DWDP - Gen: 10-32 The Record of the Promised Seed Continues

A genealogy can look like filler until you realize it is the backbone of a promise. We open Genesis 11:10-32 and follow the generations of Shem, right after the Tower of Babel and the dispersion of nations, to see how God keeps a single redemptive thread alive even when humanity scatters and the knowledge of the true God grows dim.

As we trace the line forward, we talk about why Scripture guards these names so carefully: the promised seed from Genesis 3 is being preserved on purpose, moving history toward the Messiah. Along the way, we notice a dramatic shift in human lifespan after the flood and explore reasons often discussed in creation science circles, including the water vapor canopy idea, radiation exposure, and the accumulating effects of genetic and environmental change in a harsher post-flood world.

Genesis 11 also introduces Abram and the family tension that sets up everything to come: Sarai’s barrenness, the move from Ur of the Chaldees toward Canaan, and Terah’s decision to settle in Haran instead of finishing the mission. That stop becomes more than a travel detail. It becomes a warning about delayed obedience, spiritual discipline, and the fear of becoming “disqualified” in the sense described in 1 Corinthians 9:27. If you want Bible study that connects the text to daily faithfulness, this one will challenge you. Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find these Genesis devotions.

Transcript

Welcome And Storytime Setup

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Welcome to More Than Medicine, where Jesus is more than enough for the ills that plague our culture and our country. Hosted by author and physician, Dr. Robert Jackson. Papa, can you tell me a story?

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Do you really want me to tell you a story? Well, you go get your brother and your sisters, and I will tell you a story. Welcome to Devotions with Dr. Papa. Gather round, grab your Bibles, and let us look into the written word which reveals to us the living word who is our Lord Jesus Christ.

Shem’s Genealogy After Babel

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Today in our Bible study we are at Genesis chapter eleven, verse ten and eleven. These are the records of the generations of Shem. Shem was one hundred years old and became the father of Arpakshad two years after the flood. And Shem lived five hundred years after he became the father of Arpakshad, and he had other sons and daughters. Now today we're going to go through the descendants of Shem, and I'm not going to read all of these all the way through verse thirty two, but I'm just going to pick out a couple of verses to discuss with you. For the next two hundred years after the dispersion at Babel, God is silent in regards to the biblical revelation. Nor does the Bible tell us much about the history of mankind. The tribes left Babel, developed their individual cultures, and the knowledge of the true God recedes further from man's consciousness. Despite man's rebellion, Genesis eleven records the genealogy of Shem that would eventually lead to an individual man, whom God would choose just like He chose Noah, and through whom He would prepare a special nation, a chosen people on a promised land, through whom He would transmit His Word to all the nations of the world. But first He needed a suitable man. The line of the promised seed first mentioned all the way back in Genesis chapter three was being carefully preserved by Holy Spirit in the record of the patriarchs, and it begins with another Toledoth. These are the generations of Shem. The previous Toledoth was the generations of Adam. Actually, this concludes Shem's genealogical record that span Genesis ten all the way through eleven chapter eleven and verse nine, that covered the descendants of Ham and Japheth through the third generation after the flood, and Shem's descendants through the sixth generation. Shem's genealogical record included the confusion of tongues at Babel and the dispersion which occurred in the fourth generation after the flood. So the genealogy is then taken up by Tira, who was in the ninth generation after the flood. Interestingly, both Shem and Noah lived until after Tira's death. So he had ample time to get and confirm the genealogical record. To be precise, Noah lived until Tirah was a hundred and twenty eight years old. Imagine that. The rest of chapter eleven has a couple of interesting factors. First and most important is the preservation of the genealogical record of the promised seed, the promised seed of the woman who would ultimately be our Messiah, our deliverer. Because of Holy Spirit's divine supervision, these men kept a very accurate genealogical record for our future benefit.

Why Lifespans Shrink After The Flood

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The second interesting thing that we notice is the decreasing lifespan of each succeeding generation. If you notice, Noah's generation before the flood lived nine hundred plus years, but after the flood, when the protective water vapor canopy was removed, the lifespan of succeeding generations began to immediately decrease after Shem, who lived 600 years. Arpakshad lived four hundred and thirty eight years, Shela four hundred and thirty three years, Ru two hundred and thirty nine years down to Tira, Abraham's father, who lived two hundred and seventy five years. The creation scientists speculate that the water vapor canopy before the flood protected the antediluvians from the harmful radiation of the sun, but that protection disappeared after the flood when the windows of the heavens were opened to create the flood. Over several generations both genetic and somatic mutations began to affect longevity and the aging process. Of course there were there could have been or may have been other factors such as a more rugged environment after the flood, a different food supply, inbreeding, or simply greater stress of living in the post flood environment.

