The following study is one that I archived prior to understanding Messianic Christianity. This is a blend of Jewish teachings from the Old Testament and New Testament teachings which bring a fuller understanding of Yeshua (Jesus) our Messiah (Christ). Replacement Theology has thrown out much of the Jewish understanding of the scriptures. In my opinion, it is nearly impossible to fully understand the scriptures without understanding Torah, or biblical instructions to the Jews in the Old Testament. I am working to rewrite my work in these studies and hope to eventually rewrite everything on this website. The task is enormous. As you read through the studies, keep in mind that I am editing them slowly. Once a page is edited, this disclaimer will be removed. Thanks for your understanding.
Genesis 9
July 1, 2004
Genesis 9:1-7 (NASB95)
In these verses we see a repeat of the words that Adam had received, with one exception; animals were now considered to be good for food. Notice also that there weren’t any restrictions on which animals were good for food, it covered all animals, and everything that moved on the earth. It was later that God placed restrictions on which animals was good for man to eat, ruling out the unclean animals. In today’s world we know that most of the animals that were deemed as unclean were unclean because the meat of these animals carries with it health risks.
Notice also that God gave instructions regarding draining the blood from animals before eating them. This is where the Jewish word kosher comes from, it means that upon killing an animal the blood is drained in some manner. Life is in the blood, we know that today because we have stores of blood banks which are set up for saving the lives of men. Modern medicine has found ways to draw out the blood and save it, replacing the blood of those who have lost theirs due to accidents or disease, rebuilding the life in those people. Spiritually speaking life is also in the blood, the blood of Jesus. If He had not shed His blood on the cross to cover our sin, we would still be guilty and doomed for hell. It is only through His blood that we are forgiven, there is no other way to heaven.
One last observation on these verses, man is created in the image of God. This is where the evolutionist and the modern day tree huggers have a problem. God did not create all things in His image, only man. Therefore the puppy dogs, cats, and cute hairy critters that people love to use for food and clothing were not created in the image of God. Plants, fish, birds and animals are subject to the dominion of man. God does not condemn man when he kills a creature; the only requirement was that man was to drain the blood before eating it.
However if man killed another man, God said that they were to be killed. Murder required capital punishment, man has messed that one up as well. If we were to stick to the biblical requirements, our jails would be a lot less utilized because the natural deterrant of self preservation would stop a lot of criminals before they started.
God established the rainbow to remind us that He would never destroy the earth by water again. Life is sacred to God, whatever the reason that He had for destroying the original people that inhabited the earth before the flood was wiped clean. God established a covenant which established His view on the precious lives that He had created on earth. An interesting note on this, the “bow” in rainbow meant a weapon, as in a bow and arrow. God put His bow away placing it in the clouds so that the entire world could see that God would no longer use rain as a worldwide weapon against mankind again. As a result of this, the rainbow speaks of peace.
Genesis 9:20-29 (NASB95)
There has been a lot of debate over what actually took place involving the incident with Ham. I have opted to copy and paste here. The only conclusion that I can come up with is that we don’t know the whole story and must accept this as one of the mysteries of the Bible. Leviticus sheds light on the Jewish perception of nakedness, from my vantage point I believe that that is all that is supported by these verses. Ham saw his father naked. Here is the quote:
“9:18-23. Those who came out of the ark are identified, with the special note that Ham was the father of Canaan. From Noah’s three sons descended all the world’s people. The descendants of Shem were the Shemites from whom Abraham descended (cf. 10:21-31; 11:10-26).
Noah, “the man of the earth” (as the rabbis translated the words a man of the soil), began to plant a vineyard. Though wine is said to cheer the heart (Jud. 9:13; Ps. 104:15) and alleviate the pain of the curse (Prov. 31:6), it is also clear that it has disturbing effects. Here Noah lay drunk and naked in his tent. Intoxication and sexual looseness are hallmarks of pagans, and both are traced back to this event in Noah’s life. Man had not changed at all; with the opportunity to start a “new creation,” Noah acted like a pagan (cf. Gen. 6:5; 8:21).
The basic question concerns what Ham, Noah’s youngest son, did (9:22, 24) and why Noah cursed Ham’s “son” Canaan (vv. 25-27). Many fanciful ideas have been proposed . The rabbis said Ham castrated Noah, thus explaining why Noah had no other sons. Others claim that Ham slept with his mother, thus uncovering his father’s nakedness, and that Canaan was the offspring of that union. Others have said that Ham was involved in a homosexual attack on his father. But the Hebrew expression here means what it says: Ham . . . saw his father’s nakedness (v. 22). He was not involved with Noah sexually, for in that case the Hebrew would be translated “he uncovered (causative form of gālâh) his father’s nakedness.” Instead Noah had already uncovered himself (wayyiṯgal, reflexive form, v. 21), and Ham saw him that way.
To the ancients, however, even seeing one’s father naked was a breach of family ethic. The sanctity of the family was destroyed and the strength of the father was made a mockery. Ham apparently stumbled on this accidentally, but went out and exultingly told his two brothers, as if he had triumphed over his father.
So what seems to be a trivial incident turned out to be a major event. Noah’s oracle (vv. 25-27) showed that the natures of his three sons would be perpetuated in their descendants.
In all but one of the verses in Leviticus 18:6-19, Moses used the causative form of the verb gālâh to refer to the Canaanites’ (Ham’s descendants) “uncovering” another’s nakedness (rendered in the niv, “have sexual relations”). This euphemism reports the actual licentious and repulsively immoral behavior of the descendants of Ham (cf. Lev. 18:3). Ham’s disposition toward moral abandon thus bore fruit in the immoral acts of his descendants, the Canaanites.”[1]
Noah lived a total of 950 years. There is some speculation on what nations of the world that these sons fathered. Again, historical records make broad applications difficult. One thing is safe to say, the world was repopulated from Noah and his family that accompanied him on the ark. Keep in mind that not all males were recorded in the Bible, therefore we don’t know if Noah had children after the flood, or if there were children brought on board with his sons to weather the storm.
I am closing here, Father, as we consider Your word today, open our eyes to how precious life is in Your view. Place a desire in each one of us to follow You closely and to spread life to other men by our testimony about Jesus.
In Him,
Joe Turner.
[1] Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-c1985). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.