The Dividing Wall of Hostility
Noah Curses Ham by. Gustav DoreAs Christians, it is often easy to forget that our faith was built on the foundation of ancient Judaism (Eph 2:20). Though there is a tendency from the viewpoint of liberal theology to state that the God of the Old Testament and the God of New Testament are functionally two completely different gods(this is also an ancient heresy of Marcion of Sinope) orthodox Christianity confesses they are in fact the same God. The God who created Adam in the garden, the God who preserved Noah in the ark, and the God who chose Abraham, Issac, and Jacob to be the forefathers of the entire Jewish nation is also the God who sent His son Jesus Christ to die for the sins of the world. However, until the time that Christ came into the world God’s favor and vehicle of salvation rested solely on the covenant, He established with the nation of Israel. To the Jews, especially the Pharisees in Jesus’ day, the gentile people were considered unclean. Where did this division come from and why is it that non-Jewish people now get to partake in the blessings of God?
Origin of the Division
In the biblical narrative, the source of the division of Jews and Gentiles was very early on. Before the flood, all men with their common ancestry in Adam could freely worship before the Lord. However, God decided to send the flood and wipe out all humanity because “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5 ESV). God being gracious chose one man, Noah, to preserve mankind and even warn those in his day of the wrath to come. Once no one repented God shut Noah and his family in the Ark and wiped out most of His own created beings. After the Ark came to rest on a mountain months later he established his covenant with Noah that he would no longer judge the earth with the flood. It did not take long after this covenant for one of Noah’s own sons to sin against him.
The Blessings and Cursings of Noah
(Genesis 9:20-22) “Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard. He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside.”
There is much speculation as to why this trespass of Ham against Noah was so heinous but the most likely reason is not because Ham accidentally stumbled upon the nakedness of his father but rather looked at him with contempt and mockery. Instead of honoring his father and covering him up his first instinct was to tell his brothers, perhaps for them to come in and mock him as well. Is this not something that we are all guilty of. Instead of mourning and praying for the moral failures of others, we are quick to look down on them or even make fun of them depending on the situation. To do this to one’s own father is even worse. Though the ten commandments were not yet written, God’s law was written on Ham’s heart. Something does not become sinful just because it was written on a stone tablet, it was always God’s will to honor our mother and father. With this in mind, Noah awoke and immediately pronounced blessings and cursings on each of his sons.
(Genesis 9:24-27) “When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, he said, ‘Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.’
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.’ ”
Since all the peoples of the world would be descended from Shem, Ham, and Japeth, all of their descendants would be affected by their actions. Since Canaan was the son of Ham and Ham’s great sin continued through the people of Canaan they eventually became the Canaanites, the enemies of God’s chosen people. This is not to say that Ham’s sin was directly imputed to their account but they continued a legacy of rebellion against God that worsened with each generation. While Ham was the direct cause of this blessing and cursing, Shem and Japeth are the ones I want to focus on. It is important to note that while Noah is the one speaking here, his words are prophetic and he is speaking for God as well. Noah gave Shem the greatest blessing by declaring that the LORD would be the God of Shem. Japheth received a blessing as well but Noah did not ascribe to him that the LORD was his God. This does not mean that Japath himself was not a true believer in God, but the blessings that Noah gave were directed towards their offspring, not solely to the individuals themselves. We know because of the genealogies that Abraham was of the offspring of Shem. This was the meaning of the blessings that Noah gave to his sons. The blessings of God would primarily be upon the descendants of Shem, particularly when we get to his offspring, Abraham. If you are familiar with the term Semite, referring to people who speak Semitic languages such as the Jews and Arabs, that word comes from the name Shem.
Origin of the Gentiles
While Noah and his family would repopulate the world we must remember that sin still existed in this time and God was not done restoring the earth to its former glory from before the time that Adam sinned. Through Noah’s blessing to Shem, God was declaring that His primary plan of salvation for the whole earth would be through Shem’s offspring, particularly through the line of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. Remember that Ishmael and Esau were excluded from this promise based on God’s own providential purposes. For this reason, we see where the dividing wall between Jews and Gentiles came from. Anyone who is not part of the Jewish community or the descendants of Canaan are children of Japheth and are therefore Gentiles. There is a very specific detail I want to point out in the blessing Noah gave to Japheth. Noah says “May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem”. While the descendants of Japheth would not receive the same blessings as the children Shem, God promises that one day Japheth would be reunited under the tent of Shem and they would once again become one people who worship the true living God together. This would happen when the gentiles are no longer cut off from God and can be grafted into the tree of Israel to become spiritual children of Abraham (Rom 11:24). We will now consider how this happened.
The Moment the Wall Crumbles
Thousands of years pass by since the flood and our Lord Jesus Christ comes into the world in human flesh and dies on the cross for our sins. In those days the primary missionary objective was to restore the lost sheep of Israel, to turn them from relying on the works of the law to relying solely on the righteousness we receive by faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1). However, in the book of Acts, we encounter a devout gentile name Cornelius, a centurion. One day he received a vision from an angel.
The Gentile Centurion
(Acts 10:3-6) “About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, ‘Cornelius.’ And he stared at him in terror and said, ‘What is it, Lord?’ And he said to him, ‘Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.’ ”
A gentile who was not a descendent of Abraham received a vision from God to seek out the apostle Peter. In response, he immediately sends two men in response to this vision to find Peter at the location the angel specified.
