, he realizes what Ham has done to him. Lots of ideas and theories here. The result is that Noah cursed the generations of Ham and proclaimed that his descendants would serve the descendants of his brothers.

After the flood, somethings never change—man continues to make wrong choices. Man sins. We wonder why these few verses are added to the Noah story. Did we really need to know about this? Doesn’t it taint how we now see Noah?

First, this is part of the story. God doesn’t hide things. Each of us have a story. There are things that we are proud about. There are things that we have done well. But each of us have our own “tent” story, of which we are ashamed. There are things that we have done that we do not want anyone to know about.

Second, what happened to Noah and the curse upon Canaan, helps us to understand the coming nations and how they work together. This is the beginning of world history. What happened in the tent and what came as a result, would shape generations and hundreds of years of history. This is the why.

Third, it reminds us that Noah wasn’t perfect. He’s not Jesus. He was blameless. He was righteous. Yet, he also sinned. Only Jesus walked this planet without sinning.

Fourth, it gives proof to the inspiration of the Bible. If we were writing the Noah story, we might either leave this page out about what happened in the tent, or we would so magnify it that it would overshadow everything else. Every saint has a past. Every sinner has a future. The biographer doesn’t know enough. The autobiographer knows too much. God knows all.

Fifth, it shows that even among righteous people, problems arise in our families. The things that happened in the tent were not between Noah and neighbors or Noah and enemies, but his own son. Our own families can hurt us and disappoint us. Our own families can despise us for who we are. We can let our families down. Sometimes we forget to be righteous at home. It is just as important to be righteous out in the community as it is within our tents.

Sixth, it also shows the grace of God. Noah shouldn’t have been drunk. Getting drunk and getting naked have long been connected together. One leads to the other and the other leads to trouble. God didn’t toss Noah out for this. Outside of this page, this is not mentioned again in Scripture. Noah’s name is found in Hebrews 11 as those who walked by faith and gained approval by God. In Ezekiel 14, when God was remembering three righteous people, Daniel, Job and Noah’s names are listed. There they are called righteous. God doesn’t put an asterisk by Noah’s name stating, “remember the tent incident.” The sins of Noah were forgiven. God allows second chances.

Seventh, this event didn’t destroy Noah. He didn’t run off. He didn’t quit on God. He didn’t commit suicide. He made a serious mistake. Other things happened. He recovered. Just as David did after his sin with Bathsheba. Just as Peter did after he denied the Lord. Just as you and I do after we have sought the forgiveness of God. The Lord wasn’t finished with Noah. There was another 300 years still to go for Noah. He had to continue to walk by faith. He had to continue being righteous, faithful and dependent upon God. The same goes for us. Just getting to the church house is hard for some. God’s not done with you yet. You may be retired and tired, but God’s not finished with you yet. There are always more to teach, encourage, help and show the way we need to go. You may not be able to do what you once did, but there are still things for you to do. Don’t quit on God.

Good ole’ Noah—great man of faith. A great example. A terrible time to live in. One who made right choices with God. One who gained approval with God.

Roger