Bible Stories for Young Children 2

18 2. Shem, Ham, and Japheth sleep. Because the tent is open, every- one can see him lying there, naked. No, what Noah did is not right. The Lord wants everyone to wear clothes. Somebody is approaching. It is Ham. He stops and looks into the open tent. He sees his father lying there. Surely Hamwill be horrified and very grieved. But no, Ham laughs. He laughs mock- ingly.Then Ham goes to find his broth- ers, Shem and Japheth. He hurried to tell them. He thought they would also laugh when they saw it. However, what did Shem and Japheth I t became much worse on earth. Do you remember Seth’s family? At first there were many people who feared the Lord. However, of the people who were born later, many lived in sin. Scarcely any one of them had a desire to obey the Lord. Then God’s punishment came. It rained very long and very, very hard. The flood came and everyone drowned. Only Noah and his three sons were saved. These sons were called Shem, Ham, and Japheth. They were allowed in the ark which Noah had built. The four wives of these men were also in the ark. In the ark they were safe. Noah is a child of God. But the Lord’s children can also do sinful things. The same is true for Noah. What happened? Noah planted a vine- yard. Many grapes grew in his vine- yard. Noah made wine from the juice of the grapes. Wine is lovely to drink, but you should not drink too much of it, because you could get drunk. One day Noah drank some of the wine he had made. It tasted lovely. Noah poured himself some more wine. Now, however, he has had too much to drink. He becomes drunk. Someone who is drunk does not know what he is doing, because he is no longer able to think clearly. Oh, what does Noah do now? He takes off all his clothes. Then he lies down on the ground in his tent and goes to