All people are created in the Image of God.

“God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27 Last week's blog was the tip of the iceberg on the matter of racism. This week we will attempt to further examine racist behaviour throughout history, which is surely a mammoth task. No one can even grasp the magnitude or scope of the millions of lives that have been destroyed by racism. There are only snippets from historical records from the beginning of time. Any serious biblical study of racism should start in Genesis chapter one. We see here that the Bible does not start off with the creation of a special or privileged race of people. When the first human being was created he was simply called Adam, which is Hebrew for “humankind.” Adam and Eve are not Hebrews or Egyptians; they are neither White nor Black. Their own particular race is not even mentioned. The Bible seems to stress though that they are the mother and father of all peoples of all ethnicities and race. Adam and Eve are presented as non-ethnic and non-national because they represented all people. The Bible is very clear in declaring from the beginning that all people of all races and ethnicities carry the image of God. In regard to the history of racism, no other passage in Scripture has been so abused, distorted and twisted as has Genesis 9:18-27. Thus it is important that we clarify what this passage actually says (and doesn’t say). In the 19th century, both before and after the Civil War, this text was frequently cited by Whites to argue that the slavery or subjugation of the black race was, in fact, a fulfillment of the prophecy in this text. These pastors and writers argued that:- (1) The word “Ham” really means “black” or “burnt,” and thus refers to the Black race. ( 2) God commanded that the descendants of Ham (Black people) become slaves to Japheth, who, they argued, represents the White races. In Genesis 9:20-21, after the flood was over and his family was settled down, Noah got drunk and passed out, lying naked in his tent. His son Ham, specifically identified as the father of Canaan (9:22), saw him and told his two brothers Shem and Japheth, who then carefully covered their father. When Noah woke up and found out what had happened he pronounced a curse on Canaan, the sons of Ham, stating, “Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.” Noah then blessed Shem and Japheth, declaring, “Blessed be the LORD of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. May God extend the territory of Japheth. . . and may Canaan be his slave” (9:26-27). First of all, note that the curse is placed on Canaan and not on Ham (Gen. 9:25). To project the curse to all of Ham’s descendants is to misread the passage. It is Canaan (and the Canaanites) who are the focus of this curse. This text is a prophetic curse on Israel’s future enemy and nemesis, the Canaanites. The Canaanites are included here in this prophetic curse because they are characterized by similar sexual-related sins elsewhere in the Pentateuch (see Lev. 18:2-23 for example). The curse on Canaan is not pronounced because Canaan is going to be punished for Ham’s sin, but because the descendants of Canaan (the Canaanites) will be like Ham in their sin and sexual misconduct. This passage finds fulfillment later in Israel’s history during the conquest of the Promised Land when the Israelites defeated and subjugated the Canaanites. Next week's blog will look at the diversity within the "image of God" and genealogy. Marcel and Jacqueline Bruff ❤️ For walk good in Christ.