Men, Don't Settle Short

There's an important lesson for men in the life of Terah. First let's read the account:

²⁷ This is the account of Terah.
Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. ²⁸ While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. ²⁹ Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah. ³⁰ Now Sarai was barren; she had no children.

³¹ Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there.

³² Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran. (Genesis 11:27-32)

Look again at verse 31: they set out from Ur to go to Canaan, and they settled in Haran.

They settled short of the goal. And Terah died short of the goal.

In chapter 12 we'll see how God calls Abram to leave his family, leave Haran, and go to Canaan. We don't see in the Genesis 11 account that God specifically spoke to Terah, but it's clear it was his ambition to leave Ur (one of the most important and sophisticated cities of that time) and go to Canaan. But Terah does not make it there.

Maybe Haran was good enough. Maybe there was a picture-perfect homestead there. Maybe Canaan was simply more difficult to get to. (Check this map, it's quite a distance further!) Perhaps there were comfortable distractions in Haran. Perhaps there was a magician or healer in Haran that Terah thought could make Sarai fertile. And we can infer that Terah stayed in Haran a long time -- see Gen 12:5 for notes about the family accumulating possessions and people.

Let's be clear: God has his sovereign plans, and had plans for Abram to receive His blessings. We aren't told what might have happened had Terah taken his family all the way to Canaan.

We simply don't know why Terah settled, but he settled short. And that's the legacy of Terah.

Men, let's recommit today not to settle short.