Have you ever considered what 1,000 years or more of your descendants would be like?
You have children. They have children. Your grandchildren have children. Your great-grandchildren have children. Your great-great-grandchildren have children, and so forth.
What would be your legacy more than 1,000 years from your life?
Today’s passage tracks that question in Shem’s life. The sixth section begins with “This is the account of…” which is toledoth in Hebrew. We’ve talked about this before, but Genesis is divided naturally by these toledoths. As we enter this section, we start at Genesis 11:10-26, another genealogy. Never forget genealogies are in the Scriptures to teach us something.
Before we read it, let’s go back. In Genesis 9 and 10, Noah prophesied that the Lord would bless the world through the line of Shem. They were called “Semites” and were the ancestors of the Hebrew people.
Genesis gives us two genealogies of Seth: one in Genesis 10:21-29 and the one here. While similar, they aren’t identical. Why the differences?
The short answer is to remember that Eastern genealogies aren’t like Western ones. They aren’t trying to give us every single descendant. They are thematic genealogies; they teach something. Also, this particular genealogy highlights how life spans are getting shorter and shorter.
Genealogies record God’s faithfulness in watching over His people and fulfilling His promises. What seems to us like an endless list of difficult names is God’s “bridge” from Shem to Abram (Abraham).
10 This is the account of Shem’s family line.
Genesis 11:10-26, New International Version
Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad. 11 And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.
12 When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah. 13 And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
14 When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber. 15 And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
16 When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg. 17 And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.
18 When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu. 19 And after he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.
20 When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug. 21 And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.
22 When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor. 23 And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.
24 When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah. 25 And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.
26 After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.
Thankfully, the story of early Genesis doesn’t stop at the tower of Babel. Instead, it shows how God’s grace again supersedes our sins and ensures continued blessings to all of humanity. Despite the sin at Shinar (Tower of Babel), God’s orderly plan proceeded. By connecting Terah to Noah, this line is connected to Seth who is connected to Adam. This is God’s conduit of blessing.
These years are also marked by something that is not so obvious: Divine Silence. There is no mention of special revelation by God or God’s intervening in any obvious way. The text does not present any indication of God’s obvious handiwork. Yet, it exists within the text.
It was God who prepared His plan. It was God who was working His plan. God’s gentle guiding hand laid the foundation from Adam to Noah to Abraham. Despite and BECAUSE OF humanity’s sin, God was working His plan.
In our lives today, it is the same way.
Those “mundane” moments of life are not just “another day.” We will experience many days without divine revelation. There will be no burning bushes where God shows up or miracles. Yet, we are there walking through them.
Are there wasted days in God’s economy?
No.
We will always be about the Father’s business of reaching, teaching, blessing, loving, training, and being His hands and feet. In the mundane routine, God can perform some of His greatest plans.
Look at this genealogy. We end at a place that seems so innocuous: a man having some sons. But this line—from our perspective—has just connected Adam to Abram—ultimately connecting us to Christ. All on a regular day, on a regular page in the Bible.
Your legacy 1,000 years from now begins now. What is God doing in your “regular days”?
Life Meets Theology 