Epistle for March 20, 2009
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E-pistle
Dr. Dan Hite, President FreeWay Foundation March 20, 2009
Rainbow Blessings and Family Curses
(Genesis 9:1-29)
Dr. Curt Scarborough
I. Concentration: on the major themes mentioned in this chapter
1. Sanctity of human life, vv. 1-7.
2. God's covenant of mercy, vv. 8-17.
3. Drunkenness leading to sin, vv. 18-23.
4. Causing a family curse, vv. 24-29.
II. Meditation: on the Scriptural foundations of these themes in Genesis 9
1. "Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed;
for in the image of God He made man," v. 6.
2. "I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the
covenant between Me and the earth," v. 13.
3. "Then he (Noah) drank of the wine and was drunk, and became
uncovered in his tent," v. 21.
4. "Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants he shall be to his
brethren," vv. 25-27.
III. Revelation: on the implications of these basic Biblical ideas
1. Capital punishment is mandated here as a way of magnifying the
importance of the "image of God" life of the victim, whose life was
taken away. According to God's system of justice, the penalty must
fit the crime, and no other penalty, except execution, adequately pays
the just price for murder.
2. The rainbow in the sky is a sign of God's covenant of mercy and grace
with mankind. The rainbow is a periodic reminder of God's judgment
in days past, and a constant warning of God's future judgment upon
the earth . . . not by water, but by fire, II Peter 3:10, 12.
3. The fermented juice of grapes contained alcohol, a drug which produces
drunkenness. Drunkenness not only leads to sin, but drunkenness is a sin,
Proverbs 23: 29-35; Galatians 5:19-21.
4. The influence of a person's sin can adversely affect generations to come.
The curse of Noah's sin (drunkenness and immodesty) plus the curse of
the sin of his son, Ham (breaking sexual standards of decency and
gossiping about his father's failure) were visited upon the seemingly
innocent grandson, Canaan, Exodus 20:5; Numbers 14:18.
IV. Applications: as a Christian, I need to . . .
1. Stand firmly for the sanctity of human life . . . opposing abortion and
euthanasia, while also favoring capital punishment as God's just and
authorized punishment for pre-meditated murder.
2. Rejoice in my new covenant relationship with Christ, I Corinthians 11:25,
whose appearance is associated with a rainbow, Ezekiel 1:28;
Revelation 4:3; 10:1.
3. Advocate abstinence from alcohol as a Christian virtue, Ephesians 5:18.
4. Recognize the importance of my influence over family members and others;
live a God-honoring life of spiritual integrity.
Noah's Sons: Shem, Ham, and Japeth
(Genesis 10:1-32)
Dr. Curt Scarborough
I. Concentration: on Noah's three sons
1. Noah was around 500 years old when these sons were born . . . about the
same time when God told Noah to start building the ark, Genesis 5:32.
2. The three sons were 100 years old and married (but without children)
when the flood came, Genesis 7:6-7.
3. Ham sinned against his father, Noah, and his descendants were cursed,
but the descendants of Shem and Japheth were blessed, Genesis 9:25-27.
4. All nations and peoples on the earth today are descended from one of these
three brothers, Genesis 10:32.
II. Meditation: on where the descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth settled
1. Japheth and his descendants formed the northern nations . . . becoming the
Caucasians of Europe and western Asia, vv. 2-5.
2. Ham and his descendants formed the southern nations . . . becoming the
Negroes of Africa, vv. 6-20.
3. Shem and his descendants formed the central nations . . . becoming the
Jews, Arabs, and other Oriental peoples of the middle east, vv. 21-31.
4. "He (God) has made from one blood every nation of men who dwell on all
the face of the earth, and has determined their per-appointed times and
the boundaries of their dwelling," Acts 17:26.
III. Revelation: on the chronological listings in Genesis 5, 10, and 11
1. From Adam to the flood 1,656 years (Genesis 5)
From the flood to Abraham's call 427 years (Genesis 11)
Total from Adam to Abraham 2,083 years
2. Adam's life overlapped Methuselah's by 243 years; Methuselah's life
overlapped Noah's by 600 years and Shem's by 98 years.
3. Between Adam's death and Noah's birth were 126 years; Shem lived from 98
years before the flood until 75 years after Abraham's call.
4. If Abraham's date was approximately 200 B.C., then Adam's date was
approximately 4000 B.C.
IV. Applications: as a Christian, I need to . . .
1. Accept by faith that the first eleven chapters of Genesis are historically true
and correct, not merely mythical poetry.
2. Understand that men lived longer before the flood (1) because sin had only
begun its malignant influence on the human race, which had descended from
a nature originally intended to be immortal, and (2) because many
environmental changes occurred during the flood which shortened mankind's
life span.
3. Realize that God keeps a detailed record of all our families . . . including
births, important events, and deaths.
4. Reject all racial prejudices because on this earth there are not three races
(Caucasian, Negro, and Oriental); there is only one: the human race.
"One of the most lasting pleasures you can experience is the feeling
that comes over you when you genuinely forgive an
enemy - whether he knows about it or not."
-A. Battista in Quote Magazine
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