Cover Me

But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father.

Genesis 9:23

I told you my pastor has been dropping nuggets and giving us Happy Meals that we can eat on during the week. This past Sunday was no exception. He finished up a 3 part series on the life of Noah. Since I’m supposed to recap the sermon for ya’ll, here you go. I hope you’re hungry because it’s definitely something to chew on.

We know the story of Noah in the ark with the animals and his entire family, but I don’t remember hearing too much about his life after his miraculous encounter with God. After they walk out on dry land, they begin to build a life. The story I’m discussing takes place quite a while after they have settled into their new existence.

How do I know? Because Noah has had time to plant a vineyard, tend to the grapes, harvest the grapes, and ferment some quality wine. And indulge in all that he has created. It’s so delicious that he finds himself over indulging…okay…that was very gentle. He got drunk. So drunk that he becomes uncovered…naked…exposed in his own tent. Anybody ever been drunk? I have once but that’s a story for another day.

Noah’s son, Ham, walks in and sees the nakedness of his father. My first instinct would be to cover my dad up, but Ham is functioning in a different vein. He goes outside to tell his brothers, Shem and Japheth, that their father is passed out drunk and naked. Maybe he expected them to chuckle or throw their hands up in exasperation. However, they chose to take action.

They didn’t want to see their father exposed so they backed into the tent with a garment on their shoulders and used the garment to cover their father. They did not berate him or chastise him. They covered him.

I’ll admit that I like a good bit of “tea.” You can serve it to me hot or cold, and I’ll sip on it. Until recently. Lately, I’ve been more concerned about people. This sermon hit home and let me know that it’s God pushing me in this direction. Instead of serving tea about other’s downfalls, we need to be covering them.

We can cover them with prayer. We can cover them with encouraging words. We can cover them by not repeating every struggle that they shared with us in confidence. Because there will come a day when we will be the ones who are naked and exposed and vulnerable. I sure hope someone will come along to cover me. #wepreach