One Person's Bad Decision Can Affect Generations

Genesis 918, 20-27;10 The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded  to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness and told his two brothers outside.But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father's nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father's nakedness.  When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, he said, "Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers." He also said, "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem.  May God extend the territory of Japheth; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be his slave."

      Lord, I always read the list of Noah's sons as Shem, Ham, and Japheth.  In reading in other verses, Japheth was the oldest, Shem was the middle son, and Ham is the youngest.  Why is that?  Not that it really matters...just wondering.
      Oh, Lord, You had done so much for Noah and his family.  It is so very sad how dad's drunkenness and the indiscretion of the "baby" of the family caused a rift and consequences that would last for the centuries that followed.  8:21 says, "The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: "Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done," (emphasis is mine).
      Lord, I read that this showed itself true again shortly after delivering the family from the flood.  Bad judgement starts to be recorded.  The choices made will affect history!

Noah plants a vineyard...nothing wrong with that.

• He drinks too much and gets drunk and lays in his tent naked...bad idea. (You cannot lock the door of a tent. Maybe the door was left open altogether.)

Ham goes to see his father...nothing wrong with that.
He sees his father lying there naked and has choices:

• He can cover his dad up and say nothing to anyone.
• He can go outside and tell his two older brothers what he has seen.

Now Shem and Japheth have choices:

• They choose aright and they, "took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father's nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father's nakedness."
• Now they have the choice to keep that to themselves or tell Noah what happened after he awoke from his stupor.
• They choose to disclose Ham's behavior to Dad.

     It is not recorded that Noah ever admitted his wrongdoing in getting drunk in the first place.  Some might want to dismiss Ham's behavior because he was the youngest and immature.  However; he was 80 years old and was the father of Canaan at the time.  Was there jealousy among the brothers because Ham was the youngest and treated differently so they tattled on him, or did Noah question them and they had to tell him the truth?
      Either way, Lord, Noah did not curse Ham, but cursed the grandson and all of his descendants suffered for it. "Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers." He also said, "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem.  May God extend the territory of Japheth; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be his slave."  Why Noah did not just discipline Ham for what he did will always be a mystery, but from what I read, it appears Noah had a favorite, and it was his middle son, Shem.
      Lord, in Your omnipotence and providence, You knew that the Jews and ultimately the Messiah would come from the line of Shem, that the land You gave to Abraham would be taken over by the Canaanites, Joshua would have to take it back with Your help, and the Canaanites would again become the slaves of the Jews.
      Precious Lord!  Please keep me from making bad choices that will negatively affect my children and grandchildren.