The Story of Noah's Family Tree
During Week 9 of "The Beginning," Donna Gaines walks us through the story of Noah's family tree by looking at Genesis 9-10. "The Beginning" is a weekly Bible study hosted by Bellevue Women.
The Beginning: HisStory in Genesis 1-11
Week 9: Noah’s Family Tree – Genesis 9:18-10
I. Noah Tends a Garden – Genesis 9:18-20
There are many similarities between Noah and Adam. The Spirit hovers over the deep in Genesis 1 and Genesis 8. Both men are tenders of a garden; they both fell by the fruit (one of a tree and one of the vine). Their nakedness is exposed, and they are covered by another.
“Adam’s sin brought a terrible curse upon his posterity (Romans 5:12), and so did Noah’s too (Genesis 24:25-25). Adam had three sons – Cain, Abel and Seth, the last of which was the one through whom the promised Seed came; and here again the analogy holds good, for Noah also had three sons – Japheth, Ham and Shem, the last mentioned being the one from whom descended the Messiah and Saviour” (Arthur Pink, Gleanings in Genesis, p. 120).
II. The Curse of Sin – Genesis 9:21-28
Sin was not just outside the Ark, it was within the Ark as well. Sometimes the sin of another exposes our own heart. Noah’s sin exposed Ham’s heart. We see Ham’s disrespect for his father. Shem and Japheth honor their father and back into the tent to cover his nakedness. When he wakes and realizes what Ham has done, he curses Ham’s descendants; specifically, Canaan. Thus, there will be a struggle among the siblings and their descendants.
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you” (Exodus 20:12).
“Wine, mentioned here for the first time in Scripture, is in ill repute. It produced drunkenness and shame and brought to the surface the vile passions that surged in the soul of Ham” (John Phillips, Exploring Genesis, p. 92).
“It is surely significant and designed as a solemn warning that the first time wine is referred to in the Scriptures it is found associated with drunkenness, shame and a curse” (Arthur Pink, Gleanings in Genesis, p. 121).
Ephesians 5:15-20
Think about the sins that have become socially acceptable which cause us to be desensitized to them. Those driving our media culture are very aware that they can push acceptance through exposure and repetition.
“While the church is not an ethnic minority (and it’s important for me to clarify that), we are what sociologists all a cognitive minority. Meaning, as followers of Jesus, our worldview and value system and practices and social norms are increasingly at sharp odds with those of our host culture. We face constant pressure, from both the Left and the Right, to assimilate and follow the crowd” (John Mark Comer, Live No Lies, p. xxiii).
Truly, to have an influence on the culture, we must be different from the culture.
It is important to note who the original audience of Genesis would have been. It was the Israelites who were being led by God to possess the land He had promised to Abraham. But they were entering the land of their enemies – the Canaanites.
The descendants of Shem are the Jews or the Semites.
III. Personal Application – Genesis 9
Transformation—
“The iceberg brings to mind the goal of spiritual formation in Christ – namely, that Jesus wants to form His life in us. Significantly, about 90 percent of an iceberg remains unseen beneath the surface. And Jesus wants to transform our entire beings, not just the 10 percent that shows. Yet Christianity in the Western world is often marginalized as a life accessory rather than the means of powerful life transformation” (Rich Villodas, The Deeply Formed Life, p. Loc. 166, Kindle).
- Am I walking in righteousness?
- Am I living a blameless life?
- Are there sins in my life (seen or unseen) that I need to confess, repent, and renounce?
- If I died today, would others recognize that I finished well? More importantly, would God say so?
(Questions from The Beginning, p. 185)
Response to the sin of another – Galatians 6:1-2
Be on guard after a spiritual victory; stay alert.
“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
“A believer is never immune from falling. The evil nature is still within us and nothing but constant dependency upon God can enable us to withstand the solicitations of the world, the flesh, and the devil” (Arthur Pink, Gleanings in Genesis, p. 122).
Spiritual disciplines are spiritual warfare. The daily denying of self and submitting myself to God’s Word and then His will in prayer empowers my victory.
“Holiness can be a lonely place” (The Beginning, p. 189).
IV. The Table of Nations – Genesis 10
“If Christians would stop to ponder the implications of this rather dry tenth chapter of Genesis, racial prejudice would be dissolved” (S.J. Cole as quoted in The Beginning, p. 196).
No person is excluded from the gift of receiving Christ, and no Christian is excluded from the command to share Him.
What are you doing about it?
- Bellevue’s Love Offering, Bellevue Loves Memphis and our Partners
- She Loves Out Loud Global, Bellevue, Saturday, November 5, 2022 Shelovesoutloud.org
Charity Gayle and a city-wide choir Jen Wilkin – Keynote speaker International Partners
Hearing from women around the world Call to prayer and action
Live on mission!!