Verse 1. “Now the whole earth used the same language
and the same words.”
The words of this verse could not be more specific. There was a point in
history when everyone on “the whole earth” spoke “the same language.” There was
no English, Basque, Hindi, Zulu, French or Cantonese, there was only – speech.
Our ancestors all thought and used “the same words.” Another factor was involved
in the point in history reflected by this verse. There was utterly no tendency
for words to change from what they meant previously. If an “orange” was a kind
of fruit, then it was not a color, and vice versa.
A hundred or so years ago, the English word, “cool” was all about the
weather. Then subsequently it was modified to reflect a flatness of emotions.
The person who was “cool” did not visibly show that they were upset or act in a
manner that lacked dignity. Other words in every modern language have that
tendency – words do utterly change in meaning; even becoming the opposite of
what they were before. But that was not the way it was at the time of this verse
and in the human history that preceded it. Words always stayed the same and had
simple, clear meanings, understood by all. That is the real way of things
and that is the way language will be in eternity.
Verse 2. “It came about as they journeyed east, that
they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.”
This verse is speaking about all the people on the whole earth. When it says,
“they journeyed east” and “they found a plain,” it spoke of every human being
who was alive on the whole planet we call “earth” at that time. They all knew
they were closely related to one another and they traveled together as just one
nomadic assembly. And they seemed to be of a mind that they would continue
together as just one blended group forever, and it would be much the same today if the
Lord had allowed it to happen.
“The land of Shinar” is glimpsed in many places within Scripture, but the
clearest expression of where it is and what it was, is seen in Daniel 1:1-2.
Centuries in the future, “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem…”
besieged it and conquered everything in sight. His armies took “some of the
articles of the house of God” (the Temple), “which he carried back into the land
of Shinar…” The plain surrounding the area of ancient Babylon, located in modern Iraq,
is "the land of Shinar."
Verse 3. “They said to one another, ‘Come, let us make
bricks and burn them thoroughly.’ And they used brick for stone, and they used
tar for mortar.”
The entire human race had been reduced to a single nomadic tribe by the action of
the Genesis Flood on the population. Every genetic group that exists today was
represented by the people who were saying at the moment of this verse, “Come let
us make bricks…” The leaders of the people had decided to settle down in
one place, as we
will see in the next verse, in the area of what would in later times come
to be known as the Babylonian Empire.
They made “bricks,” suggesting that 1) they had brought the art of brick
making with them through the Flood, and 2) they opportunistically used the ample
clay substance found in the plain of Shinar as a building material. To “burn (the
bricks) thoroughly” was to bake them in kilns to give them a ceramic-like
hardness. And “tar” was the cementing material available to them, so they used
it. Ancient historians, such as Josephus, Ovid and Aristoph, related that the
walls of Babylon, a city of that place not yet in existence at the time of this
verse, were built of brick and adhered to one another by bitumen, an
asphalt tar of the region.
Verse 4. “They said, ‘Come, let us build for ourselves
a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for
ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the
whole earth.’”
At the time of this verse, all of the people in the human race were in just
one location, roughly in the place now known as Iraq. As we saw in Chapter 10, they had begun to multiply and repopulate
the earth, but they were still relatively few and were more like a tribe than
humanity as we understand it today. Now they had migrated as a group to the
place that later would be called Babylon. The climate was about right, compared
to other locations, the soil seemed likely to grow crops, sufficient animals
were present for food, and so they decided to stay.
Their intent was to build a “city,” consisting of buildings that were to keep
them warm during times of cold, and shade them when it was too warm.
Interestingly they also made plans to build a “tower whose top will reach into
heaven.” In Genesis 8:21 and its context, God had promised Noah He would not
“destroy every living thing” again, and Noah was
still very much alive at the time of this verse.
But the people did not believe God’s promise. They intended to build a tower so
high that if God flooded the earth again, humanity could survive. They also
wanted to make a “name” for themselves, when it is actually GOD’s name we should
revere.
But it was true then as it is now – even though people are created by God and
receive their abilities from God, they like to give the credit to themselves.
