Genesis 38 - The Tents of Shem

The word of God we will examine together today is from Genesis 9:26 and 27.

 

“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 his slave.’” Amen.  

 

Review of the Story of Noah and His Three Sons

The content preceding today's text is the story of Noah and his three sons, which we all know well. After the flood, Noah began farming. But uniquely, it seems he planted a vineyard first. And with the grapes, he made wine. And the reason, of course, was to drink it. And what happened? According to the Bible's expression, Noah became drunk and lay uncovered.

At that time, Ham, the youngest of Noah's three sons, entered the tent where Noah was drunk, naked, and asleep.

Seeing his father's sleeping form, he went outside and told his two brothers about it. Japheth and Shem, upon hearing the story, did not immediately enter the tent but took a garment and walked backward into the tent to cover their father's nakedness. Then Noah awoke from his wine, heard what had happened, and prophesied to his three sons. First, to Ham, he cursed that his descendants would be slaves, and to Japheth and Shem, he declared the blessing that they and their descendants would be enlarged.

 

Ham's Curse, Is It Fair?

This story is a well-known part of Genesis. From this text today, we often think about Noah's mistake of getting drunk, and we are primarily interested in the content of the blessing Noah declared upon the sons who covered their father's shame regarding his mistake.

 

However, have you ever deeply considered Ham's position in today's text? What part of Ham's actions was truly wrong? As I prepared the sermon and read the text carefully, although I could find parts where Ham acted unwisely, it was actually Noah, the father, who was lying naked and drunk in a shameful state. Ham's mistake, perhaps, was entering the tent. But the curse he received as a result seems to be that his son Canaan would become the perpetual slave of his brothers Shem and Japheth.

 

In a way, it seems like a curse utterly lacking fairness. Even if Ham's action of entering his father's tent, seeing Noah naked and drunk asleep, going out, and telling his brothers was wrong, it seems disproportionate that it would result in such a tremendous curse upon his descendants. Therefore, although this passage is well-known to us, it is simultaneously a difficult Bible passage to understand that has perplexed many biblical scholars. It's the kind of content that inevitably makes one wonder if Noah really cursed in such a way and if God recorded this exactly as it is in the Bible.

 

Beyond Simple Family History: Prophecy of Human History

However, try thinking about this content from the opposite perspective. Noah's curse today is, in fact, a prophecy that greatly influenced subsequent human history. Because the story of the descendants originating from these three sons ultimately became the story that determined the course of human history. Today's story was not just a simple personal story. This story inevitably became an event that greatly influenced the flow of the entire history of humanity.

 

New Year and Blessing: Finding Biblical Meaning

Today is the first Sunday of the new year 2022. (Translator's note: Based on the sermon's delivery date) And the content of the text we are dealing with today is the story of two sons who received blessings and one son who received a curse. It speaks of blessings. Today, we probably exchanged words of blessing with fellow church members we met in the sanctuary. If so, have you ever thought about the meaning of that blessing? Today, through this text, we will examine the meaning of blessing and curse that the Bible intends to convey, and the very important contents contained within them.

 

Noah's Vineyard: Echo of Eden?

The record that Noah started farming appears in today's text, but was Noah the first person in human history to farm? According to the biblical record, the first person to farm was Cain. We have previously examined the story in early Genesis where Cain offered sacrifices from the produce he had grown. Yet the Bible records it as if Noah was the first person to farm. There is a special intention hidden in the Bible recording it this way.

 

First, when we think of farming, we naturally assume crops like wheat and barley, which are staple foods, would have been planted. But Noah planted a tree. Everyone, if we started farming, we would probably have first planted wheat, barley, or rice that could be eaten immediately. But the Bible records that Noah planted a tree. And Noah obtained fruit through that tree, and the story in today's text is about him drinking the wine made using that fruit and getting drunk.

