(vs24-25) So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him. Then he said: "Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants He shall be to his brethren."
A curse causeless will not come, so that if we're cursed, we deserve it, and if we're wise, the curse will lead us to Jesus Christ (Prov 26:2). He reveals that we are sinners so that He can save, if we RECEIVE it for this purpose.
Look at the misery in your life as something DESERVED. It doesn’t matter what you suffer, only One has suffered blameless, and He died SUBMISSIVE to the Father for us.
We suffer because WE rebelled in Adam. All together, we all said, “We shall be as god, knowing good and evil, choosing for ourselves what is right and wrong by our decisions. We will rule our destiny and govern our course”, and God has said “CURSED is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord” (Jer 17:5).
We can believe that misery is DESERVED and get mercy, or we can perish. Remember, Rahab the harlot? She was a Canaanite, but she said, “According to your word, so be it. And she sent [the spies] away, and they departed, and she bound the scarlet cored in the window”. Not only did she protect the spies, but she hoped in mercy on God's terms. She didn't say, “It is no fair that I'm cursed, that Christ is the only way”, but she took the mercy that she could receive, and God saved her and made her able to save others.
A church that has been going her own way, preaching Christ full of the flesh, can repent, and preach in love. The father that has corrupted his home by selfish indifference and ego can change his ways and lead his children to God. The home that was ruled by the flesh in many ways can be changed into a place of peace, where Christ dwells. In every area, we see the FRUIT of sin and the fruit of faith, and faith is much better, even as Noah said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem, and may Canaan be his servant, May God enlarge Japeth”, so that when he saw his sons' obedience, he knew it was of God, and being of God, it is blessed (Gen 9:26-27).
Canaan pictures the result of unrepentant and sinning saints, even as David's son must die, and Absalom, after killing his brother,maliciously seeks David's head. David, like Peter, Moses, Solomon, Eli, you and me, suffered because of unbelief. God said, “Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. for you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun” (2 Sam 12:11-12). The believer who doesn't repent brings unneeded misery upon himself and becomes the cause of his own trouble. He, like Ham, walks in pride. He points the finger in self-righteousness and condemnation of others, so his sons pick up on his legal ways. They despise the mercy of God, because while Ham knew Christ (he was in the ark and came out alive after the flood), he didn't teach his children, like Eli, as he should. Eli was told, “For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them” (1 Sam 3:13).
I urge you! Believe that your actions in this life have consequences. You are saved by grace, but imagine the harm if you show up to work undressed, unwashed, and you make a mess instead of doing your job. Believer or not, the boss will let you go, the cops will be called, and you will bear the misery of your actions, for “he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality” (Col 3:25). Yet, if you go obediently, it is because God is with you, and whether you're blessed in man's eyes is irrelevant. God's blessing is on you, “knowing that from the Lord you shall receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ” (Col 3:24).
Choose God's will, lest you suffer the chastisement of His fury. This message has made me repent and fear God, even as Paul tells us, “let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, performing holiness in the fear of God” (2 Cor 7:1). Do things God's way and be blessed, instead of cursed. Do not say, “I'm in Christ, so nothing matters”. Say, “I'm in Christ, so keep me from sin, lest I hurt myself. Help me, Oh Lord, to love as I’ve been loved, doing people good.”
Don't be judgmental. You've obtained mercy just like Noah, and like him, you fall. Scripture says of this great man, “And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent” (Gen 9:20-21).
We war and conquer sin, but NO ONE conquers it completely or lives above the fray. We are deplorable self-confessed sinners, so when you see faults in others, retract the finger and stick out the helping hand. Scripture says, “Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father's nakedness” (Gen 9:23). Isn't this how He treats you? He died for your sins, covers your shame, and He doesn't treat you any less graciously because of it. He doesn't say, “Come to Me, you that labor and are heavy burned, and I'll point out your failures, laugh, and gossip”. He says, even though it cost Him His life, and even though our sins are in His face, “I will rest you” (Matt 11:28).
Be like Christ and reap the blessings of faith. The entire world serves your relationship with God. Or, be like Ham and watch your actions and decisions breed thorns and thistles.
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