Genesis 9:1 So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.
"Noah is saved from the deluge. His life is twice given to him by God. He had found grace in the sight of the Lord, and now he and his family have been graciously accepted when they approached the Lord with burnt-offerings. In him, therefore, the race of man is to be begun anew. Accordingly, as at the beginning, the Lord proceeds to bless him.” (Barnes' Notes)
"When Noah came forth from the ark, after the stupendous act of divine justice, he must have felt that the first thing he needed was some assurance as to the footing on which he and the new world round him stood with God. The flood had swept away the old order. It had revealed terrible possibilities of destruction in nature, and terrible possibilities of wrath in God. Was any knowledge of His intentions and ways possible? Could continuance of the new order be counted on? The answer to such questions was-God’s covenant. Now.. the heart cries out for some assurance of perpetuity, and some revelation of God’s mind. We can have such, as truly as Noah had, if we use the Revelation given us in Jesus.
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[CONCERNING GOD'S COVENANT].... NOTE THE GREAT THOUGHT, that God limits His freedom of action by this definite promise. Noah was not left to grope in dread among the terrible possibilities opened by the flood. God marked out the line on which He would move, and marked off a course which He would not pursue. It is like a king giving his subjects a constitution. Men can reckon on God. He has let them know much of the principles and methods of His government. He has buoyed out His course, as it were, on the ocean, or pricked it down upon a chart. We have not to do with arbitrary power, with inscrutable will. Our God is not one who ‘giveth no account of any of His matters.’ To use a common saying, ‘We know where to have Him.’” (Alexander MacLauren) Thanks be to Yahweh for His Word!
2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand.
"The blessing of fruitfulness, conferred on Adam (Gen. 1:28) now is reaffirmed to Noah, the federal head of a renewed world. However, there is a significant omission. The decree, 'Have thou dominion' (Gen. 1:28) is not included. World dominion, originally assigned by God to man, had been forfeited by sin, and awaited the appearance of the ideal Son of God, completely 'in His image and likeness', before it could be conferred. See Eph. 1:22; Heb. 2:8-9.
There had been perfect harmony before sin had created fear (Gen. 3:10; Rom. 8:19-23). Fear of man is inherent in the fiercest beasts of prey, brought about by man's use of his superior intellect. Without this fear, mankind would have been destroyed by the fierce beasts of prey.
Into your hand are they delivered— Man has the ability to tame and to use many of the beasts of the field (Jas. 3:7).” (Christodelphian Expositor- G. E. Mansfield)
3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs.
"As animals were slain for sacrifice before the Flood, it can be assumed that meat was an article of diet during that period. However, inasmuch as animals were separated into clean and unclean categories (Gen. 7:2), it is obvious that some were prescribed for food. At that time, humanity also was divided into categories: the seed of the woman, and the seed of Cain; and therefore a separation of animals for diet reminded man of the need of separation from evil association. But now only the family of Noah remained, and the distinction was no longer necessary. Therefore an extension of diet was granted. The separation of animals into clean and unclean categories has a doctrinal, and therefore spiritual, significance, for as Paul observes, 'there is nothing unclean of itself’ (Rom. 14:14). What is the spiritual significance attached to this Noahic decree? From Acts 10:12-16, we learn that the killing and eating of meats typified the preaching of the Gospel. In that regard, Peter was told that the distinction that previously prevailed no longer applied: 'What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common'. The preaching of the Gospel was to be extended to all, irrespective as to race. That, also, was the state of things after the Flood. All in the Ark, though previously divided into clean and unclean categories, had now been cleansed in preparation for the Noahic covenant Yahweh was about to proclaim. All were to be incorporated into the benefits of the Gospel about to be preached. In fulfilment of the type, all peoples that remain after the holocaust of Armageddon and its aftermath, will be cleansed and incorporated into the Kingdom (Psa. 72:17). Because all in the Ark were invited to the benefits of the covenant about to be proclaimed, all animals were considered suitable for food, and Noah was invited to select what he desired to that end. Similarly, since the Gospel was opened up to the Gentiles, the same provision has been made (See 1 Tim. 4:3-5; Rom. 14:3,14,17,20; 1 Cor. 10:23, 25,26,31); for the separation of race, between Jew and Gentile, does not apply as far as the preaching of the Gospel is concerned. It can be seen, therefore, that there was no inconsistency in granting all animals for food to Noah, and forbidding some to Moses. The conditions of the Gospel call had changed. In the days of Moses, all flesh had corrupted Yahweh's way, and He had again separated a nation (Israel) unto Himself. Therefore, the racial distinction between clean and unclean had been established again, and was incorporated as a salutary lesson in the separation of animals into clean and unclean categories.” (Christodelphian Expositor- G. E. Mansfield)
4 But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man.
6 “Whoever sheds man’s blood,
By man his blood shall be shed;
For in the image of God
He made man.
