Have you considered Methuselah’s biography? Though Methuselah lived 969 years the details of his accomplishments are sketchy.
When Methuselah was 187 years old, he became the father of Lamech. After the birth of Lamech, Methuselah lived another 782 years, and he had other sons and daughters. Methuselah lived 969 years, and then he died.
enesis 5:25-27 NLT
That’s the official record, the summary of the life of the man who outlived anyone before him or after him. What would you do with 969 years of life? Methuselah held the dual roles of son to Enoch and father to Lamech as well as other sons and daughters. Can we derive additional insight from the context?
When Lamech was 182 years old, he became the father of a son. Lamech named his son Noah, for he said, “May he bring us relief from our work and the painful labor of farming this ground that the LORD has cursed.” After the birth of Noah, Lamech lived another 595 years, and he had other sons and daughters. Lamech lived 777 years, and then he died.
Genesis 5:28-31 NLT
His life
As the timeline shows, Methuselah outlived Lamech by five years. Methuselah possibly helped with the construction of his grandson’s famous ark or at least observed its progress. Methuselah no doubt heard the angry voices as people around Noah expressed strong objections to the boat builder’s faith and to the expression of his faith in that act of obedience. Laughing at others and living lives marked by cynicism are not expressions of human depravity held in reserve until the invention of the Internet and social media platforms. That lifestyle has always existed. We simply have more tools to display the deficiency than did our parents or ancestors.
Was Methuselah a godly man? We aren’t told. Consider these bookends of Methuselah’s family’s history.
Enoch lived 365 years, walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him.
Genesis 5:23-24 NLTBut Noah found favor with the LORD. This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God.
Genesis 6:8-9 NLT
Enoch walked with God. Lamech prophesied. Noah lived a blameless life before God. What about Methuselah? Did he pursue a relationship with God? We aren’t told and at best can offer guesses.
Godly parenting does not guarantee a God-honoring walk in the children. Each person must decide for himself to pursue a relationship with God. To further complicate the scene Satan often targets children of godly parents by dangling temptations in their path. He entices that next generation into philosophies that may seem intellectually sound but that lead away from the truths declared in God’s Word. And the further human wisdom takes those children from God the easier it becomes for them to embrace even more deception.
Did Methuselah fall victim to this strategy? Some scholars posit that the absence of commendation in the scriptural record is solid evidence that Methuselah wandered away from the faith. I’m not sure I’m ready to swallow that line. Methuselah lived with Enoch’s godly example for the first 300 years of life. Hopefully some of that godliness flavored Methuselah’s daily walk. Given that Lamech and Noah continued in the faith perhaps Methuselah continued as a strong example for his descendants.
Parents
What believing parent does not invest much time thinking about and praying for his children? Though my girls are grown and making their own decisions in their own homes I continue to feel fatherly responsibility as I observe their lives. Sometimes those thoughts lead to praise and thanksgiving as I cheer their conquest of a challenge or resolution to a problem. At other times the considerations lead to an urgency in prayer as I stop what I am about and go before my Father on their behalf.
The aging apostle, John, captured the essence of a God-fearing parent’s heart in these words.
I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth.
3 John 1:4 NLT
And then I was promoted to grandpa. The hope I have for my grandchildren is that they trust Jesus as Savior and find favor in the eyes of the Lord as they serve Him. I am praying to that end. Repeatedly and regularly. And I vow to continue as long as my faculties permit.
Herbert Lockyear wrote this about Methuselah in All the Men of the Bible, “It is not the length of a life that counts but the quality of it.” I have no idea how many years are left to me. Retired? Through with parenting? Content to invest my remaining days puttering? No. Not at all. Not As long as I have the presence of mind to pray. This retirement stuff opens up a new world of responsibility and possibility. I need to watch my steps and present the right example to Fern and August. Hopefully Methuselah learned that with Noah, too.