God covers our sins
Genesis 9:18 – 29
Genesis 9:23

Good morning. Happy Sunday. Did you ever hear about a yellow ribbon tied to the ole oak tree? A man did bad things and imprisoned for 3 years. As he was close to be released, he sent his wife a letter; if she could forgive him and still want him, tie a yellow ribbon around the tree. On the bus, if he sees the yellow ribbon, he will get off the bus, otherwise, he will pass the bus stop. In the song, passengers on the bus cheered because there were 100 yellow ribbons tied to the tree. His wife covered his wrongdoings with her love.
In today’s passage, a man of God, Noah was drunken and sleeping naked in his tent. His youngest son, Ham, saw him and told his two brothers outside. But they, Shem and Japheth took a garment and covered their father’s naked body. Their actions remind us how God covers our sins with the blood of Jesus even though we do not deserve. Through this message, let us learn about God who forgives our sins by his mercy.

1. Noah’s fault.
After the flood judgement, Noah and his three sons came out of the ark. His three sons are Japheth (oldest), Shem (middle), and Ham (youngest).
Noah was a man of the soil, a farmer. He planted a vineyard. When he reaped grapes, he made wine. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. Do you drink wine? You can drink wine, maybe on a special day, actually yesterday I took Yulardy and Ecuador to Longwood Garden for tour. I saw they held a small beer garden festival. You may drink a glass of wine. But Noah drank too much. He passed out. He even lay naked in his tent.
It is hard to believe what Noah did here. In Ch 6, he was introduced a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and walked faithfully with God. He was also a preacher of righteousness. He built the ark for him and his family. But now, he was drunken and sleeping uncovered inside his house. What happened to him? We do not know how many years have passed since he came out of the ark. But as God had promised him in ch 9, “be fruitful and increase in number”, things were going well. No more of the flood, everything seemed to be OK. He became complacent and lost a spirit of self-control. He might think what is wrong with drinking wine in my tent? No one is going to watch me. In fact, verse 20 says he was a man of the soil. Here, the soil is literally the soil but in Hebrew, it has another meaning: flesh. In other words, he was becoming fresh, not spiritual but worldly. He never imagined that he was drunken and naked. What a shame.
Noah’s fault teaches us that we need God’s mission in our life. Otherwise, when things are going well, like you get a good job and make lots of money, in our sinful nature, you are becoming flesh or worldly. You still serve God and worship God. However, your heart is not going to be the same as before. But when we have God’s mission, serving God and serving lost sheep in the darkness, it will help you not to be drunken and not to sleep naked inside your room.

2. The same event but the two different responses.
Noah was drunken and sleeping inside his tent. He never imagined how his shortcomings could greatly impact his three sons. In verse 22, his youngest son, Ham somehow entered his tent and saw him naked. And then, Ham told his two brothers outside. You might wonder what is wrong with telling his two brothers? But here told, in English, simply told, but in Hebrew, it is to speak out or trumpet. In other words, he made fun of Noah in front of his two brothers. In his heart, probably he looked down on his father. ‘How could my father, a man of God, be drunken and sleep naked?’ He did not think about how he was saved from the flooding because of his father, but only pointed out his father’s fault.
What about the other two brothers? Shall we read verse 23 together? But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked. What they did was totally different from Ham’s behavior. They took a garment, walked backwards, and covered Noah’s naked body. They turned their faces to the other side not to see their father naked.
What can we see from their actions? Their respect for Noah. They covered his shortcoming. Evidently, it was Noah’s fault. He caused this trouble. However, unlike Ham, they did not broadcast their father’s drunkenness and nakedness. They might think, ‘yes, my father is an old man. He could make some mistakes too. However, he is still found favor by God. Because of him, we survived in the middle of the flood judgement.’
Look at verse 24. When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what Ham, Shem, and Japheth had done to him, he cursed Canaan (Ham’s son) but blessed Shem and Japheth. He said to Ham, “Cursed be Canaan!, The lowest of all slaves, will he be to his brothers”. Canaan was Ham’s 4th son in ch 10:6. Why curse on Canaan not on Ham? It was Noah’s prophecy. Noah saw that Ham’s disrespect would continue to go down to his descendants over times, and in Moses’ and Joshua’s time, the Canaanites would be disrespectful and rebellious against God. So, in the end, they would be slaves. So, we see here, the reason the Canaanites became slaves dated back all the way to Ham; his sin: no-respect to his father and God.
How about God’s blessing to Shem and Japheth? Verse 26,27 says, Noah also said Praise be to the LORD, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. May God extend Japheth’s territory; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth.”
Shem’s blessing is that God became his God. God was the God of Noah. Now God chose Shem and became the God of Shem. This is the best blessing Shem could receive. Because through his lines, later Abraham, David, and our Lord Jesus Christ was born. He received spiritual blessing to be God’s servants.
In the meantime, God blessed Japheth to extend his territory. According to chapter10 and Bible scholars, Japheth’s descendants spread to middle east, Europe, and Asia. His descendants became fruitful and increased in number. Also, he would live in the tents of Shem, meaning he would receive God’s blessings too through Shem.
The same event, but totally two different responses: Ham did not cover his father naked; Shem and Japheth covered his father naked with a garment. Their different actions greatly impacted their life and their descendants as well. This teaches us that my children, my descendants will inherit my actions, my attitude, my spirit. They might be cursed or blessed based on my today’s attitude toward God and people. So, forgive your father, mother, or husband or wife. Also, cover their weakness with respect and love.

