Sermons
Foundations - Humanity's Second Fall (Genesis 9:18-10:32)
Series: Foundations
Genesis 9:18-10:32 - Last time we discussed the new beginning for humanity as Noah’s family and the animals came off the ark. Noah was presented to us as a new Adam and they came to a world that had been cleansed of sin. A new opportunity for humanity was in front of them. This section then recounts for us what happened. Tragically, what we see here is not a new and different trajectory for humanity, but a second fall like that of Adam and his lineage.
The Pedigree of Man
Back in 1859, Darwin released his famous book “The Origin of Species” that was used to teach that all of humanity came about through a process called natural selection. There was only one illustration in that book. Later, biologist Earnest Haeckel set out to demonstrate the interrelatedness of earth’s lifeforms and he diagrammed it this way. In 1874 the diagram was published and it was called “Pedigree of Man”. This is the basis of the origin stories that are commonly put forward today in the world.
In contrast, we have the book of Genesis. What is this section fundamentally about? It is about the true pedigree of man. Where did we come from? Notice Genesis 9:18-19, and 10:32 - the Bible affirms that this is where all people and nations in the world came from.
Fundamentally then, what do we learn about the origins of humanity? We learn that the different nations and colors of people came from the tremendous diversity already present within the 8 people that were on the ark.
Back in 2003 they published the humane genome project where they mapped the human genome. The result? Humans share 99.9% of their DNA. There is only one human race. Science even testifies to the truth revealed all the way back here in Genesis.
That means that most of the differences we see are superficial. For example, the reason we look different is because of the genetic diversity that determines the amount of melanin in our skin. These differences all the come back from these original ancestors. In fact, much of the world is a middle shade of brown and the color of a persons skins is often determined by their location in the world and its proximity to the sun . In fact, there are cases with “black” and “white” twins from the same parents. As (Acts 17:26) says, God made from man every nation!
Further, did you notice that each of these are divided according to their own language, land, and nation? This is a table of 70 nations. The reason these people speak different languages and have different cultures is because of the division at Babel (Babylon). This is a section on origins and shows where all these various people dispersed after the events at Babel.
This is tremendously liberating. All the issues of racism and division that we see perpetuated in the world fall apart in light of these truths. We are all one humanity and made in the image of God. We are all extended relatives of each other and our physical differences are superficial. There is no black, white, yellow, etc. We’re all shades of brown and we go back to three original brothers. In the gospel we have the answer to division and prejudice. It was misguided science that fueled the division and destruction that became so clear in actions like Hitler perpetuated in the second world war.
What you believe about yourself and where you come from matters. Genesis is a story about beginnings and it is a tremendously important truth that brings freedom and healing to all of the struggles we see around us. This then becomes the foundation for our defense and care of all people regardless of skin color, language, origin, etc. We are one humanity made by God.
The Persistence of Sin
Now, for all the good we just learned about the sharing of our mutual humanity, this story records some very troubling messages about the nature of humanity. Remember back in Genesis 8:21 what God said about humanity? The same pattern we saw of sin entering the world, spreading through families, and then ultimately encompassing the whole world is about to repeat itself in chapters 9-11. We now see persistence of sin its spread into our world today.
The drunkenness of Noah
First, we have a story about Noah. After leaving the ark, Noah became a man of the soil and planted a vineyard. However, eventually he drank the wine, became drunk, and lay uncovered in his tent. We aren’t given details for exactly why this happened, however, the process for making an alcoholic drink does not come by accident. This was a decision that Noah made, and he became drunk. Tragically, even a man like Noah still has a problem — sin.
Now, all the way through the Bible, it warns about the dangers of the abuse of alcohol. Drunkenness is specifically condemned under the old (Proverbs 20:1, 23:19-21, 29-35) and new covenants (Romans 13:13, 1 Peter 4:3). As a result, we have a godly man who is naked and ashamed. This should be a clear warning to us about the dangers of alcohol. We can end up losing our senses, find ourselves in compromising situations, and have terrible things done to us while we are out of our minds. Further, did you see what happened? Families were impacted because of these actions. How many families have been ruined by the abuse of alcohol? Abuses like this can lead to the ruin of individuals lives, so we must beware.
In contrast, God wants us to be sober minded and filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:19-21). This is done through things like making melody in our hearts to God, thankfulness, and submission to one another. This has the joy that God wants and that many try to find in alcohol.
The dishonor of Ham
Second, we have the story about Ham. After the events that led to Noah’s nakedness, Ham acts in a dishonorable way toward his father. On the surface, it seems that Ham saw his father and acted shamefully after the fact. Perhaps this was in gloating or laughing at his father. It’s hard to determine exactly what happened. Regardless, something terrible has happened here, and a complete dishonoring of parents has happened. As such, Noah offers a prophetic curse on Canaan’s descendants being servants of Shem’s descendants.
