Men in the Bible: Ham – the Portrait of A Gossip and An Accursed
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, 24-24
The man in the Bible for our spotlight today is Ham, the lastborn of Noah. In Ham, we will see the portrait of a gossip and an accursed man. This is not a particularly good note, but hopefully, we all can learn from his mistakes and steer clear of them.
Ham made a fundamental mistake, fundamental because it was destiny-defining, even though it was also subtle and is a common mistake some of us still make today. Ham saw the nakedness of his father. That was bad in itself. But he then went to do something worse; he went to gossip about his father’s nudity to his older brothers, Shem and Japheth.
The first lesson here is that a child, no matter how old, big, prominent, or great he or she becomes in life, is not allowed to celebrate the nakedness of his or her parents. Nakedness in this regard can be literal, as in physical nudity, or figurative, meaning the flaws or hubris of the parents.
The truth is children, at different stages in their lives, might stumble upon their parents’ nudity. That was the case with Ham, as he must have entered his father’s tent only to inadvertently see the man unashamedly sprawled on the floor naked. However, a child who chances upon his or her parent’s nakedness must exercise discretion and not turn that into a topic for gossip. That was where Ham went wrong. He saw his father’s nakedness and went to look for his brothers outside so that he could gossip and giggle about his discovery. That proved costly for him.
Figuratively, because of proximity, a child may get to see the character flaws, personal weaknesses, hubris and foibles of their parents. However, these are not something to joke about, either within the family unit itself or shared with an outsider. Children are not permitted to make fun of their parent’s nakedness or weakness. Honor is the basic instruction of God to children towards their parents.
In the case of Ham, his behavior was even more baffling because he himself was already a father at this time, as the Bible refers to him as ‘the father of Canaan.’ The more reason his immaturity was disappointing. To him, his father’s nudity was the joke of the day or the piece of entertainment to have fun with.
Sadly, it proved very costly for him, as it earned him and his descendants a curse from his father, a generational curse that was never revoked.
Selah!
Also read:
- Understanding God: God of Accountability
- The Ordinance of Firstfruits (4): Who Should You Give it to?
- Realities in Alphabet
- Light up the Church
- Be Faithful to God even in Difficult Circumstances
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