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Genesis 11:27-32: Aiming and missing

^“27 This is the account of Terah’s family line. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. ²⁸ While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. ²⁹ Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milkah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milkah and Iskah. ³⁰ Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive. ³¹ 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. ³² Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Harran.” NIV

It is sadly true that, on this Christian journey, we can have good intentions, but fall short of them (31b). Yet it’s not the falling short that is the problem per se. It’s the ‘settling’ for less than God’s best. We embark with the best of ambitions; we are full of idealism. But then we ‘settle’ for considerably less than we initially set our hearts on. That’s the story of many a Christian life. The ‘launch’ was explosive. This person flared across the night sky spectacularly. But then they just fizzled out.  Our short section for today introduces us to the tragedy in Terah’s family. He had to bury one of his three sons. That must always feel unnatural. So we come to get a feel for why Lot was with his uncle Abraham for some of the ensuing story. Perhaps the fact that Abraham had no children of his own made it more likely that he would care for his nephew.  We are also introduced to a vitally important detail in the Abram and Sarai story – the fact that she was ‘’barren’’ (30:12). The promises of God are tested by the hard realities of life. We are shortly going to read chapter 12:7, and we need to remember chapter 11:30. We will be caused to marvel afresh at how, by faith, impossibilities may be overcome. Dr. Joseph Parker observed that, ‘Great lives are trained by great promises.’ When the promises of God’s Word collide with the harsh realities of life, you can be sure that the promises will come out unscathed. Abram and Sarai were unlikely candidates to have a family and build a great nation. ‘But God’s ways are not our ways (Isa.55:8-9), and by calling and blessing a barren couple, the Lord revealed the greatness of His power and His glory…There’s quite a contrast between man’s ways at Babel and God’s ways in calling Abraham and Sarah. The world depends on large numbers of powerful people in order to accomplish things, but God chose two weak people and started a new nation…Babel was built by the energy of the flesh and the motivation of pride, but the nation of Israel was built by the grace and power of God and in spite of human weakness.’ Warren W. Wiersbe.

Genesis 11:10-26: God in the detail

^“10 This is the account of Shem’s family line.  Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad. ¹¹ And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹² When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah. ¹³ And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹⁴ When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber. ¹⁵ And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹⁶ When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg. ¹⁷ And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹⁸ When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu. ¹⁹ And after he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters. ²⁰ When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug. ²¹ And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters. ²² When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor. ²³ And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters. ²⁴ When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah. ²⁵ And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters. ²⁶ After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.” NIV

It is often said that ‘the devil is in the detail’ and I think we understand what is meant by that. You can make an ‘in principle’ decision which seems wonderful on paper, but when you come to implement it, unexpected details keep swimming out of the organisational swamp to bite you!  But when I thought about this further list, my inclination was to state: God is in the detail. It might be possible to read this genealogical table and see it as just another (boring?) list of names. But you’d be wrong. God is in, over, under, through this list, overseeing the process of establishing the chosen line – His own people. He knew all these people by name. He was aware of the intimate details of their lives. He cared about them. They were part of His great purpose. God had promised that He would send a deliverer, the seed of the woman (3:15), who would defeat Satan and bring salvation. Noah’s prophecy revealed that God was going to bless the world through the line of Shem, the ‘Semites’ who were the ancestors of the Hebrew people (9:26-27). ‘’Shem was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber’’ (10:21). (It seems likely that the word ‘Hebrew’ comes from ‘Eber by the way). So God was in control of these movements – these comings and goings: beginnings and endings. People were born and died, but God’s purposes marched on.  ‘The important thing about this genealogy is that it records the faithfulness of God in watching over His people and fulfilling His promises. What to us is only a list of names was to God a ‘’Bridge’’ from the appointment of Shem to the call of Abraham.’ Warren W. Wiersbe.

Another thing you may spot in reading this is the decreasing life-span in the human race. Noah lived for 950 years (9:29). From there, the list ‘dwindles down to Nahor’s 148 years. The post-flood generations were starting to feel the physical consequences of sin in the human body.’ Warren W. Wiersbe.

