Methuselah is Enoch’s son. Aside from being Noah’s grandfather, the other notable fact about Methuselah is that he has the longest recorded life in the Bible, standing at an amazing 969 years.
The Bible records many people at that time as living hundreds of years, but Methuselah’s life is the longest.
Yet as we move further away from the time of sin entering the world, we see life spans decreasing in length. Death, after all, is the result of sin.
Moses later places a typical person’s life at seventy years, even up to eighty (Psalm 90:10). This is despite the fact that he lived to be 120 years old (Deuteronomy 34:7), which God established during the time of Noah (Genesis 6:3).
Accepting the lifespan of Old Testament characters as literal, as I do, we can determine that Methuselah—and his son Lamech (2)—are both born while Adam is still alive.
They are also alive when Noah is born. This means that Methuselah and Lamech know both Adam and Noah.
Also, their lives end about the time of the flood. Did they die prior to the flood, or did they drown in the deluge?
Regardless, they were both certainly alive one hundred years earlier when God told Noah to build the ark. At that time God noted the wickedness of humanity and their persistent evil thoughts.
We’re left to wonder if this critical assessment of the world’s persistent evil includes Methuselah and Lamech. Regardless, Noah found God’s favor (Genesis 6:1–8).
What is our view of living a long life?
Whether we have days left or decades, what can we do to make every moment count?
[Read about Methuselah in Genesis 5:21–27. Discover more in 1 Chronicles 1:3 and Luke 3:37.]
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More Old Testament Sinners and Saints is part of the Bible Character Sketches series.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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