Delayed On A Parched Road

Delayed on a Parched Road

Introduction: There is nothing more frustrating than setting out on a trip and having car trouble. After all, the objective of any trip, is to get from point A to point B. But Murphy’s Law seems to come into play. “Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong, at the worst possible moment:

Think about it: You have a flat tire, in the rain, on the way to church, and your jack breaks!

You run out of gas, and the nearest gas station is 20 miles in the opposite direction. And you are in the middle of no where in the heat of summer.

We set out on the journey of life only to find out that life is not fair and has not turned out like we planned.

And we find ourselves, Delayed on a Parched Road.

Gen 11:31 (The New Living Translation)

Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai, and his grandson Lot (his son Haran’s child) and left Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan. But they stopped instead at the village of Haran and settled there. 32 Terah lived for 205 years* and died while still at Haran.

There is much to learn in this passage of scripture. First, just from the reading.

Terah took his family and left his home land. He set out on a journey to go to the land of Canaan. We are not told why he left, only that he took his son, his daughter-in-law and his grandson with him and from the reading of the word it suggest their destination was Canaan.

There are times when we leave a place bound for another. It is a journey, a trip, an adventure. Most of the time, just like Terah, we leave a familar place to go to a particular place.

But what is paramount in the scripture is; They stopped instead at the village of Haran and settled there.

Let’s look at the meaning behind some of the names in the scripture:

Ur: Fire

Canaan: Merchant; trader; or that humbles and subdues

Terah: The name means delay

Haran: A parched road

Now I want us to re-read this passage with the meaning of the names in place:

Delay took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai, and his grandson Lot (his son a parched road child) and left fire of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Merchant; trader; or that humbles and subdues. But they stopped instead at the village of a parched road and settled there. Delay lived for 205 years* and died while still at a parched road.

Terah did what his named suggested: He delayed

He intended to go to the land of Merchant; trader; or that humbles and subdues, but he stopped and settled on a parched road.

How many times have you stopped short of what you wanted?

How many times have you stopped short of what God wanted?

It is time that you stop settling.

Terah died while he was at a parched road. He intended to go to Canaan, but stopped and settled and died!