Note also their fear that they would “be scattered abroad over the face of the
whole earth.” If they had trusted in the Lord, He would have healed their fear
by revealing His love. As it was though, they preferred unbelief to faith and
the very thing they feared the most would come upon them, as seen in Genesis
11:8. They would suddenly be “scattered” to Australia, the mainland of Asia, the
Americas, and every place else where people can live on this earth.
Verse 5. “The Lord came down to see the city and the
tower which the sons of men had built.”
“The Lord came down to see the city…” Was He in bodily form at that moment?
Was it His Spirit that came? Why did He need to visit at all, since He is in all
places at once? The reality is that even though all the words in the Book we
call “Genesis” are inspired by the Holy Spirit, they were written down by a
human being, a man named Moses. The audience is also human and because of that,
it was important that the Bible be written in human terms, so we would have a
frame of reference that will lead to our understanding.
This idea of communicating in ways we will understand is seen in Exodus 3:8 and in many others places, such as John
21:17, where the risen Jesus Christ asked His apostle, “Simon, son of Jonah, do
you love Me?” As God often does, questions are asked of us to which He already
knows the answer. The reason for the question to Simon Peter was to draw Him out. Peter felt
guilt because He had betrayed the Lord, who drew from the man an admission of
his love. He will do the same with you – ask of you what He already knows, so
you will grow in faith, in love, and place your hope in Him. He will come
"down" to visit you, but also He is already here.
Father, help us to build our lives, not out of fear,
but out of love and a response to Your will. We commit ourselves to You.
Please forgive us for our self-will, which leads to many problems. Thank
You for Your mercy and Your love. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Audio Bible Study - Genesis 11:6-10
Verse 6. “The Lord said, ‘Behold, they are one people,
and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now
nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them.’”
It’s very difficult to date the events in these early chapters of Genesis.
Some say they were thousands of years ago, whereas others feel that the onset of
all this in Genesis Chapters One and Two, could have taken place millions or
billions of years in the past. However, the hints given in the latter half of
this chapter do suggest that it was approximately 368 years after the Great
Flood that Abraham migrated in the land of Canaan. By that reckoning, the Flood
would have occurred in around 2,350 BC, which was not very long ago. And
note, by the way, that if you accept that Creation was recent, your outlook on
life becomes fresher. You are no longer merely a dot lost within billions of years.
You have meaning and significance in the sight of God.
The number of people on earth had been reduced dramatically
at that time because of the
destruction which had come upon the earth. Everyone had grouped together in one
cluster and were centered at the moment of this verse in the area of what is now
called Iraq. There were not thousands of languages as there are today; there
was only one, for they all spoke “the same language.” They liked it that way
and intended to build “a city, and a tower” (Verse
4), not only as a place to practice religion, but also as a thing of safety. The
tower was to be built so high
that it would be above any “flood” the Lord might send in the future.
God saw the danger in their do-it-yourself mentality and would stop them.
Technology is not bad in itself – many have been helped by the inventions,
devices and gadgets of mankind, and yet, there is a problem. When we start
looking solely at the things of this world, we tend to forget God. An answer to
the question, “Why doesn’t God do miracles today like He did when Jesus was
among us, 2000 years ago?...” might be because down deep we think we don’t need
Him. Our gadgets make us feel we don't need His assistance.
Verse 7. “Come, let Us go down and there confuse their
language, so that they will not understand one another's speech.”
God’s ways of healing the problems of mankind are often not what we expect,
which is why we tend to see miracles right in front of us and not recognize them
for what they are. We have no idea what the future (our present) would have been
if God had not stepped in and changed it all, but it certainly would not be like
it is today. A kind of “renaissance” was occurring at the time of these verses,
in which mankind was rapidly achieving great technological advances. Obviously
God is not against technology or we would not be using the gadgets we have at the moment, but
it was important to slow us down at that moment, and He did.
