SERIES A --- YHVH’S PIONEERS -- LESSON 7

PROMISE REMEMBERED

A PROMISE FROM YHVH

From Genesis 9

YHVH blessed Noah and his sons and told them, [Be fruitful and multiply and populate the earth again. All animals on earth, the birds of the air, the fish, and everything that crawls on the earth will fear you, for I have placed you over them. Every living thing shall be food for you, as I have also given you green plants to eat. But you must not eat meat while the animal’s lifeblood remains in it. You must not murder. I will require the payment of life for every murder, by his brother I will require that payment. And every animal that kills a man must die. Whoever sheds a man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed, for man was made in the image of YHVH. As for you, be fruitful and multiply; repopulate the earth and multiply abundantly.] YHVH also said to Noah and his sons, [Listen! I will make a covenant with you and your descendants, with all the living creatures you brought with you on the ark, the birds, cattle, and wild animals. I promise that I will never again destroy all the creatures of the earth with a great flood. I have placed My rainbow in the clouds as a sign of this promise. It shall remain with you as that sign as long as time remains. When the rainbow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember My promise with all living creatures of the earth. This is the sign of My covenant which I have established between Me and all creatures of the earth.] Noah’s sons who came from the ark were Shem, Ham, who became the father of Canaan, and Japheth. From these three the whole earth was populated. After the flood Noah farmed the land and planted a vineyard. One day he drank some of his wine and became drunk, and he lay in his tent naked. Ham, the father of Canaan, looked at his naked father, then went outside to tell his brothers. But Shem and Japheth laid a garment on their shoulders and walked backward, laying the garment over their naked father with their faces turned away so they would not see him. When Noah awoke, he realized what had happened and what his youngest son had done. So, he spoke this curse: [A curse upon Canaan, for he will be a servant of servants to his brothers. Blessed be Adonai the YHVH of Shem; let Canaan be his servant. May YHVH make Japheth great to share Shem’s wealth and dwell in his tents and may Canaan be his servant.] Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood. He was nine hundred and fifty years old when he died.

COMMENTARY

NOAH’S FAMILY

Noah’s first act after leaving the ark was to build an altar and give thank offerings to YHVH. YHVH’s first act was to make a Commitment to all living beings to never again destroy every living creature. YHVH has set a sign in the skies as a reminder of that ancient promise. It is the rainbow, which accompanies the rains and reminds us and YHVH of His faithfulness. Eight people inside the ark provided the only human link between the world before, and the world after, the Great Flood. Through Ham, Shem and Japheth all people on earth today trace their lineage. Each son became the father of many nations. Japheth was the ancestor of the peoples who lived in Europe and Asia Minor -- the Greeks, Thracians and Scythians. Ham’s descendants settled in Egypt, Canaan and Africa. They included the Philistines, Hittites, Amorites and the Jebusites. From Shem came the ancestors of the Persians, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Lydians and Syrians. The lineage through his son Arpachshad led to Abraham, which led to Jacob and his family, which led to Yeshua. Shem’s descendants were also called Semites, and were generally those who spoke Semitic languages, with some exceptions. Semitic languages included Babylonian, Assyrian, Hebrew, Phoenician, Moabite and Arabic. From the Semites came three important world religions -- Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.