Genesis 11:26 – 25:11 contains the story of Abraham, {1} the father of ancient Israel and the father of those who walk in the footsteps of his faith today. His story is a powerful and evocative story about trusting God’s promises when everything “visible” would discourage such trust. I think one of the major keys to understanding Abraham’s story comes from a passage that is often skipped over, Genesis 11:26 – 31. This text contains a genealogy and a bit of background information about Abraham. Not too important right? The good stuff doesn’t come until you reach chapter 12.
Actually, genealogies and background information, while not necessarily providing the most devotional material, are essential for understand biblical stories. I would like to suggest that the author hints at a major theme of Abraham’s story right away in Genesis 11:26 – 31. The reason for this is that 11:26 – 31 creates the problem that the rest of the story seeks to fix. Arranging the text chiastically brings this point out clearly:
A. 11:27 – 28 – These are the generations of Terah.
B. 11:29 – Abram and Nahor took wives
C. 11:30 – Sarah was barren
B1. 11:31 – Terah took Abram his son to Canaan
A1. 11:32 – And the days of Terah were 205 years.
The center of the chiasm contains the main point of the pericope: Sarah is barren. The main point that the author of Genesis wants to make in listing Abram’s genealogy and background is that his wife was barren. Why? The reason is that God’s promises to Abram are all about offspring/seed/descendants. Over and over again, God will ask Abram to trust him that he will have seed, that his seed will become a great nation, that kings will come from him, etc. despite the barrenness of his wife. Abram trusts God in the face of extremely uncertain circumstances, is justified, and becomes the father of Israel and the church. The Messiah comes from his line and he indeed becomes a great nation (ethnically and spiritually).
This is the kind of faith that God calls his people to have today. Indeed, it is often difficult to trust God in light of what is visible to our eyes but Abram’s story proves that trusting God is worth it. Indeed, this kind of faith is always granted a great reward.
{1} The changing of Abraham and Sarah’s names in the story corresponds to the names at the particular portion of the story being referred to.
ThinkingFaith 