 

Biblical Understanding of Wine and Drunkenness

Thus, today's text is talking about the story of a tree. If so, we can think about the background of this story like this. That is, this story of Noah is telling a story similar to creation, where God swept away this world through the flood and created it once again. Therefore, just as the command was given to Adam at the beginning of Genesis, the command to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth was also given to Noah. Therefore, the images in the story of today's text are images of creation, images of Eden. And we come to think that perhaps this tree Noah planted is also related to the story of the tree in the Garden of Eden.

 

The story of this tree in today's text begins first with content about wine. It is clear that wine is never spoken of as a bad symbol in the Bible. Of course, regarding wine itself, some negative aspects appear occasionally, but in the Bible, wine is mostly used with a positive meaning. First, wine is often used to signify prosperity and joy. It was especially often used in the Bible to mean the joy of a feast. Then what about the state of being drunk? Generally, it is true that the act of getting drunk has a more negative meaning in the Bible than wine itself. Getting drunk is certainly depicted as an act that leads to losing discernment and suffering shame. However, it is not always so. There are times when this act of getting drunk is used with a very positive meaning in the Bible. For example, there is a passage, ‘Drink much wine, and participate in the joy of the feast.’ The phrase 'drink much wine' is synonymous with getting drunk, and this getting drunk symbolizes the joy of the feast. Therefore, we can see that the wine itself in today's text or Noah getting drunk on this wine is not the beginning of the fault or problem.

 

Noah's Nakedness: Connection Point with Eden

Then was there another problem with Noah? Was the problem that Noah got drunk and was naked? The first time we talked about the state of being naked was also in the Garden of Eden. Therefore, from this action of Noah, we can recall the image of Eden. The reason we find it difficult to properly understand the content of today's text is that we focus on the fact that Noah made a mistake by drinking wine and getting drunk. And because the consequence seems too severe compared to such a seemingly minor mistake, it is difficult to understand its meaning properly.

 

The content of the curse that Ham or his son had to receive as a result is truly severe. It is the fact that they would live as slaves to the descendants of their brothers. Therefore, naturally, we do not feel that this is a fair consequence for the mistake. That is why, in many cases, people also try to see the ethical aspect in this story itself. For example, besides Noah getting drunk and being naked being wrong in itself, Ham's action of entering and looking at this is sometimes interpreted with sexual connotations. As we will examine again later, when it says Ham saw Noah, some interpret this verb ‘saw’ with its other meaning ‘studied, learned, and experienced’. Thus, some biblical scholars interpret the expression that Ham saw Noah's nakedness as the son committing the sin of homosexual voyeurism towards his father's naked form. Therefore, they attached the meaning that Ham's action was a very serious and terrifying sin, and thought he received such a dreadful curse as a result. This interpretation was, of course, likely part of an effort to justify the fairness of the curse Ham received. However, it is true that this method of interpretation does not naturally fit with the image of creation throughout Genesis, as we have just examined.

 

Meaning of Nakedness: Sin, Shame, and Fear

We should not miss the fact that the story of Noah in today's text has a very strong connection with the image of creation in Eden. Let's examine it one by one. First, how many sons born to Adam and Eve are recorded in the Bible? Three. And one of those sons died. And through the remaining son Cain, the image of one who opposes God was shown, and through Seth, the image of the offspring of the woman prepared by God, Noah, was eventually shown. Then what about Noah? He shows a form quite similar to this structure. Noah also had three sons, one son is now cursed, and conversely, the remaining two sons are shown entering God's blessing.

 

Moreover, the image of the tree or the image of nakedness, without needing to doubt, continuously shows us the image of Eden. Then do you remember what it meant for Adam and Eve to be naked in the Garden of Eden at the beginning of Genesis? In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were naked but were not ashamed at all, nor did they try to hide it. Because they could go before God exactly as they were. The Bible says that when they stood before God, they were not afraid because of that appearance. However, when they committed sin, Adam and Eve hid not merely out of shame, but out of fear, the story says. They could not stand before God, and the reason was that they realized their sin had been exposed. Nakedness itself wasn't the problem; rather, seeing it, they realized their true form, that is, the form without any covering, was one that could not stand before God. Nakedness itself was not the issue, but because they had committed sin, they could not go before the Lord in their sinful state. That became fear, and so they hid.

