Noach 2-6

Comfort

Genesis 9:18 ­ 10:32

Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father's nakedness.

Gen. 9:23 ESV

 What effect do family relationships have for future generations?

Cham (Cam) saw his father’s nakedness. But instead of honouring his father by covering him, he took off to spread the news. That’s why his son Kenaan (Canaan) did something so evil that the Torah can’t even narrate it. Cham’s brothers did the opposite and honoured their father, covering him without looking. These things brought very important consequences not only in the lives of Noach’s children, but also in his future generations.

Noach knew how to use the power of the word. By a prophetic word, he cursed his grandson Kenaan for what he had done. Cham wasn’t cursed; he had already been blessed (9:1). Both Shem and and Yefet received a powerful blessing. The words uttered by Noach were so powerful that they still influence the development of the world today.

How important it is to use our tongue correctly, especially when we speak about our children! Parents’ words have great power over the life and development of their children. In many cases, they will be decisive for their future.

In a family with a high moral level it is incorrect that its members expose themselves naked, except between husband and wife. Parents should not expose themselves to their children just as their children should not expose themselves to their siblings or parents, except when they are very young. Young children must be taught to cover themselves and not to expose their private parts to others. It is not correct for children to bathe naked in public.

Cham brought a terrible curse upon his son due to his lack of a high moral level relationship with his father. The Eternal commanded the children of Israel to exterminate the children of Kenaan when they conquered the Promised Land, in which Kenaan’s children lived under very poor moral standards.

Shem and Yefet’s high moral standards brought such strong blessings upon the world that these still benefit us today as they will forever. 

Keep a high moral standard in your family and you will receive blessings for you and your children forever.

May the Eternal always help you to have a good relationship with your parents,

Ketriel