03/09/2019
WHY DID METHUSELAH LIVE FOR 969 YEARS?
When Methuselah was born, the text of Genesis 5 indicates that his father Enoch began to walk with God in earnest (Gen. 5:21–22). Many commentators believe that it was during the time of Methuselah’s birth that God revealed to Enoch the reality of the coming Flood—which is why Enoch spent the next three centuries warning the world around him of God’s impending retribution (Jude 14-15).
Methuselah’s name can be translated as either “man of the javelin” or “man of the sending forth.” It is likely, especially given the context of Genesis 5–6, that his name referred to the reality of God’s coming judgment—a global Flood that would be sent forth with sudden force and destruction. The further implication is that divine wrath would not fall until after Methuselah died. (Some scholars even render the meaning of his name as “his death shall bring forth.” )
Methuselah lived 969 years. If you add up the length of time between Methuselah’s birth and Noah entering the ark (187+182+600), it is also 969 years. That means, in the very year Methuselah died, the Flood was sent forth like a javelin on the earth.
So why did God allow Methuselah to live for so many years longer than anyone else in human history?
I believe it was as an illustration of His incredible patience. The fact that Methuselah lived almost 1,000 years demonstrates the longsuffering nature of God. From the time God revealed the reality of that judgment to Enoch, it was almost a millennium before raindrops of wrath started to fall in the days of Noah.
Methuselah was the son of Enoch. Enoch was 65 when Methuselah was born. Enoch was commended for his faithfulness to God. According to Genesis 5, “Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away". Methuselah’s son Lamech was the father of Noah. Methuselah was 369 years old when Noah was born (Gen. 5:25-29). Methuselah died in the year of the flood when Noah was 600 years old (Gen. 9:28-29).