 

Human Sinfulness Persisting Even After the Flood

Then, after Noah's flood passed, did humans pay the full price for all sins through the flood judgment and become beings without sin anymore? The Bible does not say so. Despite passing through the event of the flood, the Bible says the inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. Despite that, God promised never again to destroy humans with a flood, remember? Therefore, the Bible shows the fact that humans are still sinners. However, in today's text, while recording that Noah was in a state of nakedness, it attempts to explain the opposite concept. That is, through this event that looks like Noah's personal mistake, God informs us that the image Noah intends to show carries the symbolic meaning: 'I am naked, but I have no shame or fear.', 'I am righteous.', 'I do not belong to sin.' However, you should not misunderstand this as if Noah did all this intentionally.

 

Interpretation of Ham's Action: Agreement with False Righteousness?

This event was not Noah's planned action, but rather, through the way Ham and Noah's other two sons reacted to this event, God throws a certain message to us. First, when Ham entered and saw Noah's nakedness, Ham agreed with that state and took a positive meaning from it. The words Ham used carry such a positive meaning, namely the meaning of agreement that 'We are now beings who are okay being naked and are no longer sinners,' and he conveyed that fact to his brothers.

 

This Hebrew verb meaning ‘told’ is a surprisingly very interesting verb. It is the same word as the one appearing in Genesis chapter 3. Let's look together at Genesis 3:11. “And he said, ‘Who told you that you were naked?’” The word 'told' used here does not simply mean conveying a known fact to someone, but rather, although Adam and Eve were naked, they didn't know what kind of beings they were and shouldn't have felt shame, yet He is asking who told them about their nakedness and made them realize the fact that they should feel shame as sinners. That is, this word means the action of explaining in detail a fact we were completely unaware of to make us realize it. Now Ham, in a sense, is trying to inform and persuade Japheth and Shem that this nakedness itself speaks of our righteousness, and that we are beings who do not belong to sin.

 

Action of Shem and Japheth: Meaning of Covering (Foreshadowing Christ)

However, Japheth and Shem, upon hearing those words, first tried not to look at it. This was not simply an act to protect their father's honor, but by not looking at it, they show they reject it rather than agree and consent with Ham. In other words, it includes the meaning of acknowledging that we are sinners, and that we need God's covering, that is, clothes to cover us.

 

At the beginning of Genesis, when Adam and Eve sinned, they hid in fear and covered themselves with fig leaves. What was God's response to that sight? God killed an animal and made clothes from its skin, dressing Adam and Eve. Through this, God showed us the role the Messiah, the offspring of the woman who must cover sin, had to fulfill by covering them. And now, Japheth and Shem, by covering Noah's nakedness with a garment, are confessing that we need clothes to cover our sin. If Adam and Eve came to know they were naked through the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the actions of Japheth and Shem show the love and grace of God who covered them. It's not that they didn't see the shame, but they did not agree or participate in it. Japheth and Shem are confessing that we are sinners. They are confessing the fact that we can only live if God covers us, just as He covered Adam and Eve.

 

Offspring of the Serpent vs. Offspring of the Woman

And Noah woke up and learned that fact through the incident involving his sons. Ultimately, through this event, Ham came to play the role of the serpent and the serpent's offspring. Conversely, Japheth and Shem, in a sense, came to play the role of waiting for and anticipating the Messiah, the offspring of the woman. Therefore, the content of the prophecy given to Japheth, Shem, and Ham in today's text is not telling them about the future history of mankind, but rather showing content related to the history of our salvation.

