“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.” And he said: “Blessed be the Lord, The God of Shem, And may Canaan be his servant. May God enlarge Japheth, And may he dwell in the tents of Shem; And may Canaan be his servant.”
Genesis 9:24-27
I find this passage so interesting. The following address by Noah is such a deep prophecy that bears meaning to us today. As he addresses each one of his sons he applies to each one a blessing or a curse based upon the way each son responded to him. This passage in the Hebrew is actually presented in a poetic cast. Let’s take a look at how each of the three parts directly pictures the different states of relationship to Jesus Christ.
The first part is about Canaan, the firstborn son of Ham. Canaan is an Old Testament picture of the flesh, or the sinful nature, illustrating to us the sinful state of Mankind. In the same way that Ham brought a curse upon himself by dishonoring his father, the condition of sin brings a curse upon man because it dishonors the Father.
The second part is a picture of the chosen people of the Lord, the Hebrew race, or Israel. Today we know the descendants of Shem as the Jewish race. In Chapter 10 we are introduced to some of the key players in this people group. The first descendant of note is Eber, where the name Hebrew (Eber-ew) was originated from, and then Abram, through whom God would establish the Hebrew nation. God’s favor and blessing would be shown through this race as He would illustrate to us a relationship of intimacy which would later be established for all people, Jew and Gentile, through the greatest descendant of Shem, Jesus Christ.
The third part of this poetic picture by Noah is the blessing of Japheth. Japheth is known to be the father of those who would later populate modern day Europe. The Greeks, the British, the Romans, as well as many other empires throughout history were known to have originated from the line of Japheth. In ancient times these races would have been referred to as Gentile races.
The blessing of Japheth dwelling in the tent of Shem is a wonderful foreshadowing of the atoning work of Christ, allowing any and every person the free gift of salvation.
Isn’t it beautiful how the Bible meshes?
The depth that is still evident to us today never ceases to amaze me.