7 And as for you, be fruitful and multiply;
Bring forth abundantly in the earth
And multiply in it.”
"The main reason of forbidding the eating of blood, doubtless was because the shedding of blood in sacrifices was to keep the worshippers in mind of the great atonement; yet it seems intended also to check cruelty, lest men, being used to shed and feed upon the blood of animals, should grow unfeeling to them, and be less shocked at the idea of shedding human blood. Man must not take away his own life. Our lives are God's, and we must only give them up when he pleases. If we in any way hasten our own death, we are accountable to God for it. When God requires the life of a man from him that took it away unjustly, the murderer cannot render that, and therefore must render his own instead. One time or other, in this world or in the next, God will discover murders, and punish those murders which are beyond man's power to punish. But there are those who are ministers of God to protect the innocent, by being a terror to evil-doers, and they must not bear the sword in vain, Ro 13:4. Wilful murder ought always to be punished with death.” (Matthew Henry)
8 Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: 9 “And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. 11 Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
12 And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13 I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. 14 It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; 15 and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”
"The covenant made with Noah in Genesis 6:18 is now formally confirmed. The purpose conceived in the heart Genesis 8:21 now receives significant expression. Not only a new blessing is bestowed, but also a new covenant is formed with Noah. For he that has offered an acceptable sacrifice is not only at peace with God, but renewed in mind after the image of God. He is therefore a fit subject for entering into a covenant….Unto Noah and to his sons...- God addresses the sons of Noah as the progenitors of the future race” (Barnes Notes on the Bible)-hopefully faithful ones.
Genesis 9:18 Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan.
"These were born before the flood, and went into the ark with Noah, and came out with him; see Genesis 5:32." (Gill's Exposition)
"Ham is the father of Canaan.—Though human life had thus begun again upon a firmer footing, yet evil and discord were soon to reappear, though in a milder form. No brother sheds a brother’s blood, but in the next generation sin breaks forth afresh, and the human family is disunited thereby, the descendants of Canaan taking the place of the Cainites—without indeed, their striking gifts, but nevertheless as a race foremost in trade and commerce. “ (Ellicott's Commentary)
19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.
It is useless genealogies to me to trace the descendants of these sons of Noah. But it is edifying to note that we are each influenced by them spiritually. Do not give sin a footing in your life! Draw near to Christ!!! The Spirit of Christ and the spirit of antichrist are again both present in the world. They both can effect your eternal salvation. And there are no small sins: "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.” (James 2:10)
20 And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. 21 Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent.
"And Noah began to be a husbandman —.... Some time after his departure out of the ark he returned to his old employment, from which he had been diverted by the building of the ark first.’"(Benson Commentary)
Then he drank of the wine and was drunk and became uncovered in his tent-- "Either through ignorance and inexperience of the nature and strength of that liquor, or through the infirmity of the flesh, which was tempted by its great and, to him, new pleasantness, and by the refreshment he found in it under the weary labours of his body, and the sad thoughts of his mind, for the desolate condition of the world.
He was uncovered, either to relieve himself against the heat of the climate and season, or from his negligence and carelessness; which might easily happen, because men’s garments at that time were loose.” (Matthew Poole)
"The drunkenness of Noah is recorded in the Bible, with that fairness which is found only in the Scripture, as a case and proof of human weakness and imperfection, even though he may have been surprised into the sin; and to show that the best of men cannot stand upright, unless they depend upon Divine grace, and are upheld thereby. …” (Matthew Henry) However, “….—perhaps at the festivities of the vintage season. This solitary stain on the character of so eminently pious a man must, it is believed, have been the result of age or inadvertency.” (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown)
22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. 23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.
"Although excuse may be made for this drunkenness, the words of Luther are still true:... This trifling fall served to display the hearts of his sons. Ham saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.” (Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament) "Ham appears to have been a bad man, and probably rejoiced to find his father in an unbecoming situation. It was said of Noah, that he was perfect in his generations.” (Matthew Henry)
"And Ham saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren — To have seen it accidentally and involuntarily would not have been a crime. But he pleased himself with the sight. And he told his brethren without — In the street, as the word is, in a scornful, deriding manner.
