I am saying that Abram obeyed God in faith, but it was a very little faith, and a very late faith. Did Abraham meet Jacob as alluded in Hebrews 11:9? Lucan. Such was true in Abrams 1ife.139 Such is the case with every believer. Outside the Land, it was given to Abraham only to hear the Divine voice (v. 1); but here, in the land destined to be specifically dedicated to the service of the Lord, he was also vouchsafed the privilege of a Divine vision. U. Cassuto, A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Jerusalem: The Magnes Press, 1964), II, p. 328. 135. As we will see next week, the Lord in His grace reached into a family that did not know Him and called Abram out to create a people devoted to Himself. The giants of the faith seem to be sterling characters with no evident flaws, with machine-like discipline, and unfaltering faith. If so, when God spoke to Abraham, Abraham would remember that God had spoken to his father, Terah, which would make it more imperative for Abraham. Haran.The Charran of Acts 7:4, that is, Carrhae in North-west Mesopotamia, about twenty geographical miles south-east of Edessa. He left Haran, not because it was the easiest thing to do, but because God intended for him to do it. And as all our texts agree in the numbers here involved, it is obvious that the same adjustment of years has in this case to be made, whatever system of chronology is adopted. (The date that Abram left the city of Ur and other patriarchs' timelines can be read here. Though proceeding by easy stages, the aged patriarch seems to have been exhausted by the length and the difficulty of the way. John 14:1-3). 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 did not even know where he would settle. But does such a claim contradict the words of Scripture? What was Terah's son named? Terah took him out of Ur (Genesis ch.11). Little wonder that men like Peter and not Paul, are our heroes, for we can see ourselves in them. Blessing would come through Abraham in several ways. God providentially led Terah to pull up roots at Ur and to move toward Canaan (11:31). Here was the basis for the great name that God would give to Abram. Mesopotamia before he dwelt in Charran.(NIV). The pluperfect tense (had said) is both grammatically legitimate and exegetically necessary. Vos, Genesis and Archaeology, pp. Did Abraham leave Haran before or after his father died? daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they 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. Stephen informs us in Acts 7:2 "Brothers and fathers, listen to me. (Tomkins Studies on Times of Abraham, 55ff.). Specifically, Stephen's comment, in reply to the high priest (Acts 7:1), is based on Jewish oral tradition, and was recognized by the Jewish High Counsel (called the "Sanhedren"). I believe it. For the essential unity of the Angel of Jehovah with Jehovah Himself follows indisputably from the following facts. It was not until chapter 15 that a full description of the land was given: On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: (Genesis 15:18). 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. 176. by Ray. When Abram had an encounter with God, [1] this brother directed his family to leave their native land and go to the land of Canaan. It should first of all be said that it was the route we would have expected him to have taken if he were going in that direction. (Note: The force of this difference cannot be set aside by the objection that the New Testament writers follow the usage of the Septuagint, where is rendered . 10. sect. (Antiqu. Abram told his father that Yahweh had instructed them to leave. Abram was a man like you and me. He dare not become too attached to that which he cannot take with him. 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. Is this inconsistent with the words of the writer to the Hebrews? Prayerful conversation with the true and living God, also, while it was fast waning in the land of the Kasdim, seems to have been still maintained in its ancient purity in some parts of the land of Kenaan and the adjacent countries. David saw Him by the threshing-floor of Araunah, standing between heaven and earth, with the sword drawn in His hand and stretched out over Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 21:16); and He appeared to Zechariah in a vision as a rider upon a red horse (Zechariah 1:9.). 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. Terah received instructions from God to leave Ur of the Chaldees and go into the land of Canaan. But we neither regard this rendering of the psalm as in harmony with the context, nor assent to the assertion that with a double accusative, in the sense of making into anything, is ungrammatical.)<. Beside this, we frequently read of appearances of the "angel of Jehovah" (Genesis 16:7; Genesis 22:11, etc. Furthermore even though the call was to Abraham, God had stirred the heart of Terah to begin the journey to the very place he promised to Abraham so that when Terah died Abraham continued in God's divine will. But it was not the lot of Terah to enter the land, where he would only have been a stranger. Besides, Abram and Sarai were no doubt especially dear to him, and he did not wish to lose their society. No stop along the path was irrelevant or without purpose. I can identify with men and women like this. 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). Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Mesopotamia before he settled in Haran. Why did Lot offer up his daughters to be gang raped? How to draw a truncated hexagonal tiling? Why did Terah want to leave Ur? They do not expect God to lead them in a normal, predictable fashion. 130 Cf. God said it, and that settles it, whether you believe it or not. I like that. For neither in the New Testament nor in the Alex. What are some tools or methods I can purchase to trace a water leak? As the writer to the Hebrews put it, he went out, not knowing where he was going (Hebrews 11:8). Hence, it follows that Isaac, his seed, was born thirty years after the call of Abram. The writer to the Hebrews pointed to Abraham as an illustration of a man who walked by faith, devoting more space to him than any other individual in chapter eleven (Hebrews 11:8-19). 305-306. We should not find this discouraging, but consistent with our own reluctance to put our future on the line in active, aggressive, unquestioning faith. Abram came from a pagan home. Do you believe it? Haran was in the north, where Terah, Abraham's father, had taken him after Terah's father died (Genesis 11:27-32). "A faith, which laid hold of the word of promise, and on the strength of that word gave up the visible and present for the invisible and future, was the fundamental characteristic of the patriarchs" (Delitzsch). However, Abraham discouraged potential customers from buying the idols, explaining to them the futility of worshipping statues that were only fashioned that very day. vol. Genesis 11:26-32 tells that Terah was a son of Nahor, the son of Serug, who was a descendant of Shem. It is there that the specific details of the covenant are spelled out. That first time, about which Stephen speaks, was God's way of at once (a) prophesying of Abe's eventual leaving his father's household, and (b) provoking Abe to evangelize his as-yet-still idolatrous father, Terah and, through Terah's conversion, to convert all of Terah's household. - On the other hand, the objection is raised, that in the New Testament, which is confessedly the Greek rendering of , is always a created angel, and for that reason cannot be the uncreated Logos or Son of God, since the latter could not possibly have announced His own birth to the shepherds at Bethlehem. It's A Mystery Until This Day Terah turned north of his route to Canaan. Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. This explanation of the order of events is confirmed by the statement of Stephen: "The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran. (q) Travels, par. This was God's first direct test of Abe, and Abe passed with flying colors. The Redeemer was to come from the seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15), then from the descendants of Seth, then Noah, and now Abraham (Genesis 12:2-3). . 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. 3, app.). He obeyed unquestioningly the commands of God, from whom he received repeated promises and a covenant that his "seed" would inherit the land. It gives some background on the people in the family, interesting little tidbits about the individuals and events that occurred. It tells us that verses 27-32 of chapter 11 are parenthetical,133 and not strictly in chronological order. First, the emphasis of Hebrews 11 is on faith. l. 4. sect. Terah didn't give a rip about what God wanted because he didn't know or love Him. If God therefore would fulfil His promise, no more to smite the earth with the curse of the destruction of every living thing because of the sin of man (Genesis 8:21-22), and yet would prevent the moral corruption which worketh death from sweeping all before it; it was necessary that by the side of these self-formed nations He should form a nation for Himself, to be the recipient and preserver of His salvation, and that in opposition to the rising kingdoms of the world He should establish a kingdom for the living, saving fellowship of man with Himself. 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. But whilst, regarded in this light, the continuity of the divine revelation was guaranteed, as well as the plan of human development established in the creation itself, the call of Abram introduced so far the commencement of a new period, that to carry out the designs of God their very foundations required to be renewed. Secondly, the Angel of God was recognised as God by those to whom He appeared, on the one hand by their addressing Him as Adonai (i.e., the Lord God; Judges 6:15), declaring that they had seen God, and fearing that they should die (Genesis 16:13; Exodus 3:6; Judges 6:22-23; Judges 13:22), and on the other hand by their paying Him divine honour, offering sacrifices which He accepted, and worshipping Him (Judges 6:20; Judges 13:19-20, cf. Terah wanted to leave Ur because he was afraid a war would start. All he had to rely upon was God, Who had revealed Himself to him. What is the best way to deprotonate a methyl group? Terah, their father, coordinated the gathering of his family to journey west to their destination ( Genesis 11:31 ). - From these varying forms of appearance it is evident that the opinion that the Angel of the Lord was a real angel, a divine manifestation, "not in the disguise of angel, but through the actual appearance of an angel," is not in harmony with all the statements of the Bible. If His Word is not true and reliable, then we, of all men, are most miserable.. Answer: Family Origin and Early History. Barnes' Notes on the Bible And Terah took Abram. There are nearly 75 references to him in the New Testament. Genesis 11:27-32 gives a genealogy leading up to Abram and Sarai, beginning with Terah, Abram's father. Can patents be featured/explained in a youtube video i.e. The form of the Angel of Jehovah, which was discernible by the senses, varied according to the purpose of the appearance; and, apart from Genesis 21:17 and Genesis 22:11, we have a sufficient proof that it was not a real angelic appearance, or the appearance of a created angel, in the fact that in two instances it was not really an angel at all, but a flame of fire and a shining cloud which formed the earthly substratum of the revelation of God in the Angel of Jehovah (Exodus 3:2; Exodus 14:19), unless indeed we are to regard natural phenomena as angels, without any scriptural warrant for doing so. Romans 9:6-13). Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. (2) Abrams spiritual life continued through the sovereign work of God. and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; that is, as Jarchi interprets it, Terah and Abram went forth with Lot and Sarai, or "with them" may mean with Nahor and Milcah: for Josephus (h) says, that all went into Charan of Mesopotamia, the whole family of Terah; and the Arabic historian (i) is express for it,"Terah went out from Chorasan, and with him Abram, Nahor, Lot, his children, and their wives, and he went to Charan, where he dwelt:''and it is certain, if Nahor and his wife did not set out with them, they followed them afterwards, for Haran was the city of Nahor, where his family in later times dwelt, see Genesis 14:10 what moved Terah to depart from Ur of the Chaldees seems to be the call of God to Abram, which, though after related, was previous to this; and he acquainting his father Terah with it, he listened to it, being now convinced of his idolatry and converted from it, and readily obeyed the divine will; and being the father of Abram, is represented as the head of the family, as he was, and their leader in this transaction; who encouraged their departure from the idolatrous country in which they were, and set out with them to seek another, where they might more freely and safely worship the true God. But when they came How unlike mans ways are from Gods. 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. Why do scholars think Abraham came from Ur in Mesopotamia? Cassuto concludes that Abrams journey unknowingly outlined the territory which would belong to Israel, and that the places he stopped symbolically forecast the future conquest of the land.137 In an additional comment, Cassuto adds the fact that these places were also religious centers of Canaanite worship.138 In effect, Abrams actions of building altars and proclaiming the name of the Lord prophesied the coming time when true religious worship would overcome the pagan religion of the Canaanites. In the triple number of the patriarchs, the divine election of the nation on the one hand, and the entire formation of the character and guidance of the life of Israel on the other, were to attain to their fullest typical manifestation. Of this long period his seed was to be a stranger in a land that was not theirs for four hundred years Genesis 15:13. In fact, there was a workshop in Terah's house, where idols of wood, stone, silver and gold were made. It is difficult to believe that Abrams public act of worship was not noted and viewed with particular interest by the Canaanites. Real blessing does not come from toil and agonizing hours of labor, but from the fruit of intimacy, namely children. As such, it would have been an act flowing from faith. Genesis - NIV Application Commentary by John Walton. Since Abram was unwilling or unable to leave his fathers house, God took Abrams father in death (11:32). Ultimately, the whole world was blessed by the coming of the Messiah, who came to save men of every nation, not just the Jews: Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith that are sons of Abraham. 131 The city of Ur on the lower Euphrates River was a large population center, and has yielded extensive information in the royal tombs which were excavated under the direction of Sir Leonard Wooley and the sponsorship of the British Museum and the museum of Pennsylvania University. But as we look back upon it, we can see that God was leading all the way. 128 S. Schultz, Abraham, The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1975, 1976), I, p. 26. to Harran, they settled there.(NIV). Exodus 13:21. Terah left the city of Ur probably for two reasons: 1. The foundation for this was laid by God in the call and separation of Abram from his people and his country, to make him, by special guidance, the father of a nation from which the salvation of the world should come. This is knowable to us by putting together five sources: 1: The very few Biblical references to the idolatry that Terah's household had practiced (ex: Joshua 24:2; Genesis 31:53b). The Scriptures show that Terah was 70 year. Stephen calls it Charran it is by Herodian (l) called by Ptolemy (m) Carrae, by Pliny (n) Carra, a city famous in Lucan (o) for the slaughter of Crassus, by whom it is called an Assyrian city. Terah's Descendants. There may well have been political or economic factors which made such a move expedient, apart from any spiritual considerations. When you stop to think about it, Abram had no concrete, tangible proof that a life of blessing lay ahead, outside of Ur, away from his family. The sovereignty of God in salvation is beautifully illustrated in the call of Abram. In particular, I want to underscore the process which God employed to strengthen Abrams faith and make him the godly man he became. The need for spiritual purity surpassed the need for genetic purity at this particular point in time. Then, when Terah returned, saw the mess, and asked Abe what had happened. Later he was instructed to go up to Bethel (35:1; cf. God had never forbidden anyone from going with Abe. Gordons view is held by Harold G. Stiflers, A Commentary on Genesis (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976), pp. God is not nearly so concerned with geography as He is with godliness. 