Longevity in the Bible
In Genesis, people’s life expectancy was incredible. People lived a long time! Adam lived nine hundred thirty years (Genesis 5:5), Methuselah nine hundred and sixty-nine (Genesis 5:27), and Noah died at age nine hundred and fifty (Genesis 9:29) to name a few. After the flood, the longevities diminish so that by the time of Abraham and Sarah, people aren’t recorded as living much longer than 100 years.
Preparing the Bride for GOD’s Story
How do we prepare as the Bride of Christ? One aspect is to learn GOD’S STORY. He created us in His image…. Piece by piece, and peace by peace, we learn to walk as He has walked. And we learn His perspective.
Genesis 23:1
“Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah….”
Life expectancy
Fourscore years (that’s 80), fourscore and ten (90). These are Shakespearean and Biblical rough estimates. Certainly, in some times, 60 was a high benchmark, because of poor nutrition.
We don’t know when we will pass on. That’s why it’s so important to be right with GOD. But that’s another entire topic for another day…
Sarah left a legacy for us, for women and for men. She did well, she made mistakes too. And we can be certain she was greatly mourned at her death.
The core of what I’d like to emphasise in this post is about longevity in the Old Covenant.
Do take note.
We were created to live and to thrive
We were created for life, not for death, and to thrive. Even after the curse upon Adam and Eve, life expectancy was long — nearly a thousand years.
Taken out of context, “A thousand years is as a day” (2 Peter 3:8) which I site here as a point that for the LORD, time is not significant though it is for us.
Why did GOD allow longevity? Because we are born for relationship and because He loves us and wants relationship with us.
The Flood
When man’s sin became so abhorrent to GOD, He caused the Flood to wipe out all but Noah and his family. Man had developed a tower to reach heaven — and to defy GOD.
But life expectancy diminished over time, after the Flood, and this I think was because the O Zone and the atmosphere changed, making our mortality more fragile. But I think it was also because the LORD wanted to reduce our time on the earth, to cause less destruction.
Nothing arises without the knowledge and forethought of GOD.
Ponder life expectancy in the Bible
I’ve put aside an entire post about this because I want us to consider: GOD’s Creation — yes, it’s real; GOD’s timing — yes, it’s perfect; our lifespan — let’s make the most of it, in our relationship with Him and in our relationship with others. For what is our calling?
“So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’” (Luke 10:27)