Two things now happened. The first part of God’s intervention is reflected by
this verse, and it’s important to note that God refers to Himself as “Us,” like
He did in the first chapter of Genesis. He said, “Let US go down…”
God is One, but He is also even more. And at that moment,
something happened that has utterly changed everything on earth since that time.
What He did was “confuse (our) language, so that (we do) not understand one
another’s speech.” Whatever the proto-language of earth was for our earliest
ancestors, nothing since has ever been the same. Suddenly, as everyone looked at
everybody else and spoke words that seemed to them to be just like before, no one
could understand. They were mystified, frustrated, afraid and angry, but could
do nothing about it.
Verse 8. “So the Lord scattered them abroad from there
over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city.”
Here in this verse we find the second part of God’s judgment on the
life-situations
of people at that time. The first part was seen in Verse 7, where the Lord
“confuse(d) their language.” Here is the second part: “The Lord scattered them
abroad from there over the face of the whole earth.” The Holy Spirit of God is
able to pick you up in mid sentence or in the space between one step and the
next, and put you down in another part of the world. We see it in places like
Ezekiel 11:1, where Ezekiel reported that “the Spirit lifted me up and brought
me (from Babylon) to the east gate of the Lord’s house” in Jerusalem, a distance
of several hundred miles. It’s also seen in Acts 8:39 and its context, where
“the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away… (and)
Philip was found at Azotus,”
which was about twenty miles away.
The effect of all this is interesting: “they stopped building the city.” Part
of the Lord’s purpose was to prevent humanity from making a terrible mistake. We
were created to have a deep and permanent RELATIONSHIP with the Lord. We were
never intended to “go it alone,” and we will never be COMPLETE without
Him. Most people miss the point, but somehow Noah, who was still alive at the
time of this verse, got it, and so did Abraham, who will be mentioned as
“Abram” in Genesis 11:26 & forward. As to this Abraham, his basis of acceptance by
the Lord is spelled-out in Genesis 15:6 – “he believed in the Lord, and He
accounted it to him for righteousness.” To trust, to believe, to have faith in
the Lord is – everything for us. “Building the city,” as in this verse, is not enough.
We need to believe, to trust in the Lord.
Verse 9. “Therefore its name was called Babel, because
there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the Lord
scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth.”
Often, in human history, a significant event becomes associated with the
place in which the event happened. In this case, the events that occurred were
so traumatic that a name had to be chosen to recall this incident, and the word “Babel” was selected
because it began to be known in the Hebrew language as “to confound” or “confusion.”
The two events that characterized the moment of these verses threw all of the
people into confusion. The first part of it was reflected in Verse 7,
where God confused their language, so that they did not understand one another's
speech.
The earliest forms of our present languages were born in that moment. The
second part is reflected in Verse 8, when the Lord scattered them from there
over the face of the whole earth. Everyone in that generation remembered these
actions of Almighty God. Some were carried to other continents, whereas others
remained relatively near to the place called, “Babel.” As their
descendents began to encounter one
another in subsequent years, they managed with difficulty to learn to communicate with each other
once more and shared garbled versions of these remembered events, “Babel” was the name attached to this event and time.
Verse 10. “These are the records of the generations of
Shem. Shem was one hundred years old, and became the father of Arpachshad two
years after the flood;”
In Genesis Chapter 10, we caught a glimpse of the descendents of the three
sons of Noah - Shem, Ham and Japheth. Of the three, even though the order is
sometimes presented differently, “Japheth” is named as the “elder” son in Genesis
10:21. In addition, “Ham” is shown to be the “younger son” in Genesis 9:24. The
verses that follow seem to be a repeat of Genesis 10:21 and its context.
However, there are differences in the content of what is now presented, and the
purpose of this genealogy is not the same as the one we saw earlier.
In Genesis 10, the purpose is to reveal the beginnings of tribal and national
groups around the world. In this listing, more detail is given and the purpose
is to focus on those descendents whose line led to first Abram (Abraham), who can
be called the father of Israel, and to Jesus, who was to be the Deliverer, sent
to Israel and also to the world. The descent of Shem and his son, "Arphachshad,"
to Abraham can be seen in the last verses of this chapter, and the physical
lineage of Jesus is revealed in Luke 3:23-38, especially Verse 36 which names
the two men given in this verse in Genesis Chapter 10.
