Terah’s Journey of Faith — Genesis 11 Daily Word

Explore Terah’s journey of faith in Genesis 11 as he departed from Ur toward Canaan, beginning the redemptive history fulfilled through Abraham and leading to the Messiah.

Genesis 11:27-32 records Terah beginning a journey of faith toward the land of Canaan. Terah’s departure from Ur, leading Abram, Lot, and Sarai, marks the first step toward God’s promise. Although the journey stopped at Haran, this was part of the preparation for the history of redemption that would be fulfilled through the next generation, Abram.

Terah’s Journey of Faith

[Scripture]

[27] Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot. [28] Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans. [29] And Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah. [30] Now Sarai was barren; she had no child. [31] 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. [32] The days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran. (Gen 11:27-32, ESV)

[Daily Word]

# The blessing granted to Shem is fulfilled.

In 10:21, we see that Shem became the ancestor of all the children of Eber. The word “Eber” shares the same meaning and root as the word “Hebrew.” Therefore, Shem becomes the ancestor of all “Hebrew” descendants and the forefather of Abram, who was a Hebrew. (Gen 14:13) Ultimately, through the blessing God gave to Shem, He would bring about the births of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and from that root, alongside the history of Israel, He would bring forth the Messiah.

In particular, Shem had five sons: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram. Among them, ‘Eber,’ the ancestor of ‘Abram,’ was born as the son of Arphaxad, Shem’s third son. Through seven generations, the line continues down to ‘Terah,’ the father of Abram. Abram is called the father of faith. However, we must remember that Abram’s faith — the kind that surrendered absolutely before God — was not something given to him from the very beginning.

# The descendants of Noah receive blessing according to God’s promised word.

Just as God had spoken, after Noah’s death his descendants — Shem, Ham, and Japheth — spread across the whole earth, were fruitful, and multiplied until the earth was filled. Yet as the human population grew, the culture that emerged was not a God-centered, theocentric culture, but a human-centered, humanistic one. In such an environment, people likely turned away from God’s commanded will and pursued various forms of idolatry to satisfy their own desires. It was those who lived only for themselves who, in defiance of God, built the Tower of Babel.

In response to this event, God brought judgment by confusing the languages of the people, scattering those who had been united in piling up sin. Yet the wickedness of idol worship would not have ceased; those who shared a common tongue would have gathered together and entrenched themselves in their idols. Nevertheless, God already knew that humanity would come to this, and He set apart and blessed the Semitic people — those among Noah’s descendants who would live within Him. And now, in order to carry out His mission, God chooses from among them the household of Terah, the father of Abram.

# Terah’s hometown, as recorded in verse 28, was a region called ‘Ur.’

This place was located near the Tigris River. Areas near rivers or coastlines where trade routes developed tended to produce advanced cultures, because people from many different regions lived together in a mingled society. For this reason, ‘Ur’ — dominated by a human-centered way of life — became a breeding ground for the worship of all manner of idols. In modern times, excavations around Baghdad, the site of ancient Ur, have uncovered idol temples, one of which is the ‘ziggurat,’ a structure modeled after the form of the Tower of Babel. Notably, the name ‘Terah’ carries the meaning of ‘wild goat’ or ‘moon.’ It is therefore speculated that the name Terah evokes the moon worship that was widely practiced in Ur and Haran, and that his very name may have been influenced by it.

[2] And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods. (Josh 24:2, ESV)

In the end, Terah was a person born and raised in the lineage of Shem — someone with a hereditary faith background — yet he lived a life apart from God and was a worshiper of the moon god. It is therefore all the more remarkable that God chose Terah’s household, a family deeply entrenched in idol worship, to be His own people.

# God’s Method of Choosing People

The reason God chose Terah was not because of his character or because he belonged to the line of Shem, but solely because of God’s grace. This is God’s method of choosing people. [7] so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Eph 2:7, ESV) Therefore, the way God saves us rests entirely in His grace alone.

We must remember that the reason we have been chosen and are gathered in worship today is not because of any merit or lack thereof on our part, but entirely because of God’s grace — grace that calls us to be used for His purposes. Therefore, what we are called to do is simply to align our lives with God’s leading and walk according to His will. This is what it means to live within God.

# Terah Receives God’s Guidance

In that sense, even though Terah did not know God, he received God’s guidance. The nature of that guidance is described in verse 31: he took his son Abram, his grandson Lot the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai the wife of Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan. Ur was, in fact, the place Terah called home — the foundation of his entire life. And in those days, the land of Canaan was regarded as an unknown land inhabited by savage peoples. For Terah to leave his homeland and journey toward Canaan, there must have been a compelling and significant reason behind it.

What is the reason? It is recorded in verse 28: “Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans.” The original meaning of “died” here is that he “died before the face of” Terah. Haran died right before the eyes of his father Terah.

# In the ancient world, every region had its own god it served.

Every locality had a guardian deity — much like a village totem — that was believed to protect it. So, for example, in times of war, if one village’s god was considered stronger than another’s, the strength of a god was likely measured by the miracles it had performed or how well it had met the needs of its people. In that sense, winning a war was already decided before any battle was fought. Viewed through this lens, the fact that Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans — right before his father Terah’s eyes — suggests that Haran was executed at the temple according to the law, because he had refused to serve the gods of Ur of the Chaldeans.

It is therefore reasonable to suppose that, because of his son’s death, Terah set out for the land of Canaan without question. Yet in verse 32, we see that Terah died emptily in Haran at the age of 205. The reason, recorded in the latter part of verse 31, is that he had intended to settle there in Haran. Even if Terah did not believe in God, he must have vaguely trusted in some deity — yet we can see that God brought Terah’s life to an end because he chose his path according to his own human will, and God now moves to establish His plan once again through Abram.

Significantly, it was because Abram had witnessed his father Terah — who had turned away from God’s guidance — die emptily just short of his destination, that Abram later showed immediate obedience when God said in 12:1, “Go to the land that I will show you.” God surely guides our lives.

Therefore, what we are called to do is not to live according to our own will, but to live according to the will of God. As we choose to obey, may we believe that our dying lives are brought into true life, and may we be a people who discern the Lord’s will today — let us pray together to that end.

Terah’s journey, the beginning of faith, the call of Abram, redemptive history, God’s promise

Originally published in Korean at bible2u.com