The dispersion of the descendants of the sons of Noah, who had now grown into numerous families, was necessarily followed on the one hand by the rise of a variety of nations, differing in language, manners, and customs, and more and more estranged from one another; and on the other by the expansion of the germs of idolatry, contained in the different attitudes of these nations towards God, into the polytheistic religions of heathenism, in which the glory of the immortal God was changed into an image made like to mortal man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things (Romans 1:23 cf. The Word of God is sufficient for mans faith. There are, of course, evidences for the reasonableness of faith, but at the bottom line we simply must believe what God has said to us in His Word. 305-306. Haran was in the north, where Terah, Abraham's father, had taken him after Terah's father died (Genesis 11:27-32). The name must not be confounded with that of Haran, the father of Lot, as really it is in the Heb. Little of the culture, religion, or philosophy of the people of Ur was to be a part of what God planned to do with His people, Israel. "Abraham was a man of faith that works; Isaac, of faith that endures; Jacob, of faith that wrestles" (Baumgarten). (4) The Christian walk is rooted in the reliability of the Word of God. Terah was a high priest of the idol worshippers. Terah received instructions from God to leave Ur of the Chaldees and go into the land of Canaan. Isaac also was strong in patience and hope; and Jacob wrestled in faith amidst painful circumstances of various kinds, until he had secured the blessing of the promise. Not only did Terah worship idols, but he even operated a business selling deities. Why did Abraham banish Ishmael (Genesis 21:14). But when they arrived in Haran, they settled there. The Hebrew word for "served" can also mean to "work," hence the tradition that Terah was a craftsman who made idols. 63-64. John 14:1-3). And in the land of Kenaan was Melkizedec, the king of Salem, and the priest of the Most High God. While what was to be left behind was crystal clear, what lay ahead was distressingly devoid of detail: to the land which I will show you.. Abram was a man like you and me. Terah was born when his father was 29 years of age. Filial piety, no doubt, kept Abram watching over the last days of his venerable parents, who probably still cling to the fond hope of reaching the land of his adoption. Genesis - NIV Application Commentary by John Walton. He alone offers man the righteousness necessary for eternal life. It is there that the specific details of the covenant are spelled out. When Sarah died, he had to buy a portion of the land for a burial site (23:3ff.). Lucan. Though proceeding by easy stages, the aged patriarch seems to have been exhausted by the length and the difficulty of the way. So far as we can tell, then, Terah was an idolater, like those of his days. He said in his comments on Genesis 12:7. Abraham received only one call (Genesis 12:1). However, Abraham discouraged potential customers from buying the idols, explaining to them the futility of worshipping statues that were only fashioned that very day. So Terah was finally convinced to believe that Shem's advice was right. 4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. (r) Cartwright's Preacher's Travels, p. 14, 15. Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers. Why was Abraham promised land that belonged to others (Genesis 12)? Is the Angel of the Lord identifying as God? He would have to take a roundabout route staying on "the fertile crescent," rather than taking a direct route across the desert. As such, it would have been an act flowing from faith. Do not expect that God will indicate each turn in the road with a clearly marked sign. Mesopotamia before he dwelt in Charran.(NIV). Additionally, we can conjecture that he was born sometime during the 20th century BCE and dwelt in the land of Ur, commonly referred to as Ur III by historians. p. 282. That is the message of the New Testament (cf. We gather also that the Divine summons came to Abram in Ur (see Genesis 15:7; Nehemiah 9:7; Acts 7:2), but we learn in Genesis 12:1 that his final destination was not then definitely told him. Chapter 12 begins a new division in the book of Genesis. Those who first read the book of Genesis were about to take possession of the land which was promised Abram. Terah coordinated the journey, intending to go to this new land, but stopped in the city of Haran along the way, where he died at the age of 205. One purpose of the genealogy of chapter 11 is that it informs us that men were living shorter lives, and having children younger. Abraham was the tenth generation from Noah through Shem and was born 352 years after the Deluge, in 2018 B.C.E. Hence, it follows that Isaac, his seed, was born thirty years after the call of Abram. (3) The Christians walk is a pilgrimage. (m) Geograph. And if we are honest with ourselves, that is just about where most of us are. Why did Lot offer up his daughters to be gang raped? Abram had two brothers, Nahor and Charan (often anglicized as "Haran"), but Charan died. God is not nearly so concerned with geography as He is with godliness. In Galatians chapter 3 Paul wrote that Christians are the sons of Abraham by faith, and therefore, rightful heirs to the blessings promised him (Galatians 3:7,9). 5.) 