Confusion is the Takeaway

Scripture: 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.”
Genesis 9:24-25

Observation: There are many, many interpretations of what Ham did when he found Noah drunk, everything from simply failing to help him, to disrespecting and mocking him, to possibilities of rape and incest. Regardless of the act, Noah takes an interesting action. He curses ... not Ham, but Ham's youngest son. Since Ham was the youngest of Noah's sons, it is possible that Noah is cursing his own youngest (out of 16) grandson.

In fact, the curse does seem to play out in this manner. Two of the other sons of Ham are Egypt and Cush, and in the future they are strong nations with dynamic relationships with Israel. However, the nations from Canaan - the Hittites, Jebusites, Hivites, Amorites, etc. - are the nations Israel eventually expels from the land Canaan. In this, it seems Noah's curse was in fact targeted at Canaan, and not Ham.

Application: I began studying this issue, and quickly saw that all of this is a confusing rabbit hole. Scholars disagree about whether Ham was really the youngest child, if Canaan could have even been born yet at the time of the curse, etc. Taken all together, it seems Genesis 9 may be one of the most confusing and ambiguous chapters of the entire bible.

And maybe ... maybe ... that's the point. The flood did not restore order to mankind. It culled the population and brought punishment for certain acts, but it didn't fix anything, implement new structures, or eliminate confusion over how mankind was supposed to function. Sin, anger, disrespect, chaos, and confusion are all still present in this chapter, just like these characteristics existed before the flood.

Perhaps the takeaway is the immediate realization that the flood didn't fix anything. If that's true, then no punishment of the Lord can "fix" our world, except for the second coming of Christ. Not even a massive release of supernatural power could make people realign their lives to the Lord, until it is proven without doubt that Jesus truly rules the world, and salvation is from him alone.

Prayer: Lord, may I receive your guidance this day. I know there is no lesson to learn other than one, which is that Jesus is my Lord and savior. My faith is in you alone. May I serve you today by serving others, and may my actions only reflect your will. Amen.