Repopulating the Earth

How Many Grandfathers?

Scripture
Genesis 10-12

Observation
Matthew Henry in his Commentary of the Bible makes an interesting observation regarding the confusing of languages by God during the building of the tower of Babel. Whereas the people were scattered by God because of their arrogance and rebellion, in contrast, in the book of Acts, God restores understanding through the gift of the Holy Spirit and tongues so they can glorify him.

I spent considerable time with the genealogy of Shem to Abram. I am fascinated by how rapidly and drastically the life expectancy declined. It is said of Abraham that he 'died at a good old age, an old man, full of years' at the age of 175 (25:7). Yet Noah, only ten generations earlier, lived to be 950.

Another thing I learned from Matthew Henry is that Terah, Abraham's father, worshiped other gods (Josh 24:2). There is some question about how old Terah was when Abraham was born. It is thought that Abraham did not leave Haran before his father died. Seeing that he left when he was 75 and Terah died when he was 205, Terah may have been 130 when Abraham was born. This will have meant that all his grandfathers back to Noah were still alive when he was born! If my calculations are correct, he could have been fifteen when Noah died!

This brings me to another very fascinating observation. We are not told how old Haron was when he died. I think Jewish tradition probably sees more in this short narrative than we do. Why are we not told? In any case it appears his son's death is very devastating to Terah. Haran died in his homeland, Ur of the Chaldeans, and sometime afterward Terah decides it is time to leave. Haran died, 'while his father was still alive' (11:28). This is so tragic, but the tragedy is multiplied when we consider that he also very possibly died before any of his grandfathers since the flood died, including Noah! What a funeral that must have been! Maybe it was high time to make a break from the relatives. Of course, considering the tower of Babel, they could well have been scattered with everyone speaking different languages. Who knows?

Application
God has called us to leave our relatives and it has been difficult at times to be distanced from them. But, when we lived in Manitoba we saw that about a third or even half of our ministry time was taken up with spending time with family. We have a lot of family. When I feel like I should be there for them, I remind myself that God is taking care of them and they have each other. Praise be to God, he has drawn many of them to himself while we have been away! Sometimes it is necessary to make a break.

Prayer
Father, help us to always be willing to follow where you lead.