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3/13/11. Genesis 8:15-11:26. What Ever Happened To Shem, Ham And Japheth? – Msg and questions

What Ever Happened To Shem, Ham And Japheth? 

 (Three Sons Who Quietly Co-worked With Their Dad, Noah)

 Shem,_Ham_and_Japheth

 

Link to the Kevin’s Bible Material                   Link to “What ever happened to that person?” series

Genesis 8:15-11:26                                                  Kevin E. Jesmer      3-13-11

Key verse 9:1

 

“Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.’”

     Today we are going to study about the son’s of Noah, Shem, Ham and Japheth. They were basically good sons. They believed what their father said concerning God’s judgment and they co-operated well with him to build the ark. They stood on God’s side and the side of God’s people. They were blessed along with Noah and their mother. They received God’s holy mission and the same covenant promise as Noah did. They were good boys. But as we know sin has its way of wielding it ugly head, even among believing children. We will see it in Ham. We will see it in the descendants of these three boys. Through a study of this passage let us find some principles of a house church. Let us see believers humbly and quietly co-working together at a crucial moment in God’s history. Let us discover the importance of our influence on future generations. But mostly let us see God, who is the sovereign Lord and who is in control of all world history and who is working out his holy purpose among us, even today.

 

Part l: A Beautiful Co-working Housechurch (6:9-9:17)

 

In this passage, we find Noah’s three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth. Japheth was the oldest, Shem was the youngest and Ham was the middle child. They were a Sumerian or Mesopotamian family. In the names of the three sons, we do not find so much spiritual meaning. Their names appear prophetic in nature. Shem means “name”, or “fame”. Ham means “hot”, or “cry out”. Japheth means, “spread out”. These are perfect names for the boys. Shem become the forefather of the Jews and Jesus. Ham was cursed. And Japheth became the maritime people. Our God, who knows the end from the beginning, is so wise in giving the names of these young men.

 

All three of them were also married. Their wives seemed to have quietly and humbly co-worked together. They were newer families, as they had no children yet. It is so rare for all siblings to be married. Many are opting not to marry; others cohabitate; others wait until late in life. How blessed Noah must have been to see his sons all married to women who believed God’s way of salvation. Noah’s family set a good example for the young people of our generation. I pray for all my kids to have faith enough, and the God-given opportunity, to marry godly spouses, like Noah’s sons.

The three sons also respected the spiritual insight of their father. The Bible says that Noah was a preacher of righteousness. (2 Peter 2:5) He walked with God each day and preached to the people around him about God and how to have a proper relationship with God. It was not easy to do this in that generation. The people of the earth were godless and the violence had spread to the point that God was not going to take it anymore. Even those who were called to be servants of God, had corrupted their ways. (Gen 6:1-2) When Noah spoke about the righteousness of God, he must have been met with rejection and disdain. One day God told Noah about this upcoming judgment and his way of salvation. One day, Noah began to talk about how God would destroy the earth with a flood and anyone who believed God and helped build the ark and get into it, would be saved. The people did not believe Noah. They mocked him, saying, “You foolish old man…What are you doing? Why waste your time. Everything is going on as it always has. There will not be huge flood.” But Noah was steadfast as a preacher of righteousness.

It was not easy for Shem, Ham and Japheth to hear what the people were saying about Noah. This was their father. But God had opened their eyes to see that what their father was saying was absolutely true. They were confident that they were also included in God’s plan of salvation. And so they stood by their father’s side. They were not afraid to identify with the servant of God, Noah. They were not afraid to be despised and reject for the sake of righteous. Jesus once said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”  (Matt 5:10-12) Shem, Ham and Japheth stood on the side of their dad, but more importantly on the side of truth and righteousness.

They quietly co-worked with their father. There is no way that Noah could have built this ark on his own. Some to those beams must have weighed hundreds of pounds. God was not like an invisible crane lifting the beam in place. I am sure that the sons and their wives were not just sitting in front of the TV. while Noah was working so hard. They were helping Noah. And their help went on year after year. They were quietly working side by side with their father. Ephesians 6:1-3 reads, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 ‘that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.’” Noah’s sons obeyed Noah as Noah obeyed God. They honored Noah through their faith. Their obedient faith also honored God. I thank God for the humble co-working of our children in the work of God. They believe the Gospel. They have spiritual eyes to see what is going on here and they are co-working to reveal Jesus and build up the work of God. Praise the Lord!

