Men in the Bible: How Not to Be A Father
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. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside…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.” – Genesis 9:20-22,24-25
Having considered the terrible mistakes made by Ham, the second son of Noah, in turning his father’s nudity into a topic of gossip and joke, it is apt for us to look at the scene from another point of view so as to make our lessons from this scenario more balanced. In that regard, we shall be looking at the man Noah as an example of recklessness and how not to be a father.
After surviving the flood and being the privileged person to lead the new world order that God started with the human race at that time, Noah did well by picking up a new vocation as a farmer. Perhaps it was the giddiness of his first harvests, which must have been bumper, or something else, Noah indulged himself by drinking from the wine harvested in his vineyard. That is not bad in itself as one is meant to enjoy from his labor. But he did it to the point of reckless abandon such that he threw caution to the wind, cast his clothing aside, and was stark naked in the tent.
Considering that tents in those days were not as structured as our modern housing, with proper roofing, doors, and other items for privacy, it was reckless behavior on the part of Noah to indulge himself to this extent. He might as well have debauched himself outside the tent in the glare of the public. Noah put his family members in a difficult position by not exercising more self-control or being more discreet with his indulgence.
Secondly, by this time, Noah was already a grandfather. That meant he not only had a wife of his own, but his sons also had their own wives and children as well. So, what could Noah be thinking by throwing caution to the wind this way? Yes, he was the patriarch, but any of his grandchildren could have been the ones to walk into his tent with the intention of spending time with grandpa.
Moreso, what example was Noah setting for his own sons and his grandchildren by drinking wine so excessively to the point of stupor. He certainly did not cover himself in glory in this regard. He was careless, reckless and irresponsible. To make it worse, his hubris led to the downfall of one of his sons. That is certainly not how to be a father.
Further, after Noah came to his senses and the realization of what his son, Ham, had done, what he did next was even more shocking. Instead of rebuking his errant son sharply for his immaturity or correcting him in love, he rather placed a curse on him. Worse still, he did not curse the son directly; he placed a generational curse on the son of the son! In other words, he cursed his grandson! What kind of man curses his own grandchild?
Even worse, Canaan, the grandson he cursed, knew nothing about what his own father had done. So, Noah only cursed an innocent child. He did not have the ball to curse his own son, perhaps because he did not want to witness the manifestation of his curse while he was still alive. Still, he had no scruple in cursing his own grandson, an innocent boy, and that with an eternal curse that he would forever be a servant of servants, was the height of irresponsibility. That means Canaan and his own descendants would not just be servants to masters but would be servants to the servants of masters. That was relegating Canaan and his entire lineage to the very dregs in societal order.
What a man! What a father! What a grandfather Noah was! This is certainly not the way to be a father or a grandfather to boot. A right-thinking (grand)father corrects his (grand)children in love, not condemn them; he blesses them, not curse them. Noah was the opposite of this. We all can learn how not to from him.
Selah!
Also read:
- Understanding God: He is Agreeable
- The Benefits of Wisdom: Knowledge, A Companion of Wisdom
- Calling God
- Why Do Golf Balls Have Dimples?
- Persistence And The Power of God
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