Ham Feeds on Noah’s Sin

A Devotional Series from Genesis

Online Bible Audio/Readings Links (ESV)

7/17 Reading Portions: Joshua 24; Acts 4; Jeremiah 13; Matthew 27

Genesis 9:22

And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside.

NAKEDNESS

Here Ham displays an interesting attribute among those who despise the people of God. He takes pleasure in and exposes the shortcomings of others. This is not done out of love, but out of wickedness; for the Scripture says that love “does not rejoice at wrongdoing” (1 Cor 13:6). I believe this is why Canaan is mentioned. As the first five books of the Bible, the Torah, or Pentateuch, was written by Moses during Israel’s wilderness wanderings, the mention of Canaan was to prepare Israel for what they must face and fight when they entered the Promised Land. This is something the godly in Christ must face and endure in a world full of iniquity formed from idolatry, encountering those who take pleasure in the faltering faith of Christ’s redeemed.

The Northern Kingdom of Israel was rife with such rot, as YHVH God spoke through the prophet,

They feed on the sin of My people; they are greedy for their iniquity. Hosea 4:8

Moreover, wisdom of Christ states likewise,

A worthless witness mocks at justice, and the mouth of the wicked devours iniquity. Proverbs 19:28

We need not retaliate for such tomfoolery but simply call out to the Lord Jesus and solace and comfort in Him. Hallelujah! What a Savior!