Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father’s nakedness. When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, he said,”Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers. Genesis 9:20-25

Man does not have the power to “curse” a generation of people. Noah could not make Canaan bad or his life horrible by saying some words.

God does not “curse” people, turning potentially good people into bad. He also doesn’t curse people when someone else asks for it. That’s more like voodoo.

Some believe that by cursing a grandson, Noah insulted the self-esteem of that child, who naturally becomes what he is told he will become. That may be true, but certainly many of us heard horrible things from parents, relatives, siblings, teachers and friends. Unkind words do not always turn people into rebels.

Lives are cursed based on the choices we make through our freewill. God though can see the future consequences of our freewill and know how we will turn out.

Noah could prophesy what was to come for Canaan. He saw into the behavior of Ham, who did not cover up his father’s nakedness but disrespected Noah by making a spectacle of his embarrassing situation. Since Ham rebelled against his father on earth, he probably had a rebellious spirit against his Father in heaven. This was the seed of fatherly rebellion carried to fruition by Canaan, Ham’s son.

Noah, inspired by God, calls out that rebellion and prophesizes (correctly) a doomed life for Canaan.