Episode 9: The Road to Abraham — A Family Chosen by God
Genesis 11:10–32
The Tower of Babel has fallen silent.
The people who once spoke one language have been scattered across the earth. Their ambitious city has been left behind, and the human story seems once again to be moving in many directions.
But Genesis now does something remarkable.
After describing the scattering of the nations, Scripture turns our attention to one family. The names that follow may seem like little more than a record of births, fathers, and sons. Yet this genealogy is carrying something precious through the generations.
God has not forgotten His promise.
The story of redemption is moving forward.
The Line of Shem
Genesis takes us back to Shem, one of Noah's three sons.
We are given the generations from Shem through Arphaxad, Salah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor, and finally Terah.
The list is important because it establishes the family line through which Abram will enter the biblical story.
There is an interesting detail concerning Eber. His name is associated with the word from which the designation Hebrew is commonly understood to derive. We are approaching the beginnings of the people through whom God will reveal so much of His purpose.
Notice, too, that the genealogy records decreasing lifespans. The extraordinary ages associated with the early generations after the Flood continue to diminish.
The world is changing. Generations are passing. Yet the promise continues.
One name deserves particular attention: Peleg.
Genesis 10:25 tells us that in his days the earth was divided. The passage does not explain precisely what that division involved, but its placement alongside the account of Babel invites us to consider the relationship between the two events.
The scattering of humanity was not the end of God's dealings with mankind. It was part of the unfolding history that would eventually bring us to Abraham.
A Family With Its Own Sorrows
Now we come to Terah.
"And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran" (Genesis 11:26).
Three sons are named, but the next verses reveal that this was not a family untouched by sorrow.
Haran dies in the presence of his father, in the land of his birth, Ur of the Chaldees.
He leaves behind a son, Lot.
We are not told the circumstances of Haran's death. Scripture gives us no dramatic account, no final words, and no explanation. But we are told enough to understand that this family has already experienced loss.
Abram's brother is gone. Lot has lost his father. Terah has buried a son.
And there is another important detail.
Abram has married Sarai, but she has no child.
Genesis tells us plainly:
"But Sarai was barren; she had no child" (Genesis 11:30).
Those few words will become central to everything that follows.
The man through whom God will promise to establish a great nation has a wife who cannot have children.
At this point, we do not yet know what God intends to do. But the reader should remember this detail.
The promise that is about to unfold will not be accomplished through ordinary human ability.
The Journey Begins
Then Terah makes a decision.
"And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there" (Genesis 11:31).
This is a fascinating verse.
Terah takes his family and leaves Ur. Their intended destination is Canaan.
But they never reach it.
They stop at Haran.
We are not told why Terah chose to settle there. Perhaps the journey had become difficult. Perhaps the family found a suitable place to live. Whatever the reason, the journey toward Canaan has stopped.
And so has the chapter.
Terah lives 205 years, and Genesis records his death in Haran.
There is a quiet sense of incompleteness here. A family has begun a journey toward a promised destination, but the father who led them there dies without reaching it.
Abram remains.
And the next chapter will tell us what happens when God Himself calls him to continue.
The Importance of What We Have Just Read
It is tempting to hurry through genealogies. We want to get to the action, to the great personalities and dramatic events.
But this genealogy teaches us something important about the way God works.
The generations pass. Families experience death and disappointment. Plans begin and sometimes stop. People who seem to be living ordinary lives become part of a story much larger than they can see.
Consider Abram's situation.
His brother is dead. His nephew is fatherless. His wife has no children. His father has taken the family toward Canaan but has settled in Haran.
Nothing about this family suggests that it is destined to become the source of blessing for all the families of the earth.
Yet God is preparing to act.
The promise does not depend upon the strength of Abram's family, the fertility of Sarai, or the success of Terah's journey.
It depends upon God.
There is another contrast worth remembering.
At Babel, mankind wanted to make a name for itself. Now, through this seemingly ordinary family, God is preparing to make a name great for His own purposes.
The builders at Babel tried to establish their future through their own achievement. Abram's future will depend upon trusting the word of God.
One Family, One Promise, All Nations
We have come a long way since the opening words of Genesis.
We have seen creation, the Garden of Eden, the Fall, Cain and Abel, the generations before the Flood, Noah and the ark, the covenant marked by the rainbow, and the Tower of Babel.
Humanity has repeatedly demonstrated its inability to live faithfully before its Creator.
But God has not abandoned His purpose.
The genealogy of Shem brings us to Abram.
The journey from Ur brings us to Haran.
And the next chapter will bring us to a remarkable encounter between God and a man who is about to be called away from everything familiar.
The promise given to Abraham will eventually reach far beyond his own family.
It will find its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, through whom the blessing of salvation is offered to all nations.
For now, however, we leave Abram in Haran.
His father is dead. His wife is childless. His nephew is with him.
The destination is still ahead.
And God is about to speak.
**********************************
STANDING ON THE PROMISES
Standing on the promises of Christ my King,
Through eternal ages let His praises ring,
Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
Standing on the promises of God.
Refrain
Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God my Savior;
Standing, standing,
I’m standing on the promises of God.
Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God.
Refrain
Standing on the promises I now can see
Perfect, present cleansing in the blood for me;
Standing in the liberty where Christ makes free,
Standing on the promises of God.
Refrain
Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,
Bound to Him eternally by love’s strong cord,
Overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,
Standing on the promises of God.
Refrain
Standing on the promises I cannot fall,
Listening every moment to the Spirit’s call
Resting in my Savior as my all in all,
Standing on the promises of God.
Refrain
R. Kelso Carter, 1886
Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for HE is FAITHFUL that promised;) Hebrews 10:23
Comments