The Bible gives us perfect examples of just how imperfect people are.
One of these examples is a man named Noah, who happened to be the only man who "found grace in the eyes of the Lord" during his time (see Genesis 6:8).
Apparently, despite being the only man who walked with God during that time, Noah wasn't perfect. He had his own share of weaknesses and imperfections one of them recorded in Genesis 9:20-27.
He got drunk.
In this article we'll talk about a few lessons from the time that Noah, the only man who found grace the eyes of God during his time, got drunk.
A Godly man who got drunk
"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." (Genesis 9:20-21)
Well, apparently Noah had too much wine and got drunk. Some Christians who didn't renounce alcohol would likely use him as an example to excuse their drinking habits, but nowhere in the Bible do we find another mention of Noah's drinking spree.
Friends, don't use God's Word to excuse fleshly living.
What we do understand from here is that Noah, though considered as a "just man" (see Genesis 6:9), wasn't perfect. He was unable to stop himself from drinking much wine and ended up getting drunk and naked.
A wrong and right response
Noah's children had different responses to what happened to him. Genesis 9:22-23 tells us,
"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."
Instead of covering his father's nakedness and refusing to spread it to others, Ham gossiped about it. His two brothers responded more respectfully, by covering their father instead. They wouldn't even look at their dad.
This should at least tell us Christians about how we should respond to our fellow Christian's faults.
Do we personally rebuke and correct an erring brother in the hope that they are restored to Godliness? Or do we scoff at them, make fun of them, or gossip about them to others?
An angry response
Genesis 9:24-27 tells us just how Noah responded when he was sober again:
"So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what 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 may Canaan be his servant. May God enlarge Japheth, and may he dwell in the tents of Shem; And may Canaan be his servant."
That sounds like a very angry Noah. Wasn't he drunk when Ham saw him? Why would he get angry and declare such a thing?
Well, friends, Noah indeed got drunk, but Ham's response wasn't right either.
The lesson here is that we must never do something wrong in response to something wrong. God doesn't want that. Proverbs 10:12 tells us,
"Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins."
Noah did get drunk, but Ham didn't have to gossip about him. He could've just covered his father, and let it end there. Instead, he told others about it -- to his own trouble,
This is one thing the Christians of today should learn. We must never be happy at someone's downfall or demise. We must never rejoice at or make fun of someone's misfortune or mistake. We must never attempt to take advantage of another's sin and failure.
We must build one another up instead of tearing each other down.
