v. 1 - Did God forget?
v. 21-22 - What does this say about God? Us? Our relationship with Him?
Genesis 9
v. 1 and 7 - Why is this important?
v. 5 - What does this say about the value of human life?
v. 11 - Why is this covenant important?
v. 20-21 - Is Noah the perfect hero?
v. 22 - Why is this bad?
I'm inclined to think that Genesis 9:20-23 is more about modesty than alcohol. I don't recall anything being said about drukenness yet (it will surely come, in both the OT and NT), but we've already seen, in the story of the Fall, the connection between nakedness and shame. Ham violated Noah's modesty and was judged; Shem and Japheth preserved it and are implicitly praised.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting point. Once wine is mentioned, and we see the corresponding nakedness, we jump to the assumption of drunkenness.
ReplyDeleteThe text does say he was drunk, but it doesn't pass judgment on that. It's the violation of modesty that gets cursed, not the (apparent) overindulgence in wine.
ReplyDeleteGoing back an rereading, I think the drunkenness is considered sin because of the folly that follows. When you see wine mentioned again in v. 24, it is obvious that the wine had an effect on Noah that was out of place. However, the "bigger" sin is that Ham sought out the shame and embarrassment of his father.
ReplyDeleteI'll buy that. Thanks for thinking through it with me!
ReplyDelete