 

Critique of Racist Interpretation

For a long time until now, people have thought as follows. You have probably heard many stories that Ham became the ancestor of the black people residing in Africa, Japheth became the ancestor of the white people of European descent, and Shem became the ancestor of the Asian yellow race, including Israel. This part described in the Bible might have some basis considering the regions of Africa, Europe, and Asia where they would reside. However, it is also clear that this prophecy is not simply talking about human history.

 

Inconsistency with Historical Facts (Babylon, Assyria)

For example, you can find one of the sons belonging to the Hamite lineage, called Cush. Four sons of Ham, including Canaan and Cush, are recorded in the Bible. And the most famous descendant among Cush's descendants is Nimrod. And this Nimrod became the ancestor of Babylon. Thus, Babylon is descended from Ham. And this Babylon invaded Judah and made them slaves. But now Noah says that the descendants of the Shemite lineage, the Jews, will enslave the descendants of the Hamite lineage. He is making the exact opposite prophecy. Therefore, we can see that this prophecy of Noah is not simply talking about the history of mankind.

 

There's more. One of the descendants of the Shemite lineage is the Assyrian people. As you well know, this Assyrian nation destroys Northern Israel. That is, the descendants of the Shemite lineage destroyed Israel, who were also of the Shemite lineage.

 

Danger of Biblical Interpretation: Self-Centered Interpretation and Heresy

Therefore, we should think about what is particularly important when reading the Bible. We often justify our actions through self-centered interpretations of the Bible. In interpreting this text today, many white societies argued that bringing black people, the descendants of Ham, as slaves was a justifiable and biblical act. It is evidence showing how the Bible can be misused to justify one's own greed. Such things are still commonplace today. It means that we too often make such mistakes.

 

It is truly thankful and joyous that God loves the Republic of Korea so much, allowing the gospel to be preached in that land and doing His work. However, sometimes we hear things like this: ‘Thank you, God, for lifting up and using Korea in these last days!’ You probably have heard this too. But this is not true. Some people therefore argue that God is causing His history to unfold progressively eastward from Jerusalem. I don't know about that. It is thankful that many Asian countries are doing God's work like that now, but that probably has no relation to the Bible. Some even talk about Korea, the land of the East mentioned by Tagore, as the land of the righteous people arising from the East spoken of in the Bible. In the past, a prayer mountain in Yongmun claimed that the tribe of Dan from the Old Testament came to Korea and became the descendants of Dangun. Therefore, they claim the Messiah will come from Korea. What Shincheonji claims is not much different from this.

 

The reason we are deceived by such strange biblical interpretations is that we do not view the Bible centered on Jesus Christ within the history of God's salvation. The sinful nature always exists within us that wants to make the Bible centered on me. No matter how much we talk about God's glory or grace, if in the end, everything centers on oneself, it inevitably becomes heresy. No matter how much one cries out 'Jesus', if eventually oneself becomes the protagonist of the Bible, it becomes heresy. Whether it looks like orthodox Christianity, or even if it claims to represent a biblical reformed church, if in the end, the pastor or oneself is the focus, it is fake and false.

 

Importance of Christ-Centered Interpretation

The center of the Bible and all things, its end and beginning, must surely be Jesus Christ. There can be various methods and different views in interpreting the Bible. Because we still do not know and understand the entire Bible, there can be deficiencies or errors in interpretation.

 

Attitude of Receiving Teachings from Faith Ancestors

However, despite such shortcomings, if we acknowledge all our inadequacies, difficulties, and weaknesses before God, and yet know that God accepts us and considers us His people, then through this Bible, we can remember God's glory, and acknowledge that all scripture and my life are in Christ. In some aspects, we might understand the Bible much more than Calvin or Luther did. If we are still lacking, can make mistakes in interpreting the Bible, and might have made wrong interpretations, the same would apply to previous ancestors of faith, including Calvin and Luther. Nevertheless, the reason we accept them as brothers in Jesus and value their teachings is not because all their claims or interpretations were correct, but because they lived centered on Jesus Christ.

