Terah Takes the Way that Seems Right

A Devotional Series from Genesis

Online Bible Audio/Readings Links (ESV)

8/13 Reading Portions: 1 Samuel 3; Romans 3; Jeremiah 41; Psalm 17

Genesis 11:31-32

And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.

HARAN

We know from Stephen’s Spirit-filled testimony before the Sanhedrin that Abram heard God’s call in Ur of the Chaldees before he went to Haran (Acts 7:1-4). Perhaps Abram told his father, and Terah said, “That’s a good idea, but let’s go this way first.” So, instead of traveling west toward Canaan, they went north, about 250 miles west of Nineveh. Then Terah called the place “Haran,” after his son who died. Terah may have been excited that his son heard from God Almighty. Then thinking about Canaan, the son of that rascal Ham, he may have thought, “Perhaps God won’t mind if we checked things out up north first.” After naming the place Haran, he may have figured, “Might as well stay here. After all, we named the place.” Abram went along with it because, even though it wouldn’t be written for another 1,000 years by his descendant Moses, Abram honored his father and mother. As for Terah, it is written,

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. Proverbs 14:12; 16:25

Indeed, Terah died there in Haran. Terah was like those toddlers in Christ who are still in diapers, spiritually speaking, and refuse to be weaned off the bottle. The pastor sets out a banquet each week that has a little something for everyone, unsalted, mashed peas for the infants, cereal and finger foods for the little children, ribeye steaks and potatoes for the more mature, and even some easy-to-chew food for the elderly seniors. But mostly, these Terah’s are finicky and persnickety. They want what they want, not caring that there are many different folks at the table, wanting everyone to eat what he’s eating. If the sermon has something in it that he doesn’t understand, he pouts and complains that the pastor doesn’t love him, and his church family doesn’t care about him. So, he goes looking for another church many miles away. He likes it for a while because the bottle he’s given has warm milk, the snacks are sweet, and the toys keep him entertained for hours. Because he lives so far away, and because he’s so spiritually fat from his bottle and num-nums, no one would think to ask him to serve in the church in some way, or God forbid, share the gospel with someone who has never heard the good news of Jesus Christ crucified, risen, ascended, and coming again. No. For the Terah’s in the world, he found a church that he could call his own, “Haran,” sitting in the pew where he can hear from a God who lets him do things his own way.

Often, maturity and immaturity are not gauged by years on earth or even years in Christ, but by either selfishness or denying self. I have had many people leave the congregations I’ve pastored because they wanted sermons that only catered to what they perceived were their needs. More often than not, it was a matter of the individual congregant not living out the previous sermons or messages from Scripture, failing to realize that in the body of Christ the spiritual welfare of others was what they needed to help them to become the Christian God called them to be; allowing another congregant to exercise a teaching gift both for the teachers growth in grace and for the learner’s strengthening in faith.