Genesis 5:25-27 - Methuselah

Read Genesis 5:25-27

Methuselah is one of those interesting characters of the Bible of whom more is known from popular culture than from the actual biblical text. A quick Google search will tell you that Methuselah has been portrayed in various movies and tv shows, and has had everything from the oldest known star (HD 140283) to the oldest known pine tree (A 4,851-year-old Great Basin bristlecone pine tree growing in the White Mountains of Inyo County in easter California) named after him.

Why has he gained such interest from pop-culture? Because Methuselah lived longer than any other figure in history. The Bible records his age as 969 years, and our culture has an obsession with long life. This can be seen in our art, where books like Twilight, the Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter, movies like Ground-Hog Day, X-Men and Highlander, and TV shows like Star Trek, Doctor Who, and Game of Thrones, all feature incredibly old, if not immortal characters.

We are constantly looking for ways to make us look younger or live longer. People have gone to such extremes as freezing themselves, sleeping in chambers filled with whatever gases are thought to prolong life at the time, sleeping on electronic magnets, taking up to 150 pills a day, or enduring stem cell replacement therapy.

Others simply make their exercise, diet, and healthy habits the focus of their life: they live at the gym; they are masters at Yoga, Zumba, Pilates, and Spin Cycle; they shudder with horror when they hear of someone eating a cookie; they live on the Keto, South Beach, Atkins, or Paleo diet; they simply must have the latest avocado toast, dairy-free ice cream or whatever other health craze is out there; they always wear sunblock, even when its raining; they massage their face in a mask before going to sleep each night, and they never sit down for too long.

None of these are bad things (except maybe avocado toast, yuck!). People should exercise, eat healthy, and take care of themselves. After all, Scripture says that our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). Perhaps, while we are isolated in our house, we should spend a little more time doing sit-ups and a little less time counting our snacking as doing bicep-curls.

But the point of Methuselah’s life is not that it was so long. Rather, the point of Methuselah’s life is this: even the person with he longest lifespan in the Bible, still died! Genealogists will tell us that Methuselah died the year that God flooded the earth, which had to have been quite the way to go! No matter how long he lived, he still died because he was a sinner who deserved to pay the price for his sin.

No matter how long we may live, we still have to pay the price for our sins, which is death—unless we trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus alone can offer us eternal life. We simply need to repent of our sins and believe in Him as our Savior and Lord.

So go ahead and work out ten hours a day while eating your avocado toast… the most you’ll add is a few years to your life, which is nothing compared to Methuselah. But if you really want to live forever, trust in Jesus—only He can grant eternal life.