 

Saint's Weakness and Christ-Centeredness

The same applies to you. Among our brothers and sisters around us, there may be weak ones, and they may still possess aspects that fall short of the correct truth of the Bible. At such times, what we must always consider first is whether we sincerely love Christ, and where the center of that life lies. This must take precedence over anything else. Because we are all lacking.

 

Path to True Happiness: Covering Through Christ

Our sinful nature constantly drives us towards the goal where I live well and become happy. However, Christianity stands in a position completely opposite to this. The Bible teaches us that our happiness is not achieved by pursuing it, but that our true happiness is possible only through the channel called Jesus Christ who covers us. It tells us that this blessing becomes possible only through Jesus Christ who will cover Noah's nakedness, that is, through that Christ alone.

 

Shem's Blessing: Promise Focused on Christ

Therefore, examining Shem's genealogy reveals that not all his descendants received the same blessing. Among them, only Abraham became the person who received and enjoyed that blessing. Even among Abraham's several sons, it was only Isaac. And between Esau and Jacob, God bestowed blessing only upon Jacob. Among Jacob's twelve sons, He chose only Judah. And it focuses solely on the one son who came through Judah, the descendant Jesus Christ. Although today's text seemed to bestow blessings upon Shem and all his descendants, in reality, the entire story of blessing is focused on Christ.

 

Japheth's Blessing: Dwelling in the Tents of Shem (Salvation of Gentiles)

Therefore, the statement that Japheth will dwell in the tents of Shem means that even the Gentiles will actually live through Christ.

 

Canaan's Curse: Relationship with the Abrahamic Covenant

Similarly, among Ham's various descendants, only Canaan is cursed, but the reason is that in the Bible, Canaan is contrasted with Abraham. It is not a curse descending upon all of Ham's descendants; rather, the Bible is showing Moses, who is reading this scripture now, and the nation of Israel experiencing the Exodus, why they are currently heading towards the land of Canaan and what meaning it holds. That is why when talking about Ham, he is introduced as the father of Canaan. Canaan was mentioned repeatedly with intention.

 

Abraham was a man who received many blessings from God, and received many covenants. And one of them appears in Genesis 15. To Abraham, God prophesied that his descendants would be taken to Egypt for 400 years and live as slaves. And as the reason, God explains that He is waiting until Canaan becomes full of sin and He Himself judges them. And simultaneously with the judgment of Canaan, He talks about the salvation of Israel.

 

Center of the Bible: Jesus Christ

Is this solely the story of Israel and Canaan? No. Through this event today, God shows us what the history of God's salvation is like, and how He leads that history of salvation through the historical events flowing in the time of this earth. And He shows us Jesus Christ standing at the center of it. The center is not Noah or Moses; rather, what all those times and events point to is the salvation of us all, and Jesus Christ, the beginning and the end.

 

Realizing this is important because if we don't know it, we cannot know what this blessing is. Within the history of the Exodus, Canaan is already included in this story, and within the history of Shem, the story of Abraham is already included.

 

If God lifts up and uses our country, it is certainly something to be thankful for. There is no need to deny it. It is something to be thankful for and praise. However, thinking as if we are great people because of it is precisely the path to our ruin. Even if this America we live in currently possesses the strongest power in the world, it cannot prove that it is a righteous nation. No nation whatsoever can claim itself to be a righteous nation and bear that responsibility. No nation on this earth can replace the kingdom of God, nor can it show the kingdom of God. Only you can do this. Only those who know Jesus Christ, and only we who know Jesus Christ who will cover our shame and the root of all problems on this earth, are the people who can show the kingdom of God to this world. You yourselves are the temple, the light of the world, and the salt of the earth. You are now the source through whom blessing is conveyed through Shem, and the channel for that path.

