Lifespans and Plumblines

Before the Great Flood, we read in the Bible that people lived

amazingly long lives. Adam lived for 930 years and Seth reached

912 years. The lifespans of those who followed are equally

unbelievable – Enosh, 905 years; Kenan, 910 years; Mahalel, 895 years;

Jared, 962 years; Enoch, 365 years; Methuselah, 969 years; Lamech, 777

years, and Noah, 950 years (Genesis 5; 9:29).

As to how such long lifespans were possible, there are many

explanations including textual peculiarities, and divine intervention

after the Flood to limit one’s years to ‘three-score and ten’. The purpose

of this article is to point out one fascinating detail in the list of super

lifespans.

Notice that almost all the individuals in the list lived for around

900 years; the one who stands out as having a shorter lifespan than

the others is Enoch. He lived for only 365 years, a relatively young age

compared to the rest.

It is intriguing to realise that the formula used (when A had lived

x years, he became the father of B. After that, A lived for y years and

had other sons and daughters. Altogether A lived x+y years, and then

he died) was modified for Enoch. Additional information is given for

him, and the two significant notations are that:

•“Enoch walked with God” – a fact mentioned twice for

emphasis (Genesis 5:22, 24)

•At the end of his life, Enoch “was no more, because

God took him away” (v. 24)

This information goes against popular thinking. One would think

that if this man stands out as one who walked with God (a term that

speaks about an intimate relationship with Him), then he would also

stand out in a contest of lifespans, not by being the one with the

shortest, but having the longest.

This is the way the world usually calculates success – length of life,

extent of wealth, number of degrees, height of position and the number

of followers. Many believe that the closer one is to God, the more

successful one is in this world – measured by the world’s instruments.

This text in Genesis, along with other similar texts in the Bible,

challenges this way of thinking which, unfortunately, has also crept

into the church. Today we hear about the ‘health and wealth’ gospel,

which if not openly proclaimed, is often secretly assumed to be true

when one goes about doing acts of piety.

The story of Enoch tells us that God measures true success in a

different way, not by human lifespans or similar instruments used by

the world, but by His own set of instruments.

Reflection: How does the world measure the success of a person? Find

examples of this in contemporary life. How does God measure a

man, or a church or a nation?