Father, You have presented different beginnings than
most of us have learned previously. We find that You created us and that You
intervene in history, then and now. You are the Supreme Creator and
Sustainer of us all, and reasonably we turn to You, trust in You now. We
praise Your Holy Name. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Audio Bible Study - Genesis 11:11-19
Verse 11. “and Shem lived five hundred years after he
became the father of Arpachshad, and he had other sons and daughters.”
As we saw in Verse 10, "Shem," son of Noah, became the father of
a son of his own,
"Arpachshad," when he (Shem) was “one hundred years old.” Also it is noted in Verse 10
that the birth occurred “two years after the (Great)
Flood.” Five sons of Shem
are named in Genesis 10:21, but only Arpachshad is mentioned here because the
purpose of this genealogy in Chapter 11 is to show the line that led from Shem,
first to Abraham (Genesis 11:29 & context), and to the Messiah, the Christ, as
seen in Luke 3:36 and its context.
Note, by the way, that Shem “had other sons and daughters,”
as stated in this verse. However, only Arpachshad also known as Arphaxad, is named here. According
to Genesis 10:22, he appears to be Shem’s middle son, his third son, but God in
His wisdom chose Arpachshad to be in the line that would lead to the “Seed”
mentioned in Genesis 3:15. Another interesting item in this verse and the ones
that follow, is the decline in ages of people at time of death. Before the Flood, men
and women often lived over nine hundred years, but now Shem would experience the
relatively short life of only 600 years.
Verses 12-13. “Arpachshad lived thirty-five years, and
became the father of Shelah; and Arpachshad lived four hundred and three years
after he became the father of Shelah, and he had other sons and daughters.”
Many, particularly those who have worn the label we call “scholars” have said that
the words of the Book of Genesis are simply not true, and part of the problem is
found in these verses. Compared to the ages listed in the early chapters of this
Book, we who are “modern” people, live very short lives. And note there is a
very human tendency that can be summed up in these words: “If it isn’t true for
me, it isn’t true for anybody! We live 70 or 80 years now, therefore it must
have always been that way!” We have the human tendency to deny the
reality of anything we personally have not seen and touched.
And that’s the problem. Arpachshad lived, according to these verses, a total
of four hundred and thirty-eight years and he was just a youngster when he
died compared to his predecessors. Those who had survived the Flood, including
his father, Seth, probably felt sorry for someone like this “young” man, who
died so early in his life. As we saw in Genesis 10:22 and its context, Shem was
the progenitor of the people subsequently called “Semitic,” and actually became
the “father” of those considered “Asian” from a genetic perspective. His son, “Arpachshad” continued the
line that led directly to the Messiah (Luke 3:36 & context).
Verses 14-15. “Shelah lived thirty years, and became
the father of Eber; and Shelah lived four hundred and three years after he
became the father of Eber, and he had other sons and daughters.”
As recorded in Genesis 9:28-29, “Noah lived after the flood three hundred and
fifty years. So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he
died.” Noah was still alive at the time of these verses in Genesis 11, and,
unless some calamity had cut their lives short, so were his three sons, Shem,
Ham and Japheth. The physical line that went from Adam, through Noah, Shem and
Arpachshad, now continued through Shelah to his own son, Eber. Where was
Noah at the time of this verse? It's uncertain because of the "scattering"
of humanity. He could have been anywhere on earth.
We know from Genesis 10:25 and its context that “Shelah” translates as
“sprout” or “request” and “Eber” meant “the region beyond.” The men of this
verse were notable because they were in the line that led to Abraham, and
through him, to the Hebrew people today called the “Jews” who are found in many
places around the world, but especially in the country called “Israel.” Most
important of all, they are
also shown in Luke 3:35-36 to be ancestors of the Messiah, the Christ of God.
