18 Now the sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem and Ham and Japheth; and Ham was the father of Canaan. 19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.
20 Then Noah began farming and planted a vineyard. 21 He drank of the wine and became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. 23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it upon both their shoulders and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were turned away, so that they did not see their father’s nakedness. 24 When Noah awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son had done to him. 25 So he said,
“Cursed be Canaan;
1A servant of servants
He shall be to his brothers.”
26 He also said,
“Blessed be the LORD,
The God of Shem;
And let Canaan be his servant.
27 “May God enlarge Japheth,
And let him dwell in the tents of Shem;
And let Canaan be his servant.”
28 Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood. 29 So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died.
At times, we may be tempted to think that if no one sees our sin, it’s not a big deal. We cover it up, and move on. But God sees it, and sin gone unrepented will come back upon our heads. Likewise, it is common in our society (America) to not want to be a ‘tattle-tale’ when we have been a witness to an act of sin/crime. However, as we see in this passage, there are blessings to be had for doing the right thing. They may not be immediate, and there may even be some negative consequences for making sin known. At the end of the day, God sees it all, and rewards the just and the unjust for their action. Where will you stand on that day?