So why does it matter whether Christ descended Ham or that His race was black? The importance of Christ's lineage centers on the fulfillment of prophesy in proving whether Christ was the Messiah or just another man like the rest of mankind. In this series of articles, you will see that some argue that Rahab, the Caananite harlot, was in the lineage of Christ. If this were true, this would be problematic because if Christ descended from a Caananite, He could not have been the Messiah (see Rahab) for it was prophesied that the Messiah would descend from the root of Jesse, and not Ham (see Isaiah 11:10). If Christ had descended from a Caananite, He would not have fulfilled that prophesy and thus they will argue He was not the Christ.
Finally, for those who believe Ham was Negro, if Hamath is not of the House of Ham, then Hamath's descendents, in particular the Kenites (sons of Cain), could be Caucasian rather than Negro. In contrast, if the Kenites mixed in with the descendants of Ham, this would make them Negro or part Negro since it is believed by some that the Caananites were Negro because they mixed with Ham. Therefore, it is important to first determine whether Hamath is of Ham and then determine whether Rahab is in the lineage of Christ in order to refute the heretical claim of Christ's illegitimacy.