A Change of Scenery

A Change of Scenery

Genesis 11: ³¹ And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there. ³² So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran.

 

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Grief stricken; Terah may have felt as if he could no longer stay in the land where his son Haran was born. Perhaps there were too many reminders of how life used to be. Terah seemed to be close to Abram and Lot. Nahor seemed to also be close to Terah. He married his niece Milcah, Haran’s daughter, to possibly bring joy to Terah. Now Terah wanted to take care of Lot.

 

Terah moved with Abram, Sarai and Lot to a new place. This was possibly a new beginning. He named the place after his deceased son, Haran. There, they would start over.

 

My Observations:

• Terah learned a lot from the Chaldeans, but did not follow all of their ways.
• Terah seemed to break traditions by having children at an older age and moving away from the land of his ancestors.
• Terah seemed to have suffered a great loss, so he named the territory after his deceased son.

 

Abram seemed to watch his father go through a serious grieving period. Terah’s wife was never mentioned, so she may have died after delivering Haran. When Haran died, it may have been too much. But he was surrounded by his son Abram, his daughter in-law Sarai, and his grandson Lot.

 

Terah seemed to use his talents herding sheep and cattle. He may have taught this talent to Abram and Lot. He may have wanted to make a place where they could live in peace all of their lives. BUT GOD had a different plan for Abram.

 

Challenge

• Why did GOD mention again who surrounded Terah to Moses?
• Have you ever needed a change of scenery?
• Will you consider listening to the LORD so HE can guide you to where HE needs you today?