Some have said that this curse of Ham is dark skin color. This needs to stop, it’s false teaching and damaging. Notice, the curse is not on Ham per se, it is a curse on Canaan. This has led some to think Canaan was involved. This could be a prophetic vision about the future of these people. It’s another warning about the lineage we pass on to children.
This is another glimpse into how sin can creep into our lives. Honoring and obeying our parents is part of the 10 commandments God gave to Israel. God is serious about the way that we respect and obey our parents. There is a honor and respect due to them, and God holds people accountable for the mistreatment of their parents. We need to be thankful and appreciate all that our parents and grandparents do for us and hold them in honor in our words and actions.
In addition, there is a warning about nakedness. God is serious about having the nakedness of a person covered and brings judgment on people who expose the nakedness of others either through looking at them wrongly, or by having sexual relations with them. When Adam and Eve only made the loin coverings for themselves with fig leaves, both Adam and God refer to them as still being naked, and God gave them the covering of skin. That word refers to a tunic that went from the shoulder to the knee.
Further, in Leviticus, the priests were to wear shorts so their nakedness was not exposed as they went up (Exodus 20:26, 28:42). In Leviticus 18, God goes into extensive details about how Israel was to not have the practices of the land and that their corruption would spread. Tragically, Israel did not listen and the practices of the Canaanites defiled the Israelites.
This is a strong warning to us on various fronts. We need to be conscious about the clothes that we wear and make sure our bodies are covered. We need to make sure we abstain from all forms of pornography. We need to make sure that our sexual relationships are limited to marriage. When we violate any of these actions, they are bringing dishonor on ourselves and others. That’s what’s happening in this account - Noah is ashamed, and so is Ham.
The dominion of Nimrod
Finally, we have a snapshot into a man called Nimrod. On the surface, it looks like he is exceptionally skilled at hunting animals. But, there are some clues that point us to the fact that the text has more in mind. The phrase before the Lord is generic enough that it means simply in his presence. Further, this idea of being a mighty man (10:8) often refers to warriors and is the same description of the evil people on the earth in (Genesis 6:4). He is a man who is making a kingdom - the first one in the world. Two of the cities are famous to us: Babel and Nineveh. These were places known for their violence. And commentators believe, his name comes from the Hebrew word “to rebel.” This looks like a man rebelling against God.
Babel or Babylon (same word in Hebrew) becomes the epitome of evil all the way through the scripture in both old and new testaments. It is the spirit of rebellion against God and the pride of human beings. When we look through that lens, we see that this man is following the trajectory of Cain. Cain was the first one to make a city as well and his line is one that is filled with corruption. It seems that this is a man that is bent on dominion and power.
Tragically, what we see in this list is a similar repeat to what we saw in the lineage of Adam all the way to the flood. Just as we focused on how similar the Adam and Noah’s beginnings were, we should see a repeating pattern. They are both in a garden, both do something shameful, both end up naked, both have family problems as a result, and both have curses pronounced. Further, as you look at the lineages, it was a level of corruption that began in families, spread through the descendants, and even filled the world. Remember, the story of Babel is a story of all of humanity conspiring together to rebel against God, very similar to what happened in the time before the flood. We should see here that sin is the persistent enemy and that even a man like Noah is no exempt from its consequences and needs a savior (Genesis 9:28).
The Purpose of God
That’s exactly where this story goes to. God knows that humanity walks away from him from a young age (Genesis 8:21), but God is set on saving humanity and accomplishing his will of filling the earth with his glory through his image bearers. God uses their evil against them and they will ultimately be dispersed and express the wonderful beauty and diversity that God has woven into humanity.
This prophecy begins with blessing the LORD, the God of Shem. We should see that Shem is the son that has a special relationship with God. Just as with Seth, he seems to be among those who called on the name of the Lord. This prophecy reminds us of what we saw in (Genesis 3:15). There will be war and enmity between the descendants of the woman and the descendants of the serpent, but God will bring his descendent to crush the serpent’s head.
It reminds us of Psalm 2:1-12, the nations may rage against God but he will accomplish his will. God simply laughs at our attempt to thwart his plans. God is a God of the nations. God is set on bringing his Messiah through Shem, then Abraham, and all the way to Jesus. God will bring his savior. God will accomplish his purpose. What an amazing God who consistently pursues us and is determined to save and redeem humanity.
But we should see more in Jesus - he is the true and greater Adam and Noah. He is the head of the new humanity, he fulfills through his church (the body) the command to be fruitful, multiply, and have dominion, he never sinned, he became naked for our sin, he provided a covering for all humanity, and he became a curse that we might have a blessing.
In every way, Jesus transcends Adam and Noah, he gives a new pedigree for humanity, breaks the persistence of sin, and completes the purpose of God.
Sources:
https://darwin-online.org.uk/graphics/Origin_Illustrations.html
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/retroscience-pedigree-of-man/
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Global-skin-colour-distribution-of-native-populations-The-colours-on-the-map-are-based_fig6_51582145/actions#reference
- Foundations_-_The_Persistance_of_Sin.mp3 (57.80 MB)
