Read Gen. 9:8-19
God established a new covenant with Noah, everyone that would be born after him, and the animals. He promised never to destroy the earth by waters of a flood. To prove this covenant God set a rainbow in the clouds as a sign of his promise. This bow would remain in the cloud to remind the Lord of his covenant. We get a glimpse of this bow after a rain but it is always there to remind us of God’s faithfulness. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Shem means “a name”. Ham means “tumult or raging” and Japheth means “to spread out”. Their names describe their choices: Shem established a name for himself. Ham was full of anger and selfishness. His son’s name is mentioned, Canaan, which means a “trafficker” or in our terms “a salesman”. Ham was out for himself and all he could get. Japheth’s name means “to spread out”. This was what God told them to do: “be fruitful and multiply on the earth”. Japheth did the will of the Lord. From these 3 temperaments the whole human race was formed. We see these tendencies in people everyday. There are those who live only for their pride and their popularity on the earth. They would be from Shem. And there are those, like Ham, who are born angry at the world and everything that comes their way. They live to take advantage of others for their own good. They die bitter and unfulfilled. Then, there are those like Japheth who do the will of the Lord, no matter what it is. They live to spread the good news of the gospel everywhere they go. They leave a posterity of peace and fruitfulness on the earth.
Lord, let us be like Japheth who followed the Lord’s commands. May we and our future generations leave a legacy of godliness and love on the earth.
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