137 Now we can understand why the Torah stressed, in all their detail, Abrams journeys on entering the land of Canaan, at first as far as Schechem, and subsequently up to Ai-Bethel. At the same time, it does not follow from this use of the expression Maleach Jehovah, that the (particular) angel of Jehovah was essentially one with God, or that Maleach Jehovah always has the same signification; for in Malachi 2:7 the priest is called Maleach Jehovah, i.e., the messenger of the Lord. Now the promise to Abram was four hundred and thirty years before the exodus of the children of Israel out of Egypt Exodus 12:40. It is difficult to believe that Abrams public act of worship was not noted and viewed with particular interest by the Canaanites. ''What detained Terah and his family here, when they intended to go further, is not said. When Israel went into the land of Canaan, to possess it under Joshua, these same key cities were captured: So Joshua sent them away, and they went to the place of ambush and remained between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai; (Joshua 8:9). l. 5. c. 18. Exodus 13:21. to Harran, they settled there.(NIV). 176. by Ray. The form of the Angel of Jehovah, which was discernible by the senses, varied according to the purpose of the appearance; and, apart from Genesis 21:17 and Genesis 22:11, we have a sufficient proof that it was not a real angelic appearance, or the appearance of a created angel, in the fact that in two instances it was not really an angel at all, but a flame of fire and a shining cloud which formed the earthly substratum of the revelation of God in the Angel of Jehovah (Exodus 3:2; Exodus 14:19), unless indeed we are to regard natural phenomena as angels, without any scriptural warrant for doing so. Abrams age was not a factor in favor of leaving Ur for some unknown land either. The inhabitants also of Ur had fallen into polytheism, or, if we may so speak, allotheism, the worship of other gods. When you stop to think about it, Abram had no concrete, tangible proof that a life of blessing lay ahead, outside of Ur, away from his family. Our permanent home is not to be found in this world, but in the one that is to come, in the presence of our Lord (cf. They do not expect God to lead them in a normal, predictable fashion. With the choice of Abram and revelation of God to man assumed a select character, inasmuch as God manifested Himself henceforth to Abram and his posterity alone as the author of salvation and the guide to true life; whilst other nations were left to follow their own course according to the powers conferred upon them, in order that they might learn that in their way, and without fellowship with the living God, it was impossible to find peace to the soul, and the true blessedness of life (cf. In addition to this, He performs miracles, consuming with fire the offering placed before Him by Gideon, and the sacrifice prepared by Manoah, and ascending to haven in the flame of the burnt-offering (Judges 6:21; Judges 13:19-20). All that the Septuagint rendering proves, is that the translators supposed "the angel of the Lord" to be a created angel; but it by no means follows that their supposition is correct.). (Note: In the old Jewish synagogue the Angel of Jehovah was regarded as the Shechinah, the indwelling of God in the world, i.e., the only Mediator between God and the world, who bears in the Jewish theology the name Metatron. One of the first questions I had to answer for my current project was: why would only part of Abraham's family leave Ur? First, the emphasis of Hebrews 11 is on faith. It was both a very early and a very late outpost of Chaldean power. When he is commanded to sacrifice Isaac, he must obey with a willing heart of love, yet somehow see through to balance the command with the promise of the seed of a nation and leave the outcome to God and to find in God all sufficiency. Hence, also, Abram lingers in Haran, waiting to take his father with him to the land of promise, if he should revive so far as to be fit for the journey. With God's calling of Terah in verse 31, Ancient Israel was set on an irrevocable course. The land, as we have already said, is implied in verse 1. It could be that they left in obedience to the call of God, which we read more of in Genesis 12. 58-64. Barnes' Notes on the Bible And Terah took Abram. There are ample evidences of elaborate wealth, skilled craftsmanship, and advanced technology and science.131 All of this tells us something of the city which Abram was commanded to leave. I guess he was mad that you were allowing yourself to be misled by the other, false idols.". It grows through time and through testing. They followed the Euphrates River, with their herds, to the Paddan Aram region. Little of the culture, religion, or philosophy of the people of Ur was to be a part of what God planned to do with His people, Israel. Thanks for contributing an answer to Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange! Terah set out on his journey, no doubt, as soon after the call of Abram as the preparatory arrangements could be made. In Genesis 11, we read that Terah came from Ur of the Chaldeans. For the election of God was not restricted to the separation of Abram from the family of Shem, to be the father of the nation which was destined to be the vehicle of salvation; it was also manifest in the exclusion of Ishmael, whom Abram had begotten by the will of man, through Hagar the handmaid of his wife, for the purpose of securing the promised seed, and in the new life imparted to the womb of the barren Sarai, and her consequent conception and birth of Isaac, the son of promise. All rights reserved. Mesopotamia before he dwelt in Charran.