God recognized the personal faith of these boys. He included them in his salvation plan. Look at Genesis 7:1-4 The LORD then said to Noah, ‘Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.’” They were saved on their personal faith in God and their obedience born out of their faith, and not just because they were doing what their father told them. May our young people repent of following someone else’s faith and have their own personal, obedient, saving faith in Jesus Christ and have personal conviction to follow the way of salvation, the Gospel.

Their life in the ark together also revealed their faith. If one considers the time they spent in the ark, they would discover that it was about one year. That was one year of living in a barn that was rocked by the waves. It was not easy for them to live together in such conditions. There must have been many fights and arguments and tears. During storms they all had to lash themselves to the beams of the galley. But they overcame through the power of faith and forgiveness. When Shem complained that he was being forced to clean out the stalls everyday simply because he was the youngest, the others repented and divvied up the tasks evenly among them. They actually helped each other, even if it wasn’t their job. In this way they maintained the ark like a navy vessel. You may think that you can get along with people, but you don’t really know yourself until you live with others in limited space. Then you can discover what it means to love and forgive and serve others. Since leaving home for college at 18, I have always had roommates. For almost a year we had our seven family members and four sisters and three pets in our house. It was common life in the Lord. I thank God, for in these times I could learn faith. May God establish common life among us with growing disciples of Jesus like Shem, Ham and Japheth.

 

At the end of the year, the ark came to rest on the slopes of Mt Ararat. The Bible says that even after the ark came to rest, they did not leave the ark for about a month. Noah was waiting for God’s clear direction to come out. Noah knew that God knew best. Maybe God was protecting them from malaria or from flash floods or mud slides. God always knows best. But these sons, if they were ordinary men, could have told Noah, “I don’t care, I am leaving this ark now. I am sick of being here. And don’t tell me what to do. I am already a grown man.” They could have jumped ship and did their own thing.  But they believed and obeyed their father when he told them to wait on God.

 

When God finally gave the “go ahead” what did they do? They built an ark and sacrificed some the clean animals and the clean birds. How difficult this would be! If it was me, I would have a big party, slaughter a cow and have a huge barbeque and celebrate. It shows that God was first and foremost on their minds. They also offered some of the clean animals and the clean birds. There were not many of these to be had. There were probably lots of sick and dying animals and unclean animals. Why not offer these? But they offered the best. They remembered the faith of their ancestor Abel. (Gen 4:4) They made and “Able offering” that cost them something. Their first impulse was to worship and thank God. May that be our first impulse in all important events in our lives.

 

They all received a new beginning in God. God restored their mission in Genesis 9:1, which reads, “Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.’” God recognized them all and made them covenant sons, for since they shared in the same faith as Noah, they also were part of the same covenant.

 

God then set out to build the image of God in them. Look at 9:1-11. They had been through a lot and seen a lot of things that no person should ever see, like extreme violence and death. There were so many wounds and scars on their hearts. But God began the healing process. They were to not eat the life blood of animals while it was still in them. God was establishing the value of blood sacrifice but he was also telling mankind to respect all life and not to treat animals cruelly even when slaughtering them. He respected mankind’s position in creation, keeping their position above the animals and all creation, even though mankind had sinned greatly against God. This is the unconditional love of God, who forgives and respects us and gives us a place in his family and a position in his glorious redemptive work. Thank God for his grace. God also instituted capital punishment. The boys were desensitized because of the violence they grew up with and the carnage of the flood. Human life seemed cheap. God wanted to change that because a person’s life is valuable simply because they are made in the image of God.

 

 

 

Part ll: The Seeds Of Sin Were Still There…Ready To Sprout. (9:18-28)

 

The flood did not solve mankind’s sin problem. In Genesis 9:18-28, we see an incident involving Noah and his three sons. Apparently, Noah had planted vineyards. He was being fruitful in every way. He was making wine. One day he was walking around his tent naked and drinking too much wine, and he passed out naked in the tent. OK, he was doing this in the privacy of his home. But it is still never good for a father and a servant of God to drink to the point of passing out naked. But the point of the whole story is the reaction of the boys. Ham happened to enter his father’s tent and saw him lying there. He went out and told his brothers, “Hey! Look at dad!” and brought them in to see him. He wanted to hang Noah’s sins and weaknesses out for all to see. The response of the other two sons reveals the right response. They would not gaze upon their father’s nakedness. They went in backwards and covered his nakedness. They respected Noah, their father and spiritual leader.