Abram Enters The Biblical Record

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In verse 26 we see the first mention of Abram. Let me read verse 26 to you in chapter 11. Tirah lived seventy years and became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Horan. So verse 26 we see the first mention of Abram, the firstborn of Tira, who was born in Ur of the Chaldes. Verse 28 tells us that Abram's brother Haran died at approximately age one hundred thirty five. Let me read verse twenty eight. Haran died in the presence of his father Tira in the land of his birth in Ur of the Chaldees. Now Haran built a city in Mesopotamia that was named after him. But for whatever reason he left Haran and went back to Ur of the Chaldees and died in the presence of his father, where back in Ur where his father lived. He left a son, whose name was Lot, who became attached to his uncle Abram. And in succeeding chapters in Genesis we're going to see how that became important in the life of both Abram and Lot. Then in verse twenty nine, let me read verse twenty nine to you. Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram's wife was Sari, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milkah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milka and Iska. So Abram married his stepsister, Sari, which at this time was not forbidden by Mosaic law, and probably at this early date not particularly dangerous from a genetic point of view. It is noted that Sarai was barren, so he had no children when he lived in Ur or in Mesopotamia. It seems that their firstborn Isaac, the miracle child of their old age, the child of promise, must be born in the land of promise, which at this point in time Abraham knew nothing about.

Terah Leaves Ur And Stops Short

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Then we get to verse thirty one and thirty two. Let me read these to you. Tirah took Abram his son, and Lot, the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife, and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldees in order to enter the land of Canaan. And they went as far as Haran and settled there. The days of Tira were two hundred and five years, and Tirah died in Haran. Tirah collects the entire family and intends to go to the land of Canaan. But first he goes to Haran, the city named after his deceased middle son. Rather than just visiting Haran, he ends up staying there until his death at two hundred and five years old. Perhaps he had to settle his son's estate. Perhaps he intended to pay respects to his son's family. Who knows? But he ended up staying a protracted period of time. Perhaps age and infirmity caught up with him, perhaps legal difficulties delayed him. Perhaps the comforts of the port city of Haran attracted him, or maybe he became embroiled in the idolatrous worship of that wicked city that had been revealed by archaeological digs. Nobody knows. We do know that he stayed long in Haran, never got to Canaan, and eventually died in Haran.

Delayed Obedience And Becoming Disqualified

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Next week when we start in Genesis twelve after Abram's story begins, verse one of chapter twelve begins with get thee out from thy father's house. Why would God say that to Abram in that fashion? This is purely speculation on my part, but I'll tell you what I think. I think that when Tirah left Ur, he had been called by God to go to Canaan with his family just like Abram was later on. But he delayed in Haran, for some reason not revealed in Scripture, and he failed to fulfill the mission God had called him to. Tyra became a castaway, as First Corinthians nine twenty seven calls Christians like you and me, who God can no longer use, those who fail to discipline themselves in the faith to avoid being disqualified or cast away as unuseful or unworthy or unfitting. Something happened in Haran that disqualified Tira so that he was no longer useful useful to the Lord. Was Tirah trying to hold on to the world and its idolatries in Haran while still believing in God and hoping to retain his blessings? Who knows? You and I all know double minded Christians with one foot in the world and one foot in God's kingdom, and they become like clouds without water. They become completely useless to God and they become castaways. But God had now turned to Abram, Tira's son, and said to him, Get thee out from thy father's house. Tira, Abram's father, could delay the inauguration of God's plan no longer. What Tira might have been, Abram became. Abram became a blessing to all the families of the earth.

Encouragement, Follow Request, Closing

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Well, you're listening to devotions with doctor Papa. I hope that proves a blessing and an encouragement and a challenge to you. If you like what you hear, follow, like, share, or download. Tell your friends and family about us. And until next week, remember, Jesus loves you, your doctor loves you, and I pray that the Lord will bless you real good.

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Thank you for listening to this edition of Northern Medicine. For more information about the Jackson Family Ministry or to schedule a speaking engagement, go to their Facebook page, Instagram, or webpage at Jackson Family Ministry dot com.