The Curse of the Ham

So, this past weekend, EJ and I were in the Chicago/Milwaukee area multi-tasking.  EJ had to report on the McDonald's Gospel tour, and we made sure we caught up with our family while there.  On the last leg of our trip, we saw my mother, my sister and brother, and my niece.  Just for backstory, my sweet niece has never given me the time of DAY!  She has always been partial to EJ, which is fine.  Most babies choose one of us to love.  But this particular trip, she was a fan of Auntie Janice.  It was such a precious gift to me that it made me think of some prayer time I had had recently. 

A while back, my hubby EJ and I received as a parting gift from our former church home in NYC the English Standard Version Study Bible, published by Crossway Bibles.  Upon giving it to us, our former pastor told us that it was such a good Bible that it was like "seminary in a book."  Having already attended seminary, I almost wanted my thousands of dollars back.  Turns out, though, he was good to endorse this Study Bible, because it really is wonderful!  I'm such a nerd that I love to learn; and I'm such a visual learner, that they had me at the colorful maps.  Well, this particular day, the caption of one of the maps in Genesis caught my attention:  It said, "In general, the descendants of Ham settled in North Africa and the eastern Mediterannean coast" (Table of Nations, ESV Study Bible, Crossway Bibles).

Now if you don't remember (or know) the glimpse of Ham given in Genesis, I'll do my best to refresh your memory (or give a decent introduction).  After the great flood of the earth where God wipes out everyone and every living thing except those on the ark that Noah built (Noah, his family, two of every kind of animal, and the animals to be used as a sacrifice upon disembarkment), Noah becomes a "man of the soil" and plants a vineyard.  He drinks wine (I'm assuming it's from the grapes of his vineyard) and becomes drunk and lays uncovered in his tent.  Ham comes in and sees his father's nakedness (which would be humiliating to a father) and then goes to get his brothers to come and see (and contribute to their father's humiliation).  The other brothers do not participate, but walk backwards holding a garment to cover their father.  Noah wakes up, comprehends what Ham has done and curses Ham's son, Canaan. 

What's interesting is that it wasn't Ham that got punished directly, it was his youngest son.  Maybe Noah wanted Ham to know what it felt like to see his youngest going astray.  Either way, it was Canaan who bore the brunt of Ham's sin, wouldn't you say? 

Having spent a weekend with my beautiful niece, I'm extremely sensitive today about how precious the children in my family are.  It makes me want to be mindful myself and remind my siblings of how mindful they should actually be of those things that we pass on to the children in our lives.  Sometimes our flippant actions don't affect us directly, but they affect the children that God has entrusted us with.  If you've ever loved a child, you know that you want to do everything you can to protect them from all that is harmful.  Sometimes that means getting oneself together first.  Makes me scared to have children... what about you?