DWDP - Gen. 9:19-21 Noah's Sin

We live in a world of thousands of languages and countless cultural differences, but Genesis makes a bold claim that cuts through the noise: every nation traces back to one family after the flood. That single idea can change how we talk about race, identity, and our neighbors, and it is where our devotional starts as we read Genesis 9:18-26 together.

We walk through the sons of Noah and ask why the text highlights Ham as “the father of Canaan.” I share why that detail matters historically and spiritually, especially when you remember Moses is writing for Israel on the way to the Promised Land where the Canaanites live. Along the way, we connect the Bible’s storyline with clear, simple thinking about how human diversity spreads over time, without losing the central point that Scripture is making about our shared origin and shared accountability before God.

Then the tone shifts to a warning that feels painfully modern: Noah plants a vineyard, drinks, gets drunk, and exposes himself. The Bible’s honesty about its heroes is part of its power, and Noah’s failure becomes a sober reminder that spiritual victories do not cancel future temptations. We lean on 1 Peter 5:8, talk candidly about alcohol’s real-world damage from a physician’s perspective, and preview the generational consequences that follow Noah’s sin.

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Transcript

Welcome And Devotion Setup

SPEAKER_01 0:02

Welcome to More Than Medicine, where Jesus is more than enough for the ills that plague our culture and our country. Hosted by author and physician, Dr. Robert Jackson.

