Love Covers a Multitude of Sins by {studiobeerhorst}-bbmarie

The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) These were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the people who were scattered over the whole earth.

Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked.

When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, he said,

“Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.”

He also said,

“Praise be to the LORD, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. May God extend Japheth’s territory; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth.”

After the flood Noah lived 350 years. Noah lived a total of 950 years, and then he died.

Genesis 9:18-29

Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. (v.20) Noah spent most of the last 120+ years as a carpenter. He built the ark and, presumably, he built his house after the ark came to rest. He spent more than a year as a zoo keeper during his time in the ark with the animals. Yet verse 20 tells us that Noah is a man of the soil. It’s interesting how God sometimes gives us our work assignment for a season, then the season changes and we’re to work in a different field. If you’re not working at your church consider Noah’s seasons of carpentry and zoo keeping. He didn’t build forever — he built for a season. He didn’t care for the animals forever — he cared for them for a season. If you’re reluctant to volunteer in the children’s ministry at your church because you don’t want to be locked in, look at it as a season. Volunteer for a year or a month. See how it goes. It’s not forever. It’s just for a season. Noah’s season of carpentry saved all of humanity. Your season of ministry will also bear fruit. Noah helped for a season and was used by God. Help for a season and see how God uses you.

When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. (v.21) I’m currently reading a book about Billy Graham titled The Preacher and the Presidents. This is a fascinating book about Graham’s considerable influence on every president from Harry Truman to George W. Bush. As I read I’m blown away by two seemingly contradictory messages. The first is how mightily God used the man Billy Graham to influence the world for Jesus. The second is how human Billy Graham is. I won’t share any of the humanity of God’s annointed. And Mr. Graham certainly never fell into drunkeness. Yet he had his frailties and faults just like the rest of us. If you’re interested in learning about the remarkable life of Billy Graham and his relationship with the presidents check out The Preacher and the Presidents by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy.

In verse 21 we see Noah, “a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time,” we see Noah, the one who “walked faithfully with God,” we see Noah: sin. (Genesis 6:9) Noah, the great man of God drinks in excess. The one who avoided the temptation to drink in excess while living among a people who likely indulged in drunkeness, now, separated from the debauch influences of the pre-flood society, falls into sin. Sometimes, just when we think we’ve successfully navigated through the season of temptation is when we’re most vulnerable. That’s an important time to keep in mind how much we need God’s help to walk the path God has in mind for us.

And notice that as a result of Noah’s drunkeness he lay uncovered. That’s how it always is with drinking. No one disputes it. People are uncovered when they drink. Inhibitions are reduced when under the influence of alcohol. People say things, people do things that would make them blush were they sober. The likelihood of sin increases proportionately with the amount of alcohol we consume. The Bible doesn’t say it’s wrong to drink but from this point forward the Bible says it’s wrong to be drunk. It’s undeniable that where alcohol abounds sin abounds in greater measure.

Both the account of Billy Graham and the account of Noah are a source of great hope for you and for me. Here are two men who were mightily used by God. And you and I have something in common with them both: we’re human, we sin, we fail. Perhaps God will use you and I mightily as well, for all these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. (1 Corinthians 12:11) I pray God’s Holy Spirit will determine to choose you, and to choose me to be used by God.

Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. (v.22) The King James Version puts it this way And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. (v.22 KJV) Some scholars believe that the words saw the nakedness are used as a euphemism for a sexual act as similar words are used in Leviticus 18:6. Others believe that it’s more along the lines of what’s described in Habakkuk 2:15, Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk, so that he can gaze on their naked bodies! What’s not in question is that there was some type of sexual sin committed here on the part of Ham. Something damaging happened for verse 24 says that Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him.

Then we see that Ham follows up with a proclamation of his father’s nakedness. Ham told his two brothers. But why? Why did Ham feel compelled to talk about his father’s nakedness? Why do you and I feel compelled to talk about the weaknesses and shortcomings of those who are close to us? It’s our sin nature surfacing. “But I see it so clearly,” we think. “I just need to get this off my chest,” we say. “Others need to know the truth,” we reason. But oh the damage we do when we share about the weaknesses of others. We experience damage to relationships. We even experience damage to the trust of the person we’re sharing with. Because if I talk about the weaknesses of others who’s to say that later I won’t talk about the weaknesses of the one I’m sharing with. Exposing the problems and weaknesses of others is damaging on so many levels.

