Messianic Viewpoint

Jacques Isaac Gabizon: First, the account about the drunkenness of Noah is one remarkable proof of the divine inspiration of the Scriptures. Because if the Bible was a human invention, this type of thing would have been ignored and not be written down. After all, Noah is the hero of the flood.

Guest (Female): The Bible is very clear when it comes to exposing human nature. It is true that this book does not cover up our mistakes, and we know that we cannot hide from God in any fashion. He knows our thoughts before we even speak them. Our heart and the motives of it are exposed before him.

The question we ask here is, how could Noah, after all he saw and after all he survived, how could he get drunk? Something we would not readily expect from a righteous man. But Noah's decision just reflects a very important fact concerning the human heart.

Nothing can change the heart of man, no new environment, no miracles, except one: the recreation of man's heart is something that only the spirit of the Messiah can do once we invite him into our hearts. No external flood is going to change our heart, only if our heart is flooded with the Messiah.

And so we see that the moment Noah stepped out of the ark, it was a history of misfortune and madness, and it will be until the second coming of Yeshua. Welcome to Shalom Ariel, and welcome to our continuing study in the book of Genesis with Messianic leader Jacques Isaac Gabizon. Be blessed as you listen in, and Shalom.

Jacques Isaac Gabizon: If you have your scriptures, let's open up to Genesis chapter 10. Let's open up there and be refreshed and be blessed by the pure Word of God. Today we're going to look into one of the most remarkable historical documents: the Table of the Nations.

There we will find the origin of the nations of the world. Each of us may retrace our pedigree to one of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, or Japheth. You come from one or the other. Whoever you are, whatever you are, you may find your origins in there, and it's in our Bible.

Secular scholars, students of different histories of man, have recognized the importance of this table and often cite it because it is unparalleled in history as it gathers in one document all the three branches of humankind, and it's in our Bible.

And what is most extraordinary is that this Table of the Nations follows one of the most criticized stories in the scriptures: Noah's Ark. I think that God has a great sense of humor. If I was secular, I would be confounded by how the same book can contain what I would have thought is a legend mixed with such exclusive information.

And I want to tell you, no other religious book contains such precise information, not even ancient histories. This document is unique. Many have dealt with this dichotomy by attributing many authors to this part of the scriptures. They have the J document and the E and the D and the P document, all standing for different writers.

But it is the same Spirit of God who inspired every single word of the scriptures. As true as this table is, so is Noah's story. And this is how the Lord decided to write his book. This table is not just a gathering of name over name; there is much more than genealogies. There is a message, even a great message, because these genealogies lead to one person: the Messiah.

With all the extras, the Messiah stands right at the end of it. This is the main purpose of this table. As you read on, you will notice that in the next chapters, the genealogies narrow down to a single genealogy. Whose is it? Jesus' genealogy. From Noah to Shem, it leads to Eber, the father of the Hebrews. Then to Abraham, to the father of the Jews, then to Israel, and then to Jesus of Nazareth.

That is the reason for this table. And it further leads to two other and parallel documents: two other unique genealogies we find in the Gospel of Matthew and that of Luke, the only ones in existence to show that Yeshua, Jesus, is a descendant of Shem through Abraham and through David. The one given by the Jewish doctor, Luke, begins with Yeshua and goes right through the Table of the Nations to Adam.

All these genealogies are unmatched and clearly show that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah. No other Jew can pretend to be the Messiah; only Yeshua could. He has the genealogies to prove it. The Bible was not written to give us historical facts, while it contains many of them. The scriptures were written so that we may see Jesus and be saved.

This is the main direction of this genealogy. This is the main reason for the Table of the Nations. Let us now look at these genealogies. The story really begins in chapter 9, as soon as Noah and his family got off the ark, verses 18 and 19. This is the introduction.

It says, "Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan. These three were the sons of Noah, and from these, the whole earth was populated." This is the introduction from the three sons of Noah. The whole earth was populated. From this point, the Table of the Nations takes over.

However, there is actually a fifth party involved at the end of verse 18: Canaan. What is this guy doing there? And why did Moses mention his name right there? Let's read further. The next verses take us a few years later, after Noah and his sons settled down and other children were born to his sons.

There we will find the role this man, Canaan, plays in the history leading to the Messiah. Let's read verses 20 to 27. "And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. Then he drank of the wine and was drunk and became uncovered in his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside.

