Welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the Book of Genesis. This is study #10 of Genesis, chapter 9 and we are going to read Genesis 9:18-19:

And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan. These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread.

We have encountered Noah and his sons before in the Bible. We have discussed their names, but just as a reminder the name Shem is Strong’s #8035 and it is identical in spelling to Strong’s #8034 and that word is the Hebrew word for “name.” For instance, in the genealogy, we read the term “qârâ – shêm,” which means “called his name.” Then there was another son Japheth and that Hebrew word is Strong’s #3315 and it is a little difficult to understand. I do not understand the meaning of his name. The third son of Noah was Ham and Ham is Strong’s #2526 and it comes from Strong’s #2525 and it is an identical in spelling and vowel pointing. This word is translated as “hot” or “warm.” Also, there is another Hebrew word, Strong’s #2524, that is identical to the other two words; this word is translated as “father-in-law,” so it is very unusual and I am not sure of the significance of Ham being “hot” or “warm” or how “father-in-law” would relate to it.

So, we have three sons of Noah and God points out that they went forth from the ark and after telling us their names, God said something interesting: “Ham is the father of Canaan.” That is interesting because regarding the three sons of Noah, each of Noah’s sons had multiple sons, but God focuses only on one of Ham’s sons, even though Ham had several sons, as we can see in Genesis 10:1-10:

Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood. The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations. And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan. And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan. And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before JEHOVAH: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before JEHOVAH. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

We also read of Shem in Genesis 10:21-22:

Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born. The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.

Then it continues to give us additional generations, but we can see that Shem, Ham and Japheth all had children and they all had multiple sons and, yet, in Genesis 9:18 God only reveals that Ham was the father of Canaan. As far as Ham is concerned, he had three other sons and they were named Cush, Mizraim and Phut, in addition to Canaan. If they were listed in order of birth, then Canaan would have been the last born and Cush would have been first born. We wonder why God singled out this bit of information about Ham being the father of Canaan. This is significant as we read the following verses in verses 20 through 27 and we learn that Noah got drunk and was lying naked in his tent. Ham saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers and then the other two brothers covered Noah. When Noah woke up, it says in Genesis 9:25:

And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

This is a curious thing for Noah to have said because Ham was the one that saw his father naked and Canaan does not seem to be in view, so why does Noah curse Canaan? That would seem to go along with why God singled out Canaan in verse 18 and there was a special emphasis on Canaan. We will address that question a little later when we get into the historical parable of Noah and his drunkenness, but right now I want to note this concerning Ham. When we read in Genesis, chapter 10 about his sons we saw that Nimrod was the founder of Babel and that would be the kingdom of Babylon. Nimrod founded Babel and out of that land of Shinar the descendants of Ham went forth and built Nineveh. So, not only does Babylon come from Ham, but Nineveh became the Syrian capital and the kingdom of Assyria can trace its lineage back to Ham. That is important because Babylon was an evil kingdom led by King Nebuchadnezzar that destroyed the people of God in the South (Judah) and Assyria was led by the evil King of Assyria to destroy the nation of Israel in the North. Again, both nations can trace their ancestry back to Ham.

More than that, the Bible tells us some interesting things in the Psalms about Ham. It says in Psalm 78:51:

And smote all the firstborn in Egypt; the chief of their strength in the tabernacles of Ham:

It says in Psalm 105:23-27:

Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. And he increased his people greatly; and made them stronger than their enemies. He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal subtilly with his servants. He sent Moses his servant; and Aaron whom he had chosen. They shewed his signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.

Then it says in Psalm 106:22:

Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things by the Red sea.

Four times in the Psalms Egypt is identified as the land of Ham. In the Bible Egypt is used as a great nation that identifies with Satan and his kingdom of darkness. It identifies occasionally with the fallen world and the churches as they returned to bondage. So, in the person of Ham we have a man that is the father of the Egyptians and the father of the Babylonians and the father of the Assyrians. These are the major enemies of God and the kingdom of heaven. You cannot find three nations that are more hostile or more antagonistic against God’s corporate body of national Israel in the Old Testament. It was Egypt that held Israel captive. Assyria destroyed Israel in the North and Babylon destroyed Judah in the South. As far as Canaan, the son of Ham, the land of Canaan was set against the people of God and did battle against the Israelites after Israel crossed the Jordan and the conquest for the land was begun. Even after Israel conquered and dwelt in the land for generations, they had not driven all the Canaanites out and battles occurred with the various peoples living in that land of Canaan.

