READ: Genesis 11.10-26 / Psalm 6
Verse chosen for meditation
Genesis 11:26 "When Terah had lived 70 years, he fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran".
REFLECT
To the casual eye, Genesis 11:10-26 might be nothing more than the genealogy of Shem, one of Noah’s sons. However, verse 26 includes a name which most of us are familiar with: “Abram”. So out of Shem’s family line, came the “father of many nations” (Genesis 17:5) as well as the “friend of God” (Isaiah 41:8). We all know that later on, Abram shall be renamed "Abraham" and became the first Patriarch to the people of Israel.
More importantly, Shem’s name was included in the genealogy of Jesus the Christ in the Gospel of Luke. This means that Shem was considered crucial to be God’s sovereign plan on the birth of the incarnate Son of God, destined to save humanity for sin and death. Such an honor given to Shem was likely to come from his sense of righteousness, an example displayed when he and Japheth treated Noah honorably in Genesis 9. This was in contrast to how Ham shamed his own father, when he told the brothers about Noah’s nakedness when drunk from wine. As a result Ham was cursed to serve his brothers.
RELATE
Shem might not have lived to know how his lineage bore the most important human on earth. But the later generations, such as ours came to learn that righteousness always bear good fruit in the eyes of God. There are times when I think to myself, if God is being fair. Especially when I witness Christians trying to be righteous but succumb to the unrighteous deeds of those who seek to persecute them. Yet, this passage strongly reminded that with God, righteousness always bears good and honorable fruit.
We might not get to see such fruit in our lifetime. Or we might only get to have it at a time when we least expected. Or the fruit might take a different form than what we expected. Nevertheless, if we do see it happen, let us give thanks. Not to our own sense of righteousness but to what God was able to do to help us stay in the faith. Indeed, if we trust that God is the Author of what is good and perfect, then surely, He will not spare those who continue in their wicked deeds; and will give just rewards to those who persevere till the very end.
REST
Lord my God, you are the One who is perfect, righteous and holy. Help me to follow Your call for me to be righteous and holy; this is so that my children and those whom I minister to, can witness for themselves how you seek to destroy evil but lift up what is good. Amen.
Jason Phua