Let the children watch the sand move from one side to the other. Ask them, “is it hard to be patient to wait for the sand to empty completely from the top?”
25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he fathered Lamech. 26 Methuselah lived after he fathered Lamech 782 years and had other sons and daughters. 27 Thus all the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died.
Have you ever heard the phrase “Old as Methuselah”? This part of scripture explains what that means. Methuselah lived to be 969 YEARS old–that is very, very, old!
The scripture we read today seems kind of boring at first glance, but we can learn A LOT from genealogies (lists of relatives) in the Bible. And we know that all of them were important in God’s big story of redemption for mankind through Jesus.
This list of relatives tells us that Methuselah was the son of Enoch. Remember Enoch from yesterday? He walked with God, didn’t he? This means Methuselah definitely would have known about God because his dad would have told him. In fact, Methuselah’s dad, Enoch, was probably telling Methuselah all about God for about 300 years!
Methuselah living so long can point us to the big picture of God’s incredible patience with mankind. His long life fits with Peter’s description of God’s patience in 2 Peter 3. After talking about the flood in verses 5-6, Peter writes in verses 8-9:
But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
Maybe Methuselah lived so long because God was patiently waiting for people to repent and turn back to him! We don’t have the whole story, but we do know that God has a reason and a purpose for everything He does!
Was Methuselah’s long life something that makes sense in Jesus’ family tree? We really don’t know, but we can know for sure that God used him somehow–and for a really long time too! Methuselah needed a Savior, and so do we. Jesus is coming!