(NIV). I found your contribution useful +1. Is the Angel of the Lord identifying as God? Did Terah go to Canaan because God spoke to Abram?". Technically, the covenant with Abram is not found in chapter 12, but in chapters 15 (verse 18) and 17 (verses 2,4,7,9,10,11,13,14,19,21) where the word covenant appears. God is not only sovereign in salvation, but sovereign in the process of sanctification. Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Mesopotamia before he settled in Haran. 63-64. The revelations consisted almost exclusively of promises; and so far as these promises were fulfilled in the lives of the patriarchs, the fulfilments themselves were predictions and pledges of the ultimate and complete fulfilment, reserved for a distant, or for the most remote futurity. Terah coordinated the journey, intending to go to this new land, but stopped in the city of Haran along the way, where he died at the age of 205. And in the land of Kenaan was Melkizedec, the king of Salem, and the priest of the Most High God. But when He had established a covenant with him after the flood, and thereby had assured the continuance of the earth and of the human race, the direct manifestations ceased, for God withdrew His visible presence from the world; so that it was from heaven that the judgment fell upon the tower of Babel, and even the call to Abram in his home in Haran was issued through His word, that is to say, no doubt, through an inward monition. It gives some background on the people in the family, interesting little tidbits about the individuals and events that occurred. Terah may have told Abraham why he was leaving Ur and why he decided to settle in Haran. 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. From Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament. Terah, their father, coordinated the gathering of his family to journey west to their destination ( Genesis 11:31 ). In the land of Uz, a Shemite, perhaps even at a later period, lived Job; and in the neighboring districts of Arabia were his several friends, all of whom acknowledged the true God. What was Terah's son named? While what was to be left behind was crystal clear, what lay ahead was distressingly devoid of detail: to the land which I will show you.. But God had foretold that none need go with Abe except Abe's own household (which included his wife, and any 'employees' or 'servants' that Abe might have acquired). Blessing would come through Abraham in several ways. Historians share that the father of Serug was Reu. There are, of course, evidences for the reasonableness of faith, but at the bottom line we simply must believe what God has said to us in His Word. Bob was born and raised in a Christian home i More, The Net Pastors Journal, Eng. I see Terah took Abram, Lot & Sarai to go to Canaan, & died on route in Haran, seemingly before God spoke to Abram to leave his country. (n) Though the oracle of God came to Abram, yet the honour is given to Terah, because he was the father. Therefore, the failures are not mentioned. Three major promises are contained in verses 2 and 3: a land; a seed; and a blessing. On the other hand, He appeared to Moses (Exodus 3:2) in a flame of fire, speaking to him from the burning bush, and to the people of Israel in a pillar of cloud and fire (Exodus 14:19, cf. Why did Abraham banish Ishmael (Genesis 21:14). Having called Abram, it was God Who providentially brought Abram to the point of leaving home and homeland and entering Canaan. Abram was, in our vernacular, no spring chicken when he left Haran for Canaan. Hence, they all abode in Haran for the remainder of the five years from the date of Abram's call to leave his native land. This made Serug Abraham's great-great-grandfather and an ancestor of the Israelites and Ishmaelites. Benjamin of Tudela (p) speaks of it as in being in his time, and as two days journey from the entrance into the land of Shinar or Mesopotamia; and says, that in that place where was the house of Abraham, there is no building on it, but the Ishmaelites (the Mahometans) honour the place, and come thither to pray. Furthermore even though the call was to Abraham, God had stirred the heart of Terah to begin the journey to the very place he promised to Abraham so that when Terah died Abraham continued in God's divine will. (k) Ibid. (Note: The force of this difference cannot be set aside by the objection that the New Testament writers follow the usage of the Septuagint, where is rendered . 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