The Days Of Noah. Ham, Canaan, & Nimrod

Hello and BLESSINGS to all the readers and friends of the Dunamis Word blog. Yes, it has been a little while since I have last posted and believe me, you know, all kinds of things are going on both in and out of the church. From the Supreme Court, to the predator in the pulpit, society is in a sin sick, full bloom and if I posted on everything, I would never leave my computer, nor have time to do the many positive and good things I continue to do, which include trying to be the best Pastor that I can be to my church.

However, with all that is said and done, GOD is STILL A GOOD GOD!!! Yes, he is still on the throne and in control of this world and rules over everything and everyone, even them that don't want HIS rule. I am glad to celebrate America's 250th Birthday and Thank God for my place in it all!

I decided to post a recent article that I did on our In Defense Of The Faith Facebook Forum. Recently, God woke me dealing with me about this information and I have been busy studying pulling various tidbits of spiritual food from what he has been giving me.

In the following examination, I look at Noah, Ham, Canaan and Nimrod and the implication of Nimrod's hatred towards God and his desire to exalt himself above God. He thought he had it all figured out. It is clear, Nimrod thought that he was going to lead a new world in rebellion and, if we look at it, he was well on his way to doing so.

As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the 

coming of the Son of Man.

Mt. 24:37 NIV

The following is what I stated on Facebook:

Let me do some statements of Bible facts because we are not as literate in chronology as we "could" be when it comes to this, and I have recited this wrongly before, which is something I hope not to do here...because it matters...

Let's PROCEED:

According to the Table of Nations, Noah's son Ham had 4 sons...Cush, Phut, Mizraim and Canaan. (Gen. 10:6) Mizraim's name by interpretation is Egypt.

Remember, Ham was Canaan's Father, and Mizraim was Canaan's Brother. Yes, both Canaan and Mizraim were the descendents of Ham (eg: Ham's sons) However it was only Canaan who was cursed by Noah.

Nimrod was Cush's son. Canaan was Nimrod's Nephew.

Nimrod was what the Bible called the first city builder, a "mighty one before the Lord" (Gen. 10:9 ~ Heb: "Gibbor" or Tyrant). These appellations played off of titles used for the Nephilim prior to the flood (Genesis 6:5). This is not a celebratory link. This was a definition of evil. Nimrod was a "mighty hunter before the Lord", (Gen. 10.9). It is further known that Nimrod, whose very name means "rebellion", was ruthless, hated God, and hunted men, similar to the Nephilim that preceded him in death...

Nimrod was a killer, one that seemed to hate his history, only being 2 generations away from the great flood that reshaped the planet...He was a murderer and the first to lead whole nations/city states that he established in hate against God. (ref. Josephus & Talmudic Writings)

It was Nimrod who was the founder of Sumeria, (EXTRA NOT IN ORIGINAL POST: the progenitor of all the "ancient astronaut" myths based on texts incorrectly translated and perpetuated by a non-scholar). Nimrod's influence was the foundation of what would be known as Babylon, Assyria, Nineveh and Mesopotamian city States. Nimrod was the initiator of the rebellion against God to begin the Tower of Babel a Ziggurat to reach God and fight him and the angelic host, as he was the King of Babel (v.10) His false religion infected the religions of his Uncle's descendents the Cushites, and Mizraimites or Egyptians and other burgeoning cultures.

Another Twist

LEGEND has it that Cain, yes Adam's Son, who slew Able, survived the flood and taught Nimrod hatred and rebellion against God. Legendary hypothesis also has it that Gilgamesh, a successor of Nimrod, may have been Cain as well. The fact is that Cain's death is unreported within the Biblical text.

While I don't believe Cain was either Nimrod or GIlgamesh, it is clear that the rebellious and murderous spirit in which Cain moved, was prevalent in Genesis 6, survived the flood, and rose again afterwards through Nimrod to once again infect mankind.

The Great flood, in our archaeological record, is thought to be a result of the Younger Dryas a late Ice Age flood, which wiped out the people who rebelled, and destroyed the Nephilim, but did not rid the Earth of their influence and desire to do evil, because evil is bound in the heart of men and mankind. So when we speak of Egypt, we should remember, that the Cushites and the Mizraimites, appear to be closer, or more at unity than Nimrod and his descendents, but it was the false religion of Nimrod that seemed to have gained strength and facilitated the idolatry that arose in Sumer, Assyria, Egypt and Mesopotamia in general...(In other words, Egyptian folklore and religious practice was a distinct extract from the religious systems introduced by Nimrod, rather than a system that flowed from Egypt to other nations and states.) Canaan Though Cursed, Had A Chance:

In order to understand the eventual cure of Canaan, we cannot do so without examining the mercy and relationship that God had with the Canaanites until they wholly turned against him and aborted any hope of repentance.

