Some authorities say Genesis 12:3 is the pivotal verse of the Old Testament. That may be, but it's a verse in Chapter 11 that catches my attention: 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 Haran, they settled there. (Genesis 11:31).
Terah wanted to take his family to Canaan. It was a long journey (see map with Haran labeled Charan). ...when they reached the city of Haran, they settled there. I have two observations about that sentence.- I can't get past the word settled. How often do we have a God-given goal in mind, yet stop half-way, settling for something less than God intended? Is that what happened to Terah? Or...
- ...sometimes the journey to where God is leading us takes more than just one generation. Sometimes we are blessed to take our families all the way; sometimes our kids or even our grandkids will finish the journey we began.
So, any thoughts on your reading?
As I read the account of Noah and the ark today, I noticed that things I think of as being part of that story are actually not in the biblical account. I am thinking of the impression that Noah's neighbors, friends, etc., made fun of him for building the ark, etc. Is this in my mind from my childhood, due to conjecture made by writers of children's Bible stories I learned or is there another scriptural reference somewhere else about this? Thanks, Janelle
ReplyDeleteJanelle, When I think of the Noah story, I also imagine his neighbors scoffing at his building project... I mean, after all, Evan Almighty even got the cops called on him! There are other biblical references to Noah, both Old and New Testaments. Whether or not any mention scoffers, I don't know. One thing this teaches us: Are our ideas about the Bible, the Christian life, and even God based on God's Word, or on popular thought?
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how we get so used to the 'worlds' view of some of these passages. I think most everyone would say that Noah just brought 2 each of all the animals into the ark, but very clearly he brought 7 of all the clean animals and 7 of all the birds. I bet we will find many more examples this year of things that we have thought to be 'biblical' but are not necessarily the same as what is written.
ReplyDeleteThere are several pivotal events in this portion, from the confusion of the languages and hence the scattering all over the globe to the mixed bag that was Abraham and co. One of the things I rather like about the account is how unflattering (and hence, to my eyes, more likely to be a true account) it is to this Founding Father. He was faithful to relocate from Ur, but he was also too paranoid about Pharoah to fess up about Sarai being his wife. There's something comforting in knowing that even folks like that can be chosen and blessed by God.
ReplyDelete- Amy
I don't know how many times I've read Genesis, I've been learning some new things. Janelle stated exactly what I was thinking. As a child I learned about the people that were laughing and making fun of Noah, but didn't read about it. I, also, noticed that Noah brought 7 of each kind of clean animal into the ark. In Gen 2:6, I didn't know that "mist used to rise from earth" to water the ground. I do have one question though, when the flood came it says all the high mountains everywhere were covered. I'm assuming including Everest. So, if the ark was floating higher than Everest (approx 29,000 ft), how was Noah able to breath thin air? Or was the earth, the earth that Noah knew? - Kathy
ReplyDeleteHi, Kathy; what a fantastic question! I've read lots of conflicting opinions regarding the flood. Some say the "world" was really the "known world." Some say 7:20 means the water was only 20 feet deep, not that the tallest mountain was 20 feet under water. Some say as sea level rose, the breathable air rose with it.
ReplyDeleteI think more important than the facts of the story is what Israel did with it. There is a developing theology of election (chosenness) and salvation contained in the account, as it has been handed down to us.
Speculating over the details is quite interesting, but there are some things we just can't know.