But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father's nakedness. So Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his son, 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 let Canaan be his servant. May God enlarge Japheth, and may he dwell in the tents of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant.'" There are so many things being said here. First, the account about the drunkenness of Noah is one remarkable proof of the divine inspiration of the scriptures.

Because if the Bible was a human invention, this type of thing would have been ignored and not be written down. After all, Noah is the hero of the flood. It is true that it is human to make mistakes; it is also human to conceal the mistakes of those we admire, just like we have it in other history.

But let's stop for a minute and ponder the action of Noah. How could he? After all these miracles—the ark, the animals coming two by two, the beautiful rainbow, and God who spoke to him directly—how could a man of such stature as Noah just fall? His act and those of his sons give the very reason for this genealogy.

Let me explain. You know, the message here is that nothing can change the heart of man, no new environment, no miracle, but one thing, one miracle: the recreation of man's heart, the coming of the Messiah who would dwell by His Spirit in the heart of man so He can change it.

This is the direction of all this genealogy. Noah is first, and the history which follows is that of sin, is that of rebellion. I just want to tell you, if you take a bird's-eye view of chapters 9 to 11, and if you remove the Table of the Nations, another story emerges. There you will be left with Noah getting drunk in chapter 9. In chapter 10, Nimrod the rebel leads the whole world into sin.

In chapter 11, the Tower of Babel is there. This Table of the Nations interrupts and breaks this story and tells us that God is coming Himself to give us a remedy. It was Edward Gibbon, the great historian from the 1700s whose works are still being studied today, who wrote, "History is indeed little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind."

From the moment Noah stepped out of the ark, it was a history of misfortunes and of madness. And this is why the Messiah had to come. Now, before we go into the heart of the story, I read that about just three years ago, they found out the oldest known wine production facilities ever. Do you know where they found it? Right where the ark landed next to Mount Ararat.

What a coincidence. This cave is now in Armenia, not far from Mount Ararat. Apparently, Mount Ararat where the ark landed, according to Genesis 8:4, was part of Armenia until 1915, when Turkey took over that section of Armenia. And it is in Armenia that these Areni cave complexes were discovered, and they believe that they dated back to 6,000 BC. That is even more astonishing because this is at around the time of Noah.

Now, I do not believe that Noah made this actual facility, but then again, who knows? So it was in Armenia that wine seems to have been first discovered right after Noah. I cannot wait to taste Armenian wine. In fact, we asked the SAQ; they don't have Armenian wine. Could you believe it? But it was made there. So we're looking for a bottle somewhere.

So after Noah got drunk, a strange story emerges. We're told that Ham committed an offense, but it was his son, Canaan, who was cursed. At least this is what it seems like at first reading. Why was Canaan cursed? What was he doing there and what actually was his crime?

On the surface, the story is simple. Noah got drunk, and Ham looked and made fun of him. It is really a case of voyeurism, of disrespect of one's parent. We're told that while drunk, Noah was inside his tent, but Ham looked in and saw. He had no business approaching his father's dwelling.

But he did, and he saw. And afterwards, we're told that he went to his brothers who were outside. The word "outside" is also used for the streets and the marketplace, as if he went on a rampage telling and bragging about what he saw. This is a mark of rebellion and disrespect for one's father.

The Bible makes much of honoring one's parent. In the Ten Commandments, to honor one's parents follows the honor due to God. Most ancient societies, as well as many present ones, rank the honor of parents second only to the honor due to God. And the disrespect was grave. It has a sexual connotation to it. But why the focus on Canaan?

If he's mentioned in this story, it's probably because he was there with Ham. And if he was there, then the sin is graver. We have a father and a son's complicity in evil. This was an indication that the whole society in general wasn't doing well. How do we know that Canaan was really there? Look at chapter 9, verse 24. It says, "So Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his son, his younger son, had done to him." But who is Noah's younger son? Hard to tell.

Guest (Female): Don't go away; we'll be right back with the second half of our program coming up just after this message. As we wind up for the second part of our program today, we would like to remind our listeners how blessed and privileged we feel to be part of your radio day.

We pray that the messages you hear will instruct you, edify you, and encourage you to love the Lord more and follow him into obedience in even greater ways. We are all changed by the challenges and transformed by the trials of life. And as we walk them together, we keep looking up to him who is mighty to break down the walls of Jericho that stand before us and to hand over to us the spiritual victories in life.

