God had completely destroyed mankind from the face of the earth (7:21-23a) because of their continual disobedience (6:5). Only Noah, his wife, three sons, and their wives survived the global flood by boarding an ark (6:17-18) and awaiting the waters to recede (8:1). The flood as well as the drying out period lasted one year and ten days (Genesis 7:11-8:14) and then Noah’s family disembarked (8:15-19). God commanded them to “be fruitful and multiply on the earth” (8:17), which would repopulate the earth with people. As an act of worship and praise to God for their protection, Noah built an altar and offered of every clean animal (8:20). His offering was acceptable in the sight of God, who promised to never again destroy the earth by global flood, even though He knew man would remain evil (8:21).
Although God blessed Noah and his family (9:1), many things would be changing in the world around them. First, man’s interaction with animals drastically changed. Up to this point man had only eaten herbs, but his diet would now include animals (9:2-3); however, he was not permitted to consume the blood of the animal, which symbolized life (9:4). Secondly, God established capital punishment to provide consequences to anyone who would take the life of another (9:5). Since man is created in the image of God, his life carried value. Murder cheapened the value of life and God demanded that a murderer’s life be taken from him (9:6). The New Testament also seems to support capital punishment in the current age (Romans 13:4). The last thing that changed was God’s view of destroying all the earth by flood (9:8-17). In the days of Noah, God used a global flood to destroy all living things for man’s disobedience, but God made an everlasting covenant with Noah, and all generations to follow, that He would never again use a global flood to destroy all living things from the earth (9:11). As a visible reminder of this promise, God created rainbows which would forever symbolize God’s covenant with Noah to never again destroy the earth with a global flood (9:12-17).
Following the establishment of this covenant, the reader is reminded that Noah’s three sons (Ham, Shem, and Japheth) and their wives began repopulating the earth (9:18-19). The story then focuses on Ham (father of Canaan) who had gotten a glimpse of his drunken father, Noah, laying naked in his tent (9:20-22a). Not much detail is provided concerning what happened while Ham was with his father in the tent, but the story implies that something sinful took place. Most believe that Ham prided himself in seeing his father in such an undignified and weak position. Thinking that his two brothers would share in his attitude toward their father, Ham told them what he had seen; however, they did not share in his feelings and respectfully covered their father’s nakedness (9:22b-23). When Noah woke from his sleep he knew what Ham had done, so he pronounced a curse on Ham’s descendants, “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants he shall be to his brethren” (9:25). This implied that that Ham’s descendants, the Canaanites, would serve or be conquered by the descendants of Shem and Japheth, whom Noah blessed (9:26-27).
Dear God, may I live my life in the ways You have established.
