On the Road to Bethlehem #2: Dwelling Among Men

“When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, he said,
‘Cursed be Canaan;
a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.’
He also said,
‘Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem;
and let Canaan be his servant.
May God enlarge Japheth,
and let him dwell in the tents of Shem,
and let Canaan be his servant.’”

—Genesis 9:24-27

As we go about the hustle and bustle of the season, it is easy to get caught up in the shopping, decoration, parties, and shows and forget the Christ in CHRISTmas. The Christmas season is about the birth of the Savior and everything else is secondary. Without Christ, there is no Christmas—no presents, TV specials, parties, Christmas trees, and parades. He is the REASON for the season. But, thousands of years ago, before there was a Christmas, there was a prophecy of one who was to come. The prophecy began in the Garden (Genesis 3:15), and was expanded during the time of Noah.

After the flood, once the waters dissipated, and God had given the promise of never flooding the earth again, Noah started a winery (Genesis 9:20). He got drunk, and passed out naked in his tent, not the most proper behavior for a man of faith. One of his three sons, Ham, walked into the tent and saw him naked. He came out and told his two brothers—Shem and Japheth about their father. And rather than go in to see their father in such a humiliating position, they took a garment and backed in to cover up their father’s nakedness. When Noah woke up, the text says that he “knew what his youngest son had done to him” (v. 24). We don’t know what Ham did to Noah, but whatever it was it was disgraceful and elicited this response, “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.” Whatever he did was so bad that it merited a curse against Ham’s son, Canaan, and sentenced him to be a servant to all his brothers.

After blessing God and decreeing that Canaan would be a servant of Shem, Noah turned his attention to Japheth. He said, “May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.” Who is the “him” in “let him dwell”? If the “him” in this verse is Japheth then having him dwell in the tents of Shem would seem to indicate that Japheth would either conquer Shem or occupy his territory. Such a view would humiliate Shem, and make him a little bit better than the curse upon Canaan. It is better to understand the subject of the verse, who is God, to be the “him” in “let him dwell.” Such a view then would be the first prophecy that God would dwell among men! We have already seen in Genesis 3:15 the human side of the one who was to come and from this we see the divine side. God would dwell among men! We see this concept throughout Scripture. After seeing it in Genesis 9:27, we see it manifested in the Tabernacle (Exodus 25:8; 29:45-46), and then the Temple, when the presence of God would “rest” or “dwell” among the Israelites (1 Kings 6:13). But it was in Christ that the fullest expression of God’s presence among men can be seen, as John wrote,  

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth”—John 1:14. 

Christ was the fulfillment of the prophecy made in Genesis 9:27, because it was in Christ that “the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily”—Colossians 2:9. May this Advent season be a time to revisit the mystery of how God came to dwell with us and take our sins and infirmities upon Himself. Now we can experience the joy of knowing the God who made us. Amen.