Shem & his brothers - Part I

Shem is in the genology of Christ, who was the son of Noah.

Genesis 5:32
"And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham & Japheth."

Genesis 9:18-23
"Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham & Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan. These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated. And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and he became uncovered in his tent. 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."

By Adam we know that shame came into the world. It was when he ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge that his eyes were opened. The first thing he did, along with Eve, was hide in shame because he realized he was not only exposed physically, but also felt exposed spiritually. He had broken the only command God had given and all was revealed. In the same sense, Shem and Japheth chose to cover their father's shame, unlike Ham who exposed Noah's nakedness to his brothers.

Do we cover the shame of our friends, or do we make a public spectacle of them to our other friends or aquaintances?

Do we point fingers and blame, or do we help to cover their shame and help them through to their victory?

The person in shame is a person that knows they have done something wrong. There are billions of people sinning outloud, but they have no shame. There is no remorse. A person of shame is different. They know they are walking in sin, but yet don't know how to walk out of it. They feel remorse every time they sin, but they continue doing it because it has become an addiction. They know it as an addiction, but yet they haven't experienced freedom in that particular area yet, or maybe they haven't experienced the freedom of Christ at all yet.

Will we be the ones to cover their shame and lead them to the One who can heal their hurts & cut to the heart of the addiction? Lead them to the One who can release them from their shame.

Lord, I pray as you bring unbelievers and struggling Christians into my life that I would be a stepping stone to You. Help my judgemental thoughts. It is so easy to place blame, but not know the root of the sin. As You have released me of sins in my own life by getting to the root, I know You as Redeemer and Deliverer. I praise You and thank You for healing my own hurts. I praise You for putting people in my life who don't condemn me, but walk lovingly by my side. You are an Awesome and Mighty God! Amen.

One other thing I think of when reading this passage is of the love . The last verse says that Shem and Japheth, "turned away (their faces), and they did not see their father's nakedness." I have experienced in my own life the covering of a shame in someone's life and growing in love for them. It became to where I no longer saw the sin. In these cases, the person was working through their issues and God gave me the ability to be an encouragement to them without even realizing that God was speaking into their area of sin. God is in the healing business!