B'reshit 6:9-11:32

(Please take the time to read the portion completely as this "reflection" is designed to be a life application of only a small part of the Torah portion and is not an in depth commentary, nor does it normally touch the scheduled corresponding Haftorah and Brit Chadashah readings)

Shalom Friends,

Gen 10:15-18 Canaan became the father of Sidon, his firstborn, and Heth and the Jebusite and the Amorite and the Girgashite and the Hivite and the Arkite and the Sinite and the Arvadite and the Zemarite and the Hamathite; and afterward the families of the Canaanite were spread abroad.

Did you ever wonder why YHVH singled out the nations of Canaan for destruction and gave the land as a perpetual possession to Israel? I believe that the answer is found here in the beginning. Above we see all but one, the Perizite, of the nations that YHVH commanded in Deuteronomy should be destroyed from the land.

Deu 7:1-2 "When YHVH your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and stronger than you, and when YHVH your God delivers them before you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them.

Sometimes people have been critical of the harshness of this instruction but I propose to you that there is a very good reason that this directive was given. These nations originated from an illegitimate union that could not be blessed but had a curse upon it from day one.

Gen 9:19-27 These three were the sons of Noah, 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. But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it upon both their shoulders and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were turned away, so that they did not see their father's nakedness. When Noah awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son had done to him. So he said, "Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants He shall be to his brothers." He also said, "Blessed be YHVH, The God of Shem; And let Canaan be his servant. "May God enlarge Japheth, And let him dwell in the tents of Shem; And let Canaan be his servant."

Have you ever pondered these verses and asked why, if Ham had done the "evil," that Canaan was cursed? First let's identify the sin.

Lev 18:8 'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife; it is your father's nakedness.

I propose that not only Noah but Mrs. Noah had a bit too much to drink and Ham violated his own mother producing Canaan, his illegitimate son/grandchild.

Lev 20:11 'If there is a man who lies with his father's wife, he has uncovered his father's nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death, their bloodguiltiness is upon them.

That bloodguiltiness is a curse that is passed on to the offspring as it is unreasonable that Noah would kill his own wife and son. So YHVH used this event to put in place a people destined to be "put to death." They were a curse from their inception.

In the Ten Words that were uttered from Sinai we find this commandment.

Exo 20:12 "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which YHVH your God gives you.

This is the opposite of what Ham did to his father and mother. He created a curse and will eventually be dispossessed from the land his descendents will inhabited. This commandment brings with it a blessing, one I think we should meditate on especially if we, the children, have parents who don't quite understand all this "Torah" stuff. We still need to honor them even if they are hostile to our faith. Don't spiritually violate or uncover your parents by speaking against them or being hostile to them. Treat them with the respect that is due a parent and it will go well for you in the land YHVH has provided for you to live in. Of course we can apply this to all people but take special care when speaking to or even of your mom or dad, YHVH is watching! Don't produce fruit destined to be "put to death."

Shalom in Yeshua
Bill