Walking by Faith in God’s Plan

Genesis 11:10-32 

10 This is the genealogy of Shem: Shem was one hundred years old, and begot Arphaxad two years after the flood. 11 After he begot Arphaxad, Shem lived five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.  12 Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, and begot Salah. 13 After he begot Salah, Arphaxad lived four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters.  14 Salah lived thirty years, and begot Eber. 15 After he begot Eber, Salah lived four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters.  16 Eber lived thirty-four years, and begot Peleg. 17 After he begot Peleg, Eber lived four hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and daughters.  18 Peleg lived thirty years, and begot Reu. 19 After he begot Reu, Peleg lived two hundred and nine years, and begot sons and daughters.  20 Reu lived thirty-two years, and begot Serug. 21 After he begot Serug, Reu lived two hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters.  22 Serug lived thirty years, and begot Nahor. 23 After he begot Nahor, Serug lived two hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.  24 Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and begot Terah. 25 After he begot Terah, Nahor lived one hundred and nineteen years, and begot sons and daughters. 
    26 Now Terah lived seventy years, and begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran.  27 This is the genealogy of Terah: Terah begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran begot Lot. 28 And Haran died before his father Terah in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 29 Then 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 the father of Iscah. 30 But Sarai was barren; she had no child.
    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.

Noah’s Son Shem had a long lineage of children until Terah, whose son was Abram (later changed by God to Abraham in Genesis 17:5).  Abram’s brother Haran had a son named Lot, of whom we read a lot about in the future with his uncle Abram.  Haran died in the country of the Chaldeans, Ur.  Abram and his other brother Nahor got married, but Abram’s wife Sarai could not have children.  There came a day in which Abram and his father, along with Sarai and Lot left Ur and traveled the long road to Canaan, named after Ham’s son.  They settled in Haran, where Terah died at the age of two hundred and five; the long lifespans as before the flood were getting shorter still.  What this teaches us is that God sovereignly gives offspring and their leading to accomplish His greater will according to plan.  We now can look back at this history to see how He prepared a people and promises later through the man Abram, who would become the father of His people and of many nations by faith (Genesis 17:4-6, Romans 4:16, 20).  We can learn faithfulness to follow God by trusting His plan and design, especially when we cannot see the end from the beginning, knowing that He always does (Isaiah 46:10).  We walk by faith, living in light of His grace with absolute trust and assurance, regardless of circumstances.