Verses 16-17. “Eber lived thirty-four years, and became
the father of Peleg; and Eber lived four hundred and thirty years after he
became the father of Peleg, and he had other sons and daughters.”
It has once again become the custom in much of the world, to wait until the
person is in his or her 30’s before deciding to have a child or children. The
reason now is because affluence is valued so highly in our society. The typical
young adult wants to complete whatever education, training or travel is possible and
then become established
in some kind of occupation before having children. It’s logical, but it also
expresses something about us – financial security is the most important goal in
modern society. Faith is often thought to be less important, but without it, we
have no real security at all.
At the time of these verses, like us they also delayed having children, but for a
different reason. They waited, but it was because the onset of puberty was later
in life than it is now. The genealogies in the early chapters of Genesis show
that even though they were commanded by God to “be fruitful and multiply,”
(Genesis 1:28), and had many “sons and daughters,”
the children came, as we
would say, “later in life.” Note, by the way, that Genesis 10:25 lists two sons
of Eber: “Peleg,” which is translated as “division,” and
"Joktan," which is, “he
will be made small.” We learn that Eber had “other sons and daughters” in this
verse.
Verses 18-19. “Peleg lived thirty years, and became the
father of Reu; and Peleg lived two hundred and nine years after he became the
father of Reu, and he had other sons and daughters.”
Notice the continued reduction in human life spans. "Two hundred and (thirty)
nine years” seems like a very long time to us because we only live less than
half that long, but someone like "Peleg" must have felt like some kind of genetic
failure because his forefathers easily lived over nine hundred years (see
Genesis Chapter 5 for examples). In what we call the "Middle Ages," the
scientists and philosophers of that time period felt like "midgets on the
shoulders of their predecessors" - someone like Peleg must have also had
exactly that
feeling.
“Reu,” son of “Peleg” was not mentioned among the names of Genesis Chapter 10
because that genealogy did not continue to name the names of those who would
follow after Peleg's generation. “Reu” meant “friend,”
and like Peleg, he was chosen by God to be among those who were in the physical
line that led to the birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ (Luke 3:35). We will
also find in the verses following this one in Genesis, that he was of the line that led
directly to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Father, it is important for us to regard these
chapters in Genesis as truth because the Word of God generates faith in us, and
without faith it is impossible to please You. Give us hearts that
understand and believe. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Audio Bible Study - Genesis 11:20-28
Verses 20-21. “Reu lived thirty-two years, and became
the father of Serug; and Reu lived two hundred and seven years after he became
the father of Serug, and he had other sons and daughters.”
As noted in the preceding verses, “Reu” can be translated as “friend,” and as
seen in this verse, he “became the father of Serug.” The latter name meant
“branch,” and he was another man who became a human ancestor of Jesus Christ
(Luke 3:35). The typical age of puberty was decreasing, as was the lifespan in
humanity. Reu was “thirty-two” at the time Serug was born, and his total life
span was 239 years. Again, such an age seems great to us, but those who lived
and died in those years must have felt cheated by “fate” that they died so
young because Noah and his sons had lives that comparatively were incredibly long.
Verses 22-23. “Serug lived thirty years, and became the
father of Nahor; and Serug lived two hundred years after he became the father of
Nahor, and he had other sons and daughters.”
At “thirty,” Serug “became the father of “Nahor,” which can be translated as
“snorting.” Another “Nahor” will be seen in Verse 27 and other places in
Scripture, but although the name is the same, they are different men. The other Nahor is merely the namesake of this one. And note as in the other verses of
this context that Serug “had other sons and daughters.” They aren’t named
because the ultimate author of these Scriptures, the Holy Spirit of God, wants
us to focus on this line, which led directly to Jesus the Christ, the Messiah of
God, as seen in Luke 3:34-35.
Verses 24-25. “Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and
became the father of Terah; and Nahor lived one hundred and nineteen years after
he became the father of Terah, and he had other sons and daughters.”
