Genesis 10 with a bit of 9

When Noah awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son had done to him.  So he said, "Cursed be Canaan;
                             A servant of servants
                             He shall be to his brothers."

We don't know what Ham had done; but Noah did ... Something significant had changed and Noah knew it was at the hands of Ham.  Something big enough to warrant a curse from a Dad.  I think it's good that we do not know what transpired, we need no unholy incentive nor examples for our imaginations.  

I wondered why the curse fell to the son and not the perpetrator.  Maybe, Ham was aged and any curse to befall him would not mean much.  I don't think the reason is too important as the words seem to have the Lord's backing.  

Canaan became the father of Sidon, his firstborn, and Heth

and the Jebusite and the Amorite and the Girgashite

and the Hivite and the Arkite and the Sinite

and the Arvadite and the Zemarite and the Hamathite; and afterward the families of the Canaanite were spread abroad.

The territory of the Canaanite extended from Sidon as you go toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; as you go toward Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.  (I wonder how far toward Sodom and Gomorrah they went.)

Judges 1:  The sons of Israel did not take possession of their land fully or they did not completely drive out the Canaanite from the land.  Verses 31 and 32 state that Asher did not drive out many occupants of the land, one of which was the Sidonites, and so Asher lived among them.  In Judges 10 we read:  Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines ; thus they forsook the and did not LORD serve Him.  Ezekiel 28 states:  "Son of man, set your face toward Sidon, prophesy against her ... and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am against you, O Sidon, And I will be glorified in your midst. Then they will know that I am the LORD when I execute judgments in her, And I will manifest My holiness in her."

 

Heth, a.k.a. Hethites or Hittites, and the Hivites have this infamy to their names from Exodus 23:  I will send hornets before you that will drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite before you.  Additionally, we see mention of the Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites from Deuteronomy 20:  As for the cities of these peoples that the Lord your God is going to give you as an inheritance, you must not allow a single living thing to survive. Instead you must utterly annihilate them – the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites – just as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that they cannot teach you all the abhorrent ways they worship their gods, causing you to sin against the Lord your God.

In Genesis 15, where God was speaking promise to Abram, He says that Abe's descendants will be enslaved for four hundred years; but in the fourth generation, his offspring will be able to return to the land, as the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit. (Lord, may the sin of America be full and may we seek righteousness with all of our hearts.)

Joshua 24 regarding the Girgashites, God says: You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho.  The leaders of Jericho, as well as the Amorites, Perrizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites, fought with you, but I handed them over to you. 

The curse of Canaan seems to be justified in consideration of the subsequent behavior of his generations.  If the other brothers had related to him in the manner prophesied by their father, perhaps much of the trouble the Israelites encountered could have been avoided.   

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."  

I wonder why Noah continued the declaration in this fashion.  Cursed be Canaan, the son of the offender and now "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem..."   From cursing an heir to blessing God ... this makes me think that whatever transpired between Noah and his son was completely ungodly.  

Lord, please help me to honor the words of authority which are spoken to me.  Please give me a heart to fully comply with all that You have for me and to not hedge when I need to drive out an enemy from my land.   You are God Alone.