 

When Noah awoke he was so angry at Ham. Ham had disrespected his father. He had also disrespected the servant of God appointed for that new society. He had also diss’d the governor (for Noah was all three). God was very serious about also this. God wanted to establish the new society on a foundation of truth, grace and mercy. Sure Noah had his weakness. Maybe he should not have done what he did. But he is not perfect, just forgiven. He was made righteous by God’s grace. Ham should have forgiven and respected his father and covered over his weaknesses with grace. He should have prayed for his did and if his drinking was a problem then he should offer ways to help him. Ham’s descendants were cursed and 6 centuries later they would be enslaved by the descendants of Shem, the Israelites, when they took over the Promised Land under Joshua.

 

The Bible tells us to “honor your father and mother” (Ex 20:12), not only if they are perfect, but because they are our parents. We expect our pastors and church leaders to be perfect speakers, managers, counselors, accountants, parents, CEO’s etc. But they are imperfect too. If we are going to build a church and families on love and respect then we must practice love and respect ourselves at home and in the church. May our lives be marked by grace and mercy, love and respect.

 

Part lll: The Heritage Of Shem, Ham and Japheth (10:1-11:32)

 

We can see the outcome of the lives of the sons of Noah in the genealogy. Their descendants spread out to in all directions. This could have happened quickly as families might have had 20 kids each. Shem’s people became the Hebrews, (Israel) Chaldeans, Assyrians, (Iraq) and the Persians (Iran). Abraham came through the decedents of Shem. And so did Jesus. That fulfilled the meaning of his name, “Fame”. Ham’s people became the Canaanites, Egyptians, Philistines, Hittites and the Amorites. They were at odds with ancient Israel, and so the name Ham, meaning “Hot”, is very prophetic. Japheth’s people became the Greeks, Thracians and Scythians. The meaning of his name, to “spread out” was fulfilled through them. After Jesus came, Gospel faith spread through the descendants of Japheth, the Greeks, especially through Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles. (Life Application Study Bible).

 

There a couple of verses concerning the descendants of these boys. In Genesis 10:8, we see a Cushite, a descendant of Ham who was a mighty hunter before the Lord and a mighty warrior on the earth. I don’t know if this is sinful. Actually it sounds kind of cool to me. In 10:25 we find that the earth was divided. It could mean that the earth was divided by water or there could have been political divisions. Whenever there are people there is divisions. God wants his people to be united in faith, hope, love, mission and purpose. We can have this when we have Gospel centered faith, the Holy Spirit and when we serve and glorify Jesus along with other Christians. Then we can have unity. We can have unity when we forgive each others and cover over each others’ weaknesses’ with grace. Factions, that is, divisions among God’s people, are the fruit of the sinful nature and not the fruit of the spirit. (Gal 5:20) So let’s not be divided, but united in Jesus.

Sin slowly grew in the hearts of their descendants is culminating in the Tower of Babel incident. After several generations of spreading, it seems that they did not want to scatter any longer. Civilizations and cultures had advanced to the point where people became proud. They ignored God’s will and concocted a plan to build a huge tower that reached to the heavens.  Their motive is revealed in Genesis 11:3-4, “They said to each other, ‘Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.’ They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.’” They set out to make a name for themselves. They wanted to stick together and challenge God’s authority. They were proud of their abilities and thought that, with their latest technology (Tar, mortar and baked bricks), coupled with human ingenuity and co-operation, nothing they planned would be impossible for them to do. So, in their pride they disobeyed God and challenged his sovereignty by building a tower that would reach to heaven.

The fact that they wanted to glorify themselves goes against God’s original purpose. Mankind was created to glorify God, to live for the sake of his name. But people become very proud and set out to bolster their own names for their own glory. They unite in their own strength and challenged God. This was nothing new. When Satan tempted Eve, he promised her, “…You will be like God…” (3:5) He planted pride in her heart and led her to rebel against God. Pride is the greatest of all sins. Pride is living for one’s own glory and apposing God. Are we using all of our human power and ingenuity to build our own personal Tower of Babel?