Lord keep us from the temptation of gossip.

But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked. (v.23) In contrast to Ham, Shem and Japheth went to the trouble of taking a garment, laying it across their shoulders, then walking backwards to avoid looking upon their father’s nakedness. They didn’t want to look upon their father’s nakedness as Ham did. And they desired to cover their father so others wouldn’t see his nakedness as well. This is love in action. This is 1 Peter 4:8 being lived out by Shem and Japheth before 1 Peter 4:8 was written. God tells us above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8) When a loved one sins we have choices to make. We can join them (as Adam did with Eve), we can expose their sin to others through talk (or texts, or emails, or . . .), or we can, like Shem and Japheth, turn our face the other way so we won’t see the weaknesses of others. We can, like Shem and Japheth cover the weaknesses of others. Shem and Japheth chose to cover their father’s sin. And as we’ll see, they were blessed for it.

“Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.” (v.24) Before we see Shem and Japheth blessed, we see Ham cursed. “But it’s Canaan, Ham’s son that’s being cursed,” you might say. I don’t know about Ham, but I’d rather be cursed myself than have one of my sons cursed. That’s how it is with sin. We might think that when we sin we’ll bear the consequences on our own but one of the many problems with sin is that it doesn’t just effect the sinner. The sin of Ham resulted in the culture of the Canaanites becoming one of the most debauch and perverse in the history of mankind. And as we’ve seen in the previous post Because You Have Done This the wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23) There was death to the relationship between Ham and his father. And ultimately death to the entire Canaanite culture as they were wiped out due to their strangely perverse society.

He also said,“Praise be to the LORD, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. May God extend Japheth’s territory; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth.” (v.26-27) Would you like to be associated with praise to the LORD like Shem? Would you like to see your territory extended like Japheth’s? Then live out 1 Peter 4:8 and cover your brother, cover your sister, cover your father and mother. Speak of peoples’ strengths. Cover their weaknesses. Over time people will notice. Over time people will associate you with God’s love. And over time your territory of influencing others for God’s kingdom will increase. Who doesn’t want that?

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

Luke 6:36-37

References:

• Blue Letter Bible
• Bible Gateway
• Biblos
• Ray Stedman
• The Preacher and the Presidents by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy
• Jon Couson
• Chuck Missler
• Photo courtesy of  {studiobeerhorst}-bbmarie Click on: http://www.flickr.com/photos/74782490@N00/469815364

Newly released book by Kurt Bennett, now available on Amazon!

Love Like Jesus: How Jesus Loved People (and how you can love like Jesus)

Love Like Jesus begins with the story of how after a life of regular church attendance and Bible study, Bennett was challenged by a pastor to study Jesus. That led to an obsessive seven year deep dive. After pouring over Jesus’ every interaction with another human being, he realized he was doing a much better job of studying Jesus’ words than he was following Jesus’ words and example. The honest and fearless revelations of Bennett’s own moral failures affirm he wrote this book for himself as much as for others.

Love Like Jesus examines a variety of stories, examples, and research, including:

• Specific examples of how Jesus communicated God’s love to others.
• How Jesus demonstrated all five of Gary Chapman’s love languages (and how you can too).
• The story of how Billy Graham extended Christ’s extraordinary love and grace toward a man who misrepresented Jesus to millions.
• How to respond to critics the way Jesus did.
• How to love unlovable people the way Jesus did.
• How to survive a life of loving like Jesus (or how not to become a Christian doormat).
• How Jesus didn’t love everyone the same (and why you shouldn’t either).
• How Jesus guarded his heart by taking care of himself–he even napped–and why you should do the same.
• How Jesus loved his betrayer Judas, even to the very end.

With genuine unfiltered honesty, Love Like Jesus, shows you how to live a life according to God’s definition of success: A life of loving God well, and loving the people around you well too.

A life of loving like Jesus.

(Kindle, hardcover, and paperback now available on Amazon.)