As we read the genealogy from Adam to Noah we discover that men lived much longer lives back in the beginning. We find that Adam had a son when he was 130 years old, and then lived another 800 years. Methuselah, the man with the reputation of living the longest, lived a total of 969 years, almost a millennium! Can you imagine! We moved into the new millennium in year 2,000. How would you like to live through a good portion of the next 1,000 years? I think most of us are very content with a much shorter life span. How would we ever keep up with the new technology that 1,000 years would bring when our computers that we bought in the last couple of years are already outdated? I am not sure when our life cycles became shorter, but we will find in the next chapter that man’s days will be 120 years.
The very fact that this genealogy exists right here in the beginning of the Bible is proof enough that God’s Word had to be inspired to be written. Who could have kept those kind of records? Whose diary could Moses read to know exactly who was the father of whom and how long each one lived? Moses, of course, is attributed to writing the first five books of the Bible, known as the Pentateuch, or The Law. Moses only lived to be 120 years old, so it must have amazed even him as he listened to God’s Spirit tell him of his ancestors and the longevity of their lives.
Did they live so long because of their lack of exposure to all the pollutants in the air that now exist? Since the earth was less populated back then, perhaps there were not as many diseases as we have now. Maybe people needed to live longer so they would have time to populate the earth, as God had commanded them. And thank goodness, no one had yet discovered euthanasia. They lived in a time when there was great respect for the elderly in society. The almost total lack of respect we see today is a good example of how far we have degenerated from God’s ideal.
In this list of our early forefathers, one man stands out to me. His name is Enoch. Enoch walked with God, and then God took him away. Why? He must have been very special to God, pleasing to Him, a good companion. This is one of those mysteries I look forward to understanding when I get to heaven. Am I living a life that pleases God? Does God find good companionship in me? After all, He did create us for fellowship. How often do I spend time with Him? How much time do I allow Him to talk to me, or do I monopolize the whole conversation?Lord, make me a good companion today. Not only for your sake, but may I be a friend to those about me who are so lonely for someone to talk to. May my focus be on others, and not on myself. Amen.
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