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The Significance of Terah’s Age When Abraham was born
Genesis 3:15
(For additional information see Note # 6, Romans 4:19)
Note 06 - Romans 4v19.doc
I. Genesis 3:15 speaks about the coming virgin birth of the Saviour.
A. God (Jesus Christ) is here speaking to the serpent (Satan) concerning
the final outcome and a major event in the battle of Satan against God.
B. It is very important to notice that a man will have nothing at all to
do with bringing the Saviour into the world.
1. The passage states very plainly, "...thy seed and her
seed..."
2. "Thy seed" is speaking about the fruit of Satan, or the
Antichrist.
3. "Her seed" is speaking about the fruit of the woman, or
the coming Saviour.
4. The Saviour will not be the result of the seed of man.
C. Gen. 3:20 - Adam called his wife’s name Eve because she was the
mother of all living.
1. Gen. 2:22,23 - When God made the woman from Adam’s rib, He brought
her unto Adam, and Adam called her "woman" because she was taken
out of man.
2. At this point, Adam did not call his wife’s name
Eve.
3. Her name was "woman" because she was taken out of man.
4. When Adam understood that the Saviour would come from the seed of
the woman (the seed of the man being absent) he changed her name to Eve.
II. Sarah giving birth is a miracle and a type of the miracle of the virgin
birth.
A. Terah dies in Haran, when Abraham is 75, making Terah 130 at his
birth. (Compare Genesis 11:32, 12:4, and Acts 7:4)
Genesis 11:32 states, "And the days of Terah were two hundred
and five years: and Terah died in Haran."
Genesis 12:4 states, "So Abram departed, as the LORD has spoken
unto him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of
Haran."
Stephen, in relating the history of Abraham states in Acts 7:4, "Then
came he out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from
thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein
ye now dwell."
These verses make it abundantly clear that:
Terah died at the age of 205 years and Abraham didn’t leave the
land of the Chaldeans until the death of his father.
Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans when he was 75 years old.
This makes Terah 130 years old when Abraham was born. (205-75=130)
B. Although it is said (Genesis 11:26) that Terah is 70 years old when
Abram, Nahor, and Haran are born (which seems to tell us that Abram was the
oldest son of Terah, and was born in his 70th year), yet, by comparing Gen.
11:32, which tells us that Terah died in his 205th year, with Acts 7:4,
which states that Abram left Haran when his father was dead and Gen. 12:4
which states that Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran, it appears that
Terah was 130 years old when Abram was born. (The age of Terah when he died
{205} subtracted from the age of Abram when he left Haran {75} equals 130.)
I believe the proper interpretation of Genesis 11:26 is not that Abram,
Nahor and Haran are triplets, or that all of them were born when Terah was
70 years old, but that Terah began his family at the age of 70. It is also
very likely that Abram was not the firstborn, but that Haran was the
firstborn. Abram is mentioned first because the story is about Abram. Haran
is mentioned last because he died first.
Further proof that Terah was 130 years old when Abram is born is found in
Genesis 11:27-30. Verse 28 declares that Haran died before his father Terah
in the land of his nativity, Ur of the Chaldees. Verse 29 states that Haran
had at least two grown daughters: Milcah, who married Nahor, her uncle, the
son of Terah, and brother of Abram; and Iscah, whose spouse is not
mentioned. We conclude from these facts that Haran didn’t die in infancy,
but lived to marry and sire children, who were old enough to marry and bear
children themselves before Haran, their father, died and was buried in Ur of
the Chaldees.
Genesis 11:31 states that Terah took Abram, his son, and Lot, his
grandson, and started the journey to Canaan. They got as far as Haran and
stopped. It was in Haran that Terah died.
It is significant to note that Abraham in "only" 100 years old
when Isaac is born. He, like his father (Terah) and grandson (Jacob) is able
to sire children well into old age. This fact does not destroy the miracle
birth of Isaac, rather it compliments that birth, and reveals more detail
about the birth of the coming Saviour. The promise of the saviour in Genesis
3:15 was not that Christ would be the seed of the man, but of the woman.
