Thursday, August 1, 2019

A Long Life or God Pleasing One?

Genesis 5:18-32
18 Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Enoch. 19 After he begot Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, and had sons and daughters. 20 So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years; and he died.
21 Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. 22 After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. 23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.
25 Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and begot Lamech. 26 After he begot Lamech, Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years, and had sons and daughters. 27 So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died.
28 Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son. 29 And he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord has cursed.” 30 After he begot Noah, Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years, and had sons and daughters. 31 So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years; and he died.
32 And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.


More descendants of Adam with very long lives continued here.  Jared Son of Mahalalel lived to be 962, Methuselah to 969, Lamech to only 777.  But Lamech brought Noah into the world as a type of deliverer.  Enoch was unique because he lived on the earth for only 365 years, one for each day of a year, and then God simply took him off the earth without dying as the others (Hebrews 11:5).  This is because he walked with God, and even prophesied of the coming judgement on the world because they did not walk with God (Jude 1:14-15).  This passage ends with Noah’s three sons who were destined to be the source of all future bloodlines after the great flood wiped out all others, including the line of Cain who brought murder and further sin into the world up till this time.  Noah will soon deliver the righteous from judgement as a type of Christ with the flood as a shadow of baptism (1 Peter 3:20-21).  We will see the lifespans go down sharply after this judgement on sin as history marches on toward the ultimate Redeemer. A long life is for naught if it is not lived for God in pleasing Him. 

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