The Bible writes with brutal honesty about its heroes, exposing not only their great acts of faith, but their struggles with sin as well. In Genesis 9 we see Noah pleasing God, and also failing. The honesty of the biblical record is instructive and encourages me to get up and keep trying after I slip and fall.
The story of God’s rainbow is so familiar that it is easy to miss the impact of God’s sovereign act. God received Noah’s offering with great pleasure and he made a covenant with Noah and his sons—a covenant that scholars call the Noahic Covenant. This covenant was a "no-strings attached" covenant--what is called a Royal Grant Covenant, not made by some human ruler, but by the King of the Universe Himself with his creation.
God reiterated the command to Noah that he had previously given Adam and Eve: “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.” There are subtle differences in His instructions though. Man’s sovereignty over creation is restated, but now the animal kingdom will fear man. All the plants are given to man for food, but animals are now also part of man’s diet—with some special instructions. God restates the fact that mankind bears his image, and murder now carries the penalty of death. The sanctity of life could not be more clearly delineated by the Sovereign Lord. And God promises, with a stunning visual display, that natural catastrophe will never again be used to destroy all creation. This promise was made to Noah and his sons in spite of the fact that God knew “every inclination of [man’s] heart is evil from childhood.” (Gen. 8:21) Disappointment with His creation did not change God into a tyrant, rather His merciful character was again demonstrated in this encounter between Noah and God.
Just as happens so often with modern day people, this stirring spiritual experience was quickly swallowed up in the normalcy of everyday life. Noah resumed the tasks of planting and harvesting, and we read that he enjoyed the fruits of his labours so much, he became drunk. Scholars indicate that, in this rather strange story, Ham committed some sort of sexual sin against his father, and told his brothers (who were shocked at the incident) what had happened. Family relationships were disrupted, and Noah ended up cursing his own son, Ham. (The use of this curse to justify the slave trade of the 1800s could not have been more warped. The Canaanites were actually a Caucasian people, not black, as American southerners at the time averred.) The curse would have long-lasting effects, however, resulting in constant enmity between the descendants of Shem (the Israelites) and the descendants of Ham (the Canaanites).
How sad that the last Old Testament record we have of Noah ends on a down note. Thank God for the New Testament that records him as a hero of the faith in spite of this lapse! “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” (Hebrews 11:7) It certainly is not at all coincidental that the writer of Hebrews follows his chapter on faith heroes with the reminder: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfect of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:1-3)
Had Noah neglected his relationship with God once the calamity of the flood was over? What influences might have induced him to let down his guard sufficiently to become drunk? The picture drawn of Noah in chapter 9 certainly doesn't look like a spiritual hero. We don’t know what factors were involved in this sad episode. But we do know that sin can “easily entangle” us as well, and that we must persevere in our race for righteousness. The life of holiness does not come easily, nor without setbacks, but thank God that Jesus is our perfect example, our brother, our Saviour and our helper in this race.
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