Isaac’s birth by Sarah, who was not only barren (Gen. 11:30), but past the
age of childbearing, is a picture of the coming virgin birth of Jesus
Christ. The miracle of Isaac’s birth was not in Abraham, but in the woman,
Sarah. The miracle of Jesus Christ birth was not in Joseph, but in the
virgin Mary being overshadowed by the power of the Holy Spirit.
1. I have been taught all my life that the miracle birth of Isaac is
the result of God pouring special blessings upon both Abraham and Sarah.
2. As I have studied the facts, however, I have concluded that the
Bible tells a different story.
3. The miracle is that Sarah, though barren (Gen. 11:30), was, by the
grace of God, able to conceive.
4. The miracle is not through Abraham, because his father, Terah, begot
Abram when he was 130 years old.
Jacob was able to begat children in his 91st year.
E. Jacob’s age at the birth of Joseph can be calculated as follows:
1. Genesis 47:8,9 - Jacob is 130 years old when he comes into Egypt
during the second year of the famine.
2. Genesis 41:46 - Joseph is 30 years old when he stands before
Pharaoh.
3. Genesis 45:6 - Nine years later (the seven years of plenty have
ended and the famine is in its second year), Joseph reveals himself to his
brothers. Therefore Joseph is 39 years old when he reveals himself to his
brothers.
4. Subtract the age of Jacob when he comes into Egypt (130) from the
age of Joseph (39) and we discover that Jacob was 91 years old when Joseph
was born.
5. Genesis 37:3 - Joseph is the son of Jacob’s old age.
How Can We Really Believe In The Virgin Birth?
1. Can we just take the word of Mary and Joseph? Some time ago, a young man
wanted to marry a young lady, but she was pregnant. While he thought about
marrying a woman who was going to have another man’s baby, he asked me to
come talk with him. The young man’s dad was present and he made this
statement, "How do we know this isn’t another virgin birth?" Can
you believe any man would make such an unscriptural, ignorant statement? The birth of a baby is a
very private matter. Everyone knows who the mother is, because they can see
that in her body, but only the mother truly knows who the father is. God would
never expect us to take a sinner’s word that the Saviour of the world was
born. It is much to important a matter for that. He will give us the proof
Himself.
2. Proofs that Mary was a virgin when she conceived the body of Jesus.
a. Luke 1:5-25 - The angel appears to Zacharias, informing of the coming
birth of their son in old age. The record states that Zacharias was struck
dumb because he didn’t believe God. This is no accident. All those that
knew Zacharias believed he had seen a vision. Luke 1:57-66 - When their
child (John the Baptist) was born, all the neighbors came together to
rejoice with them and to help in naming the child. Elizabeth declared that
the child’s name would be John, but the neighbors disagreed. They called
for Zacharias and he wrote, "His name is John." This caused a
great stir and the Bible declared that all these things were told all over
the country. Three months later, Jesus Christ was born.
b. Luke 2:8-20 - Shepherds were publicly told that the promised
child had been born. They sought out the babe and found him in the
"motel room" they had rented. (The manger was in the motel room,
as all motel rooms had a place attached to them where you could
"corral" and care for your animals.
c. The wise men come later. There is no record there are three wise men,
but there is a record they bore three gifts. I do not believe they came to
the "motel room" or manager, but came to the "house"
where Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were staying. Matt. 2:11. (See the sermon
outline entitled Mary’s Offering For Jesus.)
3. Another interesting thought.
a. There had been no word from God for about 400 years. Malachi
was the last prophet who publicly proclaimed any message from God.
b. God privately appeared to Zacharias, telling him of the child
to come. God then privately appeared to Mary, telling her of the
coming conception in her virgin womb. God next appeared privately to
Joseph, informing him that he need not fear to take Mary to be his wife,
because the child was of God.
c. God publicly told the shepherds that the promised redeemer was
born. They publicly sought him out. God next publicly declared to the
wise men (through the star in the east) that the Messiah was born. The star
led the wise men to Jerusalem, where King Herod would hear, then led them to
Bethlehem. The killing of the boy babies under the age of two years would
certainly be public and would get unbelievers attention!
After all the above three had taken place, both John the Baptist and
Jesus Christ disappeared for approximately 25-28 years! For the people of
that day, this would seem to be extremely strange, but it shows they (and
we) are not supposed to be looking for signs, but believe the Word of God
(The Bible).
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