A humble woman prays

We know about Noah and that he built an Ark because the Lord told him to build it.

“And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights. ¹³ On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark, ¹⁴ they and every beast according to its kind, and all the cattle according to their kinds, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth according to its kind, every bird according to its kind, every bird of every sort.” Genesis 7:12-14

But did you know?

²⁰ Noah was the first tiller of the soil. He planted a vineyard; ²¹ and he drank of the wine, and became drunk, and lay uncovered in his tent. ²² And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. ²³ Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it upon both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness. Genesis 9:20-23

Noah, the man that God saved from the floods of the earth, drank wine and got drunk.

And we thought we were the only believers that made mistakes, that did wrong. (If you think other believers of God don’t do wrong and make mistakes, we need to talk. Everyone does!)

But the above scripture also is given to teach us a valuable lesson on how to treat others as ourselves.

Ham, the youngest son of Noah, found his father naked and drunk. Ham proceeded to go out and share the information of Noah’s mistake with others. Thankfully Ham also shared the information with his two brothers, Shem and Japheth, who did the right thing. Instead of going and gossiping about their father’s shame, they took the blanket and backed up so when they saw Noah’s feet, they could cover Noah’s nakedness up without causing more embarrassment to their Father.

Doesn’t this show us my friends, how to respond when the knowledge of another’s mistake comes to our attention.

1. Protect that person from additional shame or harm. Shem and Japheth covered Noah from others seeing his condition and protecting him from physical harm. Sandstorms can be brutal in that area.
2. Don’t gossip to others or in this day and age, don’t share pictures or videos of the incident. You think it is funny to share that image with your friends and the world. Isn’t that person hurting enough?
3. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should!

Don’t add hurt to someone who is hurting or may hurt when they look back to their mistake.

I invite you to take a deep breath and exhale. Now let’s join in this prayer to our God.

Lord, Please open our hearts and our minds to those in need. Let us protect them and the repercussions as if it was our loved one in that situation. AMEN.