3. God covers our sins
The attitude of Shem and Japheth remind us how God covers our sins with the blood of Jesus. As they took a garment and covered Noah’s naked body, God forgives and covers our shameful sins by the spiritual garment, Jesus’ blood. We are sinners. Do you agree? We deserve to be mocked, made fun of in front of God and people. Imagine that whenever we commit sin inside our room, what if God points out our wrongdoings each moment? However, God does not trumpet our fault openly. Even though he sees, hears 24/7, yet he is silent and covers our sins.
In Psalm 32:1,2, David praised God. It says Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the LORD does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit. As you know, David committed adultery. When he was young, he was humble. He sought God earnestly. He said “the LORD is my shepherd. I shall not want.” However, when his kingship became strong, he made a terrible mistake like Noah. He saw a beautiful woman at night, he could not control his lustful desire. He slept with the married woman. He even made her husband killed to hide his sin. Then, God sent him his prophet to repent. He sincerely repented, thus, God forgave his sin that his sin was covered by God’s love.
In fact, the Bible talks a lot about covering sins. For example, Proverb 17:9 He who covers a transgression seeks love, But he who repeats a matter separates friends. Proverb 10:12 says, Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins. Hebrew 8:12 says
For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
When we sin, it is clearly our fault. We deserve to be punished. Yet, God forgive us our sins. He covers our sins. Why? Because Jesus paid for our sins on the cross with his own blood.
In John 8, a woman who was caught in adultery was carried in front of Jesus. All people shouted, condemned her to be worthy of death. She deserved it. It was her fault. But what did Jesus say? “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” He did not condemn her. Instead, he forgave her and covered her sin. Also, he gave her a new life direction. But later he was crucified for her sin in place of her.
In John 20, Peter disowned Jesus three times. It was Peter’s sin. He deserved to be shameful. But Jesus forgave him. He visited Peter first. Early in the morning, he prepared breakfast: grilled fish and warm bread – fish burger. Instead of criticizing Peter’s denials, he asked Peter: “do you love me more than these?” Peter was so grateful that Jesus covered his sin. He lived for Jesus.
If you have tasted God’s forgiveness of your sins, you should practice this: cover someone’s faults. Actually, try to forgive someone. Then, you will understand how hard it is to cover someone’s fault without judging them in your heart. In our sinful nature, like Ham, we want to trumpet. We want to point out their wrongdoings. Thus, we will truly be thankful that how God does not condemn us, but forgives us, cleanse us from our sins through the blood of Jesus.
My father was quiet and kind. But whenever he was drunken, he became violent. I was so angry at him when he did domestic violence. At college, after I accepted Jesus personally, I learned from the Bible that Jesus wants me to forgive my father. I know I have to obey Jesus, but in the other hand, I did not want to forgive him. I realized I could not forgive him with my own effort. Then, I became more thankful that how God covered my sins through the blood of Jesus. There was no reason for him to forgive me. Yet, he did for me. Then, at one bible conference, Jesus’ cry on the cross touched my heart: father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing. The cry melted my anger toward my father. On that night, I called my father and said: I forgive you, I love you.
In today’s passage, we have heard when Ham did not respect his father, God heard what Noah said to Ham, later the curse was fulfilled in his descendants. But when Shem and Japheth took a garment and covered their father’s naked body, they and their descendants were greatly blessed by God. As mentioned in the intro, the woman tied 100 yellow ribbons to the ole oak tree to forgive and welcome her husband. Our God forgives and covers our sins through the blood of Jesus too. Praise God! Praise Jesus! I pray we may become like Shem and Japheth, not like Ham. I pray we may continue to know about God in the Genesis study.