In Thursday's study we learned that Abram's father Terah suffered the loss of one of his sons (Haran) while the family still lived in Ur. Today some of the family decides to move from Ur into the land of Canaan.
"Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there. Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Harran." (Genesis 11:31-32) It was not actually Terah's idea to leave Ur, but Abram's, for in Acts 7:2-4 we find Stephen, a follower of Christ, making this statement to the high priest and the council: "The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran. 'Leave your country and your people,' God said, 'and go to the land I will show you.' So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to the land where you are now living."
The one true God spoke to Abram while Abram still lived in the heathen land of the Chaldeans. It was God who told Abram to leave Ur and strike out for Canaan. The Bible doesn't tell us why the family settled in Harran instead of continuing on to Canaan, but it could be because Abram's father Terah became too ill to continue on. The passage from Acts appears to indicate that Abram's journey was hampered by something to do with Terah since it says it was "after the death of his father" that God sent Abram on to Canaan.
Some scholars speculate that Terah lacked the faith of his son Abram and wanted to finish out his life in the comfort of Harran instead of trying to scrape out a living in Canaan. In ancient times Harran was an important city that lay along a trade route between Nineveh and Carchemish. Terah was used to the luxuries of Ur, so Harran might have seemed like a good substitute for his hometown. Excavations of the ruins of Ur have shown it to have been an enormous city capable of supporting up to 24,000 citizens. The city was so modern and sophisticated that many of the larger structures contained what passed for indoor plumbing in ancient times. A number of carved tablets have been recovered from Ur that provide us with the information that its citizens were idolaters who worshiped a pantheon of gods, with the chief god (Nanna) being a moon god. Perhaps Terah's heart still longed for his hometown and for his old gods, but it was too painful for him to remain in Ur after the death of his son Haran. Settling in the city of Harran may have appeared more attractive to him than moving on into the land of Canaan.
As we begin Chapter 12, the author of Genesis takes a step back in time to tell us how the Lord called Abram in the first place, when Abram was still in Ur. It sounds as if the Lord may have been telling Abram to leave his father behind in Ur, but instead Abram took him along and ended up having to dwell in Harran. "The Lord had said to Abram, 'Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land that I will show you.'" (Genesis 12:1) This verse makes me wonder whether the scholars are correct who believe Terah was still caught up in idolatry. The Lord told Abram to leave his father's house, and this could be because Terah wasn't a godly influence on his son who is rejecting the gods of his homeland in favor of the God who has spoken to him. No other god ever spoke to him. No other god ever established a personal relationship with him. The gods of Ur left Abram feeling empty and alone and unfulfilled. His heart longed for something more, for a real connection with the One who created him. Because his heart sought God, (even when he didn't know who God was), God made Himself known to him. But perhaps Abram felt sorry for his father who had already suffered the loss of one son. It may have been too difficult for Abram to leave his father behind, knowing they would never see each other again. If this is the case, and if Abram's failure to strike out without Terah was in disobedience to God, then we can see why the journey was hampered. Partial obedience is disobedience, and when we disobey God we are going to bring difficulties on ourselves.
We will conclude today with the promise the Lord made to Abram. "I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing; I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." (Genesis 12:2-3)
This powerful promise must have been as welcome to Abram as rain is on a dry and sun-scorched land. Abram has no children. He's going to be seventy-five years old when he leaves Harran for Canaan, so he and his wife long ago gave up any hope of becoming parents. But the God who "gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not" (Romans 4:17) is going to do a great thing for Abram and Sarai within about twenty-five years. God is going to keep His promise of making "a great nation" out of Abram. God is going to keep His promise that "all peoples on earth will be blessed" by this great nation that will come from Abram. How is the Lord going to bless all people? By bringing the Redeemer from Abram's family line. Christ died for all people so that all people---whether Jew or Gentile---could obtain salvation through Him.
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