So, we can see why God singled out Ham because Ham was a representation of what would become the enemies of God. We will get into this more later as we move on in Genesis, chapter 9, but right now let us go on to Genesis 9:20:

And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:

We have seen that Noah is used of God as a type of Christ at times. It was through Noah that the ark was built and the ark was a vessel of deliverance or salvation and it saved Noah’s family. As we read in the Book of Hebrews, Noah built an ark to the saving of his house and when we read of a spiritual house in the Bible we know that Christ is a Son over His own house, whose house are we. Noah constructed the ark and saved his house, the other seven members of his family, and they represent God’s elect and Noah is a picture of the deliverer, the Lord Jesus Christ. And Christ is Eternal God or God in the flesh. He is “Immanuel,” or “God with us,” so when we read that Noah began to be a husbandman and planted a vineyard, we are not surprised to find when we look up the word “husbandman” in the New Testament, it says in John 15:1:

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

Christ is the “vine” and God the Father is likened to a “husbandman.” This is who Noah represents, spiritually, as we read the historical account that is beginning to move toward the rest of the Bible and the many things God will tell us in His Word. It is going to paint a picture of God’s overall salvation program; in this salvation program the Father is the “husbandman.” A husbandman plants a vineyard and takes care of it. It requires rain for the fruit to grow and there are many pictures the Bible uses to reveal His salvation program. We know that God speaks of the first rain, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the early rain of the church age and the Latter Rain that fell during the last part of the Great Tribulation period. Christ was the first of the firstfruits as He went to the cross in 33AD. He was the fruit that Israel brought forth. Then there was the church age and the firstfruits and, finally, there was the great multitude that came out of Great Tribulation. The great multitude was saved outside of the churches and congregations during the last part of the Great Tribulation.

God is the “husbandman.” We read in James 5:7:

Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.

Who is the husbandman? Christ told us that He was the vine and His Father was the husbandman. The husbandman waits for the precious fruit of the earth, which we can understand to refer to His elect or those that were predestined to salvation. God waits patiently. It is all set in the context of the coming of the Lord and the Lord could not come in judgment because the Husbandman was waiting for the precious fruit of the earth. Just like in a garden, there are times and seasons. There is a time to plant and a time for the rain to fall upon that which is planted. There is a time for the fruit to grow and there is a time to “pluck up” that which was planted. This has already taken place and it took place over thousands of years, so God has been extremely patient and that is what this verse tells us: “Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.”

When we read the word “until,” we must remember that God uses that word after describing His long patience. He will wait and not pour out His wrath “until He receives the early and latter rain.” Once the rain fell during the church age, it was still not the time for the coming of the Lord in judgment upon the entire world, but He did come in judgment on the churches at the end of the church age, but there was still salvation available because there was another aspect to God’s salvation program outside of the churches and congregations and another “little season” of rain had to fall before God could bring His wrath by closing the door of heaven, and so forth. Therefore, God waited 1,955 years during the period of the early rain and then judgment began at the house of God. Then 2,300 “evening mornings” later on September 7, 1994 God began to bring the Latter Rain. While it was raining, He continued to wait. By that time the world was becoming increasingly more wicked and everything was becoming more chaotic. Satan’s “deadly wound” was healed and the churches and the nations were worshipping the “beast.” It was as though the world was shaking its fist at God, daring Him to judge them, but God patiently waited for another 6,100 days during the Latter Rain period. Then came May 21, 2011 and the early rain had completed 23 years earlier and on the 8,400th day of the Great Tribulation the Latter Rain also came to an end and then the Husbandman was no longer patiently waiting. He had received the rain and all the elect that were to become saved had already become saved. Every one whose name was written in the Lamb’s Book of Life had been safely brought in to the kingdom of God. It is like the image in Matthew, chapter 25 where the five wise virgins entered in to the chamber and then the door was shut. God the father, the Husbandman, shut the door because He had received all the fruit He had intended to receive and there was no remaining fruit out in the world. The implication in James 5, verse 7 is that the Lord would then cease to be longsuffering.

It also says in 2Peter 3:15:

And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation…

The word “account” is like the word “reckon.” This is what James 5:7 is really saying. The husbandman is longsuffering until He receives the early and latter rain in His salvation program. Once the rain has come and the fruit is gathered, then He pours out His wrath, since there is no more salvation. His longsuffering equates to salvation and when He ceases to be longsuffering, it means that the day of salvation has concluded and salvation is no longer possible. The “day” in which Christ performs the work is finished. What is the Father’s work? We read in John, chapter 6 that His work is that “ye believe on him.” When the work day is over God no longer grants belief to dead sinners because there are no more elect to be found and then the night comes when “no man can work.”

It is also implied that this is relative to the “seasons.” There are seasons in which salvation occurs. The Latter Rain fell simultaneously with the last part of the Great Tribulation and after the Tribulation, there are no more seasons – there are no more rains. It was called the “Latter Rain” because it was the last rain and there is no additional rain. This is the problem people have when they try to insist God must still be saving people, but where is that “season” in the Bible? If they can find another “season” or period of rain in the Bible, that would be well and good and God’s people would embrace it. However, it is not in the Bible. When the Bible says, “Immediately after the tribulation,” we can understand it to mean “immediately after the Latter Rain,” when there is spiritual darkness and the sun is darkened, the moon does not give her light and the stars fall. It is language that matches the cessation of salvation.