Reading Genesis 9:18-26

One Ancestor Behind Human Diversity

Why Canaan Gets Named

Vineyards Memories And Evangelism

Noah’s Drunkenness And Vigilance

A Doctor’s Family Warning About Alcohol

Next Week Preview And Closing

SPEAKER_02 0:16

Papa, can you tell me a story? Do you really want me to tell you a story? Well, you go get your brother and your sisters, and I will tell you a story. Welcome to Devotions with Dr. Papa. Gather round, grab your Bibles, and let's look into the written word, which reveals to us the living word who is our Lord Jesus Christ. Today we're at Genesis chapter 9, verses 18 through 26. Now the sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Ham was the father of Canaan. These three were the sons of Noah, and these three, and from these the whole earth was populated. Then Noah began farming and planted a vineyard. He drank of the wine and became drunk and uncovered himself inside his tent. Ham the father of Canaan saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. I will stop there and save some of the other verses for next week. So let me back up a little bit. How many nations, languages, dialects and races are there on planet Earth? Well, the folks who study these things tell us that there are a hundred and fifty to one hundred and sixty distinct nations, depending on how one classifies a nation. There are three thousand tribal languages and thousands of individual dialects. There are thirty five hundred dialects in India alone, many of which are not understandable by neighbors just a few miles away. There are three to six major races, depending on the classification system. But here's the kicker. Despite all that diversity, they are all descended from one common ancestor, his name is Noah, and from his three sons and their wives. Now I've been practicing medicine for over forty-four years, and I have met many patients from many different nationalities, and yet they all share similar concerns. They are concerned for their individual personal health, their children's health, their children's education, and their children's future prospects. America is the melting pot of the nations, and I've met people from Russia, Moldova, Japan, Syria, China, Nigeria, Haiti, Colombia, Guatemala, just to name a few. But they all have one common ancestor, and his name is Noah. What's interesting is that despite all the differences in height, skin color, eye color, facial appearances of so many ethnic groups, they all come from the these three couples. The Bible specifically tells us in verse nineteen that the whole world was populated by the three sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and by their three wives, Lydia, Noel, and Frida. I'm just kidding. Their wives are not even named. I'm just seeing if you guys are paying attention. Now, that means that all of the different physical characteristics of all the different ethnic groups were present in the genetic content of these six people that came off the ark with Noah. And then they populated the earth. The routine mechanisms of genetics that we all studied in school, like variation and recombination. Is that making your head hurt? Those routine mechanisms of genetics produced all the various nations and tribes on earth over time. Now isn't that amazing just to even think about it? Now here's a question. Why is Ham mentioned as the father of Canaan? If you look over in Genesis chapter 10 and verse 6, we haven't got there yet, but in chapter 10, verse 6, Canaan is identified as Ham's youngest son. And he was no more famous than any other of Ham's sons. So why mention him here? Well, you have to remember who the editor is. The editor of the first five books of the Bible is Moses, who is leading the people of Israel out of Egypt, while he is writing the Torah, the first five books of the Bible. He is leading the people to the promised land, and who are the predominant pagan people living there? Well, who was the predominant pagan people living in the promised land? You got it. It's the Canaanites. So it makes sense that Moses would place an editorial comment here explaining that Ham is the father of Canaan, who would be the progenitor of the Canaanites, the wicked, idol worshiping inhabitants of the land that God promised to Abraham four hundred years prior to the exodus from Egypt. Now move to verse 20. The Bible tells us that Noah planted a vineyard, grapevines. Now, this pleases me immensely, since my grandfather Jackson had grapevines, and he grew Concord grapes, you know, the big purple grapes. I recall as a small child running down the rows between the grapevines, and watching the adult family members picking grapes after Sunday lunch on the grounds at Papa Jackson's house out at Sammy Swamp, which was five miles away from my hometown of Manning, South Carolina. Now, at this time I grow bronze Scupernon grapes, and I make jelly for myself and my neighbors. I put a little red ribbon around a jar of my world famous Scupernon jelly. And I put it in a little basket with my wife's homemade cinnamon raisin bread, which is so good if you get a little dab of it on your forehead, your tongue will slap your brains out trying to get to it. And then I take it to my neighbors at Christmas time. I use it as an opportunity to visit my neighbors and to share the gospel message with them. For you see, any excuse will do for those who are evangelistic at heart, right? Of course right. Now, I have never fermented my grapes into an alcoholic beverage, but Noah did. He had lived five hundred plus years among wicked and corrupt men. There's no doubt that Noah knew what fermented grapes would produce, and he knew the effect it would produce upon himself. And Noah, the preacher of righteousness, became intoxicated. He became drunk. Shame for shame for shame, as Gomer Powell would say it. More than that, he became hot, as intoxicated people do. And you know you see them walking around in freezing weather in a t shirt and no shoes because the alcohol in them makes them feel excessively hot. Noah, being intoxicated and feeling hot, threw off his clothing and exposed himself in his tent. You understand the Bible is scrupulously honest about its heroes. If they fall into sin or commit shameful acts, well, the Bible is a tell all expose. It holds nothing back regarding, for example, David's adultery with Bathsheba, or Samson's flaying with Delilah, or Peter's denial of Christ. You get the picture. Noah, the one man who found favor with God, slides into drunkenness and foolishly exposes himself. After standing strong against evil men and their wickedness for hundreds of years, Noah let down his guard, and thinking to himself, what harm is a little relaxation and a little comfort of the flesh. Now Peter warns us many years later, be sober, be vigilant. Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion walks about seeking whom he may devour. That's first Peter chapter five and verse eight. That's a verse you need to memorize. Despite the cleansing of the flood, the curse of sin was still present. And men were still subject to satanic temptation. Men were still sinners, and Satan was still the spirit that works in the sons of disobedience. When I was growing up, my father, who was a family doctor, despised alcohol because of the effect that it had on so many of his patients and unfortunately two of his siblings who were alcoholics. Every single holiday season was ruined by him having to referee family disputes or attend alcohol related accidents in the emergency room when he should have been with his own family at holiday events. He would often say to me and my siblings, don't drink the first drop and you'll never get drunk. Noah would have done well to have heeded that advice. An entire cascade of terrible historical events followed that still affect us today. Because he drank the first drop, because he uncovered himself, and it uncovered a carnal streak in one of his sons. Next week we will study the generational impact of Noah's sin. You're listening to Devotions with Dr. Papa. If you like it, follow, like, share, download it, tell your friends and family about us, and we'll be back again next week. And remember, Jesus loves you, your doctor loves you, and until next week, I pray that the Lord will bless you real good.

SPEAKER_00 13:01

Thank you for listening to this edition of More than Medicine. For more information about the Jackson Family Ministry or to schedule a speaking engagement, go to their Facebook page, Instagram, or webpage at Jackson Family Ministry dot com. Also, don't forget to check out the house.