Many who read the Word of God with attentive minds, will have queried the reason why Canaan is spoken of as cursed’ when it was Ham, his father, who had transgressed. To understand this fully, it will be profitable to go far back into history, and on our return journey to pause at this spot to study a little geography and genealogy.
There are many evidences in Scripture that the “Way of God” was known upon earth before the giving of the law. In writing to the Galatians, Paul makes this very clear by saying “The law was added because of transgression, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made.”1 We can trace the progress of transgression very early in the record given in Genesis, the book of “beginnings.”
God instructed Adam and Eve as to the necessity of a surrendered life, which He symbolised by the shedding of blood. In this, the principle was involved, that “without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin.” In God’s own words, uttered many centuries later, “the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls; it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”2 The word “atonement” means “covering” and God, Who teaches many aspects of the truth in a pictorial manner, illustrated this by making coats of skins for our first parents.
The blood of the animals thus slain, had been offered to make a covering for their iniquity, which, in Scripture, is always symbolised by “nakedness.” We, who have been enlightened, are aware that the word “soul” as used in the narrative of Creation applied to the whole man himself, and not to an external covering for something indestructihle. When Adam was first created, he lay upon the ground, a soul, before God breathed into his nostrils the ” breath of life ” after which he became a living soul.
The lesson that blood was to represent life as passed on to their children by Adam and Eve, and immediately we perceive a difference between one who was a “son of God ” and one who proved himself merely a ” son of Adam ” who had inherited his father’s tendency to disobey. The act of eating meant the choice to disobey, for we are told by Paul, “Adam was not deceived.”3 The offering of Abel was accepted, but that of Cain was refused. Cain was envious that the righteous works of Abel had found acceptance with God, and his envy led to murder. Abel was the first martyr for Truth, and prefigured the one who said to Pilate, ” For this cause I came into the world, that I might bear witness unto the Truth.” This one also was slain, and we are told that Pilate ” knew that for envy they had delivered him to be crucified.” Seth, the son whom God gave to Eve to succeed Abel, became the ancestor of Jesus, the promised ” seed of the woman,” and he taught his sons and his sons’ sons so well, that in chapter 4 of Genesis we read, “Then began men to call upon the Name of the Lord.”
These were the sons of God, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, and it was their delight to meet together to worship God, their Father. Soon, however, something occurred, of which Paul, in a much later day, had occasion to warn the early Christians. In Acts 19:30, we read, “Of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.” When this had taken place amongst Adam’s descendants, the result is recorded in the words in Gen. 6:2, “And the Sons of God ‘ saw the daughters of men ‘ that they were fair, and they took them wives of all which they chose.” The serpent’s lie had been taught and believed, that for their disobedience they ” would not surely die, but ye shall be as gods.”
They did not die in the literal day of their transgression, and ” because sentence against an evil work was not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men was fully set in them to do evil.” The sons of God had now become the sons of men, and were exalted in their own estimation, becoming “men of renown ” like Lamech, the seventh from Cain, who defied God and His sentence upon Cain. By this time the wickedness of man had become so great in the earth that God determined to destroy him, and here we have a convincing proof that God had been teaching His way, for the words which immediately follow this account of the apostasy, are: The Lord said, ” My spirit shall not always strive with man,” but He added the promise that his days should be 120 years, to give him space to repent. Repentance not taking place, when this time had elapsed, God destroyed man off the face of the earth by a flood, but He did not destroy the righteous with the wicked.
He saved Noah, and the family of Noah, for his sake. Noah had begun to be an husbandman, and partook too freely of the fruit of the vine, and, as a symbol of his transgression, lay uncovered in his tent. This exposure of his body came about by his wrong-doing, but it is the reactions of his family that provide the reason for our choice of subject. Again, of their own selves, one who had been in the ark, arose, speaking perverse things. One son, Ham, saw, and delighted in his father’s fall from grace. Two sons, Shem and Japheth, were grieved, and would not look upon this sad picture, thus fulfilling beforehand the fifth commandment, in honouring their father. On the other hand Ham had cursed himself according to the words later spoken: ” Cursed . . . he that maketh light of his father or mother.”4 Here I wish to draw attention to the fact that the word ” be ” is not in the original and distracts our attention from the truth that the very nature that could make light of parents was cursed in itself.
But why was Canaan, the son of Ham, alone spoken of as cursed? There is a deep principle involved here. When God gave the commandments, he used these words, “I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.”5 Notice it is the iniquity, not the punishment for it, that is visited; and it is now a well-verified fact that tendencies and dispositions are traceable unto the third and fourth generations. In this manner, Adam’s sin came upon Cain, but hear what the justice and mercy of God adds, ” shewing mercy unto thousands, in them that love Me, and keep My commandments.” Heredity can be overcome by the keeping of God’s commandments. David well expresses this joyful truth by question and answer.