AND SHEM AND JAPHETH TOOK A GARMENT— They not only would not see it themselves, but provided that no one else might see it; herein setting an example of charity with reference to other men’s sin and shame. ” (Benson Commentary)
Excerpt from "Delighting in Sin" by Stephen Terry
"This brief story which is related in only 4 verses out of the Bible carries more weight than the shortness of the story seems to deserve. Noah and his family have just survived the flood and gotten reestablished on the earth. What happens here shows that the flood did not end mankind’s problem with making bad choices. Noah got drunk and took off all his clothes, but is that the problem God is most concerned about or is it something else? It is Ham who ends up with a curse over what took place, not Noah. Why?
Ham saw in his father’s indiscretion a tale to relate to others. His brothers, the only other surviving men he could tell it to were the recipients of this sad tale. Maybe he said something like, 'Hey, brothers. You know our father? The one who talks to God? The one who always acts so holy? Well he is drunk and naked in his tent. He doesn’t look so holy now. You should go see and get a laugh.' Or maybe he said, 'Brothers, we should pray for our father who is drunk and naked in his tent. He seems to be going astray after all God has done for him.'
In the first instance, Ham would have been obviously ridiculing that which is holy and most of us can easily see why that would be wrong. But what about the second instance? It carries with it much more subtle dangers. Like the first it spreads the knowledge of the sin, but it does so with an apparent holy motive. But is it holy? Ham would be implying that his father is a greater sinner than he is, and if his brothers would only look they would see this is true. So the hearers are led to understand that the talebearer is more righteous than the one the tale is about. The end result is to lift up the righteousness of the talebearer in the eyes of others while tearing down the reputation of someone else.” http://ssnet.org/blog/2011/07/delighting-in-sin/
24 So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him. 25 Then he said:
“Cursed be Canaan;
A servant of servants
He shall be to his brethren.”
26 And he said:
“Blessed be the Lord,
The God of Shem,
And may Canaan be his servant.
27 May God enlarge Japheth,
And may he dwell in the tents of Shem;
And may Canaan be his servant.”
Three sons survived the flood. They were perhaps protected by association with Noah, but they are given places of prominence or shame based on their own deeds or mitzvahs after the flood. Yahweh is given the title of "the God of Shem." (Gen 9:26) In Torah, Ham broke the Mitzvah with a special promise for keeping it: "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you." (Exo 20:12; Eph 6:2) After he dishonored his father by revealing his nakedness and follies, Noah prophesied concerning him and his descendants: "Cursed be Canaan (descendants of Ham); a servant of servants he shall be to his brothers." And it happened that the Canaanites inhabited the Land of Promise at the time that Yahweh had planned to give it to Israel. They, like the antediluvian populace, were predominately evil… and thus, their days were numbered in the land. And likewise, all spiritual Canaanites are not given a lot in that Eternal Kingdom, even the Promised Land, due to lack of regard for the Mitzvah of Yahweh God of Shem.
It does not seem right for Yahweh to hold Ham's descendants responsible for the iniquities of their father. But Jehovah God said: "I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My Commandments (Mitsvah)." (Exod 20:5-6; See also Exod 34:12-16) These iniquities were only "visited" on his descendants; any one of them could change sides to Yahweh God by trusting in the Coming Redeemer.
Noah spoke blessing on Shem who initiated the covering of his nakedness. He proclaimed: "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem and may Canaan be his servant." (Gen 9:25-26) I believe that the words have eternal significance!
And do you sense the yearning in the heart of Noah for the third son, Japheth. Perhaps, he was a modern day fence rider who at the time aided the righteous brother. Noah desires that he dwell in Shem's tent— not Ham’s, as it is written: "May God enlarge Japheth, and may he dwell in the tents of Shem; and may Canaan be his servant."(Gen 9:27)
"Abraham and all his posterity were included in the descendants of Shem, as appears from the next chapter. Our Lord Jesus Christ, therefore, in whom all the nations of the earth are to be blessed, sprang from him.” (Benson Commentary)
28 And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. 29 So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died.
Will you walk with Yahweh God? After your decease, will people call Him your God, as they did for Shem? Love covers a multitude of sins. If you are unsure if you belong to Him or not, why not come to Him by faith in the Seed of the Woman— the Kinsman Redeemer— and serve Him while you yet live?