Note again the declining longevity of the men named in these verses. “Nahor”
is important because he was to become the grandfather of Abram, also known as
Abraham, someone who truly “believed” in the Lord (Genesis 15:6). Nahor only
lived to be 148, which seems like a long time, but compared to his ancestors, many of
whom were still alive, his life must have seemed very short. It was not
necessarily age that caused his death, of course. It may have been terminated by
some kind of injury.
The name, “Terah,” meant “duration” or “wandering,” one of a number of “sons
and daughters” sired by his father, Nahor. We will see in Verse 28 and forward
that the family had settled in the area of “Ur of the Chaldeans,” which is in
the present day country of Iraq. Terah would live up to his name of “wandering,”
because after the death of one of his sons, he left Ur and headed for the land
of Canaan (Verses 28 and 31).
Verse 26. “Terah lived seventy years, and became the
father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.”
Terah was a “late-bloomer” as a family man, not unlike his son, Abram, one of
those mentioned in this verse, waiting until he was “seventy” before having
children. It was approximately 365 to 368 years since the Flood, at the time of
the birth of these three boys. Eleven generations came on the scene during that
time. Estimating that every marriage was blessed with eight children, the
eleventh generation would have contained 25,165,824 people on the earth. It’s
actually very likely that it did contain that many because of God’s command that
they were to be “fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28)
for it is unlikely that any
effective form of birth control existed at the time. And it’s probably
true that most people saw large families as an asset rather than a liability.
The major population variable would have included wars, murders and
accidental deaths. An example of someone who embroiled people in situations that
risked their lives would have been “Nimrod” who began to be “a mighty one on
earth” (Genesis 10:8 & forward). He seems to have involved others in significant
military actions which would have caused a lot of people to die. But even
allowing for premature deaths, the population of earth at the time of Abram was
larger than most people today would expect.
Verse 27. “Now these are the records of the generations
of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran; and Haran became
the father of Lot.”
Three sons of "Terah," a descendant of Noah through his son,
"Shem," are
named in this verse. The first one listed is “Abram,” a name that means,
“exalted father.” The second is “Nahor,” who was named after his grandfather.
His name translates as “snorting.” It may be that both men had a snoring
problem. The third son listed is “Haran,” which means “mountainous.” Haran may
or may not have been named after the place called “Haran,” which we see in Verse
31; but probably not because the family had not yet traveled to that place.
To choose names for children and places after geographic features like
"mountainous" was likely a common practice.
We see in this verse that Haran “became the father of Lot,” the nephew of
Abram, and “Lot” is a name we find a number of times in Scripture. Lot would
travel with them as they went north and west to the place called “Haran” (Verse
31). It has been estimated that as many as several hundred people went with
them. One of them certainly was "Sarai," who became Abram’s wife (Verse 29) and
she was also his half-sister (Genesis 20:12).
Verse 28. “Haran died in the presence of his father
Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans.”
“Haran,” a name which translates as “mountainous,” was the third son of “Terah,”
a man who is especially important historically because he additionally was the father of
Abram, later known as Abraham. This verse records an important negative event in
the life of any parent – his son “Haran” died. And not only did the younger man
die, but it happened “in the presence of his father…" while the family still
lived in “Ur of the Chaldeans.” In fact, this death and the grief that resulted
from it, may have been one of the precipitating factors that caused Terah to be
willing to leave “the land of his birth” and go to another very different
location.
Father, thank You that we are being introduced to
Abram, a man who had notable faith in the Lord. Help us to learn from his
life and we pray that everyone who reads these words in Scripture find the kind of faith
that defined his life. We trust in You, lord. In Jesus Name.
Amen.
Audio Bible Study - Genesis 11:29-32
Verse 29. “Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves The name of Abram's wife
was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the
father of Milcah and Iscah.”
Terah, mentioned in the preceding verses, was the father of three sons, named
“Abram, Nahor and Haran” (Verse 27). We know that Terah also had at least one
other child because Abram’s wife, Sarai, was also his half-sister, “the
daughter of (his) father” (Genesis 20:12). The name, “Sarai” meant “princess,” suggesting that she was the delight of her father.
Later, as seen in Genesis 17:15, God changed her name to “Sarah.”
