Setting the ball rolling - 31 December 2009 |
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The genealogies of Shem and Terah in Genesis 11 come to an abrupt halt with the announcement that Abram’s wife ‘Sarai was barren; she had no child’ (v. 30). ‘Digressions within a genealogy are of special significance,’ writes Wenham (Genesis 1-15, p. 273), ‘and this is no exception.’
But who could have guessed just how significant this particular digression would prove to be? Here we catch our first glimpse of the theme that will occupy much of our attention for not only the rest of the book of Genesis, but the whole Bible – how will God create and preserve a people to fulfil the task at which Adam failed in Genesis 3?
It’s striking that the theme is introduced as a problem to be solved, a human impossibility that God alone can overcome. The moment when human wisdom and strength can go no further is the point at which God really sets the ball rolling.
We see emptiness; God sees a vessel that he alone can fill. We see impenetrable walls; God sees a city doomed to destruction. We live in weakness; God sees an opportunity to display his grace and power.
Posted by Steve Jeffery · Topics: Bible, Minister's Blog