Genesis5_25-32

Genesis 5:25-32

And Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and begat Lamech.

And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred and eighty-two years, and begat sons and daughters.

And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years, and he died.

And Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and begat a son.

And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.

And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred and ninety-five years, and begat sons and daughters.

And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years, and he died.

And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Methuselah was the longest-lived person in the Bible, who lived nine hundred and sixty-nine years. It represented the limitation of lifespan after humans fell. In some ways, humans had the potential for a long lifespan even though they had eaten of the fruit of the tree. Pursuing a long life is a dream for some people throughout human history. But all of them ultimately failed, because death is more powerful than human beings. In the millennial kingdom, humans will recover the lifespan of those ancestors — a hundred years old will be like a child.

Lamech, Noah’s father, shared the same name as Cain’s grandson, but they brought about different results. Although both names meant “strong,” they represented different powers in different realms. One lived for God, the other lived for himself. Moreover, the declarations of the two Lamechs were very different from each other. One was humble and believed in God, while the other was arrogant and cruel.

Lamech prophesied that his son Noah would comfort them concerning their work and toil of their hands. As a result, Noah turned the era around and cooperated with God. When a man grows in experience with God, he can prophesy for God and represent God. Throughout human history, almost no one has been able to prophesy the future exactly, though many have tried their best to explore it. This is because they ignored one crucial thing — that God Elohim governs everything and stands behind everything. They neglected the most important and ultimate variable: God Elohim.

Since the ground was cursed, Lamech grew weary of living. Therefore, human beings have paid a great price for food as a consequence of their ancestors eating of the tree. On the other hand, a man who believed in God lived a hard life on the ground, which was different from the way of Cain’s offspring. Although they could have chosen another way, they preferred to obey God and to bear the judgment that came from God.