THE UNSHAKABLE PLAN OF GOD

Blessing and Curse

The Blessing

Genesis 9:1 “And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.”

Here we see the descendants of Shem being fruitful and multiplying. As you read this genealogy, you keep seeing the phrase “they had others sons and daughters”. This fruitfulness that they experienced was the direct result of God’s blessing that He gave Noah and his sons.

The Curse

See Genesis 3:17-20...

Though we see God’s blessing poured out on the descendants of Noah, we also see the results of the curse taking greater hold. As you read through the names of the descendants of Shem, you can’t help but notice the decreasing life spans. Prior to the flood, you had people like Methuselah who lived 969 years, or Jared who lived to be 962. Adam had lived to be 930 years, and Noah made it to 950 years. Shem lived to be 600 years old, so that was a very significant drop in ages. From Arpachshad to Eber we see the life spans in this genealogy range from 433 to 464 years, so that is another decrease. Then after Peleg, we see another drastic drop in the lifespans of the people. From Peleg to Terah we see the ages range from 239 to 148. What is it that happened in the time of Peleg that could have contributed to the decreasing lifespans?

Genesis 10:25 “To Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided, and his brother’s name was Joktan.”

So from reading these accounts, it seems that each time God brought a curse on the inhabitants of the earth, we see a significant decrease in the lifespans. So on the one hand, the people were fruitful and multiplied, but on the other hand they lived significantly shorter lives than their forefathers.

The Lord’s Plan Comes Into Focus

The Lord’s promise, plan, and purpose cannot be thwarted.

Genesis 3:15 “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.””

Genesis 9:27 “May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.””

Job 42:2 ““I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”

See Isaiah 46:8-11...

Obstacles to the Lord’s plans: the sinfulness of men and the barrenness of Sarai.

Ur of the Chaldees was an ancient city that flourished until about 300 BC. It was located in Southern Mesopotamia in modern day Iraq. The great ziggurat of Ur was built by Ur-Nammu around 2100 BC and was dedicated to Nanna (Sumerian) or Sin (Akkadian), the moon god. The moon was worshiped as the power that controlled the heavens and the life cycle on earth. To the Chaldeans, the phases of the moon represented the natural cycle of birth, growth, decay, and death and also set the measurement of their yearly calendar. Among the pantheon of Mesopotamian gods, Nanna was supreme, because he was the source of fertility for crops, herds, and families. Prayers and offerings were offered to the moon to invoke its blessing.

In verse 32, it says the days of Terah were 205 years and he died. In chapter 12, verse 4, “Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.” After his father died, he left, according to Acts 7:4. So, if his father died at 205, and he was 75, then he was born when his father was 130. So knowing all of that, we can conclude that Abram was born 352 years after the flood. And Noah had died just 2 years before that. Shem would still be alive for 148 more years after the birth of Abram.

Joshua 24:2 “And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods.”

See Acts 7:2-5...

Jeremiah 32:27 ““Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?”