God loved them still. Yet he could not let them carry on as they were doing.  And so he came up with a plan. Look at 11:6 & 7, “The LORD said, ‘If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.'” God did not destroy them. He forgave them and bore with them. He still hoped in them. He simply broke up their sinful plans by confusing their languages so they could not co-operate, and then he scattered them all over the earth. They would still spread out and fill the earth, obeying God, despite of their own plans. God is going to accomplish his will despite of our own plans. And so it is wise to get “on board” with what God right from the beginning.

 

God confused their language so that they could not understand each other. For the time being, the descendants of Shem, Ham and Japheth, would not be able to communicate and work together. This would carry on for thousands of years. But nowadays people are starting to communicate together more, through English, the modern trade language, and through computers and the internet. It seems that if we put our minds together there is nothing impossible for us to do. I heard that the Japanese want to clone a mammoth in the next five years. There is talk about extending human life to 200 years. Science is good, but will we use science and technology to build our own tower of Babel and rebel against the Lord? I pray not.

At the time of the building of the Tower, God was already making a long-range plan for the salvation of mankind. God wants people to work together to do good and not to do evil. But to do so our hearts must be changed. One day he would send his Spirit to work in regenerated people to enable mankind to praise him with one voice and heart. He nurtured the line of Shem, and at the right time, called one man Abraham, to become the ancestor of a new redemptive history that would generate a people holy who can live for the glory of God. This would be fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

In this passage we see a beautiful house church in the lives of Shem, Ham and Japheth. They were quietly co-working to serve God’s holy purpose. They were standing on the side of righteousness, and bearing with each other, creating a new beginning for mankind in God. In Ham and their descendants we also see the limitations of our efforts to over come the power of sin on our own. There were still the seeds of sin. We need more than just a new start with a godly family. We need Jesus and his gospel to be saved. We also need to get on board with what God is doing, for God’s redemptive work is rolling on like a river. All aboard!

 

Part l: A Beautiful Co-working Housechurch

 

  1. Who are Shem, Ham and Japheth? What was there birth order? (9:24; 10:21) What was

their marital situation? (7:13) What had God told their father, Noah, to do? (7:13-14)

How did the sons respond to Noah’s preaching? (2 Pe 2:5; 2 Pe 3:3-7; Ge 19:14) How

were they good co-workers with their father? (Eph 6:1-4)

 

  1. How long were the three sons in the ark? What was their attitude? How long did they

stay in the ark after the ark came to rest on the Mount Ararat? (8:13-19) What would

ordinary people do? What does this show about them?

 

  1. What was the mission that God gave Noah and his sons? (9:1, 7) Why did the animals fear  mankind? (9:2) Why the strict laws concerning the life blood of animals and capital punishment? (9:4-6) What covenant did God make with Noah and his sons? (9:8-17)

 

Part ll: The Heritage Of Shem, Ham And Japheth

 

4.    What did Noah do after starting a new life? (9:20) What happened to him? (21)

What was Noah’s position in this new society? What did Ham do? Why is this wrong? (Ex

20: 12; Ro 12:10b) What did his brother’s do? (23) What was Noah’s reaction? (9:24-27)

How did he curse Ham? What   does this mean? (Lev 18:2-3; Jdg 1:30; Jos 9:27; 16:10)

 

  1. Look at the descendants of Japheth? (10:2-5) Which nations did his descendants become?

Look at the descendants of Ham. (6-20) Which nations did his descendants become?

Look at the  descendants of Shem. (21-31) Which nations did Shem’s descendants

become? What effect had sin made on the developing nations? (10:25)

 

 

  1. What happened to mankind over the centuries after Noah’s flood? (11:1-4) What did God

want them to do? What was their intention? (4) How much effort did they make for this

project? (3)

 

7        What did God think about this? (5-6) What danger did God foresee? (6) What did God do? (7-9) Did they eventually obey God? What does this teach us about God? What happened to the descendents of Shem? What can you learn concerning your own influence?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




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