PRAYER: I thank you Lord that ‘history is HIS story.’ I am grateful to know that your eye is on the sparrow and your hand is on each detail.

Genesis 11:1-9: Which line do you belong to?

“Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. ² As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.  ³ They said to each other, ‘Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.’ They used brick instead of stone, and bitumen for mortar. ⁴ Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.’  ⁵ But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. ⁶ The Lord said, ‘If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. ⁷ Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.’  ⁸ So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. ⁹ That is why it was called Babel  – because there the Lordconfused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.”

In Genesis 11 we see two lines. You have the line from Babel; and the line of Shem – from which Abraham, and ultimately, the Messiah, would come. To which of these two lines do you belong?  In the Bible, Babel (Babylon), is not just a geographical location. It stands for an entire system: this world’s system. It’s been pointed out that it represents worldly pride, moral corruption, and revolt against God. The world system opposes God, hates Christ, and appeals to what is base in human nature. People either belong to the Heavenly Jerusalem or the earthly Babylon. It’s of note that in the book of ‘Revelation’, Babylon is identified as prostitute, while the Holy City from heaven is called the bride of Christ (17:1,2; 21:9ff). Babylon is ‘doomed’. It’s only a matter of time and then this ‘city’ will be overthrown. It’s important to know that you belong to the line of God’s people. Get out of the crumbling edifice that is Babylon. You can do this by asking Jesus to save you. He ‘’…gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father’’ (Galatians 1:4).

‘What humanity can’t achieve by means of its ‘’proud towers,’’ Jesus Christ has achieved by dying on a humiliating cross. All who trust in Christ are one in Him (Gal.3:27) and will share heaven together, regardless of race, nation, language, or tribe (Rev.7:9)…

In one sense, Pentecost is a reversal of Babel, for the people present in Jerusalem at Pentecost heard the praises of God in their own languages (Acts 2:1-12). The day will come when people from every tribe and nation will worship Jesus Christ (Rev.15:4) and the judgment of Babel will be done away (Zeph.3:9).’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘The Wiersbe Bible Commentary’ (Old Testament), p.53.

‘…Pentecost and Heaven will undo the wreck of Babel. See Rev.7:9.’ F.B. Meyer: ‘Devotional Commentary’, p.18.

 Genesis 11:5-9: The last laugh.

^“5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. ⁶ The Lord said, ‘If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. ⁷ Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.’  ⁸ So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. ⁹ That is why it was called Babel  – because there the Lordconfused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.” NIV

It’s been pointed out that God’s answer to their: ‘’Let’s go up’’ was to say, ‘’let us go down’’ (7). The relevance of Psalm 2 to this passage has also been noted. There, in that scenario, people are in rebellion towards God, but He has the last word and the last laugh (Psalm 2:4).  God is merciful, and for all their disobedience and rebellion, God did not destroy the people at Babel. He only ‘’scattered them’’ (8), and so put a stop to the building project. But He allowed them to live and breathe, and so, presumably, gave them the opportunity to return to Him.

What a contrast between these people (‘’so that we may make a name for ourselves’’, verse 4), and Abraham ( ‘’I will make your name great’’, Chapter 12:2). Can you imagine someone speaking or writing about you many thousands of years from now? No, you can’t can you? Nor can I. But when God chooses to make someone’s name great, He does a fine job of it. We are mentioning Abraham today (and we’re going to be travelling with him for several weeks) because God is as good as His word. Abraham’s name is widely known today, and he is honoured by Jews and Muslims as well as those of us belonging to the Christian faith.

But it doesn’t matter at all to have a famous name. All that is important is that God should fully have His way with you. If that is to live in anonymity and obscurity, that’s all fine too. His will be done. Someone wrote: ‘If the Lord’s going to raise you up, let Him raise you up. But whatever you do, don’t raise yourself up.’ You’ll be sorry in the end – and many other people will be too.

‘’Should you then seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them’’ (Jeremiah 45:5).

PRAYER: Help me please, Lord, to learn from this passage, to quell the least stirrings of selfish ambition. I admit I will only be able to do this in your strength.