You may remember when we were back in Genesis 5, I told you about my amazing act of Geekery in working out the ages of these early people, when they had children etc. Looking over it again, as we come to another genealogy in Genesis 11 v 10 – 26, I was quite surprised to see that, if we take these figures literally, Noah was still alive when Abram was born. And so were all the relatives in between.
Then suddenly we read of the early death of Abram’s brother, Haran. Some of the older generations may have died by that time – the exact year is not recorded, but when everyone else has lived to a ripe old age, it must have come as even more of a shock. There’s no way of knowing, but I wonder if it was the untimely death of his youngest son that prompted Terah’s move out of Ur.
Sometimes in life we do have to face some severe issues. The saying is they can make us bitter or better. We are currently praying for a friend whose daughter is facing significant difficulties, whilst being very antagonistic to God. Whilst everything is going along swimmingly, people very rarely see the need to make life changes. I don’t believe God causes bad things to happen to us, but when they do, we suddenly get more attentive to the spiritual side of life. Pain is uninvited and unwelcome, but it can cause us to see life more clearly.
widemargin 
Good morning! (or maybe it’s Good afternoon for you),
I love the way you are working through the Bible. You seem to be stopping to smell the roses all along the way !here is so much joy in reading and savoring!
What comes to my mind in the challenges of life is that great record in Mark 9 where the father of the problematic son says to Jesus “Lord I believe, help thou mine unbelief”. It is where we turn for help that determines how we move through life.
That’s a really good point. Thanks so much.
I’m glad you’re enjoying the scenic route throught the bible. I’m getting so much out of it myself; it never ceases to amaze me what is there. A bit like creation I suppose, the closer you look, the more you see!
Thanks for taking the trouble to comment – it makes great fellowship as well. (and yes, it is afternoon!)