II. After the Flood

A. Ham’s Sin

Unfortunately, human history after the flood unfolds much as it did after creation.

As Adam (whose name in Hebrew literally means "ground") was given a garden to till, Noah plants a vineyard and becomes "a man of the soil" (see Genesis 2:15; 9:20). And as the forbidden fruit of the garden proves to be Adam’s downfall, so the fruit of Noah’s vine - wine - becomes his. And like Adam’s fall, Noah’s exposes his sin and nakedness (see Genesis 3:6-7; 9:21) and results in a curse (see Genesis 3:14-19; 9:25).

What’s going on in the story of Ham uncovering "his father’s nakedness" (see Genesis 9:22)? In Hebrew, this phrase is a figure of speech used to describe incest (Leviticus 20:17;18:6-18. Note: In other places besides the story of Noah and Ham, The New American Bible translates this phrase as "to have intercourse with." The Revised Standard Version in all cases keeps the more literal translation "uncover the nakedness of." See RSV-Leviticus 20:17; 18:6-18).

To uncover the nakedness of your father is to commit incest with your mother. To state it bluntly, in all its brutality - while Noah was drunk, Ham slept with his mother. We don’t know what Ham was thinking. It could be that he wanted to seize power from his dad and this heinous act was his way of insulting Noah and showing his total disrespect (see similar episodes in Genesis 29:32; 35:22; 49:3-4; 2 Samuel 16:21-22; 1 Chronicles 5:1).

But notice that Noah doesn’t curse Ham. He curses Canaan - the son born of this incestuous encounter. Why Canaan? It’s another hint in the text of what Ham’s crime was. As we’ll see later, Canaan will be the founding father of a nation that will be known for its abominable practice of maternal incest (see Leviticus 18:3; 18:6-18; Exodus 23:23-24).

Canaan is the bad fruit born of Noah’s sin. But as Adam bore both Cain, the slayer of his brother, and Seth the righteous one, Noah too has a good seed: his firstborn son Shem, who had tried to "cover" his father’s nakedness (see Genesis 9:23).

As he curses Canaan, the bad seed, Noah blesses Shem: "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem" (see Genesis 9:26) and says that he will prevail over the wicked spawn, Canaan.

It is interesting to note, too, that the only other episode of drunkenness in Genesis is also associated with incest - and the birth of immoral nations hostile to the people of God. That’s the story of Lot’s daughters, who ply Lot with wine and then lie with him in incestuous unions that are the origin of the Moabites and the Ammonites (see Genesis 19:30-38).

And so Genesis continues - telling the story of the conflict between the two seeds of Noah, the good and the bad. The descendants of Ham become the great national enemies of the people of God - Egypt (Genesis 10:6), Canaan (10:6), Philistia (10:14), Assyria (10:11), and Babylon (10:10).

B. To Make a Name

From this bad line, came the nations who tried to build the Tower of Babel in order "to make a name [Hebrew = shem] for themselves" (Genesis 11:1-9). In other words, they were trying to build a kind of "counter-kingdom" to stand against the name of God.

As an aside: it’s interesting to note that in Genesis there seems to be a connection between the "name" (shem) and a person’s relationship with God. The big sinners in Genesis - beginning with Adam and Eve who fall for Satan’s promise of being "like gods" - all seem to be trying to make a name for themselves, to exalt themselves, to live as if they don’t need God.

Think back to Cain. When he builds a city, what does he do? He "names" it after his son, Enoch (see Genesis 4:17). That’s all the builders of the Tower of Babel were doing. Trying to glorify their name, their works.

The righteous ones in Genesis don’t try to exalt their name. Instead, they rejoice in the blessings of God - they "call on the name of the Lord." While Cain is glorifying his name, his righteous brother Seth is hallowing the Lord’s name, seeking His blessing (see Genesis 4:26).

We’ll see this pattern continue with the righteous Abraham (see Genesis 12:8; 13:4; 21:33) and with Isaac (26:25). It’s implied, too, in Noah’s blessing of Shem (9:26). By the way, that’s the first time in the Bible that God is associated with an individual, or where a person is identified by his or her relationship with God. He is "the God of Shem."

This pattern, too, continues in next chapter of Genesis - as God promises to make Abraham’s "name" great. Abraham’s name is made great by being associated with the name of God. God will even refer to Himself as "the God of Abraham" (see Genesis 26:24; 28:3; Matthew 22:32; Acts 7:2-3).

Throughout the Old Testament, we’ll see that the righteous are those who praise the name of the Lord, and seek in that name their blessing and their help (see Deuteronomy 28:10;Psalm 124:8; 129:8; Proverbs 18:10; Joel 2:23; Micah 4:5; Zephanaiah 3:12). This continues in the New Testament, where "every one who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (see Romans 10:13; Acts 2:21; 4:12).

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