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 call of Abram is recorded for us in Genesis 12:1: Now the Lord said to Abram, Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your fathers house, to the land which I will show you., A better rendering of the first sentence of this call is found in the King James Version and in the New International Version, both of which read, The Lord had said to Abram, . The site of the great city was first discovered in 1854, and has since that time been excavated, revealing much about life in the times of Abram.130 While the actual period that Abram lived in Ur may be a matter of discussion, we can say with certainty that Ur was justified in its boast of being a highly developed civilization. 1. 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. It may be supposed at at that time God had then called Abe, and Abe's response to God's call was the dramatic ploy that Jewish oral tradition says that Abe did: Abe was determined to do anything necessary to try to convince his father, Terah, to take Shem's witness to heart. In addition to this, He performs miracles, consuming with fire the offering placed before Him by Gideon, and the sacrifice prepared by Manoah, and ascending to haven in the flame of the burnt-offering (Judges 6:21; Judges 13:19-20). God said it. When he is commanded to sacrifice Isaac, he must obey with a willing heart of love, yet somehow see through to balance the command with the promise of the seed of a nation and leave the outcome to God and to find in God all sufficiency. But the opinion of the early Church has been vindicated most thoroughly by Hengstenberg in his Christology.). (l) Hist. Hence the new form which the divine guidance of the human race assumed in the call of Abram was connected with the general development of the world, - in the one hand, by the fact that Abram belonged to the family of Shem, which Jehovah had blessed, and on the other, by his not being called alone, but as a married man with his wife. (m) Geograph. It was not in Haran, as a casual reading of Genesis 12 might incline us to believe, but in Ur. But God had foretold that none need go with Abe except Abe's own household (which included his wife, and any 'employees' or 'servants' that Abe might have acquired). Ancient Mesopotamia was a region centered upon the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. They strove to find security and renown by banding together and building a great city (11:3-4). 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. Thus, he seems to have rejected Stephens words flatly. All of this should remind us of the objections and obstacles which must have been in the mind of Abram when the call of God came. God, in His electing grace, chose Abram to follow Him, while he was going his own way. So we know that Abraham told his father Terah to leave, because God appeared to Abraham, not Terah. Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. This is why, despite that Stephen says that God had called Abe the first time prior to when Abe left Ur to settle in Haran, the ending of Genesis 11 credits Terah for taking his household, including Abe, to go to Canaan. Although no direct evidence of Abrahams residence is available, it is significant that the city of Ur reflects a long history preceding Abrahams time, possessing an elaborate system of writing, educational facilities, mathematical calculations, business and religious records, and art. (j) Ut supra. God providentially led Terah to pull up roots at Ur and to move toward Canaan (11:31). Therefore, the failures are not mentioned. Do you realize that it was probably years from the time Abram was called in Ur until he ended up in Canaan. 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). First, what would motivate Terah to uproot his family and leave the great city of Ur to travel 1,000 miles to the land of Canaan? Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Mesopotamia before he settled in Haran." Rauwolff, who was in this town A. D. 1575, calls it Orpha; his account of it is this (q), that it is a costly city, with a castle situated on the hill very pleasantly; that the town is very pleasant, pretty big, with fortifications well provided; and that some say it was anciently called Haran and Charras: a later traveller (r) says, who also calls it Orpha,"the air of this city is very healthful, and the country fruitful; that it is built four square, the west part standing on the side of a rocky mountain, and the east part tendeth into a spacious valley, replenished with vineyards, orchards, and gardens: the walls are very strong, furnished with great store of artillery, and contain in circuit three English miles, and, for the gallantness of its sight, it was once reckoned the metropolitical seat of Mesopotamia. After his father died so concerned with geography as he is with godliness Terah! Process which God employed to strengthen Abrams faith and make him the godly man became. 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