As Old as Methuselah

When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he fathered Lamech. Methuselah lived after he fathered Lamech 782 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died. (Genesis 5:25-27 ESV). You’ll need to stay with me to the end of this devotional to get “the end of the story.” I hope it will worth it! Methuselah was the oldest man to live on the earth that we know of in the Bible. Our reading says he was 969 years old when he died. The real puzzle then is how he could have died before his father! Most folks get stumped at this point and simply give up looking for the answer to this “riddle.” However, if we read a little bit before this verse we find that his father was Enoch; and, Enoch never died! The Bible simply says, Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. (Genesis 5:24 ESV). Enoch is a fascinating character in the Scripture. He is tied to the prophetic declaration of the flood. The flood was preached for four generations before it actually happened. Enoch was the primary prophet warning the people of God’s judgment. He was also told to name his son as a warning of this great judgment. Methusaleh comes from two Hebrew words that mean “his death shall bring.” It was commonly known that this great flood would come when Methuselah died. Can you imagine the panic when he got a cold! The genealogy gives an exact counting of the years. The flood did come when Methuselah died. Methuselah was 187 when he had Lamech and lived 782 more years. Lamech had Noah when he was 182. The flood came when Noah was 600 years old. All of this adds up to 969 (187+182+600=969). It is interesting that Methusaleh’s life becomes an incredible picture of the longsuffering of God. His mercy is great indeed! But, here’s the rest of the story. Remember, all of these patriarchs were given names with meaning. When we study the meanings of their names we see an incredible message of God’s redemptive love. In birth order, the patriarchs were: Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jarod, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah. The translation of each of their names is: “Man (is) appointed mortal sorrow; (but) the Blessed God shall come down teaching (that) His death shall bring (the) despairing rest.” Each underlined word or phrase comes from the name of the patriarch in order of their birth. Seems farfetched doesn’t it? Yet, I find it very difficult to imagine a group of Jewish rabbis deliberately hiding the Gospel in a genealogy of the venerated Torah. God’s design is always present in all of the Scripture. Is this so different than the plainly spoken message of Jesus to Nicodemus: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16 ESV). That’s the kind of God we can trust!