Yesterday, I said I could not understand
why I thought Abraham had heard from God to leave Ur and go to the land of Canaan. I was stupefied when I learned it was Terah, Abram’s father, who decided to take Abram, Lot and Sarai to Canaan, after Haran, Terah’s son had died. As I said yesterday, Terah must have heartbroken after Haran died, because the scripture says that Terah stopped in the land of Haran, and there he lived and died. My guess is that the land of Haran got its name from Terah when he decided to stay. Since Terah was headed to Canaan, from the land of Babylonia, I thought he would have headed east, but the Bible map shows that Haran went north, to what is known today as southeastern Turkey, a village along the Balikh River, 24 miles southeast of Urfa. So I stand corrected. Abram was not in the land of Ur when he heard from the Lord. He was in the land of Haran - a land that was probably named after his brother. Scripture says, “Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan.” Genesis 12:1-5 Scripture says when Abram, Sarai and Lot came to the land of Canaan. They passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. If you look on a Bible map, Shechem is located between three mountains, Mt. Gerizim, Mt. Ebal and Mt. Ephraim. Today, this area is called Nablus. It’s a city in the West Bank. It lies in an enclosed fertile valley and is the market center of a natural oasis that is watered by numerous springs. Scripture says Abram traveled “as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh.” This passage stumped me. What is a terebinth tree, and where is Moreh? Google says, “a terebinth tree is a deciduous tree, that has very deep roots, and grows at the foot of mountains. This tree is of the species of the genus Pistacia, native to the Mediterranean region - from the western areas of Morocco and Portugal to Greece and western and southeastern Turkey.” As I was researching, I saw that some believe the terebinth tree was not a pistachio tree, but an oak. So, I’m not sure sure - but I will keep my mind and my eyes open while future scripture comes. The exact location of Moreh is not known today, but it appears to be a plain close to Shechem, where a hill must have been. The Hebrew word moreh is derived from the verb yarah, which means “to teach” or “to direct.” It's interesting to me that moreh represents a hill where a person of wisdom and authority can talk - or do divine work. There are two Bible characters whom I identify with the most. They are Gideon and Paul - the ones who God had to chase and knock them down with zest. Right now, I am remembering the story of Gideon - when early in the morning “Jerubbaal (Gideon) and all of his men camped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh.” Judges 7:1 And it’s at this location, under the terebinth tree in Moreh that “the Lord appeared to Abram” and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” Genesis 12:7 “And there - Abram built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.” Genesis 12:7 My God! God is an Amazing Compass! After receiving his teaching, "Abram moved to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.” Genesis 12:8-9 The mountain east of Bethel has to be Mt. Ephraim. Abraham pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east - and he built an altar, called on the Lord and must have been directed to continue to go south. God was Abram’s amazing compass! The great Moreh who directed Abram where to go.
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