God and Terah

Several people groups acknowledge Abraham as their father. He is the father of both the Ishmael, the father of the Arabs, and Isaac, the father of the Jews, but showed favouritism to Isaac, even though Ishmael was his first-born son. 
For the Jewish people, of course, he is the first-named of their patriarchs. God was known to the nation of Israel as "Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." Many people know that God called Abram (as he was first called) to go to Canaan, the land that becomes the land of promise, the land "flowing with milk and honey". Most of these people, if they read the story of Abram/Abraham, begin in Genesis 12.  In Acts 7, Stephen reminds the Sanhedrin that God had appeared to Abram in Ur before Terah gathered his people and set out for Canaan. God then appears in Genesis 12, and makes a covenant with Abram, said covenant being dependant on Abram leaving his country, his people, and his father's household.
But if you begin a few verses earlier, there is an interesting little tidbit worthy of some consideration. Genesis 11:27 begins introduces the story of God's call to "leave and go" with the name Terah. Terah has three sons, Abram, Nahor, and Haran, and at least one daughter, Sarai. Haran has a son, Lot, who features in the further story of Abram/Abraham, but Haran dies in Ur of the Chaldeans, where he was born. Sometime after this, Terah leaves Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan, but stops at a place called Haran, settles there, and dies. The information from Acts, specifically regarding the location and timing of God's call to Abram, does not appear in Genesis, but may provide an explanation for Terah's departure from Ur to go to Canaan, and it is Terah I would like to consider in this post.
We know little about Terah, beyond the brief biographical sketch in Genesis 11:27-32, and much of the author's words deal with Terah's children. Verse 27 lists Terah's sons, but includes the fact that Terah's son, Haran, had a son named Lot. Verse 31 gives what details we have regarding the departure of Terah from Ur and his arrival and settlement in Haran. Verse 32 gives the standard life-summary for this portion of Genesis - "So-and-so lived so many years and then died.
Why did Terah leave Ur? Some speculate that his departure coincides with the destruction of Ur (c. 1950 BC) There is, I think, an answer closer to the text. Perhaps, (and I recognise that this is also speculation) Abram shared God's call with his father. There are several possible scenarios that make this sharing proper, logical, and consistent with what is known of life and culture at the time. Abram may have been anxious to obey God, and shared this call with his father as an explanation for an otherwise inexplicable course of action - leaving the family and abandoning his duty to his parent and family. Abram may have shared the call in an effort to obtain guidance and wisdom from Terah. The reason for Abram telling Terah about the call from God is less important than the possibility that this sharing provides a reasonable, logical, Biblically-consistent reason for Terah departing Ur with all his people and goods.
If Terah did set out for Canaan in response to God's call to his son, he was either trying to support Abram (a noble gesture), or else he was trying to follow God's call for someone else. If the former speculation is the reason Terah sets off for Canaan, the story provides an illustration of a parent supporting their child in following the call of God. Terah does all he can, which is, I believe, the most common response of parents to the dreams of their child(ren). If the latter, if Terah was trying to follow God's call to Abram, then we have a less-noble parent. Terah may have also wanted to experience the blessing promised to Abram for himself, so he tried to fulfil God's instructions himself. He packed up and left Ur to go to Canaan, so he would be blessed, and be a blessing to all nations.
In either case, Terah supporting Abram or Terah trying to claim the blessing, the short story of Terah illustrates the folly of trying to do for ourselves what only God can do. Terah's support of Abram, though noble in desire, means that Abram does not leave his father's family, at least not until Terah dies. Trying to claim the blessing for himself, if this is the case, fails because God's blessing for one is not intended for another. God calls each person with their own call, and, though we walk together in fellowship, no one can walk the path of another. Each of us is called by God to follow Him ourselves, not through someone else. Nor are we called to live the call of each other. This is, perhaps, particularly difficult for those called as shepherds/pastors. Because they care so deeply for others, they want to help. Helping is good, but only within the limits God sets. Sometimes, we need to let people go, leave us, and walk a separate path.