Israel perished because they forgot this fact. They forgot the fact that they were a kingdom of priests, and they forgot the fact that the story of Christ, through whom all Gentiles would be saved through them, was with them. That is why when Jesus came to Israel, the object of the Lord's greatest anger was not the tax collectors or prostitutes, but the Pharisees.

 

Blessing Given to Us: Jesus is Everything

Therefore, from this sermon today concerning the story of Noah, you must surely remember two facts. First is the fact that we are beings who can only live if God covers us with the clothes of Christ. That is the absolute core to understanding well what blessing we are enjoying. How much we possess or how many good things happen is not what's important. These are all just fragments. The most important thing we must remember is realizing that Jesus covers me. Whether I am truly clothed in Christ - this is the first content we must remember most importantly. And second, we must remember the fact that besides that, nothing else is important to us. “Nothing else, nothing more, nothing less!” Beyond this, there can be no greater story for us. We must remember the fact that Christ alone is everything to us.

 

There is a story among the fairy tales we heard a lot as children that still remains in memory. Once upon a time, a wise king lived in a certain country. He took a wise, kind, and beautiful princess from a neighboring country as his queen. However, this king's country found itself in a situation where it had to wage war against the queen's country. So the king called the queen and spoke. ‘I cherish and love you dearly, but now I have no choice but to become enemies with your country and fight. Therefore, I have no choice but to send you back to your country. Otherwise, you might suffer harm from many officials and people in this country, so it seems best for you now to leave me and return to your country.’ And then he added the following: ‘I love you so much, and I am so sad to let you go like this, so I will give you one thing you desire from this palace, whatever it may be; take it and leave me.’

 

You can probably guess roughly what happened after that, right? The king, waking up the next morning, realized he was in a carriage heading towards the queen's country. What the queen considered most precious in that palace was the king himself. The wise queen chose the king as the most precious thing, knowing that possessing the king meant possessing everything. It might be a slightly exaggerated story, but this could be an illustration that applies very well to us. Because for us, Jesus Christ is everything.

 

Praise Song by Scott Wesley Brown: "I Wish You Jesus"

A person named Scott Wesley Brown wrote a praise song like this: ‘I could wish you joy and peace To last a whole life long I could wish you sunshine Or a cheerful little song Or wish you all the happiness That this life could bring But I wish you Jesus More than anything when I wish you Jesus Well, I've wished you everything!’ Translated into Korean, it means this: ‘I can wish you joy and peace for my entire life. I can wish you peaceful warm sunlight and a cheerful song. I can also wish you all the happiness I can possess. But I wish for you. More than anything else, I wish for you, Jesus. Because when I wished for you, I was wishing for everything!’

 

True Meaning of the Blessing Noah Conveyed

Dear ones, Christ is everything to us. The blessing Noah spoke to Shem and Japheth did not mean that they would become supreme in this world, enslave the descendants of their younger brother Ham, that their entire lives would be enlarged and supreme, becoming rulers of this world. Noah is telling them to live expecting Jesus Christ. And he is telling them to live expecting that Jesus will become their clothes, cover them, and give them life.

 

At the time Noah is telling this story to his sons, they knew nothing about who Christ was, how He would come to us and save us, how He would heal our diseases, how He would walk with us and dwell with us. Such a Noah is telling his sons to look to Jesus. He is letting them know the fact that waiting for and anticipating the offspring of the woman who will save them is everything.

 

Dear ones, we have met Jesus, know the fact that Christ died for us, and are people who can naturally confess that Christ is everything to us. If so, we must remember this fact and live by it. What is blessing to you? If someone asks you about blessing, you should be able to answer without hesitation. ‘More than all this, I seek Jesus Christ. Because that is everything!’

 

Closing Prayer

Let us pray! Because Christ is everything to us. Lord, cover me with Your clothes. Cover me with those clothes, cover me with the clothes of love, so that through my life I may realize that love, practice it also, and live following Jesus. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ! Amen!