The Written Account of the Generations of Terah
11:27 to 25:11
Moses edited and compiled eleven family documents in the book of Genesis. The major structural word for Genesis is toldot, which means the written account of, or this is what became of these men and their descendants. The noun is often translated generations, histories or descendants. After the section on the written account of the generations of Shem from 11:10 to 11:26, we have the seventh toldot, the written account of the generations of Terah. The previous toldot went from the curse of the Tower of Babel to the blessing of the beginning of God’s program. Therefore, what this seventh family document tells us is what became of Terah. And what became of Terah was Abraham: God’s covenant with Abraham and God’s plan for blessing.
Abraham would become the father of the faithful. But beforehand, God would bring him through four very definite crises, each of which was designed to build his faith. First, he was called to leave his homeland, Ur of the Chaldeans. He was to leave his family. That would be a real test for him and he didn’t do very well at first, but, nevertheless, he eventually left. Second, he was asked to separate from his nephew Lot. Abraham loved Lot, but the time would come when they would have to separate, and Lot would go down to Sodom. Third, he will be tested by being asked to separate from his boy, the son of Hagar, Ishmael. He would love that boy and would hate to be separated from him, but out of obedience, Abraham would send him away. Finally, Abraham would come to his supreme test, the fourth great crisis in his life. He would be asked to sacrifice Isaac, the son of promise, as a sin offering. He wouldn’t understand it, but he would be willing to go through with it. And Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his only son as a sin offering on Mount Moriah would become a picture of God the Father’s willingness to sacrifice His only Son as a sin offering on Mount Calvary.
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