Tuesday 28 May, 2019

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.

In Seth’s family alone, the knowledge of the true God was preserved and passed on. Ur of the Chaldeans was a centre of lunar worship. Terah’s family no longer worshiped the one true God but worshiped everything as god. This family who carried with them knowledge of who, how, and why the world and inhabitants were created had become idol worshippers.

This passage tells us there seemed to be no foreseeable future for this family. The barrenness of Sarah is an effective metaphor for the spiritual and physical hopelessness that was on these descendants of Seth. But God intervened graciously and there was hope again.

It’s important to not let our faith become subsumed by the culture around us. When this happens we can become barren in our spiritual lives and we can lose hope. We can forget God’s promises.

But remember, we are heirs to God’s kingdom. We are his children. Just as God intervened with Abram, God can intervene in our lives and his grace always brings hope and a life of abundance.

Father, thank you for your covenant of love and grace you have made with me through your son Jesus Christ. I pray that as you call me I will follow you. Amen

Written by Meredith O’Neil