“Nahor” meant “snorting,”
which may have referred to noises he made as an infant, and this son would subsequently stay behind in the
place called “Haran” when Abram later left for Canaan. Abram did take his
half-sister and wife, "Sarai," and his
nephew, “Lot” with him (see also Verse 27, for a reference to Lot). Nahor,
Abram's brother,
married “Milcah” (“counsel”), another daughter of Haran, who would have been
Abram's and Sarai’s niece. “Iscah" was another daughter of Nahor, and her name
meant “watchful.”
Verse 30. “Sarai was barren; she had no child.”
This verse mentions an important aspect of the historical accounts of Abram,
also known as Abraham, and his wife, "Sarai,"
later called "Sarah," who, in addition
to being his wife, was also Abram's half-sister. She “was barren,” and of course,
the result of that problem was that “she had no child.” This was a concern for the women
of ancient times because commonly a wife was valued in relation to her ability to
bear children. Her frustration about this lack in her life showed up in a number
of key ways, such as her decision, as reflected in Genesis 16:1 and forward, to
give her Egyptian maid-servant, Hagar, to Abraham, so a child would be born into
their household. Such actions occurred often in that culture, which is an
example of a carnal (merely human) solution to a problem. God intends that
we will look to Him for solutions, but we tend instead to look to
ourselves for ideas or ask other people. That can be good in certain
situations, but God's
ways are much better.
Verse 31. “Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of
Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife; and
they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans in order to enter the land of
Canaan; and they went as far as Haran, and settled there.”
You could conclude from this verse that it was “Terah” who received the call
from God which led to the departure of this extended family away from “Ur of the
Chaldeans.” And it is possible he did receive instructions from God. But there are other
Scriptures which throw light on this verse. Acts 7:2-4 says, “the God of glory
appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in
Haran.” And Stephen, who spoke the words in Acts 7 shortly before he died,
continued by quoting Genesis 12:1 – “and (God)
said to him, ‘Get out of your
country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you.’ Then
he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there,
when his father was dead, He moved him to this land…”
The call which caused them to leave their home, probably after much
discussion and after at least some argument, came to "Abram," son of
"Terah." We saw in
Verse 28 that “Haran (brother of Abram) died in the presence of his father Terah,” before they left
Ur. And now we see that provision was made for the younger Lot, Abram’s nephew,
who was allowed to travel with them. And we also see in Genesis 12:1 that when
they started, they weren’t at all certain that Canaan was their final destination. God sent
them to “to a land that I will show you.” As it is
true for so many people, they were going, but didn't know where they would end
up. “Sarai,” Abram’s wife, is mentioned as
one of the travelers, and it is noted in Genesis 20:12 that she was not only
Abram’s wife, but she was also his half-sister. The family left Ur, but did not
initially end up in the land of Canaan. “They went as far as Haran, and settled there.”
Verse 32. “The days of Terah were two hundred and five
years; and Terah died in Haran.”
In Genesis 12:1, we will see God’s words to Abram, telling the man to “Get
out of your country, from your kindred and from your father’s house, to a land
that I will show you…” Those words were actually given to Abram “before he dwelt
in Haran” (Acts 7:2). Now time has passed, the family had “settled” themselves in Haran (Verse
31) and did not leave until “Terah died,” as we see in this verse.
It is possible they wouldn't have gone anywhere if the older man, his father, kept on living.
According to modern
standards, by the way, "Terah" lived an exceptionally long life, but for someone of that time
it would have been considered to be a very short life indeed. He would have felt
cheated by his "brief" existence on this earth. Everyone at that time would
have noted that life spans were rapidly reducing in length, and they finally
became what we experience
today.
Father, most people would live longer if they could,
but living less long is opportunity, for it puts us into the loving hands of God. Help us, Father, to place our faith in the Lord as Abram did, so
that our departure from earth will not only make life better right now, but it
will also take us to a much better place. We
confess our sins, especially our do-it-ourselves mentality, and we trust in You
now. In Jesus Name. Amen.