Peter’s Vision
Around the same time the servants of the centurion were to arrive at Peter’s location, Peter has a vision as well.
(Acts 10:10-16) “And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. And there came a voice to him: ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ But Peter said, ‘By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.’ And the voice came to him again a second time, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’”
It was no mistake that the Lord sent Peter this vision while he was hungry. God had something very specific to tell Peter. Though this is one of those proof texts as to why Christians are free to eat pork and shellfish, this vision tells us much more than that. What was previously considered to be unclean, the Jews were to no longer consider it as such. As we will see in a moment, it was also a message that the Gentiles were to no longer be considered unclean and unworthy to identify with God’s people. After this vision, the text reveals to us that the Holy Spirit told Peter three men had arrived and he stepped down from the roof to meet them. Peter immediately told them he was the one they were looking for before they could speak a word (Acts 10:21). The three men state their business and were invited in as guests.
Cornelius Meets Peter in Caesarea
(Acts 10:24-27) “And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter lifted him up, saying, ‘Stand up; I too am a man.’ And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered.”
Christ through the revelation of the Holy Spirit appeared separately to these two men in different places and brought them together. Though Cornelius believes in the God of Israel, he still has much to learn as it was inappropriate for him to bow down before Peter as he was just a man. God had providentially brought Peter to a location full of gentiles who have not heard the full gospel of Jesus Christ. While Peter had been pondering what his vision meant since the previous day I believe this is where he realized what it actually meant. He reminds the gentiles that it is unlawful for the Jews to associate with them but God has revealed to him that no person should be considered common or unclean. Cornelius then shared the account of his vision as well and explains why he sent for Peter. At that point, Peter knew why he was sent there and began to preach to the gentiles.
(Acts 10:34-38) “‘Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him’”
Peter reveals to them that God now shows no partiality between any nation who fear Him and even though the word of God was sent to Israel the good news of salvation was now for all men. Peter goes on to preach the full gospel to them, how Jesus was crucified on the cross and raised on the third day for the remission of the sins of all those who believe in Him. Before Peter finished speaking something amazing happened.
The Wall Falls
(Acts 10:44-47) “While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, ‘Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’”
Upon hearing the Gospel preached the Holy Spirit fell upon those who heard Peter. This was the moment when the dividing wall of hostility had fallen and the sons of Japheth were allowed to finally dwell in the tents of Shem. According to God’s divine purpose and plan to bless all the world through the seed of Abraham, Jesus Christ came to the world through the nation of Israel and established the right for gentiles to become spiritual Children of Abraham.
The Dividing Wall of Hostility Explained
To Summarize what happened in these events more succinctly, we will now turn to Paul who is the one who presented this concept of a “Dividing Wall of Hostility”. In his letter to the Church in Ephesus, after giving them a very powerful account of salvation in Jesus Christ he goes on to say this.
(Ephesians 2:11-16) “Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called ‘the uncircumcision' by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.” (Emphasis added by me)
Paul, as a Jew speaking to Gentiles, tells them of one of the greatest events that has ever happened in history. Not only did Christ come to be the substitutionary atonement for the sins of Israel, but he also came to tear down the dividing wall of hostility that existed between God’s chosen people and the rest of the world. It is likely that most people reading this blog do not have Jewish ancestry. Our ancestors who were once cut off from the promises from God, having no hope for salvation in the world are now invited to join God’s church that he built through the nation of Israel. Paul goes on to tell us “And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.” (Eph. 2:17,18). We who were far off from God have been brought near through the blood of Jesus Christ. By breaking down the wall of hostility there is now no distinction between Jew and Gentile in the church, we are both one body with the same Spirit of God. We who are the descendants of Japheth can now dwell in the tent of Shem.
Conclusion
What does this truth mean for us as the church today? Throughout all of history, despite our common ancestry in Adam, having all been made in the image of God, humans have constantly found ways to divide each other. The only true dividing wall that did exist was established by God Himself for a particular purpose and plan for the redemption of all mankind and was in time taken down by Him. Christians are to no longer tolerate any such divisions. Throughout history, race, nationality, and social status have all divided the church. Our country has also been guilty of such division in the past. Unfortunately, however, those in the church who are trying to advocate for racial justice today are putting up another wall. Without getting into the debate of explaining Critical Race Theory or Intersectionality, such methods used to bring reconciliation with our brothers in Christ who are of a different skin color have added division in the church. Instead of viewing each other as being in the same body of Christ we have brought the concept of oppressor and oppressed into the church. We can no longer look at each other as equals but as one guilty party who must continually make recompense to the victim party. I am not arguing that people of color just need to get over it because Jim Crow laws ended over a half-century ago. What I am advocating for is that while there is still much healing that needs to take place we can never properly view each other as brothers and sisters in Christ if one group must always be repentant towards another group. Christ’s grace is sufficient to cover all of our sins if we repent but that includes only the sins that we personally committed. God will be the judge of anyone who participated in the act of racism in the past or even today but he will judge based on the deeds of that individual person. While the sin nature of Adam was passed down throughout the ages, the specific sins he committed were not imputed to our account. The same is true for our forefathers to us. While we are to ask forgiveness from those whom we personally transgress against, if we are to truly confess that we are all one body in Christ we must recognize that true repentance can only be received by confessing our sins solely to God and no one else. Regardless of any changes that need to be made outside the church in our society, they should not change how we view each other inside the church. Let us not put up another dividing wall when God removed all walls in Christ Jesus.
