October 04, 2023 – Wednesday
Genesis 5:3,5,28,29,31 NIV
3 When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.5 Altogether, Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died.
28 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. 29 He named him Noah and said, “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed.”
31 Altogether, Lamech lived a total of 777 years, and then he died.
Genesis 5:3,5,28,29,31 NKJV
3 And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.
5 So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty 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.”
31 So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years; and he died.
Comments
I hope you will bear with me as I explain why these verses are placed in front of you today. I’m hoping to find a way to express the enormity of the lifespans of those listed from Adam through Lamech. I don’t think any of us can truly grasp the length of these lifespans.
Can you imagine that you might live 700 or 900 years? Imagine you were one of those who lived 900 or more years. Then imagine you were born in the year 1123 and if you were to live 900 years and beyond, in 2023 you would be 900 years old. What was the year you were born like? If you go to Wikipedia you can put in 1123 and find out the Crusades were ongoing and St. Bartholomew’s Hospital was founded in London and to my amazement still operates on its original site today!
If you go to Genesis 4 and read through these verses giving the long lifespans each person had, you will find a common expression for each, and he died or then he died. Eventually they all died no matter how long their lifespan. They were not seeking God in their long-lived lives. No, they weren’t. We discover in chapter 6, that with all the sin mentioned early on in this chapter, in verse 13 God gives His reason to Noah for the flood to come, 13 I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.
For reasons unknown to us the earth was filled with violence. In my opinion things have not changed much. While the lifespans are much shorter the violence seems never ending. Whether your lifespan is 77 years or 900 plus years, people seem to live as if they will live forever and with no thought of the life that follows death. Most people seem to avoid any thinking about death or even old age and certainly most avoid any thought about the next life or the possibility of judgement. Those seriously involved with their faith do think about death (and old age) and how they are to live their lives to prepare for the next life. No one else really does. I believe they are too afraid to address what might follow death. Those who lived incredible lifespans had no real clue about the future except a very few. We have more than clues, we have the Bible.
Bottom Line: We will all die, unless Jesus comes in our lifetime, and we are raptured to join Him.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, Help us to live our lives in such a manner that it pleases You and Your Son. Help us to prepare for the next life. – In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
RileyD, nwJ
Riley D. Driver – Pastor