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Jacques Isaac Gabizon: And it's now that Noah pronounces a prophecy for each of his sons and for his grandson, prophecies which will speak to us at this moment. In his prophecies, Noah curses Canaan. Four times he calls him a servant, from verse 24 to 27. Why a servant?

No one could figure out who of the three brothers was the oldest and the youngest. Out of the six times the names of these three sons are mentioned, it always mentions Shem, Ham, and Japheth. But then again, this order may be by importance, not by age. Yet, in the Table of the Nations, it begins with Japheth, then Ham, then Shem. So we don't know who is the younger one.

But in the Hebrew, I just want to tell you, the word for grandson is the same as the one for son. Could it be that Canaan is referred to as the younger son in verse 24? This is what one Targum, the Targum of Jonathan, must have understood. It translates this verse, "Cursed be Canaan, who is the fourth son."

Canaan could very well have been this fourth son and because he was present, Noah goes to him and curses him. But there's much more to Canaan in the story. First, Canaan in the Hebrew is from the root word "Cana," meaning to subdue, to humble, to be brought into subjection.

The verb "Kina"—it is used 36 times in the Hebrew scriptures to speak of bringing a proud man or spirit into subjection. Canaan then should not be a stranger to us. He may represent what Paul calls the old man. When you come to believe, God comes and recreates a new nature in you, but you have to fight your way in.

The old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lust, as we read in Ephesians. Let's remember that the flood did not clean the heart of man. God said it in Genesis 8:21, "The imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth." This is why he gave that genealogy; this is why he said, "I'm coming down to give a remedy for this."

And this leads the reader to realize that we need a new nature with the Messiah, with whom our old man was crucified as it says in Romans 6:6. All of these things lead us to Jesus. Let me tell you the story of this scorpion and the beaver, a simple one. A scorpion asked a beaver to take him across the river on his back. So the beaver answered, "Are you insane? While I'm swimming, you'll sting me and then I'll drown."

The scorpion laughed and said, "Oh come on. Why would I sting you? Then I'll die too. Come on, let's be logical." That makes sense, thought the beaver. "Hop on, and off we'll go." So the scorpion climbed on the beaver's back. But halfway across the river, he gave the poor, trusting beaver a mighty sting.

As they both sank to the bottom, the beaver asked, "Why did you do such a wicked thing? You said yourself there would be no logic in your stinging me. Why then did you do it?" "Logic has nothing to do with it," said the scorpion. "It's just my nature." Nothing can change the heart, only God can do it. This is what we learn.

Now, why did Moses mention Canaan and Ham at the very beginning? Why focus on two individuals from this line? Let's look at the context. Moses wrote the story and he wrote it for his first audience: Israel. At the time he wrote the story, the Jews were on their way to the Promised Land. And who was in the Promised Land? The Canaanites were there.

He was preparing them. From this man, Canaan, came all these nations that occupied the Promised Land before the Israelites came to take it. There were so many of them; the land was peppered by at least 31 little kingdoms spread all over Israel. The Philistines, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, the Jebusites, the Girgashites, and so on and so forth. They were all there.

Even before Moses, when God gave the land to Abraham in Genesis 12, he could not go to the land because we hear in Genesis 12:6 that the Canaanites were there. They were there early, as if they were planted there in opposition to God's promise to the nation of Israel.

And if the emphasis is also put on Ham, it is because of one of his descendants: Egypt, one nation that will play a role in the coming history of Israel. In Psalm 78, we're told that Egypt is the tents of Ham. The story involving Ham and Canaan then is significant because from this moment on, the history is tied with the one with Israel.

Moses was preparing the nation to meet their enemies. And the action of Ham and Canaan is representative of the offenses their descendants will commit later. At around the same time as Genesis was written, Leviticus also was written. And there God actually warns the people of Israel even before they encounter their enemies.

And He says, "You shall not copy the practices of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, or the land of Canaan, to which I'm taking you." This is a second warning. This is extraordinary that before they encounter these people and before they enter the land, they are warned. God does that; He warns us.

The Canaanites and the Egyptians were always part of the history of Israel even today. Israel is still peppered with so many towns and villages with people who breathe hatred against the Jews. We're going to see that this Table of the Nations still speaks to us today. I find it significant that the whole thing, by the way, began with the disrespect towards one's father, which mirrored one's disrespect for God.

