Genesis 9:23, “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.” (NIV)
This verse is so beautiful to me. To give you some context, Noah’s family exited the Ark, and were starting their lives over on a land that God had brought them to. God was giving them directives and beginning a new covenant with man through Noah (and generations to come) and every living creature on the earth. Noah plants a vineyard, gets drunk in his tent and ends up naked. His son Ham finds him naked in his tent and runs back to tell the other brothers. Shem and Japheth in hearing what their brother shared with them, decided to cover Noah’s naked body without looking at him. What Shem and Japheth did speaks to not gossiping and destroying, but restoring the one who has sinned. As it says in 1 Peter 4:8b, “Love covers a multitude of sins.” Their response to their father’s sin was first recognizing that sin was being committed, then covering it to stop the sin from perpetuating.
We know that Ham’s response to his father’s sin was wrong because Noah then cursed Canaan (see that Ham was the father of Canaan verse 22) to be a slave to his brothers. God is telling us in this text to stop sin in its tracks and not to perpetuate it by committing another sinful action. Had Ham just covered his father at the moment he discovered him, instead of running to the brothers to ridicule their father, he could’ve reaped a major blessing. God desires for us to help others out of their sin not play a part in making matters worse. We are called to help restore others today through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Also, this verse begs the question, do you have the right people around you to hold you accountable and restore you in the moment you need it? Pay attention to the company you keep.
Dear Father, thank You for helping me realize it is important the type of people I have in my circle. Help me to flee from sin and bless me with an accountability partner to stay away from sin. Thank You for the best friend we could ever have as Christians, the Holy Spirit, who convicts us daily of where we fall short. May I obey His promptings at all times. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen!
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