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 forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there. Acts 7:2-4 supports this single call theory: The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham when he was in I am greatly distressed by the glamorizing of heroes, especially by Christians. All rights reserved. Ur was a large and prosperous city-state in Mesopotamia (present-day southern Iraq). Having said this, I do not wish to glorify Abrams faith either, for as we shall see, it was initially very weak. Therefore, the failures are not mentioned. Joshua gives us helpful insight into the character of Terah in his farewell speech at the end of his life: And Joshua said to all the people, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, From ancient times your fathers lived beyond the River, namely, Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods (Joshua 24:2). The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran and said to him, Depart from your country and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you (Acts 7:2-3). Gordons view is held by Harold G. Stiflers, A Commentary on Genesis (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976), pp. Five years? Then, when Terah returned, saw the mess, and asked Abe what had happened. God, in His electing grace, chose Abram to follow Him, while he was going his own way. For unknown reasons, Terah never made it to their destination but stopped and settled in Harran instead. Well, it was written in Genesis that his birth name was Abram, before God changed his name to Abraham, and that he was the son of Terah. Technically, the covenant with Abram is not found in chapter 12, but in chapters 15 (verse 18) and 17 (verses 2,4,7,9,10,11,13,14,19,21) where the word covenant appears. There may well have been political or economic factors which made such a move expedient, apart from any spiritual considerations. Abram told his father that Yahweh had instructed them to leave. This chapter leaves them about mid-way between Ur and Canaan, where they dwelt till Terah's death. When he is promised a land, and when that land is not given, he must look beyond the promise to its Maker so that he may understand. The incongruity of God's covenant with Abram in Gen 12:1? 2. He had twelve chief gods, one for each month of the year, and other idols. Thirdly, the Angel of Jehovah is also identified with Jehovah by the sacred writers themselves, who call the Angel Jehovah without the least reserve (cf. (p) Itinerarium, p. 60. We must confine ourselves to the passages in which "the Angel of Jehovah" is actually referred to. Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. Is this inconsistent with the words of the writer to the Hebrews? Did Abraham meet Jacob as alluded in Hebrews 11:9? Thanks for contributing an answer to Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange! Since Abram was unwilling or unable to leave his father's house, God took Abram's father in death (11:32). Pharaoh, for example, was blessed by exalting Joseph. Thank God our spiritual lives are ultimately dependent upon His faithfulness and not ours. 130 Cf. This view was adopted by many Romish theologians, by the Socinians, Arminians, and others, and has been defended recently by Hoffmann, whom Delitzsch, Kurtz, and others follow. Yes, God twice told Abra(ha)m to "leave your father's household, and go to the land of Canaan." So we know that Abraham told his father Terah to leave, because God appeared to Abraham, not Terah. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, All the nations shall be blessed in you. So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer (Galatians 3:7-9). Personally I believe that there is some kind of missionary function being carried out by Abram. It was not in Haran, as a casual reading of Genesis 12 might incline us to believe, but in Ur. 135 Haran, for example, in Assyrian (harranu) meant main road. Waltke, class notes, p. 14. He is removed to the better country, and by his departure contributes no doubt to deepen the faith of his son Abram, of his grandson Lot, and of his daughter-in-law Sarai. Much of Abrams first moves were neither purposeful nor pious, but rather were a more passive response to external forces. Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Charran; and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell" Acts 7:2-4. they came unto Harantwo days' journey south-southeast from Ur, on the direct road to the ford of the Euphrates at Rakka, the nearest and most convenient route to Palestine. Abraham lived as a pilgrim, looking for the city of God: By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow-heirs of the some promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God (Hebrews 11:9-10). May God enable us to grow in grace as we walk the path which He has ordained, and as we continue to study the growth of the faith of Abram over many years. I do not find such people in the Bible. Rather than thinking of a new land and a new life, most of us would have been thinking in terms of a rocking chair and a rest home. Such will be the case as we can look back upon our lives from the vantage point of time. To our knowledge, he had no particular spiritual qualities which drew God to him. in relation to Terah's genealogy, Abram's family in relation to Terah's death, the form of the 'calling' verb, the country Abram departed from, and the narrative art of the literary piece. 2: In Acts 7, verses 2 thru 4, Stephen states that God had called Abe prior to when the group had settled in the town called Haran. Answer Terah is known in the Bible as the father of Abram (known later as Abraham), who in turn received the covenant promise of God regarding the future birth of His Son, Jesus. Ed, Issue 46, Winter 2023. But Terah was influenced by other motives to put himself at the head of this movement. In Genesis 11, we read that Terah came from Ur of the Chaldeans. Question:Clive wrote"I really enjoyed your Bible study. What a thrill that must have been for the people of Moses day to read this promise and realize that the time for possession had come. 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