“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto, according to Thy Word.”6 Let us consider in detail the narrative in Genesis chapter 9. Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his younger son had done unto him. What had Ham done? We are not told, but it is not difficult to fill in the details. When Ham reported his father’s condition to his two brothers, it was not with sorrow, for, if he had grieved, he would himself have covered Noah, and not have told others of his state. But apparently he was of the class who “rejoice in iniquity” and would seem also to have told Canaan, who, of all his sons, was the one after his own heart. How did Noah learn what his younger son had done? We may be quite sure that neither Shem nor Japheth would add to their father’s sense of shame by revealing it, and Ham would not have dared to tell. Ham had not transgressed by seeing his father’s state. This was an accident, and no blame could be attached for that, but he had sinned by delighting in it and by noising it abroad.
Knowing from previous experiences that he and Canaan were like-minded, Ham had told his son; and Canaan, with all the arrogance and callousness of youth, that is, unregenerate youth, had taunted and humbled his grandfather, which proved himself cursed in his very nature. Thus we see that Noah did not curse Canaan. Their breaking of God’s law had already brought both Ham and Canaan under the curse, and Noah was merely prophesying the fruits of such disposition.
Please notice here that the names used in this narrative are not applied to individuals, but to their race of descendants, in the same way that we find the names “Jacob” and “Israel” used of all the fleshly descendants of Abraham. Ham’s iniquity was visited upon Canaan, and upon that line the reward of their doing would fall. If Ham had been mentioned in this connection, the punishment would hay fallen upon his innocent sons, who had no cursed themselves by breaking God’s law God is just, and would not allow this.
The wrath would be confined to the line which would earn it by its actions. What was the punishment which God inspired Noah t foretell? That Canaan would be “a servant of servants.” This does not mean that Canaan’s descendants would serve those who were themselves in bondage. Here we have an idiom used frequently in Scripture. It is called the ‘”plural of majesty,” instances of which are, “With desire, I have desired,” that is, with intense desire; “King of Kings,” a most kingly King; “Lord of Lords the most powerful of rulers; whilst a servant of servants” would imply the lowest of the servant class, practically a Slave. Just here, we take our lesson in geography and genealogy. In Genesis 10:15-19 we read who were the descendants of Canaan, and the land they occupied. We find they lived in the very land which God promised to Abraham for an everlasting possession.
Further, we know already that these nations were taken off the land because of their iniquity. Did the line of Canaan ever serve Shem’s descendants? In Joshua chapter 9, we read of the Gibeonites, one of the families of Canaan, who, by lying and deceit had extracted a promise from the princes of Israel (who asked not counsel of the Lord) that they should not be destroyed, and we read of the penalty inflicted. They were to be “hewers of wood and drawers of water,” surely the work of a very menial servant.
Another instance of the fulfilment of this prophecy of Noah is given in I Kings 9:20, 21, where the descendants who remained of those nations, whom the children of Israel were not able to destroy, were put by Solomon under a tribute of bond-service “unto this day” — which, of course, we understand to mean up to the time when the narrative was written. Canaan’s name means “low,” and his nature justified the name, yet we are led to hope that if any of his descendants are alive at Christ’s return and will repent him of his wickedness, he will and mercy. The name of Shem means “renowned,” and it is of his descendants hat “the Lord will make himself an everlasting Name,” in the One who is to rule he world in righteousness. What of Japheth, whose name means “extending”? the words of the prophecy run, ” God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem, and Canaan shall be his servant.”
In our study of geography, we find in Genesis chapter 10 that Japheth was to habit “the isles of the Gentiles.” How en should he dwell in the tents of Shem, to whom God will give the land now known as Israel? It is written in Isaiah, ” The Gentiles shall come to thy light.”‘ We know who proclaimed himself to be the “Light of the World”; and we who have come to that light are now figuratively dwelling in the tents of Shem, for we have been grafted in, and are now part of the “Israel of God.”
Let us not be high-minded, but fear, for Ham had been in the ark, yet he was not saved, therefore “let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed, lest he fall.”There will also be a very literal future dwelling in the tents of Shem for those who are now in Christ, who himself, is to be their Ruler. Christ is the ark of safety for all whom the Father has brought to Jesus, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of his hand, if they take warning by those early sons of God, and do not destroy their hope by alliance with the world. We recollect how by such alliance, Solomon failed to use the wisdom granted to him by God, and how iniquity was visited upon Rehoboam, who rejected the counsel of God’s ministers, and preferred the counsel of the worldly-wise, thus departing from the Lord, and how, for this reason, the kingdom was divided in his reign.
