Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard. He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father’s nakedness. (9:20-23)
One son, Ham, saw his father’s nakedness, and instead of covering his father, he told his brothers. This is akin to gossip, making fun of his father. His two brothers not only went to cover their father but were careful not to look at his nakedness. They were careful not to dishonour their father. As a result, Ham was cursed, while Shem and Japheth were blessed.
There have been times in my life when I have exposed people rather than cover them. We can do this under the guise of concern or prayer. I don’t want to do that. This is not the same as when there is a situation that we genuinely don’t know how to handle, in which case we should seek wise counsel. Or when there is sin involved (such as abuse) it should be dealt with, likely necessitating getting help. We need to know the difference between those types of situations, and gossip.
Prayer: Forgive me, Father, for the times I have dishonoured people by exposing rather than covering their mistakes. May I not gossip or dishonour people by exposing what they have done, but treat them the way I would like to be treated—with respect and honour. Your word says, “Outdo one another in showing honour” (Romans 12:12). May that be what I do. Amen.
Chapter 10 lists the descendants of Noah, and where they settled and reminds us that the narrative of the Bible is not just made-up stories for our teaching, but real history that happened in real time to real people.