Someone wrote something I want to read to you. Someone wrote something about the lack of respect some youth have grown to have against their parents. This is what he said. He said, "Our youth now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority, disrespect for old people. They no longer rise when their elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble their food, and even some tyrannize their teachers."

Now, when was this written? Yesterday? Two weeks ago? Actually, it was written 2,400 years ago by Socrates. Wouldn't you think that it was written yesterday? You see, God is right: the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? I just want to tell you, it's only Jesus who can change us. This is the whole message here.

And it's now that Noah pronounces a prophecy for each of his sons and for his grandson, prophecies which will speak to us at this moment. In his prophecies, Noah curses Canaan. Four times he calls him a servant from verse 24 to 27. Why a servant? And why so many times? The stem of this word means to reduce to servitude. Surely speaking of the rebellion behind the action of this man who needs to be brought under control.

And while there's no prophecy for Ham, there's a blessing but not for Shem, but for God Himself. Look at verse 26. There's something very special in the words in there. Noah says, "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem." How can we understand this? Some commentators wanted to amend this phrase to "Blessed of the Lord is Shem." They think it's Shem who should be blessed.

But this is not what it says. Here Noah does not bless Shem, but he clearly blesses God. Why? And why did he construct this sentence in this manner? Let's look at the name Shem. So far, we can see that names in the Bible have meaning. We have seen that Canaan's meaning; Japheth as well means to enlarge, so his descendant will spread all over the world. We're going to see this soon.

But what about Shem? What does it mean? Shem means "the name." In the Hebrew, this word is thought to be derived from a root meaning to be high, to be excellent, even pertaining to majesty. But whose name is Shem? Who was this name pointing to? Was this prophecy leading to the name over all other names through whom we must be saved? The Messiah.

I believe it is. And if it is, we have the Trinity here. We have the Lord, we have God, and we have Shem. We have the Yud-Hey-Vav-Hey, Elohim, and Shem together. It is the Godhead who is blessed here because salvation is all His doing, and it's done through Yeshua, who is Shem, the name above all names, as it's written in the Book of Acts.

And see the relation with Japheth. We're told that in verse 27, that he may dwell in the tents of Shem. What are the tents of Shem? It is the covering of the Messiah as far as we're concerned, the knowledge of God through the Messiah. This is a prophecy we saw realized in history. Christianity became synonymous with the West, what the sons of Japheth in the majority went to establish themselves.

Today, even the majority of the followers of the Messiah are Christians; they are from the sons of Japheth. The tents of Shem is also a prophecy indicating from where the Lord will come, that is from the descendants of Shem. And it will spread under the tents, of course, of Shem but through Japheth itself. Remember what Jesus says in John 4:22, "Salvation is of the Jews."

Shem, Japheth, this is Christianity in our world today. The tents of Shem may also be the olive tree, the place of blessing for everybody where the nations are grafted into the blessings of God. See that every name is not given amiss in the Bible. They describe the character, they describe the reputation, the nature of the person. They're often prophetic.

Even today, if I mention the name Rockefeller, for instance, what do you think of? Wealth, riches. If I say to you Steve Jobs, what do we think of? Computer, Apple computer. Pierre Elliott Trudeau—think of Canadian politics, no more than that. And did you know we all have a name? By the way, we have a special name that you do not know yet.

Jesus prepared a name for us. Revelation 2:17 says, "And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it." You didn't receive it yet; we didn't receive it yet. Have you ever wondered what kind of name Yeshua has for you personally? How would he describe you? How would he describe your life at the end?

What would be the most prominent element in this name? I believe that we're in the process of making up this name as we grow in our sanctification, as we grow in Him. Shalom Ariel is a daily radio program emphasizing the Jewish perspective of scripture. God is not through dealing with Israel, nor will He renege any of the promises He has made to her.

Our teacher for this program, Jacques Isaac Gabizon, is a Messianic Jewish believer and Messianic leader at Beth Ariel congregation right here in Montreal. If you've been encouraged by the messages, we'd love to hear from you. Give us a call at 1-888-685-5902, or you may write us at info@bethariel.ca—B-E-T-H-A-R-I-E-L.ca.

You are also welcome to join us for our Saturday morning services. We are located at 6297 Monkland Avenue, corner of Madison in NDG. The message is given in English, but we do offer simultaneous translation into French and Russian. Services begin at 11:00 AM. We have Shabbat school for children of all ages, up to and including teens.

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