Matthew Henry Commentary Genesis 9:18-23

"And the sons of Noah, that went forth from the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan. These three were the sons of Noah: and of these was the whole earth overspread. And Noah began to be a husbandman, and planted a vineyard: and he drank of the wine, and was drunken. And he was uncovered within his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father. And their faces were backward, and they saw not their father`s nakedness." — Genesis 9:18-23 (ASV)

The drunkenness of Noah is recorded in the Bible with that fairness found only in Scripture. It serves as a case and proof of human weakness and imperfection, even though he may have been surprised into the sin. This account also shows that the best of people cannot stand upright unless they depend upon Divine grace and are upheld by it. Ham appears to have been a bad man and probably rejoiced to find his father in an unbecoming situation. It was said of Noah that he was perfect in his generations (Genesis 6:9); but this refers to sincerity, not to a sinless perfection.

Noah, who had kept sober in drunken company, is now drunk in sober company. Let him that thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall. We need to be very careful when we use God's good creatures plentifully, lest we use them to excess (Luke 21:34). The consequence of Noah's sin was shame. Observe here the great evil of the sin of drunkenness.

It reveals men; what infirmities they have, they betray when they are drunk, and secrets are then easily gotten from them. Drunken porters keep open gates. It disgraces men and exposes them to contempt. As it shows them, so it shames them. Men say and do things when drunk that, when sober, they would blush to think of.

Notice the care of Shem and Japheth to cover their father's shame. There is a mantle of love to be thrown over the faults of all (1 Peter 4:8). Besides that, there is a robe of reverence to be thrown over the faults of parents and other superiors. The blessing of God attends those who honour their parents, and his curse falls especially on those who dishonour them.