God's wrath against Canaan did not come without giving Canaan ample time to repent of her sins. During the 400 years of suffering that Israel endured in Egypt, Canaan had that time to repent, but refused. Canaan's issue was not an issue of lineage or ethnicity. Canaan's issue was an issue of sin, stubborness and rebellion. The ministry and scope of ministry of Melchizedek is one reason we know this to be true. 

Melchizedek:

There are 4 trains of thought as to the identity and scope of the works of Melchizedek.

* The first was that he was of Canaanite lineage and heritage, specifically of the Jebusite
lineage. He lived in Jebus, then called "Salem" or "peace", was called the "King of Salem", (Ge. 14:18), did Priestly work, and must have been a man of high repute in his day.

* The second train of thought is contained within Rabbinic traditions of the Jewish Talmud and Midrash, both of which affirm that Melchizedek was actually Shem, the brother of Ham and Japheth.

* The third train of thought is from the Dead Sea Scrolls. Specifically 11Q13 - The Melchizedek Document. This document declares that Melchizedek was a heavenly or angelic figure of righteousness who was a preconfiguration of what would become known as the Messiah and who would fulfill the Messianic promise.

* The fourth train of thought comes directly from the writings of the New Testament (NT) which actually provides a metaphorical relationship between Melchizedek and Jesus. The writer of the NT book of Hebrews builds off of the prophetic utterance found within Psalms 110:4 declaring Jesus to be a Priest "forever after the order of Melchizedek" (Heb. 5)

Terah, Abraham's Father, tried to get to Canaan...It is suspected that he was attempting to see Melchizedek during his life, but never completed the trip and died in Haran. (Gen. 11:32)

Later, when Abraham met Melchizedek, it was therefore easy for him to bow down and honor him with tithe and receive his blessing (Gen. 14:20), possibly because:

1- Melchizedek was the man his father wanted to see,

2- Melchizedek was of excellent character and evidently was so full of righteousness that the whole region honored him, and

3- He (Abram) understood God and knew this was a God encounter with a righteous man (possibly a descendent of Noah (Noah's son Shem) and one who would be a precursor of the "King of the Jews" who would be crucified for our sins aka: JESUS!

Although we do not know the lifespan of Melchizedek, as the NT says his Priesthood would be "forever" through Jesus, the ministry of Melchizedek in Canaan was the foundation for the 400 years that God gave Canaan to repent, (Gen. 15) however, as stated previously, they and the other nations of Canaan rejected God and truth. BACK TO HAM

Why is understanding this important?

Because Ham's lineage was cursed for his acts, (not merely seeing his father naked) but his actions or even possibly for the actions of his son Canaan, and either way bringing shame upon his father Noah.

Talmudic legend says that Ham's issue was trying to diminish the character of his father with mockery and public disclosure (Gen. 9:22) and raping or at the very least, seducing, Noah's wife, his own mother. It was because of these acts, and the utter mockery that was placed upon Noah, a man that God had used to save humanity, Ham's seed, Canaan, was cursed.

Genesis records that Noah, after wakening, knew what his younger son, Ham, specifically his "younger son", had "done unto him". (Gen. 9:24). Two things, first no one knows, as the scripture does not share what, aside from telling his brothers and attempting to make a mockery of him, what Ham actually "did" to Moses. Secondly, based on inferences from the text itself, scholars do not agree that Ham was the "younger son" as in "youngest son" of Ham. If anything, it seems that Ham is the middle child of Noah. This led Origen (185 -234 AD) to conclude that it was Canaan who first saw his Grandfather's nakedness, told his father Ham, and Ham responded with ridicule and disrespect towards his father.

Some scholars assert that the pronouncement of the curse upon Canaan was not an immediate pronouncement by Noah, but one that occurred towards the end of Noah's life in which, according to ANE (Ancient Near Eastern) practices, fathers pronounced blessings upon their children as we see throughout scripture.

There are many inferences that can be drawn from these relationships and stories. As a society, we have not left the foundation of sin in the world even through modern conveniences and scientific discovery. None of these conveniences, inventions or discoveries, have solved mankind's heart condition of rebellion, lust, murder, war and desire to kill and even overtake God.

This is the "mystery Babylon" (Rev. 17:5) that the NT describes that persists to exist even to the end of the world and will ultimately be judged and finally cast down. This is also why Jesus asserts when he returns times and conditions will be similar to the times and conditions of Noah. (Mt. 24:34-39)

The question is, will we hold on to our faith, as the Bible affirms that only them who are able to endure to the end will be saved. (Mt. 10:22)

Blessed!

Next: The Religion Of Nimrod & Variations Throughout Mesopotamia See: Molech Renewal Pt. 3 A Biblical Historical Look At Molech Worship In Israel