The faithful will reign with Christ on David’s throne in Jerusalem. This does not mean for all a literal dwelling in Jerusalem, for some will be ” rulers over ten cities, and some over five cities,” according to their ability. All their administration will be ” sharing Christ’s throne” as he promised to all who should ” overcome,” even as he overcame. The faithful will also be part of the multitudinous angel, flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach to them that dwell upon the earth. This will be the hope for Canaan, for it is to be preached to ” every nation, and kindred, and tongue and people.” When will Canaan be the servant of Japheth? It is illustrated for us in the message to the Church at Philadelphia, whose modern name is Allah Shair, meaning “city of God.”
These people were being despised, just as the one who was addressing them had been; but, because they had not denied the Name of Christ, and had kept his word, and the word of his patience, they are told, “Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.”8 To worship before the feet, means to learn of them the knowledge of God, which is to cover the earth. Mary sat at the feet of Jesus for this purpose. Paul sat at the feet of Gamaliel to learn what he could teach, but the teaching was vain and perishable, whereas ” the Word of God, liveth and abideth for ever.”
What greater reward for faithful service by life and word, than to be loved of Jesus? This synagogue of Satan, or all who oppose, is represented in the partakers of Cain’s transgression, of Canaan’s “rejoicing in iniquity,” and indeed, of all who exalt themselves against God, whose glory is to cover the earth, for He, Himself, has sworn it. “As I live,” saith the Lord, “All the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.”9
What is this glory? Moses prayed, “I beseech Thee, shew me Thy glory,” and was told, “Thou canst not see my Face, but thou shalt see My back parts.”10 Paul used an expression with a similar meaning, when he said in writing to the Colossians, ” Filling up that which is behind of the sufferings of Christ.” Both expressions are meant to convey, “That which comes after.” In Exodus, we learn that the Glory of God is His Goodness, and the things that follow His presence, are, “Mercy and Graciousness, Long-suffering, and abundance of Goodness and Truth.” In writing to the Galatians, Paul spoke of these very qualities as ” the fruit of the Spirit.”11 Those who have truly sought the glory of God will radiate these same qualities which God proclaimed as His Glory, and, in degrees as these are shown, the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Glory of the Lord, as prophesied in Habakkuk.
When Canaan comes to their feet to learn of those he formerly derided, Japheth will be dwelling in the tents of Shem, as the Israel of God. Canaan will then seek to learn because he acknowledges Israel as the servant of the Most High God, and he will exchange the bond-service of the flesh for a willing service of the heart. He will then serve the living God with heart and soul and mind and strength, and will delight in serving God’s children for His sake. Then, not only Canaan will learn at the feet of Shem, in whose tents Japheth is dwelling; but Egypt, who laid the infant nation of Israel under hard bondage, and Assyria, who spoiled Jacob during his temporary-possession of the land of Canaan, and who will prove Israel’s greatest enemy in the “time of Jacob’s trouble “—these also, when the true Israel is revealed, will be blessed with the knowledge of God, for, by Isaiah, God speaks thus: “The sons of them that afflicted thee, shall come bending unto thee, and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee the city of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.”12
Moreover, God has previously spoken these words, also by Isaiah, “In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the land, whom the Lord of Hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt. My people, and Assyria, the work of My hands, and Israel; Mine inheritance.”13 Oh, to think that our faithfulness will make us the ” inheritance” of the Lord of Heaven and Earth! We are told in Rev. 22:3, “His servants shall serve Him, and they shall see His face, and His Name shall be in their foreheads.” Because of the full understanding of what that great Name implies, the Israel of God will see Him, a privilege which Moses was not ready to enjoy, and they will serve Him with delight and loving worship.
To the Church at Smyrna, for whom the Lord had no blame, Christ said, “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” This promise is for all who fulfill the condition, faithfulness–those who, “by patient continuance in well-doing, seek for glory, and honour, and immortality.”
Reference
- Gal. 3:19.
- Lev. 17:11.
- 1 Tim. 2:14.
- Deut. 27 : 16.
- Exod. 20 : 5.
- Psa. 119
- Isa. 60:3.
- Rev, 3:7-13.
- Num. 14:21.
- Exod. 33:18-23.
- Gal. 5:22.
- Isa. 60.14.
- Isa. 19 : 25.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One